20jan08people
A Day With India’s Best Music Composer: A Fan’s Dream Comes True
OMG OMG.. Finally my dream came true and I got to spend a whole day with musician Numero Uno – his excellency Pritam Chakraborty.
Yes, it finally happened. I visited his house, his music studio.. ow wowowoww.. I still can’t believe it.
Don’t believe me? Huh, I knew it, you cynical morons!!
That’s why I took pictures.. !! He was so nice.. he showed me around his whole place.. showed me how he made music.. It was great..!!
I spent a day with Pritam, I spent a day with Pritam… Na Na Na Na Na Na.. Na Na Na Na Na Na…
Enjoy these pics, LOSERS.. hahaaaa!!
1. There was this giant world map on Pritam’s music room’s wall. I don’t know what this map is for. I’m guessing it’s a map of the places he has visited. But I don’t think he’s ever visited Lebanon or Indonesia.. who goes there anyway? Weird..!! If anyone can decipher this, please tell me.
2. Pritam also showed me the kind of technology that goes into modern music making. He walked me through this proprietary music making software called “Pritam’s Music Studio.” He claims it is the most advanced software out there. I donno why but I think I’ve seen the software somewhere… I hate these deja vu’s. Nevertheless I was quite impressed.. that’s some cool tech right there. (By the way.. lemme tell you a secret.. He was using a pirated version of Windows Vista.. heee heee…!!).
3. I had the honor to see some of Pritam’s personal notes, like the one above detailing the channel settings for some of Life In A Metro’s songs. I loved the album and it was great to see what went behind the making of the masterpiece. Not only is Pritam ‘ji’ hi-tech, he’s bloody organized.. Wow!!
Respect..!! (If you don’t know what channel settings are.. go die idiot!! Or go here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound).
4. When I was in Junior College, I tried learning the language of music. I found it uber hard and dropped the idea. So I always wondered if Music Composers actually wrote Music in the notation and all. Pritam says you can’t be a musician if you don’t know how to write music. He has even invested lakhs of rupees in a machine from Japan that helps him write music. He says a few other of his contemporaries have this machine too. This is what it looks like. Since by now I was feeling a little more comfortable, I joked that the machine looks like a photocopier. He laughed it off. That my friend is the measure of a true man – no matter how big you are, you can take jokes on you..!!
5. And finally.. I asked the man himself to play something for me on his guitar that he plays so well. And I clicked him.. In action! Must say I haven’t seen a guitar like his ever. Must be the super-pro variety…!! It had no strings only.. had some hi-fi buttons with something engraved on em..!! Whoa.. quite a site..!! Genius at work..!!
So that was it.. my dream coming true. At about 5pm, I had to leave. I wish I did not have to. But before leaving, I had something important to clear. My day wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t ask him that question, the question that bothers a true Pritam fan like me. So I asked:
“Pritam Ji, please don’t mind me asking this.. but I’ve heard a lot of stories recently that most of the music that you composed is ripped off from somewhere. Is that true?”
Pritam Ji looked disturbed. I had hurt him. But he remain composed and said:
“Nitesh.. you’ve been here with me for a whole day and I’ve shown you my house, my studio, my notes, my instruments, and I’ve walked you through my whole music creation process. Did you see anything that even remotely suggests that I copy my music from elsewhere..?”
I felt sorry for asking him that question, apologized, and as great a man as he is, he forgave me; he’s a giver.. he only knows how to give.. doesn’t take anything from anyone.