A whiff of the red earth

This is a song soaked in the spirit of the day

Soaked in the spirit of the day, I went searching — for songs that seem to rise from the very earth; songs that stem from the core of one’s being and songs that seem to be born drenched in rain. Such songs are more stories than mere lyrics and hide within their folds, many forgotten tales — of wisdom, valour, honour and love. In the voices that sing them, you will invariably find a deep resonance; a hint of a thunderbolt and more than a whiff of the red earth.

There are many, of course, but one such song that spoke to me is vocalist, theatre artiste (of the Urban Folk Project fame) and performer Shilpa Mudbi’s studio version of Ibbar Akka Tangyara Koodi in the YouTube channel ‘Engineer’s Pick’. The janapada number, with its deeply etched Bhakti elements, is ostensibly about two sisters singing to their guru while grinding stone — needless to say, this is just an allegory about perhaps the body and the soul in conversation with a higher consciousness. The words are for you, as the listener, to interpret how you please, but the magic place the song takes you to, is for you to hear and experience. In Shilpa’s powerful sandpapery voice with its intrinsic tinge of poignancy, the words acquire a life of their own, whether you understand them fully or not, while the unintrusive guitars add just that right touch of modernity.

Play By Ear showcases a potential earworm every week for you, the discerning listener, who is on the hunt for some musical serendipity.