Funeral Pyres - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Few songs from 1994 have held their ground as well as Funeral Pyres - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51, a track that keeps finding new audiences. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Roger White has a history of strong work, and the music on Funeral Pyres - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 is among the most memorable of it.

The voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan carries Funeral Pyres - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 effortlessly, which is the highest compliment a song can give its singer. For fans of a talented ensemble cast, Funeral Pyres - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 is one of those songs that immediately conjures specific scenes and emotions.

The 1994 release gave fans something to hold onto — a track built for repeated listening rather than a single play. The emotional register of Funeral Pyres - Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

Running to 1:56, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Hindi in recent memory — and the numbers agree.