ABSTRACT
Hindi film songs are such a central part of my life that I can hardly remember that I first heard them when I was in my late twenties and had largely stopped listening to current Western popular music. There wasn’t an epiphany, a particular moment at which they suddenly made sense, but rather a gradual realization that they had somehow become a way in which I understood Indian culture, helping me to navigate my way through many complexities to make connections and open new possibilities. Now I have also internalized the songs so that they are part of my own private and professional history, both emotional and intellectual. Indeed, they have come to give depth and nuance, as well as profound pleasure, to my work and to my life.
