mumbais 8o clock traffic we raced to catch the show on being the last ones to arrive we quietly sat down in our respective seats to hear surojit guha singing hemant das wonderful collection of songs but this was not my first time listening to songs of the old i had in fact been introduced to a certain popular music programme called raina beeti jaye on sony mix every night due to my parents love for old hindi songs after three months of listening to nonstop raina beeti jaye i was the selfproclaimed maestro of old hindi songs i justified this title as probably being the only 19year old to have heard gazillion songs from the 70s era however going to this concert was an experience that probably changed my perspective on hindi music forever here i was a john mayer fan who pretty much worshipped classic rock and had a childhood of watching disney movies suddenly appreciating the years of legacy left behind by the likes of hemant kumar it was the same feeling i had sitting on my bed that afternoon in canada of listening to a great song being the 21st century teenager it was a different feeling and one that i would definitely like to experience again there are a few things in life that make us look back and really appreciate them this experience of listening to old hindi music was one of them may it be ghazals rabindra sangeet or patriotic songs the tune of our cultural evolution in music touches the very core of the indian in us this is an art that crosses cultures and countries and binds us in our appreciation for our countrys heritage through the timeless form of indian music the reason that a song becomes evergreen is because of its ability to capture emotions that are ageless and universal its that feeling of grief sorrow joy passion love and tragedy that makes one relate to a song it doesnt matter if a person is 15 or 50 but when we hear hemant kumar and lata mangeshkar sing yeh raat yeh chaandni phir kahaan sun jaa dil ki daastaan we are captivated by the magic of that time