~~ And A Song Was Born ~~

Mile kisi se nazar to samjho ghazal hui..
Rahe na apni khabar to samjho ghazal hui..

When we see those lovely eyes, ghazal comes out in the form of words. When we tend to forget our own existence and just crave for someone special, Ghazal comes out in the form of words.

Main Shayar to nahi magar aiye haseen,
Jab se dekha maine tujhko mujhko shayarii aa gayi..

When we see a lovely face, when we feel something special, we tend to become a Shayar.

But..

Do you know how a song was born? Do you know how music was born? Do you know who the first composer of music was? Do you know who the first lyricist was? Do you have any idea about first singer? Have you heard the very first songs / poem?

I know in most of the cases the answer would be NO. When I started finding answers for all these questions, several thoughts came in my mind. Music must be born from some blissful heart. It must be a lovely moment when somebody wrote the first song / poem. Love must be the inspiration behind the birth of music / song. These all feelings prompted me to hunt for the real answer. There’s a behind the answer. Let’s start with that.story

Once upon a time sage Valmiki (Author of Ramayana) went to the river Ganga to bathe. A disciple by name Bharadwaja was with him carrying his clothes. On the way they came across the Tamasa Stream. The water in it was very clear. Valmiki said to his disciple, “Look, how clear is this water, like the mind of a good man ! I will bathe here today.”

Valmiki was looking for a suitable place to step into the stream, when he heard the sweet chirping of birds. Looking up he saw two birds flying together. Valmiki felt very pleased on seeing the happy bird couple. Just then one of the birds fell down hit by an arrow. It was the male bird. Seeing the wounded one, its mate was screaming in agony. Valmiki’s heart melted at this pitiful sight. He looked around to find out who had shot the bird. He saw a hunter with a bow and arrows, nearby. The hunter had shot the bird for food. Valmiki became very angry. His lips opened and words came out:

mAnishAda pratishTAtum samagah ssAshvatIssamAh
yat krouncha mithunAdEkam sokam avadhIm kAma mOhitam

“You who have killed one of the birds engaged in the act of love, thus, may you not yourself live long!”

The form he used is called a ‘sloka’ in Sanskrit. It means a couplet. A sloka was born out of his mouth automatically in a mood of sorrow.

Later Valmiki composed entire Ramayana on the order of Lord Brahma in the same meter that issued forth from him as a sloka. Thus this sloka is revered as the “first sloka” in Hindu literature. Valmiki is revered as the first poet, and the Ramayana, the first Kavya.

It was the first form of poem. Later people started using songs based on these slokas and with time music was added to these songs to make them more rhythmic.

There’s no mention of any song / poem before Ramayana age anywhere in the world, so we can claim that this is the birth of poem / song / music.