Most of us didn’t know who KK was while growing up. Still, his songs were our friend. They grew on us. We grew with them. They got us through everything. His voice became our go-to. For every single mood, there was a KK song. From Kadhal Valarthen to Apadi Podu. Love Pannu to Uyirin Uyire.
The voice that elated us, made us sad, made us happy, made us dance. You name it. We fell in love with every single one of them. There is a pinch of memory attached to them all. Our Windows Media Players knew more about it and our memories attached to his songs. He was our imaginary friend we turned to when we wanted to shut the whole world. For most of us, his playlist is the hug we all need. Even today.
KK introduced us to different languages too. We might not understand Hindi but still, his songs never left our playlist. From Tadap Tadap to Tune Maari Entriyaan. And then there is a whole series of songs he did for Emraan Hashmi.
Our whole generation went through a series of emotions through all these. If a person can touch millions of people of different age groups and different languages, he has to be special. Maybe, that’s why this loss feels like a personal one. This feels like someone has opened our hearts and cut a piece of it to leave a permanent scar.
In Kolkata, as he went “Pal Yaad Aayenge Yeh Pal”, the entire crowd was living in the moment with their mobile torchlight on, not knowing what was about to follow. This is poetry and poignant in one.
His songs will continue to take us through our day and be there for us like a candle in the darkroom. There will never be another KK. They don’t make people like him anymore. He was a gift that was taken too soon from us.
Rest in peace.
