“Cycling is nostalgia for me,” says Shantanu Moitra who learnt and fell in love with the sport when he was in the fifth standard. In a candid chat with us for World Bicycle Day, the musician who has composed for films like 3 Idiots and 12th Fail takes us through his life-changing experiences while cycling around the country. Excerpts:

As a child, my first sense of freedom came from cycling. The falling, getting up trying again – as you learn, your parents let you go which gives a sense of independence also. In Delhi’s East Patel Nagar, where we grew up, we used to see every other person travelling on a bicycle, but I never had my own as we couldn’t afford it. So I used to borrow from my friends and take rounds of our neighbourhood. My father was an avid cycle lover. He used to travel 40 km to and from work every day. He taught me how to balance the two wheels. I remember the day vividly when he let me go on my own. It was an important day in my life, it empowered me to take care of myself.

Baba always told me how he made friends from different walks of life while he used to cycle. He and his friends always went to a particular tea shop for chai or nimbu paani on their way back home. He had created a world while cycling and it fascinated me. Just imagine: you are riding a cycle and stop to pick up a jamun that fell from a tree. Isn’t it captivating? All these stories were like a fantasy land for me.

Ironically, I never got to buy a cycle when I was in school or college. Eventually, I bought a car, but never a cycle. When I came to Mumbai 30 years back, I saw cycling as a hobby was popular. That was when I bought my first cycle, at 30 years of age! It made me nostalgic and I realized I was made for cycling. Then a cycling community was formed and, every Sunday at 5.30 am, we used to cycle 70 km, from my home in Versova to Nariman Point. It was a Sunday morning ritual we looked forward to. Everyone in this community was a cycle lover.

Shantanu shares that after completing the music composition for 3 Idiots, he undertook a ‘100 days in Himalayas’ trip in 2016. “I was travelling above 14,000 feet right from Kashmir to Tibet. The perspective I gained from that trip made me realize that I wanted to do it on a cycle. I wanted to see Ganga from its source to the end. Adventure is not rational, one has to feel that urge from within. My fear was that the timing of the adventure (which he undertook in 2021) shouldn’t clash with the music composition of Shoojit Sircar’s Sardar Udham, but Shoojit being a friend assured me that he could adjust, and I shouldn’t let go of the opportunity of a lifetime.”

For the Ganga expedition, Shantanu realized that he had to cycle for 2,700 km. “That’s a magnificent number. I realized it’s a mind game. This time was pivotal in my life – Baba saw me prepping, which made him very happy. Soon after, COVID changed the world, and I lost Baba in the pandemic. I realized life is uncertain so I must fulfil my dream. I knew I had to do this expedition for my baba.”

Shantanu started prepping for the trip in 2019. He says, “Before any mammoth expedition, professional guidance is a must. I got a nutritionist, and got medically checked. For my lung capacity, I practiced regularly at Bhor Ghat, Lonavala’s highest point. I mapped my route on a cycle trainer at home. I started my regime by cycling 100-150 kms every day and slowly the cycle became my greatest companion and best friend. Within 25 days, I reached Rishikesh, and the expedition of 75 days started from Gangotri to Gangasagar. It was a memorable experience.”

- If you are cycling early in the morning, there has to be a taillight on and a helmet light on

- A red light is applicable for all transports, including a cycle. Respect that

- Before you start long-distance cycling, eat light food at least one and a half hours before. And after cycling for say 50 km, munch on a snack bar or something light so that your body has the fuel to continue

- People tend to avoid cycling and opt for a car or bike as they feel it is safer. The first and foremost rule while cycling is to wear a helmet, it’s non-negotiable

- Hydration is a must when you are cycling long distances. Alertness is very important for a cyclist and that happens when you keep yourself hydrated. Also, muscle reflexivity increases if you are well-hydrated

- Need to create paths for cyclists

- If we encourage cycling for the young generation on World Cycling Day, we have to create paths for cyclists – and that is the biggest concern of urban civilization. Any civilized place has cycling tracks. If we want less fuel consumption, less pollution and a healthier lifestyle, cycling tracks are a must in any city.

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Cycling takes care of one’s body, mind and reflexes. Not only does it help build a community but also lets one connect with nature. We must encourage the young generation to cycle more for a better world

No one understood why a music director is cycling down a river. I failed to explain to people that it was an experience of a lifetime. Every pedal was a tribute to my father and no one can stop me from cycling

– Shantanu on his Gangotri to Gangasagar expedition

My first brush with rain and a song was when I was around seven years old. My father had taken me to watch Singing In The Rain at the Odeon cinema hall in Delhi. It was his way of exposing me to music beyond the world of All India Radio and when I saw that famous sequence of Gene Kelly dancing solo with his umbrella in the rain, it blew my mind. As a kid, jumping on puddles of water was fun but something that we were strongly reprimanded for. And here I was watching an adult tapping and splashing through puddles with such rhythm and abandon. I realised that the idea of singing and dancing in the rain wasn’t just cool in my own head but somewhere far away in the world, too.

I was 16 when I first heard ‘O Sajana, Barkha Bahaar Aayi’ from the film Parakh. We didn’t have a TV at home so I had only heard it on radio until I watched the song unfurl as a visual at my neighbour’s house during Chitrahaar. I stood there transfixed that a black-and-white visual could be so colourful. Also that the rains could serve as a metaphor for a woman’s emotions. The sense of reverence, hope and childlike joy in Sadhana with her hands cupped catching rain drops — a classic Bimal Roy shot with hands resembling a womb and water drops symbolic of elixir — remains embedded in my mind as one of the most enchanting rain song moments on screen. Rain songs are usually known to be vibrant, sensuous and outward but this was an example of how subtle and inward a song about the rains could be.

The hottest woman to appear on screen for me has to be Smita Patil in ‘Aaj Rapat Jaye’ in the film Namak Halaal. An incredible song that shattered the myth of Smita Patil as the czarina of alternate cinema. The uninhibited and abashed chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan and Smita Patil — an unlikely couple to frolic in the rain — was simply joyous.

The mad kinky expressions of Kishore Kumar at his flirtatious best in ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ with a rain-soaked Madhubala out alone on a rainy night, remind you of all kinds of mischief that rains inspire. The rhythm of the song and the idea of having a good time without a care, sums up the beauty, wit and romance of a classic Bollywood and baarish number. Then there’s everyone’s favourite antakshari song — R for ‘Rimjhim Gire Saawan’ where you see the beautiful Mumbai landscape when the city was much emptier with two characters walking down drenched streets.

The song that changed my life was ‘Ab Ke Sawan Aise Barse’, my first ever album. I was a Delhiite at the time. The realisation of what nature and music together could do came to me on a Sunday evening at India Gate. I was out with friends when it suddenly started to pour. People stepped out of their cars to dance to ‘Ab Ke Sawan’ blaring from their car stereos. The fact that I could capture the euphoria of rain through a piece of music triggered in me a sense of responsibility to create music, not just for entertainment but to make a difference.

I heard ‘Bhaage Re Mann’ from Chameli when I had just arrived in Mumbai from Delhi. While watching the song being shot, it was almost like feeling the rain, the shivers and the earthy scent. A song brimming with hope, innocence and fresh starts. Life came full circle when the same Kareena Kapoor brought that playful energy to ‘Zoobi Doobi’, a rain song I made for 3 Idiots.

These songs are just a fraction of the kind of magic realism and fantastical moments that Indian cinema has sparked over the years thanks to the rain. The art of picturising a rain song — in all its gay abandon, innocence and sensuousness — was due to screenplay writers and directors who lived in very different times with very different associations with the rain. What romance would a young filmmaker living in Mumbai today find in the rains when you are surrounded by potholes and construction sites?

When you look out of the window, the changing urban landscape with waterlogging and traffic congestion would naturally disallow the natural thought of rain as a background for two people falling in love under an umbrella. It’s a sad tragedy of our times that I can’t recall the last time a beautiful rain song got made because psychologically everyone’s like ‘who wants to get out in the rain?’ Rampant urbanisation has robbed the cities of their rainy romance and we see its effect in music and movies too. Also, the cinematic technique has changed where filmmakers are committing less and less to songs, especially lip-syncs. Therefore a rain song on its own is a luxury and what we saw in ‘O Sajana’ with rain in the foreground is now a distant backdrop 60 years later.

How I wish that a director would use his cinematic artistry to recreate a musical Singing In The Rain moment today — with a leap here and a splash there on wet streets and puddles — and I am certain the rain song will be back. If it worked then, it will work now. There’s nothing more unifying than the feeling of breaking away, letting go and being cleansed by the rain.

— As told to Mohua Das

I am working on conserving certain bird species in the North East
You have to understand that music is just one part of my life. There are other things - mountaineering, climbing, birding, photography, astronomy. This is why I left my corporate life. I had started with a multi-national bank, then moved to advertising. I was working as a client servicing guy. I left the corporate life because I didn't want to ask my boss permission to go for a trip. I wanted to do something where I could go when I want. I was finitely aware of the limited time I had.

Music isn't just in the recording studios
It is everywhere. We make the mistake of sitting at the keyboard and thinking that is music. I have been to places at 23,000 ft where a lone temple bell is ringing ­ that is incredible music too. I have been to forests in Kaziranga where tribals sing songs to ward off wild animals at night. That is music too. I find music more in nature than in the cities. I am a very outdoor, non-city guy. I come here to work and then go off. I do two trips every year - one with my family and one alone. The one I do alone is slightly ambitious, like climbing Mount Everest or a journey down Mongolia through the vineyards. Music pays me for it. I do this because to be with somebody, to share with somebody, to learn something from some body happens when you travel.

People are my book
I wrote a Bengali book called Ferari Mon. I wrote it because, the India that I have seen somehow doesn't match with the headlines of newspapers - rape, murder, dishonesty, lies - the billion-plus people residing in this country cannot function if the headlines were true. The incredible people I have met along my journey make me believe that their stories need to be told. For example, travelling to a place which is two days from an area which is on the Chinese border where you require a permit. I stay the night, backpack early morning and reach the check post and put my hand in my pocket and realise there is no wallet. The guy says,'Sir, you have to get the hell out of here otherwise you will be behind bars.' I went from there to a nearby village and stayed in the night, gradually figuring that I left the wallet behind in a tea shop. Two days later, I see the tea stall owner standing there. The journey I did in two days, he did in one. The city bastards that we are, I take out money to give to him. He said, 'Sir, pray that the next time somebody does that, don't think of the money, think of the fact that I could reach out and help you. Let money not be the motive.' My book Wings Of Music is really about these people, also people I have met along the way, like Gulzar. As I have mentioned in the book too, he's my youngest friend in Bollywood. His mind is so young, I can talk to him about things I can't even talk to my father about. Why Gulzar is Gulzar is because of the way he perceives even inanimate things like a planet. In his foreword to my book, he has written a beautiful line, 'Shantanu is like a lantern, he keeps on picking.'

Music cannot just be for the music
It is shocking that our country's representation of music is films. Nowhere else in the world - France, Italy, Spain, Belgium - does this happen.We have a rich and diverse culture of music. We have, we have folk, ghazals, thumri, Indipop. They are blaming Bollywood. It has always been glamorous. It is like a magnet, it takes the best of the other genres. When other genres aren't there anymore, it's like a starburst. What does a starburst do? It starts eating into itself and killing it. Lyrics don't matter. They are getting funnelled so they can fit into ringtones. The last time I heard a ghazal on radio was when Jagjit Singh died. How many times does an artist have to die before a genre can be heard!

There's a world waiting for you outside
If you can empower yourself with that knowledge, and go out and seek things, you will never be hungry in your life. If you have a place to stay and there is food, you can go anywhere in the world. I have seen so many people who have never left the city for years because of the cocoon we live in, thinking bahar pata nahin kya hoga. In many ways, my music says that. After 3 Idiots was out, I shut my phone for six months and went to Arunachal Pradesh. Even if the industry forgets about me, so what? There's a whole world out there. Rather, let me do something where the industry remembers the work.