kher - the man

warm and comfortable in his studio, the little man (not little going by his talent) kher gives a warm and humble smile to everybody (bloggers basically) who comes in..
He shares all his tracks, the inspiration, or the "story" behind it, and explains the way he sees things very non-chalantly..

there's absolutely no difference between the man (married, and a father) and the musician that he is..
He speaks to fellow musicians in the same tone as he speaks to the bloggers, as he does to the media, the same thoughtful way he speaks true, to his wife, to his driver (who came in for a while fetching a bag from kailash's car).

Unpretentious, highly enthusiastic and positive is all the vibe that exudes from this little soulful sufi, who surprisingly doesn't relate instantly to the newly acquired term.
Sufi is a man (or woman) in love with god, and sings or dances purely to express this love to Him..
Though kher's demeanour, his tell tale, his fascination with the "nirguna" or the formless is strikingly all the signs of an ardent sufi, he is totally unaware of the fitting term, and also shrugs away any such titles given to him choosing to focus upon what he talks and sings about instead, God.

Putting God before oneself, another sign of but a sufi..
a sufi, who doesn't care enough to consider himself a sufi, a true sufi that is kailash kher..
He cannot get enough of God, as his evident from his compositions, even as he says the the world in its entirety, and in all of its small and big forms are but God in different shapes and sizes, all but exceedingly beautiful.

He speaks a language clearly from his "hriday" or his heart, as should strike to most Indian linguists who would agree that the words in his compositions may not necessarily appear in language dictionaries per say, but would be apt words imbibed by communities particularly living by the country village sides, which capture the essence of the what needs to be described.
Some might think that his hindi is "thetta" or fundamentalistic, some might even think that the language he uses is very "shudh" or the pure form, I personally called his style "sufiana", to which he insisted upon clarifying that the language he uses is neither thetta, shuddha, or sufiana, but in fact it is a "boli" of arbid words that he has imbibed from all over the places to describe things which do not quite figure in our daily use of language..
Words liter(ature)ally, are not important, they are but descriptions of what he's trying to express, and more important to him are these expressions of feelings, of love, of God.

A brilliant composer of sufi verses, kher oozes right from the heart and sings that way too, ask him if he's got some classical training and where his oh so strong highly electrifying emotionally charged high enrgy high pitched come from, and straight somes his answer, God stays in my heart, and all of my art is nothing but my heart spilling.
Intelligence is figuring out complexity; Genius is making that complexity, simple.
The domain of kher is the highly complex plain of divinity in all its forms, the overwhelming expressions of his perceptions and his approach to God are ineffable, but what all of it smoothly and effortlessly translates into for him, is simply love for God; what it translates into for us, is some great soulful music!!

Kailaash Kher's Next...

After a long wait since "chaandan mein", Kailash-Kher-struck music enthusiasts have something to look forward to this december.
The new album (in the pipeline right now) has 11 great tracks, some (like ujaale baant lo) dedicated to the environment and the imbalance that is created in
nature by a very egoistic tribe called humans, the song looks to warn against the nature's wrath, also tries to humbly educate man about the balance it needs
to strike between civilisation and nature..

One song (Amber tak yahi naad goonjega) is dedicated to the political revolution needed in India, and seeks to strengthen the morale of the masses supporting
Anna Hazaare, truly exuberating the song is an instant spirit lifter..

While kher, the spiritual "loverboy" engages you with a heart warming childlike essay of how his heavenly father always looks upon him and protects him from
the skies (babaji), he also, in another turn, takes you through his classic style of conversing with about the formless (albeliya) and in yet another fresh
composition (daaro na rang), he dramtizes the aankhmicholi, the push'n'pull of two eternal lovers, man and god.Yaadan teriyan is also a soulful call of the
eccentric to his beloved, the divine.

While rangeele (also the title of the album) is a very enthusiasm filled peppy number, there are simillar very joyful, fast-paced, catchy numbers in the entire
album with refreshing and rejuvinating gusto.
One takes inspiration from kher's young play days where a game had a punch line "hudkaanbaan vitti vitti vitti...", the song has imbibed rap in some of its
parts but kher balances the western version with powerful Indian styles of what he calls 'boli' which is ecstatic narration; the other energy filled
composition (katha gaan) is actually like travelling through an adventurous thriller full throttle, it has in it a way of storytelling as kher remembers from
his childhood days filled with angels and esoteric characters, the wilderness of the of the calm banyan tree of the village, et all.

The album, as his previous ones, is not your regular Indian sound of music, crossing paths in and out very quietly but vividly though, are sounds not staple
of any country, sounds which transcend the boundaries of nations.
The intro to tu kya jaane is internationally alternative in its sound, but blends perfectly into the rest of the body once Kher's vocals kick in..
The sounds are difficult to compartmentalise and one should listen to the album to really feel the vibe, sometimes sounding like peppy arabia, the album in
other places effortlessly imbibes in blues.

With the current album rangeele, Kailasa as a band has evolved into a much flamboyant fusion of all their members' musical gifts, music is no longer in the
background for the vocals of talented kher, it in fact plays around with the entire stage, flowing through it, sometimes taking over, but mostly accentuating
the vocals with a vibrant body of its own, all in all much much music in the soul, and much soul in the music.