The lights dimmed, and the hum of the speakers dropped, as Clinton Cerejo’s band took center stage and went on to pour out a deluge of musical magic. A man I have been a significant fan of for his repertoire, of which a major part is sadly unknown to many. After having seen it online, here are my thoughts on the song. You may click on the song below the title to watch the performance.
Saathi Salaam is an adaptation of the Mangniyar folk song extolling God. I haven’t heard a lot of Mangniyars, just Mame Khan courtesy of Amit Trivedi, but have loved what I have heard. And with this song, I have one more Mangniyar to keep track of, Sawan Khan. Raw voice, and an amazing range. And with the contrastingly polished voice of Clinton joining in from the end, Saathi Salaam makes for an interesting listen. The track in fact gets better as it goes on, ending in a sinister crescendo.
‘Sawan Khan Manganiyar’ is a Rajasthani folk artist who has not only got a magnificent voice but also is acquainted with the varied genres of music. He is also a phenomenal storyteller and has the unique ability to narrate so greatly that he takes you into the story with himself. He deduces “music is like a wind which can strike from anywhere, and the same happened with him a long time back.”. Rajasthani singers have some kind of heavily drug-infused voices, which drag you deep into eternal bliss like gravity going mad!! Listening to this song by Sawan Khan Manganiyar, I just couldn't control my emotions every time he took his voice to extreme decibels.
Sawan Khan has an effortless way of singing, he doesn’t need the beats, and he sings freely. As a result, he found it quite difficult to get all the elements in sync during the making of the song. The story of the song goes somewhat like this,
A poet named Mathar asked a man passing by, “where are you going? Replying he said, “I am going to the house of God!
To this, the poet writes a letter and hands it to this guy, saying “give this letter to my friend (god) saying, Saathi Salaam”.
The poet tried to portray what a friend is, but this song also defines why a true friend is needed in life. When Clinton's turn comes to singing, the writer Manoj Yadav conveys,
Life is very lonely, sad, and difficult, in these tough times of our lives we need a true friend whom we admire, respect, and acknowledge. This song is a tribute to man's biggest Saathi, his most reliable partner, God.
The contrast between the raw, rustic, and powerful vocals of Sawan Khan Manganiyar and the smooth and mellifluous voice of Clinton Serejo are what sets this song apart. Definitely, one of the best to come out of Coke Studio India. The deep and lengthy intro captures the immense range of Khan's voice really well, then transitions into a catchy back and forth between the two, where each follows a similar melody but with their own interpretation of lyrics. Clinton hit the nail on the head with this song by achieving a fusion of Western and traditional vocals. I keep returning to this song and it still never fails to give me goosebumps.
Recalling the story behind the song, Clinton said this piece helped him learn that music transcends all lingual barriers since he performed this song with Sindhi-speaking Sawan Khan from the Manganiyar folk music background. Recreating the pure magic in the studio, the band performed ‘Saathi Salaam’ in pitch-perfect nuance. Clinton’s idea of this art was to bond as musicians and break the barrier of language and create a masterpiece which is the most difficult part, otherwise, all the other technicalities can be taken care of.
Music, I’ve always believed comes from a place outside of ourselves and it’s our job as musicians to channel that inspiration and distill it into something that is life-giving.
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