The Raghu Dixit Project

By Surya Raju

“Don’t worry, be happy.
But if you want to worry, I don’t give a damn.”

That’s exactly the kind of lyrics that defines The Raghu Dixit Project. Well, sort of.
I’d first heard about them way back in 2007 when Vishal and Shekhar, the music composing duo from Bollywood had discovered Raghu Dixit and had given him a platform. They released their first album in the same year and haven’t looked back since.

But honestly, I had no clue who they were or what they did until one cold November night in 2010. That’s because the only reason I’d noticed them eearlier was because they were wearing colourful ‘lungis’. And being a Mallu, there was an instant connect, a sort of kinship had developed. 

The night, like I mentioned, was a cold one. The event was ‘Quo Vadis’, the annual fest hosted by IIFT (the ‘foreign trade’ one). The ‘lungis’ had tugged at my heart and pulled me to the second row in front of the stage. Curiosity, as we know, is a bitch, and I ventured to ask Karthick Iyer, the violinist, why they wore ‘lungis’ while performing. He said that they were only “carrying the traditional way forward”.

Content with the answer, and shivering, I stuck around, waiting for the concert to start. And boy, was it worth it! It not only transformed me into an eternal fan but also turned out to be the best concert I’d ever attended.

Their music is a perfect blend. Beautiful, soulful lyrics combined with equally mesmerizing and soothing tunes; a mix that is rarely found these days. Anyone in search of good music today would not be able to resist.

From peppy, foot- tapping numbers like ‘Mysore se Aayi’ and ‘When I’m in Mumbai’ to rich soulful songs like ‘No Man will Ever Love You’ that make you want to sway in the moonlight, their bilingual songs have got it all. Their most famous song, ‘Hey Bhagwaan’ is a prayer to the God above to give each of us a second chance. “As humans, we tend to make mistakes and its never too late to one day wake up, want to leave your past behind and start over!” to quote their website. Quite a catchy prayer, must say. 

But along with all the brilliant music, there is something else that makes their concerts memorable events in our life – Raghu Dixit, the man himself. I was completely floored by the man’s wit and charm. So was everyone else in the crowd. He exudes happiness. It makes you want to laugh and sing along to the songs. Then, of course, there is the sheer brilliance of his voice. It has the power to melts hearts. By the end of the concert, the night was no longer cold.

And to imagine that music could have lost this man to micro- biology. Oh, the horror!

Now I make it a point to attend as many of their concerts in Delhi as possible. I just can’t stay away. So, maybe when you’re making your to-do list for the New Year, you could add another item to the list---
‘Attend a Raghu Dixit concert and buy the album’.
And experience the magic for yourself.