Chanda sooraj is such a top notch song by Rahman. Such high audio quality blessing into the ears ( ohh that year of 1997). Arguably one of the greatest songs ever. Jugalbandi ka pinnacle. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan proves how he is ustaado ka ustaad. Taansen of Qawwals. His sargams taans aalaps shows a glimpse of his beautiful soul. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ki aawaz ko un bachho ki angrezi prayer like aawaz ke saath mix karke that start is pure goosebumps. Adds to the contrast and international appeal. And the song's actual lyrics have not even started, but we are already transported. Rahman gels his voice, pitch and texture so very well with Nusrat, that their voice becomes one. He turned his own Tamil song Porale, a romantic melodic folk sounding song, sung by Unni Menon and Sujatha Mohan into a Nusrat sufi qawwal flavored global song. He adds a western pop elemnt in it, which is represented by Rahman's voice. USP of the song is this duet nature of Rahman Nusrat, layered with kids voices. You can't resist singing this song, dancing on it or crying with its emotion. Very infectious song. Starts with guitar as western elemnt for kids. Western beats transform to Tabla around 2:20. Tabla is exclusively for Nusrat. Pop, guitar and synth is for kids and Rahman. Mehboob 's choice of words are so accessible yet very different from what is previously written in this category. His thoughts and expressions connects so well. Nusrat represents dard when he sings, 'Rishte badi mushkilo se bante hai yahan pe lekin, Tootne ke liye bass ek hi lamha. Ishq dava hai har ek dard ki. Zanjeer ishq hai har ek rishte ki.' It praises ishq with adjectives before anand bakshi did in Taal with Rahman. It is difficult to classify a rahman song. Its pop, an anthem, yet has qawwali and primarily pop flavor and quite a deviation from the original tamil romantic duet. This is phenommenal reinterpretation by a composer of his own melody. Not a single second of the song is unnecessary. So crisp. 2 verses following similar melodical structure. Chanda suraj acting as mukhda. Kids start and end the song. Nusrat is the emtional navigator with those taans, sargams, aalaps. Rahman is the orchestrator and adds style and appeal. Rahman and Nusrat sit one layer on top of the lyrics. They focus more on emotional expression. Like Nusrat sings aalam as laalam which also could fit into lyrics. 'Rounak ishq hai saare aalam ki' in Nusrat's voice is heaven & my favorite line with that timing. Proves how Rahman's music is magic. Breakdown of singing portions: Total Runtime 5 minutes 53 seconds 00:00 to 00:50s - Intro Kids : Starting chorus with guitar Nusrat enters with aalap followed by a taan: 15s-50s. Aalap 15 to 35s. My favorite taan sounding like da ga tha pa from 35s to 50s. 50s to 1:35 - 1st verse / Mukhda Rahman(Pop beats for Rahman): Chanda suraj laakhon taare hain jab tere hi yeh saare, Kis baat par hothi hai phir thakraarein Keenchi hai lakkeere is jameen pe par na keencho dekho, Beech mein do dilon ke yeh deewaarein Duniya mein kahin bhi, dard se koyi bhi Nusrat: Duniya mein kahin bhi, dard se koyi bhi Thadpe to humko yahan pe Together, with Nusrat as prominent: Ehsaas uske zakhmon ka ho ke, Apna bhi dil bhar bhar aaye roye aankhein 1:35 to 2:00 - Interlude Nusrat's sargam and kids choir 2:00 to 3:00 - 2nd verse Rahman: Doori kyon dilon mein rahe faasle kyon badhte rahe, Pyaari hai zindagi hai pyaara jahaan Nusrat: Rishte badi mushkilon se Bante hai yahaan pe lekin Tootne ke liye bas ek hi lamha (Tabla enters for Nusrat) Nusrat: Ishq dava hai har ek dard ki Zanjeer ishq hai har ek rishte ki Rahman: Ishq saari hadhon ko tod daale Ishq to duniya ko pal mein mita bhi de Together : Ishq hai jo saare jahaan ko aman bhi de Nusrat's final killer line: Ronaq ishq se hai saare aalam ki 3:00 to 3:35 - Mukhda again Nusrat this time with chanda suraj: Chanda suraj laakhon taare hain jab tere hi yeh saare, Kis baat par hothi hai phir thakraarein

Great relationships arguably need a lot of investment of your time. Be it marriage/love, parenting, friends or family. And yes, they may need some sacrifice of your personal space and priorities too, especially the deeper relationships. Spending time together and doing things together or even just doing nothing together is how we could create friendship even within parenting or marriage or family. Friendship and love are common elements of all relationships. That christian way of giving unconditionally may help as well. The initial phase of any relationship is especially crucial where you lay the foundation, where you shape the personality of your relationship. Making & having dinner together & that family time weekend with your kids and your spouse for those first 18 years creates that awesome bonding. I mean till kids go their separate ways. Prayer time, rituals, every little chore counts. Thats why its difficult to make great friendships in later stage of life, as you need time spent together. Ultimately, great relationships need shared time, shared experiences, and shared lives.

Interesting how parenting, education, affluence and personal autonomy play a big role in health, nutrition, fitness vs obesity. Lets call them the big four. Parenting lays the foundation of lifelong health. While genetics is something not under your control, but parents can inculcate habits of nutrition and fitness pretty early. Also as per data, Childhood obesity often tracks into adulthood, and lifelong nutrition and fitness habits often develop early. Better education generally improves health, nutrition and fitness awareness. Affluence then helps you choose the better resources. This also buys you time and money to invest in yourselves. Personal autonomy comes easier in places like america as culturally individuality is valued more. This especially help women a lot, especially with patriarchal roles as in many desi homes. All four together play a pivotal role in our health and fitness. American middle aged women vs desi women's contrast helps us understand this better. American women with higher education and affluence tend to have lower obesity prevalence as per stats. Many also seem to maintain a youthful appearance even at older ages. In india even with education and affluence, cultural norms and patriarchal roles may give us a hard time. For women, growing older traditionally means getting further absorbed into the roles of mother, mother in law and grandmother. And sometimes even wealth doesn't buy freedom from those expectations. As per stats, on avg, Desi women spend close to 5 hours everyday on domestic work compared to half an hour by men. Even applies to elderly desi women. Kitchen work is often equated mistakenly with health and fitness. Khud ke liye time comes last. America isn't free from this inequality either. But the gap seems less. American women spend 2 and a half hour compared to 1 and a half hour by american men in household activities. In affluent American communities, women seem to have more freedom to maintain their identity beyond family roles. Walking, gym, swimming, Pilates, tennis, pickleball, traveling, dressing well, socializing, taking care of themselves. Life doesn't necessarily revolve around family even at 60 or 70. (This is now a common phenomenon for urban desis too.) I am always surprised to see how many american parents are good swimmers or are so much swimming or sports aware, as they had a better sports and fitness exposure as kids. Fifth dimension: Suburban infrastructure and where you live also plays a big role, as many of these parks, sidewalks, walking trails, swimming pools, and health fitness events like a 5k run for community or company, charity races or school sports could be part of free or cheap public and community access depending on where you are. And this ties to how developed countries seem to provide more means to be fit. Community infra for fitness and health shows how fitness is a group objective...the whole family trying to be fit together is possibly easier, the whole community together trying to be fit is inspirational and contagious. School's focus(& budget) on sports and fitness helps a long way too. So fitness and health culture can be the sixth factor. All these factors overlap too. Like culture and place you belong to often try to dictate personal autonomy as well as health infra. Of course, this doesn't represent all American or Indian women or men. There's also a selection bias in whom we observe, and American society has its own pressure to remain youthful and attractive. But the larger cultural difference is interesting. Perhaps the real luxury isn't staying slim or looking young at 70. It's having the health, time, money and independence to continue living a life of your own at 70. Without feeling guilty about it.