Jaipur has a lot of ‘Kansens’ : Prasoon Joshi

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The 3^rd edition of the India Music Summit witnessed the largest congregation of musicians in Jaipur. During the 3 days of summit Asha Bhosle, Sunidhi Chauhan, Rashid Khan, Shujaat Khan and over 120 other artistes from all genres including Sufi, Ghazal, classical, Bollywood, Fusion participated in concerts, conversations, Masterclasses, Jam sessions and much more. Organized by the ‘Musiconcepts Private Limited’ the brain child of Aparna Joshi, Ambika Srivastava ,Mala Sekhri — the mission of the Summit is to preserve, celebrate and promote India’s musical heritage.

On the second day of the Summit, we attended the session ‘Kya Nahi Hai Prasoon Joshi Mein … – The Man and his Work’. The renowned Indian lyricist, screenwriter and poet, Prasoon Joshi is also the mentor of the Summit. Talking about the festival, Prasoon Joshi said : “Today India Music Summit does not require an introduction – the word of mouth amongst music lovers is so strong. When something great in music happens it just cascades and India Music Summit is being sought after, it is becoming a music lovers destination. Humane to bas diya jala diya hai, diya toe phir apne aap andhkaar se ladta hai. Roshini ko kaun rok sakta hai.”

Another thought of his that stayed with us was: “We are all poets, storytellers and musicians in our own way. This creativity is equal and latent in all of us. What makes a difference is how much one invests in this instinct and unleashes it.” Often using nature as an inspiration to create poetry and write songs, Joshi believes that while marketing allows him to know the pulse of the people, with art he can connect with people. Much to the delight of the full house audience, Joshi also recited some of his poems and songs in between the session.

On Day 3 of the Summit, we were more than elated with the opportunity for an exclusive interaction with Prasoon. On being asked why he chose our beloved Pink City for the prestigious India Music Summit, he said: “ It is a fact well known that Jaipur is a city rich in history and culture. ‘Tansens’ need ‘Kansens’ and Jaipur has a lot of ‘Kansens’. Apart from a great audience, Jaipur also has a complete ecosystem which comprises of infrastructure, hotels, professionals etc. which makes it an apt choice for a Summit of this stature.”

An exclusive conversation with Prasoon Joshi

Telling us about ways for dealing with downtime in creative instinct, Prasoon said there are two types of writings he does – one is commercial in nature and the other is purely for himself. To deal with anything in life, a poet usually first picks up his pen and writes about everything happening in his life. It is through writing, added Prasoon, that he expresses as well as heals himself. Sharing the secret behind the ability to pull off diverse kinds of writing for cinema, Prasoon said that one first needs to understand the background and pulse of the character that one is writing for. Even though Rang De Basanti and Manikarnika are both patriotic films, their characters are quite diverse and thus require completely different writing styles as evident in the songs Khoon Chala (Kuchh Kar Guzarne Ko Khoon Chala Khoon Chala, Aankhon Ke Sheeshe Mein Utarne Ko Khoon Chala, Badan Se Tapak Kar, Zameen Se Lipatkar, Galiyon Se Raston Se Ubharkar, Umadkar Naye Rang Bhar Ne Ko Khoon Chala Khoon Chala) and Bharat (Desh se hai pyar to harpal ye kehna chahiye, Mai rahoon ya na rahoon bharat ye rehna chahiye, Silsila ye baad mere yunhi chalna chahiye, Mai rahoon ya na rahoon bharat ye rehna chahiye).

We are looking forward to the 4^th edition of the India Music Summit! You can follow them here

Blog based on an exclusive conversation of Abhimanyu Saxena from All About Jaipur with Prasoon Joshi