Dylan winning Nobel is poetry for the ears, writes Benny Dayal

We are quick to say that 'it sounds like music to the ears'. In Bob Dylan's case, he wrote poetry for the ears. Dylan, one of the greatest musicians of all time and one of my childhood favourites, has once again done it. All that comes to mind is – excellence has no boundaries. The first songwriter to win a Nobel Prize the same day as he plays a gig in Las Vegas. Wow!

That's completely how blue-blooded rockstar-ish visionaries should be! Sharing not just the arena, but also the happiness with music's truest patrons- the fans. This award will lend a hand to musicians like me to express to the world how music is an integral facet of the sombre world of literature and is just not confined to live arena tours and album sales.

His lyrics have incorporated various political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed to the burgeoning counter-culture. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but songwriting is considered his greatest contribution.

If you are seeking validation from me, well, Dylan has won 11 Grammys, 1 Academy Award, 1 Pulitzer Prize and was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame and deserves the win and sets a new theory for all songwriters to write for the greater good.

This decision puts song lyrics on a pedestal and maybe at par with literature, poetry and playwriting. It's a big step away from the intellectualism and elitism for which the award had been criticised. With this win, he has made lyrics as important as the music and given a whole new meaning to how music should be treated.

As musicians, we are always viewing music from the dimension of reinvention and experimentation. Dylan has mastered the art over the years of and taught most singers how music can't feel good till you deliver a sonic experience that is different from your last piece of work, thereby, constantly challenge yourself.

An original sampler, Dylan has been perfecting this phenomena since years now and always striving to create a brand new experience for his fans, which most musicians should aspire to.

I can't tell you how many times people have said to me, 'You're a musician and you should be just singing and not focusing on the lyrics'. Being a musician requires the same intellect and discipline as being an author or a poet. So, the fact that he's recognised, gives a closure of some sorts to a debate that has been lingering for years.

Dylan's authority on music cannot be overstated: the way he undermined the notion that radio tunes have to be three minutes long; the way his music resonates just as much today as they did when he recorded them decades earlier and the way he proved that songs with blatantly political themes can be commercially flourishing.

As a composer, Dylan has been at the helm of revolution, forging new sounds and deconstructing contemporary forms. Music is the only art form that poetically describes the state of affairs, in general. People don't hang at bookstores or art galleries to figure out what's current or controversial, that's what Dylan believed. It all happens live on stage through a medium that is not intellectual, but spiritual.

We owe Dylan gratitude and respect. Not because he gave the music fraternity a symbol of honour but because he had a sense of raw authenticity which translated into his sound and lyrics that explored avenues that related to world issues and humanity. As an artist, he is strikingly versatile; he has been active as painter, actor and scriptwriter. For me, that's a big win. His influence continues to permeate through rock, pop and folk music today and that's enough to define what a legend he is.

My early influences of Bob Dylan date back to my teen years when I was in college. His anthem Like A Rolling Stone is one of my favourites. He changed the face of Rock N Roll forever with this one. This was a defining moment in the evolution of music. With that one act, Dylan ushered in a new genre of music: folk-rock. And today folk-rock, as a music form, is thriving. Moreover, this song somewhere related to how I started off in the music realm with no big launch pad and a massive dream to fulfill. It taught me to be fearless like a rolling stone!

He can be read and should be read just the way he's heard. He is a great poet in the disguise of a musical Pied Piper in the literary world to help the common man to dive into an ocean of literary excellence. I've followed the music, I've been inspired by the music and I'm a lover of Bob Dylan. Just like the Never Ending Tour, there will be no stopping an icon like Dylan to lay small foundations that will finally make it to the history books one day! To be fair, there are quite a few songwriters whose work is still relevant, but there's only one - Dylan -- whose poetry has, at times, changed the course of history.