The name Vanraj Bhatia entered my life, through the television set that my parents got home, one fine day. This was the mid 80s and entertainment in India was going through a sea-change. Movies, shows, serials, cricket matches, daily news, concerts and TV commercials entered homes and people’s lives through the good old Doordarshan.

Although the show was a little beyond my age, I totally enjoyed Shyam Benegal’s ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’. It had history (which I loved) and it also felt like it’s something very important that shouldn't be missed. I used to wait for it every Sunday. However, the best part of the show was the music. And the best part of the music was the title track. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. The gripping, esoteric and mesmerizing Sanskrit chanting followed by ‘Shrishti Se Pehle Kuch Bhi Nahin Tha’ was out of this world. Then a little later, the name of the music director, Vanraj Bhatia would appear...and that's how I got introduced to the great man. Apart from the title track, the entire show had great songs and an incredible background score.

Then came Govind Nihalini’s ‘Tamas’ (and the narrative is pretty much the same). Once again, the content was a little beyond my age but I got riveted to it, because it seemed important. The haunting title track, that begins with the nightmarish cry, ‘O Rabba’, got embedded in my young mind. And the credits showed the now familiar name, Vanraj Bhatia. My young mind had registered that this name is synonymous with great music. Then there were other shows like ‘Lifeline’, ‘Yatra’, ‘Khandan’ and ‘Katha Sagar’ which further established that belief.

While Shyam Benegal movies were a staple diet at home for my parents, I was a distant spectator. It would be playing, but I wasn'tinterested as the subject matter was incomprehensible and boring. But their music always appealed to me heavily. Whether it was ‘GhirAayi Kari Badariya’ and the magnificent background score from ‘Junoon’ or ‘Mero Gaam Katha Pare’ from Manthan they were always compelling. And when I’d track down the music director’s name. It was the very familiar Vanraj Bhatia.

Years later, when I started my career in advertising in Mumbai, I got to know that the music in some of the most iconic ad campaigns for brands like Liril and Dulux to name a few (among so many others) were also done by this very familiar name from my growing up years. It was quite overwhelming.

The genius of Vanraj Bhatia was threefold. He was well versed with both Indian and Western Classical music. And he also knew how to take the narrative of a story forward, brilliantly. The songs and soundtrack of ‘Junoon’, among others, is one of the great examples to understand that. This is also the reason why he was so successful as the ad-jingle maker.

I once spoke to him over the phone, thanks to a good friend. I could just gather my voice to utter, “I'm a big fan of yours, sir...have always been”. His reply, “Thank you. Your voice is very nice, young man...I'm sure you must be very good looking too”.

By Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 32-year-old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions. He's also the author of the book 'Khyaalon ki Tapri', a collection of poems. This bestseller book is available on Amazon.  

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com