Sound and Silence

If you ask me about my favorite music, I can't name one. 

As I might not understand the difference between the different kinds of music. 

I believe anything which soothes your ears and soul is music. 

It can be in the chirping of the birds or the rustling leaves. 

Anything which has a rhythm. 

It can be what you think is a cacophony or a complete silence! 

Yes! The silence can be musical to someone’s ears.

Yet, deafening to others. 

At what age do you think you started to like melody? 

Right from your birth, I think! 

The kind of music we like changes as we grow. 

Today's generation loves the music of today, though I find it difficult to understand. For me, it lacks soul. But this generation identifies with this. 

I remember, once we were traveling by road and as usual different numbers were playing on the car’s system. Mostly from ‘our times’. Then, this number from the forties started playing. This was a song by legendary K. L. Saigal. 

The tone and diction were used to be a little different at that time. It was for to the fact that language was pure and lacked the influence of other languages and slangs and accents of today. 

Suddenly my son, who must not be more than five or six at that time, quipped, “ye aapke jamane ka song hoga.” ( this song must be from your epoch). 

What made you think so? I asked.

He couldn't pinpoint the reason. He said, he just thought so. 

What I got was, he couldn't relate to this and probably couldn't understand it properly. Which he proved after few minutes. 

When I told him that this is from my grandfather's time, he was taken aback. 

“So old?”

“Yes!” I said.

“Then which one is from your time?”

“The one you were swaying to, a few minutes back.”

“No! That can't be from your time’s. That one I liked.” he said. 

That day I realized what we like, we accept as ours. 

And if it is about music it's just impossible to divide based on type, time, or good or bad. 

What touches your soul is music.

What evokes some feelings in you is music.

What relaxes you is music.

There is one for every kind of mood and emotion.

Music is life and life is just like music, with beats some sharps, some flats, and some rests. 

Just like music, it's a combination of sound and silence.