The hills are alive with the sound of music, With songs they have sung for a thousand years. The hills fill my heart with the sound of music, My heart wants to sing every song it hears.

These words of Julie Andrews were the background music of my life when I was growing up. Since then, music has been an integral part of my life. Not that I am a musician myself – I cannot sing or play any musical instrument to save my life; but I need to hear the sound of music every single day to keep me sane. From the quintessential radio that played songs for only a few hours every day, to the cassette player, then the Walkman, the iPod, and now the hundreds of platforms that offer whatever music you want, whenever you want, at the click of a button, we have come a long way. What has not changed however, is the positive effect that music has when it manages to find its way to your soul and heal you from the inside.

No matter what life event you are going through – success, failure, love, heartbreak, wins or losses, you have music that can correspond to every mood. It can uplift you when you are down, calm you when you are excited, motivate you when you are depressed and most of all, be by your side on those long lonely days & nights when you are away from your near & dear ones. Music can kill boredom of mundane tasks and long waiting periods. It has the ability to alleviate the painful discipline of long walks, runs and exercises. It has the magical power to put you to sleep on the one hand, and increase focus & concentration on the other. Some of my favourite tracks can actually transport me into a higher plane of existence and when I come back to the real world, I seem to have gained some sort of enchanted energy.

On this World Music Day, I am filled with immense gratitude for everyone who contributes day in and day out towards making our world so melodious – the singers, the songwriters, the sound engineers, and countless others who have made life so beautiful for all of us! One such person whose contribution in this area I would like to acknowledge today is my own nephew who has been singing, writing and producing some enthralling pieces of music which, over the years, unbeknownst to him, have been a constant healing element in my life.

Mumbai-born, London-based Sid who has rebranded himself as Jamie Kudo is penning, singing & producing masterpiece after masterpiece of deeply philosophical tracks. It’s amazing how this 20 something musician, inspired by the likes of Ed Sheeran & Lauv, manages to weave such vivid emotions into his songs leaving you mesmerized and longing for more. It is even more amazing how a boisterous, happy-go-lucky little baby boy without a care in the world has bloomed into this sensitive and thoughtful young man. And while we may not meet or even talk as much as we did back then, all I want to say is…

I don’t want to see you go, But I’ll be waiting for you back at home. Always brighter than I’ve ever known, You're my supernova! – Jamie Kudo

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5XofYo773U6XXfVpOdR3Qn?si=OCQbav6fSw2q6GWnn71gDQ