Appreciating a famous melody¹²

In the Indian tradition, if some songs are very, very famous, like Phire chalo, He partha sarathi and Ghana tamasabrita, it is a well-established practice for composers to use part of the melody and give credit to the source. It means that you are appreciating and admiring a particular melody. Others have written a song before you. You offer your own words, but the melody you carry in a similar way.

You have just sung my song Ami jabo, which has a similar tune to Phire chalo. The first part of my song Chalo chalo is similar to the melody of a very, very famous song that I used to sing in India. It starts with Balo balo.

[Sri Chinmoy singsBalo balo balo sabe ]

That is the tune. My tune is a little bit different, but originally I was inspired by that song. I have written thousands and thousands of melodies, but in three or four cases I was inspired by others’ melodies, and in the Indian tradition, I gave credit to the source.