Music Meets Happiness! (Coke Studio Season 4)

Someone has rightly said, "Music is the strongest form of magic.” No matter how different and far people are music is one thing that connects them. With the world population reaching 7 billion, there are 3 billion internet users. Imagine the impact of one single song or a story can have. Thanks to social media these days. 

I am a die hard fan of Coke Studio be it India or Pakistan. I am listening to their songs since 2013 and trust me some of them are truly amazing. Every year I eagerly wait for the next season. I believe irrespective of language, religion, country one should respect the talent. For those who are not aware I would like to share some insights. Coke Studio India, officially titled Coke Studio @ MTV, is an Indian television series, which features live studio-recorded music performances by various artists. Season One was premiered in June 2011 and Season Four was aired on 1 March 2015. You can check my post on Season 3 Music Meets Happiness!

Season 4 had six episodes. Each episode is done by different composers. Compared to last season this season had fewer songs. The fusion of diverse musical influences justifies the title "Music Meets Happiness". Here are my favourite songs and their interpretation according to me.

• Episode 1 : It has just one song: 'Teriyaan Tu Jaane' sung by Amit Trivedi, Jyoti Nooran, Harshdeep Kaur. I loved this peppy and upbeat number. I felt as if one is requesting the almighty that I want to spend the rest of my life with you leaving behind the relations of this world. To my surprise, I thought I heard Jyoti Nooran for the first time but she has already done some popular Bollywood songs like Ghani Bawri. 

• Episode 2 : Composed by Sachin-Jigar this episode has 3 songs. The first song 'Laadki' sung by Tanishka Sanghvi, Rekha Bharadwaj, Kirtidan Gadhvi will surely make you emotional and honesty I cried a lot remembering my parents. It's actually tough for any girl to leave everything and adjust to a new place with new people. The part sung by Sachin’s daughter Tanishka made me go Awwww.. This is must listen! The other song that I liked is 'Sawan Mein' sung by Divya Kumar & Jasmine Sandlas. It is about an anguished and devastated lover. For me, Jasmine is the star of this song, such a strong and powerful voice. The way she sings her part is fabulous.

• Episode 3 :  This episode is done by Dhruv Ghanekar and has 3 songs. The song 'Ae Rab' sung by Dhruv Ghanekar, Master Saleem is beautiful composition inspired by work of Bulleh Shah talks about a man's search for God. 

• Episode 4 :  Ram Sampath has composed this episode consisting of 4 songs. My favorite is 'Anhad Naad' sung by Sona Mohapatra, Shadab Faridi. I have always adored Sona's style of singing. This cheerful composition speaks about spiritual growth and awakening. The lyrics, music, singers all compliment each other. The lines Hunn main anhad naad bajaya, Apne dil da haal sunaya, Haal sunake luft o paaya, Ho..jiyun barkha wich ped nahaya.. expresses how one can be unburdened by  stop worrying and selflessly devoting oneself to god.

• Episode 5 : It was Independence Special episode and the best of all. It has 3 songs composed by the different artist. 

•  Song 1 : 'Ki Banu Duniya Da' : The song is composed, written by Gurdas Maan, sung by Gurdas Maan & Diljit Dosanjh and arranged by Jatinder Shah. This joyous composition talks about how the youth is  getting attracted to westernization forgetting their own culture. I loved the lines : Hello Hello thank you karan nadiyan aa gaiyan valeton angrez vadiyan i don’t like the punjabi hindi nu sharam ni aundi sanu gallan dindi nu Har boli sikho sikhni vi chahidi Par pakki vekh ke kacchi nai dhai di.. Such deep meaning.

• Song 2 : 'Peer Manaawan Challiyaan' : The song is composed by Salim - Sulaiman, written by Sukhwinder Singh and sung by  Sukhwinder Singh, Salim Merchant & Raj Pandit. This one is brimming with patriotism. No doubt that the confident voice of Sukhwinder is always a treat to ears.

• Song 3 : 'Allah Veh' : The song is composed by Manj Musik, Sunny Brown, written by Big Dhillon, sung by Jashan Singh, Manj Musik, rap by Raftaar. What great lyrics feel like sharing the whole song. Rap is also meaningful which is usually senseless these days. It is actually true that no one is born with a tag of religion. We all are children of that omnipotent.

कुझ नि मंगड़ा दर तों तेरे
सभ दी झोली खुशियाँ अल्लाह पादे
ना कोई रोवे ना कोई तढ़पे
सभ दे घर तू आके फेरा पादे
अल्लाह वे मौला वे |

क्या रखा है ज़ुबान में
कुछ रखा नही नाम में
कुछ साथ मे राम के
कुछ साथ क़ुऊरन के
एक जान एक जान की जान लेता जान के
बिना जान पहचान के | 

•  Episode 6 : The last episode of the season was done by various artists. It has 3 songs. I really liked 'I Wanna Fly' sung by Father-Daughter duo of Sharmilee Supriyo & Babul Supriyo. It is composed by Anupam Roy and dedicated to celebrating UNITED NATION's International Day of the Girl Child that is earmarked for the 11th of October every year. Sharmile's voice is fresh and sweet it must be a great moment for her to debut with her father.!

Though there are total 17 songs but I have only shared the ones I liked that doesn't mean the ones I missed out are not worth listening. Everyone has a different taste you might like them so visit and subscribe the official channel of Coke Studio on YouTube : Click here 

I would like to thank each and every person behind all the magnificent compositions for creating magic every time. All the Best to the entire team. Keep rocking and Keep spreading happiness. Connect with the @CokeStudioAtMTV and the singers on Twitter : 

Amit Trivedi-@ItsAmitTrivedi, Sachin-Jigar-@SachinJigarLive, 

Dhruv Ghanekar-@dgroove, Salim-Sulaiman-@salim_merchant, @Sulaiman, 

Gurdas Maan-@gurdasmaan, Sona Mohapatra-@sonamohapatra, 

Babul Supriyo-@SuPriyoBabul, Diljit Dosanjh-@diljitdosanjh, 

Jasmine Sandlas-@JasmineSandlas, HarshdeepKaur-@HarshdeepKaur, 

Sukhwinder Singh-@sukhwindersss, Rekha Bhardwaj-@rekha_bhardwaj

Manj Musik-@MANJmusik, Raftaar-@its_raftaar

*Information Source : Wikipedia, YouTube

Music Meets Happiness! (Coke Studio Season 3)

Internet has truly been a blessing in the sense that you can search and listen to your favorite song anywhere anytime. You have so many choices ranging from year, artist, language and so on. I love music because it is always there to support me no matter what. So one fine day when I was finding a song on YouTube I came across some videos of Coke Studio Pakistan and I was really impressed by some of the songs. I even downloaded a few and kept listening on repeat mode. In 2011, Coke Studio India was made but I din't pay any heed to it until I came across Clinton Cerejo's "Madari" which was a huge hit. It was one of the songs from the 1st episode of Season 2 (2012) and is sung by Vishal Dadlani, Sonu Kakkar.

This year came the third season of Coke Studio India with a bang. It started with A.R. Rahman's beautiful composition "Zariya" which is one of my favorite. It is sung by Ani Choying and Farah Siraj. The lines : 'Tu Zariya Hun Main Zariya aur Uski Kirpa Dariya Dariya..' captured my heart. Such deep meaning and so beautifully sung. Episode1 has total 6 songs, all composed by A.R. Rahman.

Episode2 also has 6 songs composed by Ram Sampath. My favorite from this episode is "Dum Dum Andar". Its is sung by Sona Mohapatra and Samantha Edwards. It is nice song with well written lyrics. One can relate it to God or soul. 'Dum Dum Andar Bole Yaar Hardum Andar Bole Yaar, Yaar Mein Main Boloon na Bollon Mere Andar Bole Yaar..'

What can I say about Episode3, according to me it is the best of all. Clinton Cerejo has composed 6 songs. If you listen to all the compositions peacefully with headphones in, it can transform your thinking process or the least it can do is make you think what you are exactly doing with your life.! Here is my interpretation of the songs :

• Song1 : Peer Jalani sung by Clinton Cerejo and Manga Khan (Barmer Boys)

Though I din't understand what Manga Khan sings but I loved Clinton Cerejo's part. In the 1st verse I felt that someone is asking you what exactly are you doing, you will have to leave here everything so stop stressing yourself and the 2nd verse is like a conversation between a man and God where the person requests God to make his life simpler, I had been away from you but I want to be with you ('Asaan kardey ye mera jeena, main judaa tumhi se ab tumhi se hai nibhana..')

• Song2 : Aisi Bani sung by Clinton Cerejo, Bianca Gomes, Vijay Prakash, Sonu Kakkar

Honestly, I cried the first time I heard this song. It shakes you from within. It tells you that speak nicely to anyone you meet because everyone is fighting a battle in their lives ('Aisi Bani Boliye Mann Ka Aapaa Khoye, Chotil Sab Hain Marham Marham Boliye..'). There is another line in between that says what has happened to this world, Even my god is crying after seeing all this ('Es Shareef Jagat Nu Ki Hoya, Aye Vekh Jajoor Mera Royaa..'). The intensity and depth with which the lines have been sung will surely remind you some real incident. Lovely Song.. 

• Song3 : Pinjra by Jonita Gandhi and Sanam Puri 

Another amazing song what I listen specially when I am sad. It kind of gives me peace and strength. I want to share the lyrics because it says it all..

Pinjra pinjra kholke waadi, kholke waadi khol de,

Pinjra pinjra..

Hoon kis jurm mein kaidi,

Hoon kiska apraadhi,

Dum ghutata hai de chutkaara,

Ki galtee se galtee, ki baaki manmarzi,

Ab faislaa kar bhi, chal aajaa,

Ek arzi bheji hai tujhko,jaldi se sunwaa,

Meri gunaahi tu mujhko, be jhijhak ginwaa,

Ek arzi bheji hai tujhko, jaldi se sunwaa,

Chudwaa rihaayi de mujhko..

• Song4 : Baina by Clinton Cerejo and Vijay Prakash

It is another captivating song. The lyrics are more about self discovery.

Ohe raat din nahin chaina,

pi bin palak na sariye,

ab lagan lagi ki kariye,

na jisakiye na mariye,

ye agan birohn di jallee,

koi hamri preet niwaarey

kar saaj sajaavat haari,

koi hamri preet sanwaarey,

bin darshan kaise tariye..

• Song5 : Marghat by Siddharth Basrur

I could relate this to today's world where girls are not safe, people kill  parents or siblings for money, blood and money everywhere. The lyrics are very true..  Specially the lines : 

Kyun rootha sa rehta hai,

Kis aag mein behtaa hai,

Ujli tasveer pe rang laal fenknaa,

Kyun marghat banngaya,

Teri pehchaan thi,

Tu thaa insaan hi,

Kyun marghat banngaya..

• Song6 : Kalapi by Kailash Kher

This is very peppy number. Kailash Kher has sung it so joyfully. You almost feel so connected. Here a girl is telling her dad why are you sending me to someone else home. I belong to you ('Torey Khoontey Ki Main Gaiyaa, Kaahein Bhejloo Dusree Duwaare..')

Episode4 is done by Salim Sulaiman. Out of the 6 songs, my Favorite is "Bismillah" sung by Salim Sulaiman, Kailash Kher and Munawar Massom. Another mesmerizing composition.

Episode5 songs are composed by Papon (Angaraag Mahanta). My favorite one out of the 6 is "Benaam Khwaayishein" sung by Papon and Anweshaa. It has a classical feel to it but very soothing.

Episode 6 has 5 songs by Amit Trivedi. My favorites are Naariyan by Amit Trivedi, Karthik & Shalmali Kholgade and Kyun Na by Amit Trivedi, Dhruv Sangari, Karthik & Chandana Bala. 

• Naariyan has a very urban feel. Its sort of a cute conversation between a boy and a girl where the girl says I am who I am, I am neither your goddess nor your maid (Aisi main waisi main jaisi bhi hoon, Na main Teri Devi, na main dasi). 

• Kyun Na on the other hand is a power packed song that explains better to change yourself first rather than complaining about the world. Why don't we change our perspectives on people? 

Episode 7 composed by Hitesh Sonik has 6 songs but Haal Ve Rabba by Hans Raj Hans & Shruti Pathak is my favorite. Soulful voice of Hans Raj Hans is epic and the song is surely a treat to his fans!

The season ends with Episode 8. It has 6 songs composed by various composers.

Every song has been made with Happiness, Love, Joy and ofcourse Hardwork. Each song has a different place for itself. Music is more about creating happiness and Coke Studio India has done it this time.! 

Even though it is a collective effort from the musicians to singers to composers but I still feel it is not possible to create such a magic with the powerful words so the lyricist has an important role too. I wish all the team of Coke Studio India and all the people associated all the very best.. Keep rocking 

Connect with the Coke Studio India and the singers on Twitter : 

@CokeStudioAtMTV, @ClintonCerejo, @arrahman, @salim_merchant, @Sulaiman_M, @paponmusic, @sonamohapatra, @okakifreak, @SonuKakkar, @Kailashkher, @binkybee, @jonitamusic, @sanampuri3, @farahsiraj, @rvijayprakash