Hawa Hawa & Bombay Autos (Arbit Post)

Was listening to www.desi-radio.com in office the other day and suddenly in between all those Himesh Reshamiya sung songs (I think the RJ or whatever at the website is not paid well by the site owner hence he is trying to settle scores by cueing such songs) there comes up a voice which I could faintly remember, which is kinda long forgotten and and tucked away in some corner of the mind... the voice of Hassan Jehnagir.. the song Hawa Hawa and it ushered a storm of memories...n I am not the only one who experiences such emotions when they hear songs from the bygone era. Bloggers of notable repute have had reminiscences here n here....Days when there used to be audio cassettes and not Cds. 20 bucks apiece. in shiny decorative(and rarely sleazy) covers.. which could be used later for recording some other songs.

What a rage this song was.. total jhakaas/kickass/raapchick/bindaas/dhinchak song. I cant find words which describe it more aptly.

That brings a question to mind... whats with the song with repeated words ... like Hawa Hawa, Oye Oye, Tamma Tamma or (Tu cheez badi hain) Mast Mast???? Is it the repition of words in quick succession which ensures that the songs register in our mind and thus become chartbusters??

Arguably the favourite patrons of such songs is the clan of Auto-wallahs. The other notable ones being Dhoop-Chaun-Barbers-Association, Road-side Romeos Inc. and Nerds-Not-So-Anonymous United.

Now lemme yap about the Bombay autowallahs.. these guys have a cult of their own.. Their brotherhood is more powerful and widespread than the Harley Davidson Owners's Group worldwide …you have to travel in a Bombay auto to know what I am talking about ... Believe me it is nearest to Formula 1 that your will ever get...

They are a jazzy lot... decorate their autos tastefully… neon lights, plush seats(some of 'em), strategically placed rear view mirrors (ahem ahem) and music... know the Laws of Reflections from Physics better than the professors at MIT and carry the latest mobiles. Imagine, I was talking to a frnd on cell while in an auto and when I was done the autowallah remarks "I am not satisfied with this model" and I am like "Dude I didn’t spent more than a month's take-home salary to hear this"....Anyways if u do manage to strike a convo with one of these guys (which doesn’t require any special skills) you wont even know when u reached ur destination. May God bless their free spirit which is echoed well in the thought "Have Auto, Will Drive - through n over anything"

When I first landed in Mumbai in the rains of 2003 (talk about perfect timing) I was greeted by Daler paaji's "Kala Kauwa" in an auto, among other things like potholes (big enough to have a 2BHK constructed inside them and still have place left for a front yard), slime, and the humid sweaty weather. It took a while for me to realise it was our very own Dilli-da-Munda Daler. Atleast something was familiar in this new city.

Salman Khan called the shots (pun intended) with "Tere Naam" henceforth... every autowallah had a casette of this movie.. some even had a CD.

"Andaaz" came in as the next chart (and commuter ear) buster. So wherever you go 'Ho Rabba Ishq Na Howey' followed you.. Much like the pug in the Hutch commercial.
Akshay kumar encore(and Salman too not left behind)... this time with "Mujhse Shaadi Karogi"
"Laal Dupatta Ud Gaya" and "Aaja Soneya" became the anthem of the three wheeled speedsters... That was the rage when I left the shores

Can anyone tell me what’s the latest these days?