Sanskar
Sonu Nigam
Magnasound
Rs 60
A cassette of eight bhajans in the voice of Sonu Nigam. The visual image of a well behaved young man hosting the weekly TV shows adds a lot to the messages delivered in the cassette. The music is by Ravi Pawar.
Hari mere ghar ko preaches devotion to parents and stresses the value of acquiring punya. The lyrics, not exactly of great philosophical exploration, stick to time-tested moral strictures familiar to all Indians.
Some tunes, accompanied by the pakhawaj and santoor, are strongly reminiscent of old Hindi film music, like in Sangeet Samrat Tansen.
The bhajans are addressed to various gods and goddesses, including Sherowalin Maa. Sanskar is a lullaby, a change from the normal devotional songs. The father bequeaths his sanskar as all that he has, to his child.
Jab mein bhatak jata hoon has Sonu singing interesting harmonies in the gospel style. But for this one, all songs are conventional Hindi bhajans, with predictable rhythms and movements.
The whole cassette is very pleasant and Sonu Nigam does a creditable job. His voice and rendition in Prabhu le lo phir avatar remind one strongly of Mohammed Rafi in Man re tu kahe na dhir dhare from Hum dono.
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