Hakuna Matata!

What a wonderful phrase

Hakuna Matata

Ain’t no passing craze

It means no worries

For the rest of your days……

[ Hakuna Matata in Swahili means “no worries”]

The movie “Lion King” released in the year 1994. I was all of 5 years old and the song Hakuna Matata was on every ones lips. It is by far the happiest song ever! Hakuna Matata stuck with our family long after the movie was out of theatres. We were either listening to it, humming it or saying it to one another. Grandfather said it to dad and dad often repeated it to me. The original sound track was released in tape and CD, though for the longest time my grandfather looked for the LP records as, he was the proud owner of an incredible stereo and Turntable. Sadly, he never found it then. He firmly believed that one heard the purest form of music on the turntable. It is from my childhood that my obsession and fascination with music and the turntable started. I too wanted to touch and play those records but was never permitted to do so. He said that they were fragile, as the soul of his favorite music was in those records.

The era of CD Players, cassettes, MP3 players and finally streaming music digitally saw the vinyl records almost fade away. He often lamented that the new generation would never experience the purity of sound and were sadly missing out on the beauty of music. However, he will be delighted to know that the Turntable has arisen like a phoenix! No longer relegated to the remotest section of the local music store, sales of records are fast rising, and the Turntable is rapidly regaining its position of pride. No longer in the antique category but holding its own as a music system that is real and truly glorifies the soul of the sound emitting from it.

Someone aptly compared the Turntable vinyl record and digitally downloaded music! A vinyl record is a handwritten letter,  a digital download is a text message. This description subtly and beautifully compares the two in a manner that millennials will understand!  I am super excited with this resurrection of the Turntable. Granddad’s belief that vinyl music is for keeps has finally come true. I can’t wait for his birthday to present him the record of Hakuna Matata which I found on E-Bay. I will now be allowed to touch, play and sing along our all-time favorite song. Recreating my happy childhood days.