Kaun Aaya - Waqt by Ravi, Asha Bhosle

The Waqt album has several strong tracks, but Kaun Aaya - Waqt is the one most listeners come back to first. Behind the melody is the work of Ravi, whose composition choices give Kaun Aaya - Waqt its distinctive texture.

The vocal on Kaun Aaya - Waqt is among the better performances Ravi, Asha Bhosle has committed to record. The chemistry of Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt, Sadhana, Raaj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Rehman, Manmohan Krishna is embedded in every moment of Kaun Aaya - Waqt, making it as much a performance as a song.

Released in 1965, it arrived at a time when Hindi music needed exactly this kind of sincerity. It is the kind of track that works at full volume with friends and equally well in a quiet room alone — the mood adjusts without the song changing.

The 4:27 runtime feels perfectly judged — long enough to develop its ideas, short enough to compel a second play. It is, at the end of it, a very good song — and sometimes that is the only explanation that matters.