HEMANTA MUKHERJEE – Ei Raat Tomar Amar (1959)

Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music director and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, Tamil, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Konkani, Sanskrit and Urdu. Wikipedia

“Ei Raat Tomar Amar”, by Hemanta Mukherjee, reminds us of a philosophical reflection by Alan Watts on the subject of music, more specifically about the spiritual relevance of singing, whistling or merely humming, of making music (rhythm) a constituent part of our everyday lives. African peoples are champions when it comes to this, as indicated by the notion of Foli. Thus spake the great Alan Watts:

This is the point why, from ancient times, people discovered humming and singing, and everybody used to sing while they worked. But you will notice that today very few people sing at all. You have to make a thing of it. People are afraid of their voices—their melodic voice as distinct from their spoken voice. I know an enormous number of people who never sing at all. Why is it that when the scriptures, the Upanishads, the Sūtras are read, they are invariably chanted? Because an extra dimension is added to the voice as soon as you bring a note into it. That’s the divine element, you see? The note-sound, the seen-sound—symbolically speaking.

Now, what is remarkable and wonderful about “Ei Raat Tomar Amar” is its suitability for the (“therapeutic”) purposes posited by Watts. It’s the perfect song for singing along, even if you don’t have a clue what the lyrics are saying (the title means “Tonight is yours and mine”), even if you are complete alien to its language (Hindi), or whistling, which also produces an absorbing, soothing effect. It feels as though you were on a paradisical beach, relaxing under the shadow of a tree, while the melody to “Ei Raat Tomar Amar” has a relaxing, almost narcotic effect. And Watts goes on:

Now, when you have got absorbed in sound, where were you? This would be called a state of consciousness where we have a primitive form of samadhi. That is to say, we are happily absorbed in what we are doing and we have forgotten about ourselves. You can’t very well do that and worry or think anything serious. And you’ll notice that there’s a special way of doing it. Because, I mean, we can go crazy, and we can do kind of wild Indian chants, but in this UGH you are sort of straining too much as a rule, you see? If you keep it down to a soft thing like this and get a floating feeling of the voice, instantly you feel any sound is uncomfortable, avoid it. Slip down if you’re going too high, slip up if you’re going too low. If your voice tends to change, follow its change. So that you’re just swinging along with it.

Alan Watts, “The Spiritual Relevance of Singing” [read more]

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এই রাত তোমার আমার ঐ চাঁদ তোমার আমার শুধু দুজনের এই রাত শুধু যে গানের এই ক্ষণ এ দুটি প্রাণের কুহু কূজনে এই রাত তোমার আমার তুমি আছো আমি আছি তাই অনুভবে তোমারে যে পাই তুমি আছো আমি আছি তাই অনুভবে তোমারে যে পাই শুধু দুজনে এই রাত তোমার আমার ওই চাঁদ তোমার আমার শুধু দুজনের

This night is yours and mine That moon is yours and mine Just the two of them This night is only about that song This moment belongs to two souls Kuhu Kujane This night is yours and mine You are so I am I feel you You are so I am I feel you Just the two of them This night is yours and mine That moon is yours and mine Just the two of them