KK & I Thought 40 Was Old. 35 Yrs Later, I Think He Was Too Young To Go At 53 – The Quint

Then they found an escape. As a band, they would close in as a circle and create an invisible sheath around themselves. In this protective sheath, this armour, they would play for one another, for each other, take cues and give them. Essentially, do what they wanted to. The diners were too busy, the occasional sing us a happy birthday song notwithstanding.

Off and on, KK and I would meet. Once he dropped home, carrying a new enthusiasm in his heart and a cassette in his hand. This is my latest songissko suno, he told my wife and me. At that point, we couldnt even afford a half-decent music system. So, we went for a drive in our Maruti 800 and heard the song. And we have never stopped hearing it: 'Tadap Tadap'. The intensity hit us with a force, the poignancy with pain. Till date, I see this song as his best. The high notes he reached in this song, we had not encountered in our band.

Once when I was in Mumbai for some work, KK came to my hotel on Marine Drive and we walked the streets through the night. With waves of the Arabian Sea splashing behind us, we stood at the end of Marine Drive and he said, you know I came here and stood exactly here on this spot and looked at these lights and wondered if Bombay would give me space. It didBombay became Mumbai and our KK became Indias KK. His transition from a village called Horizon (our band) to an institution called KK was complete.

We relived our days of youth, our separate journeys but intertwined lives, wives, children, careers, hopes, dreamsand music. We ran through our music, old music, new music, new sounds, future music, the unsung songs, the unplayed notes. Remember this song? Remember that competition? Remember how they cheated us out of the first prize? I was struck with admiration for him. Here was KKour KKwho had transited into the big league. His success felt like our success.

At a corporate gig in Delhis Taj (one of the hotels he played for earlier), my daughter and I attended his concert, watched him from the front row. Even at age six, my daughter could feel the energy. When we sat in his room, looking at the citys lights from a height, we discussed his performance, his future gigs. In all this, he remembered to get a chocolate mousse for my daughter, who in turn, was mesmerised by the whole experience. It was her first show. She still remembers it.

Moving from the intimacy of a band tied together through friendshipsregular practice, the highs of applause and awards, the lows of a broken string or losing the guitar cord in mid-song when Franz jumped too highto the world of professional singing is not easy to navigate. As a band, when we played, the six individual players became one unit. Almost like a new consciousness playing through us that was more than the six of us. Its a tribal anchoring, each knowing what the other wants. But when you shift to professional singing, the musicians are different, as are the studios, as is the incentive, as is the demand and there are no friendships to lean on. That KK was able to bridge this is a feat.

Many have done this before him, many will do it in future. But it takes a special being to first make this jump, then become successful, and yet remain grounded in humility.

And in every rendering of every song he gave his allhis voice, his heart and his soul. Like Kishore Kumar before him, KK the singer would become KK the song.

The poignancy and pain in 'Tadap Tadap', to me his finest song, is KK. Equally, the deep devotion in 'Tu Hai Aasman Mein' is also KK. The joy of friendships in Yaron is KK and the ascent to the mountains in 'Mehki Hawa' are also KK.

His leaving us so suddenly has left a KK-sized hole in each of the five remaining hearts of our disbanded band. And if conversations with thousands of people on digital platforms are to be believed, this hole is there in their hearts as well. Even people who didnt know him told me that they felt as if a member of their family has died.

Souls dont die. In KKs case, even his voice will live on. The songs into which he breathed life will keep him immortal. Everyone has to go, my friend KK. You took an early flight. Ill follow at some point. See you on the other side.

Originally posted here:
KK & I Thought 40 Was Old. 35 Yrs Later, I Think He Was Too Young To Go At 53 - The Quint