My heart is lost somewhere in the mountains; It’s been a while since we met...”
These opening lines triggered an inexplicable pining within me to go ‘kahi door’ — and made the reality of our existence today, blotted by suffocating masks and never-ending anxiety, that much more stark.
Not ashamed to admit, I stumbled upon this song while doomscrolling Instagram reels. Its ache broke through the noise of the app’s nonchalant culture of excessive display. I scrambled to find out more and listen to the whole track. ‘Pahadon mein’ is a single written and composed by Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Salman Elahi. Salman’s voice is soft and scratchy — just right for the ebb and flow of the emotions of the words he has penned down. The guitars (there are both electric and acoustic at work here) and the ukulele make for a terrific combo and ensure that you listen to the track on loop. And when Salman lowers his voice and croons, ‘Ab kaise batao, inn shehron ka hogaya hu...iss bhid bhad mein kahi kho gaya hu’, your heart, lost or not, does nod in quiet acceptance.
The track is available to listen to on YouTube and other streaming platforms.
Play By Ear showcases a potential earworm for you, the discerning listener, who is on the hunt for some musical serendipity.