Idhar Udhar Ki Baat

"What is your favourite old song?" someone asked me recently. It sounded like a simple question. But the more I thought about it, the more difficult it became. When I was young, English songs fascinated me. Not because I understood them—I hardly understood a word. Songs by Boney M, ABBA and the Bee Gees sounded wonderfully foreign, and perhaps I listened to them more out of a desire to sound angrez than out of musical appreciation. Lyrics escaped me completely. The only English song I confidently remembered was Tequila, largely because it contained only one word. Slowly, however, I discovered that music had a language of its own. I began noticing not the words, but the tiny sounds hidden between the words. Listen carefully to "Take the Heat Off Me." The rhythm itself begins telling a story long before the singer does. The infectious beats of "Rasputin," "Daddy Cool," "Ma Baker," "Stayin' Alive" or "Cheri C...