Sounds of the soil

Composer Arjuna Harjai

Composer Arjuna Harjai made his debut as producer with the latest track from Isha Foundation for Sadhguru's campaign. Sounds of nature attempts to drive the importance of soil conservation upon human beings. A "full-time" Isha meditator, Harjai says, "The UN has said that cultivable soil will be there for 60 years only, after which there will be food shortage. The foundation sent an idea to me, and I said we should create a song that resonance with an international audience," says Harjai, who subsequently added elements from Turkish music, Indian elements like the shehnai, African drums and voices, and English voices.

"Their team also sent me a chorus of 150 people singing the melody. That created the needed aura. I wanted the shehnai to be the main element, because I think it represents soil," says the composer, who collaborated with Machel Montano, Marge Blackman, and the in-house team.

Harjai has films like Farhan Akhtar's Lucknow Central, Guddu Engineer, and the telly show POW - Bandi Yuddh Ke, among others, on his resume. The decision to move from Bollywood to independent music, he says, was driven by his desire to "venture towards something that is representative of me".