Retro Rhythms & Soulful Sitar Strings: My Love Affair with 80s and 90s Songs

If my soul had a playlist, it would be a medley of 80s and 90s Bollywood melodies, old Kannada harmonies, and the sweet serenades of Wilfy Rebimbus in Konkani. These songs don’t just play in my ears—they hum quietly in the background of my memories, peeking out during kitchen chaos or when rain kisses my window.

You see, I don’t need therapy when Lata sings “Lag Ja Gale” or Udit Narayan whispers “Pehla Nasha” in my ears. That’s my version of mindfulness—where nostalgia and lyrics swirl together like sugar in chai. I don’t jog to gym beats—I slow walk through the 90s in my head while humming “Tip Tip Barsa Paani.”

Some days I feel like “Tum Mile, Dil Khile” was written just for my teen dreams. Other days, “Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi” makes me want to get philosophical… or just dramatically stare out of a moving bus window.

And then there are days when heartbreak taps gently on the shoulder. That’s when I reach for “Sach Keh Raha Hai Deewana” from Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (RHTDM). That song doesn’t just tug at the heart—it wrings it out, dries it under a moonlit sky, and hands it back a little softer, a little wiser.

“Sach keh raha hai deewana… dil na kisi se lagana…”
It’s pain dressed in melody, and somehow, I can’t help but thank it.

Even Kannada songs from the golden era hit differently. Rajkumar’s voice doesn’t just sing—it hugs. And when Wilfy croons in Konkani, it’s like home wrapped in harmony.

Someone once asked me why I love these songs so much. I smiled and said,

“Because they don’t just remind me of who I was.
They remind me of who I still am.”

And maybe that’s the real magic.

Thought to Ponder:
In an age of fast beats and faster lives, maybe the secret isn’t in keeping up—but in rewinding, replaying, and letting the old tunes heal the new bruises.