Zindagi (fyi, pronounced zin-duh-gee) means life. And it starts like this: Walk with the dreams that lie in your heart/ Don't look back, keep moving forward./ When your desires whisper a melody / Become the voice of that song.
We live in such dark times that Aki Kumar, whose lyrics usually lean toward the edgy and challenging, decided the world needed something closer to a kiss. But then, he’s used to upsetting expectations. Born in Mumbai, he came to the U.S. to be a software engineer—until he encountered the music of the blues. Goodbye coding, and hello, blues harmonica. It’s no game. Charlie Musselwhite has sung his praises – Aki has respect from a big dog. As Charlie put it, “Check it out. I wouldn’t steer you wrong.”
What he does with the blues is unique—he mixes them with Bollywood. He’s got to be the king of cultural mashup. Zindagi, as you’ll discover, is basically a reggae tune sung in Hindi, appropriately presented on a beach in Northern California as shot by the outstanding videographer Jeremiah Hutchens, who also did Aki’s singles for Sony India. But there’s no gimmick in the song. As Downbeat opined, “the integrity of his music marks the difference between novelty and substance.”
“Zindagi” comes from Little Village Foundation, a non-profit record company dedicated to shining a spotlight on music that you might not otherwise hear about—and you should definitely hear Aki. He remarked that “Zindagi” is basically “pandemic-induced creativity.” We can all use some of that.
Youtube - https://youtu.be/O3MzMpiNBtY
Spotify - http://spoti.fi/3c6XC7e
Apple Music - https://apple.co/3qLAY8M
Amazon Music - https://amzn.to/362d8gL
Video credits:
Video production - Jeremiah Hutchens
Starring - Aki Kumar, June Core, Vance Ehlers, Rome Yamilov
Audio credits:
Music & Lyrics - Aki Kumar
Vocals - Aki Kumar
Guitar - Rome Yamilov
Bass - Kid Andersen
Organ/Moog - Kid Andersen
Drums/Percussion - June Core
Tabla - Manesh Judge
Piano - Jim Pugh
Engineered and Mixed at Greaseland Studios, USA.
Zindagi Lyrics (translated to English)
Walk with the dreams that lie in your heart
Don't look back, keep movin' forward.
When your desires whisper a melody
Become the voice of that song.
When will you get this chance again, my friend ?
Don't let life pass you by
Take a chance - don't let it go, my friend
Lest life passes you by...
When your dreams make a ripple
Become the destiny of those waves
When an unknown path makes you restless
Be your own guiding light.
When will you get this chance again, my friend?
Don't let life pass you by.
Take a chance - don't let it go, my friend
Lest life passes you by...
Zindagi lyrics (Hindi)
दिल में जो ख्वाब हैं वोह ख्वाब लेके चल चल, चल चल
पीछे न देख बस अब आगे बढ़ जा तू
दिल की ये ख्वाइशें जो गुनगुनाये, हर पल हर पल
उन नगमों की बस आवाज बन जा तू
ऐसा ये मौका फिर आएगा कब मेरे साथी
गुजर न जाए ये ज़िन्दगी
बस इक है मौका अब खो न देना मेरे साथी
गुजर न जाए ये ज़िन्दगी
सपनो की ये तरंग जब मचाये, हल चल हल चल
मंज़िल उन लेहेरों की इस बार बन जा तू
अनजानी राह में जब मन सताए, चंचल चंचल
अपनी तकदीर का चिराग बन जा तू
ऐसा ये मौका फिर आएगा कब मेरे साथी
गुजर न जाए ये ज़िन्दगी
बस इक है मौका अब खो न देना मेरे साथी
गुजर न जाए ये ज़िन्दगी