World Tourism Day: Musicians talk about working on Hindi songs depicting travel

It’s hard to set off on a journey and not have music around. And, when you have a playlist comprising songs themed on travel, the fun just increases manifold. On World Tourism Day today (September 27), musicians associated with a few famous Hindi travel songs share their experience of working on the track.

Aao Milo Chalein - Jab We Met (2007)

Shaan - This song is shown as a travel song in the film, but I feel it goes beyond that. The philosophy of this song is about the journey of life and how the fun is truly in the travel and not so much in the destination. I love the way the song is written.

Kyon – Barfi! (2012)

Papon – Singing Kyon was wonderful. Much like the nature of the song, the experience of recording it was adventurous and exciting. When I first heard the track, what struck me was its magical melody. It was starkly different from the kind of songs I’d recorded before. It was impeccably composed and beautifully placed in the narrative. To this day, when I hear it or sing it, I get transported to the era recreated by Barfi! It reminds me of the fleeting happy thoughts of a traveller.

Yun Hi Chala Chal Rahi – Swades (2004)

Kailash Kher – I recorded it with AR Rahman at night. Since I first recorded it alone, I thought it’s a solo number. But Udit Narayan ji and Hariharan ji also recorded their parts eventually. Nobody asked why three voices were needed, but later we found out that it was the demand of the song on the basis of how it was showcased in the film. Recording this song felt like a beautiful journey and the fact that it’s travelled with me all these years showcases how much people continue to love it.

Safar - Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017)

Pritam Chakraborty - I’ve worked on a lot of journey songs, like Hum Jo Chalne Lagey from Jab We Met), Jhumritallaiya from Jagga Jasoos (2017) and Ilahi from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013). But Safar is really special for me. I composed it on the words of Irshad (Kamil; lyricist) bhai. It was about a travel guide, Harry (the film’s protagonist), whose life is a journey and I imagined him while making the track. I associate with such songs, so I internalized the lyrics while working on the track. The song was the prologue of the film and was important.

Kasto Mazza – Parineeta (2005)

Sonu Nigam - A song is a song. How it is picturised later hasn’t got much to do with the way it’s sung, because a singer sings a song keeping in mind the mood of the lyrics. Kasto Mazza is a joyous song of love and romance. Incidentally, it was picturised on a train. Our independent song, Aye Zindagi, sung by Asha (Bhosle) ji, Suresh (Wadkar) ji, Shaan, Abhijeet (Bhattacharya) da, Alka (Yagnik) ji and I is a true journey song shot in Georgia. My favourite travel song is Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard.

Chhod Aaye Hum Wo Galiyan – Maachis (1996)

Suresh Wadkar – Recording the song was a great experience. It featured playback by Hariharan, KK, Vinod Sahegal and me. The great Gulzar saab’s lyrics and Vishal Bhardwaj’s tune made it so special. Vishal distributed the song so well that all the four singers got equal parts in the song. The satisfaction we got after the song released and was loved cannot be explained in words.

Tanha Dil Tanha Safar

Shaan - I had written the song soon after college, when most of my friends had gone to different countries to study. We all missed each other and that how this song happened. Ram Sampath made the tune for the song first and then I wrote the lyrics.