On Monday, listen to ‘Ahista’

Guess what darlings, the weekend is over and it’s really back to the grind. Whether you are returning crankily to the office, driving blearily to school drop-offs, or trying to remember where you put that one t-shirt that you thought about last night, but haven’t seen in months, you will appreciate the sentiment of this song.

Pankaj Udhas’s calling card as a vocalist has to be his pleasantly soft voice, which always sounds like he’s smiling. For ‘Ahista’, which is a romantic song released in 1998, the key takeaway is the recurrent line: ‘aur ahista kijiye baatein’, which really is just everyone’s Monday morning mood.

The song is accompanied with a really sweet video which is basically a mellow version of the meme about the girl who sells her hair to buy her boyfriend a skateboard (or something) and the boyfriend sells his skateboard to buy her a hair accessory, and we are so glad this one didn’t involve donating eyes so one or the other half of the couple could see the beautiful garden the other had planted.

On Wednesday, listen to ‘Sach Bolta Hoon Mein’

Celebrate Hump Day with a sad tune, where according to the video, a recently widowed single father is drowning his sorrows in drink, while we assume his young daughter is slowly learning her place in this dysfunctional family unit.

The song is melancholy enough to align with your midweek stupor, and meandering enough to serve as a reminder that the week isn’t quite done with you yet.

On Tuesday, listen to ‘Chandi Jaisa Rang’

Now that the Monday blues are kind of conquered, you’re really feeling yourself, and even if you aren’t quite there, this absolute anthem should get you there. It’s all about a girl who is just the most beautiful while everyone else is a fugly pauper, and was quite popular in the ‘80s.

That said, Pankaj Udhas came back with a vengeance to conquer a much younger audience in the late ‘90s, and all his videos featured youthful, modern models and were shot in Australia maybe. Except that one weird one with the wedding night on a boat, where the newlyweds’ friends are also aboard and dancing like no one was watching, but sadly we all were.

Anyway, this is the final word in elevating that self esteem as the week wears on.

On Thursday, listen to
‘Chitti Aayi Hai’

Are you drowning in work or life and feeling like no one who really matters remembers you anymore? This is your jam. Sung for 1984’s Naam, which is just really a cautionary tale for youths with Dubai dreams in their desi eyes, ‘Chitthi Aayi Hai’ really did hit all kinds of nerves in the ‘80s. There were after all Pakistanis and Indians moving to the Middle East and Emirates (and sometimes Norway) in droves back then, looking to earn more and provide better lives for their families back home. And isn’t that as alone and bereft as you feel?

That said, this song will be your reminder that there is a world outside whichever one you have been occupying all week, and people in that world who love you, miss you, or even just tolerate you sometimes.

On Friday, listen to
‘Na Kajre Ki Dhaar’

Fridays in Pakistan mean two things: either you’re dressed in very nice shalwar kameez, or you’ve given up on life altogether, and wore whatever for the day. Either way, Pankaj Udhas lent his voice to Sunil Shetty’s face in 1994’s Mohra, and this song is all about inner beauty or something. You may only remember Mohra if we also remind you of ‘Tu Cheez Bari Hai Mast’ but ‘Na Kajre Ki Dhaar’ was one of the official songs on the playlist of ‘90s shaadi ki videos, and that’s probably where you remember it from.