SONGS UNFULFILLED

 

“I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list’ – Susan Sontag

I guess I was born with ‘The Happy Wanderer’ spirit.

When I was 5 and we were living in Mathura, Pitaji was called to Bharatpur by the Maharaja to be a High Court Judge. My grandparents were a bit wary as the Maharaja was infamous for hiring and firing at will while the grandpas wanted stability and permanence. So at the time of moving to Bharatpur, when I made an innocent remark, ‘Abhi kya, abhi to aur kahan kahan jayenge, Jaipur Vaipurr’, Mataji shut me up saying, ‘Chup kar, Kulachchne’!

Who could have foretold history, India’s independence and the moves thereafter. 7 years later, my words came true and we were in Jaipur after having been to Udaipur, the ‘Vaipurr’ part of my prophecy! 

The travel bug bit me when I saw both my Mamas joining the Indian Navy and going abroad on cruises. I saw posters saying ‘Join the Navy and see the world’ and my mind was made up: I would join the Navy and I did.

In my schooldays in Jaipur in early 1950s, I chanced upon a weekly travel programme on Radio Ceylon. It used to begin with a song ‘…I must go, rollin’ round the world, looking for the sunshine, I know I’m gonna find someday’ and end with Bing Crosby crooning ‘Those faraway places, with strange sounding names, are calling, calling me’. In between was the travelogue interspersed with songs referring to the tourist spots. That is when I started associating songs with places. 

I have been fortunate enough to see a fair amount of the world from the Norwegian fjords in the north to Milford Sound, New Zealand, in the south, and from San Francisco Bay in the west to Mindanao Sea of the Philippines in the east. I could recall songs relating to a lot of places and, in fact, some songs dictated the choice of destination. But the best and most extensive travellers from Marco Polo to Paul Theroux could not cover many parts of the world and no matter how much one travels, there is so much more remaining. And me, I am only a small time tourist who has not even been able to go to nearby 'Bareilly ke bazaar' to look for the fallen 'jhumka'!

So ‘Come fly with me’ on a musical journey to places I have not seen despite the call of the Muse.

First the near misses. In 2010, Akhila and I went to Spain and visited a number of places but missed two, songs about which were beckoning me. One was Granada, the praises of which have been sung by famous singers like Mario Lanza, Frankie Laine and Caterina Valente. They sang of ‘Falling under your (Granada’s) spell, and if you could speak what a fascinating tale you could tell’. Not too far from Granada is the Rock of Gibraltar, based on which was another hit by Frankie Laine where he sang of a salesman escaping the clutches of women till he finds his true love. Meanwhile,                                                

'That’s why they call me the Rock of Gibraltar,                                                                                      That’s why they say my heart is made of stone,                                                                                    …..because Gibraltar is standing alone’.

We missed Lisbon in spite of the pull of Nelson Riddle’s ‘Lisbon Antigua’. The whole of Portugal too perhaps because the month was wrong; we were in Spain in July while it was in ‘April in Portugal’ when Les Baxter had ‘found my April dream in Portugal with you’.

The closest miss was Argentina. In 2013, we visited the world's largest falls, the Iguazu in Brazil which that country shares with Argentina. Our travel agent drove us to the border thinking we didn’t need a visa but the immigration officials said we did. So we went past the gate into no man’s land and did a U-turn to return to Brazil. So went our chance to get a feel of the country of Eva Peron about which she emotes so passionately in ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’.

Despite several visits to the USA, we are yet to see ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas’ or the border town of Marty Robbins’ ballad, ‘El Paso’ which tells the story of a love gone wrong. Maybe we could have found ‘Rose’s cantina’ where the duel was fought and the ‘blackeyed Felina’ who was the cause of it. 

There is so much more to do in the US. Elvis Presley sings praises of 'Blue Hawaii', Johnny Horton tempts one to go 'North to Alaska' to search for gold and BeeGees 'feel like going back' to and remembering 'Massachusetts'.

On to Mexico. So many songs beckon one to it but just to name a couple, there is ‘South of the border, down Mexico way, …..That’s when I fell in love’ as sung by many including Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. Sailors may prefer The Kingston Trio sailing ‘Round the Bay of Mexico’.

The West Indies have always had their pull with Calypso songs. Long before Harry Belafonte, the Andrews Sisters were ‘Drinking Rum and Coca Cola’ and promising paradise going down Point Koomahnah in Trinidad.  In the 50s, Belafonte appropriated the title of King of Calypso and popularised the beat universally. In one of his numerous hits, ‘Jamaican Farewell’, he throws us the bait for a visit to Jamaica ‘Down the way where the nights are gay (!), and the sun shines daily on the mountain top’.

As early as 1951, Father Mackessack put the idea of travelling to Ireland in my head with,              ‘When Irish eyes are smiling,                                                                                                                 Sure it’s like a morn in spring,                                                                                                                   In the lilt of Irish laughter,                                                                                                                          You can hear the angels sing’.                                                                                                                      One would have to be careful though. For,                                                                                         ‘…..When Irish eyes are smiling,                                                                                                                Sure they’ll steal your heart away!’

The largest miss of all is Africa. Technically, we have done the continent having been to Mauritius but not the huge mainland. There was the 1954 big hit of The Four Aces, ‘Skokiaan’, with delightful lyrics,                                                                                                                                                                   'Oh-ho, take a trip to Africa, any ship to Africa….                                                                                     And warm lips are blissful, they’re kissful of Skokiaan’.                                                                       Skokiaan is an illegal self-made alcoholic beverage; wouldn’t it be fun to taste it in Africa!

Whilst on Africa, Jo Stafford asks us to ‘See the pyramids along the Nile’ in ‘You Belong To Me’.

So many places, so many songs, so many omitted. The only way to do it - ‘On Wings of Song’.

Japan too remains. Well, for now, best to say 'Sayonara'!