Lunch at Kwality's: Babla

Babla is one of a kind. Though the younger brother of one of the most acclaimed Bollywood musical director teams,  Kalyanji Anandji, Babla made a name for himself outside of the film studios of Mumbai. In fact, though he did score a few films himself, his musical output is largely non-filmi and instrumental.

With his wife, Kanchan, he spent many years touring and playing to the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean and South America.  They adopted local soca music into Hindi and recycled some of regional chutney  star Sundar Popa’s hits earning the title, King and Queen of Chutney, themselves. 

In between tours of the West Indies Babla found time to make several solo recordings, such as the one that the Washerman’s Dog highlights tonight.  This mid-80’s recording interprets a number of the biggest ghazal hits of Pankaj Udhas and Anup Jalota, both of whom were the giants of the genre at the time. Among the songs are several all time classics, Niklo Benaqaab, Ek Taraf Us Ka Ghar, Sharaab Cheez Aisi Hai and  Jam Chalne Lage which epitomize the pop ghazal style that revolutionized Indian popular music in the 80s. 

Babla, a multi-instrumentalist arranged and played the music and for that he deserves our admiration. But if truth be told, the originals outshine these instrumentals by quite a few amperes.  Yet, this record is worthy of collection. Why?  Well, for one, if you ever wanted to know what sort of  ambient music you’d hear as you and your lady shared a plate of sheekh kababs and fresh lime soda at a dimly lit Kwality’s or Gaylords Restaurant, this is it.

And, for another, it is good to be reminded that Bollywood film music was not the ONLY game in town. Babla, Enoch Daniels, Joe Gomes, and many others were whacking out paths of their own through the musical undergrowth. They deserve to be heard.

            Track Listing:

            01 Ghungroo Toot Gaye

02 Niklo na Benaqaab

03 Jam Chalne Lage

04 Zara Ahista Chal

05 Chand Angdaiyan le raha Hai

06 Ek Taraf Uska Ghar

07 Sabko Maloom Hain Main Sharabi Nahin

08 Ishq Mein Kya Bataein

09 Lazzat-e-Gham Badha Dijiye

10 Sharab Cheez Aisi Hi Hain

Listen here.