New York-based Grammy nominee Falu Shah on turning to tunes of her homeland to find comfort from pandemic uncertainties, for her just-launched Hindustani music EP.
Falu Shah
When the Boston-based band Karyshma found itself grappling with pandemic-induced anxiety, its members turned to a genre of music that has often served as a balm for them. The band, headlined by Indian Grammy nominee Falu Shah, "found comfort and solace" while singing Indian classical songs, and immediately knew that they wanted to share that experience with those who share their plight.
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"These songs have been passed on to us over several generations. There is a ghazal from the 12th century, and a thumri from the 15th. So, we recorded these songs to create an EP called Someday, comprising Indian classical numbers. We created it over video-conferencing apps in 31 days, and across six cities and two time-zones," says Shah, whose husband Gaurav, is a co-member of the band. A bandmate would create a percussion track, and send it to Seattle for her team to lay the violin and guitar sections on, before it was sent back to Shah. "We'd then share it with our team in LA to add the piano [sections]. In this process we really had to up our technology game."
Asserting that in America, Indian classical music is celebrated just as much as it is back home, Gaurav says that the duo tapped into those experiences from their lives that enabled them to find meaning in their craft. "One song called Nadi was taught to us by Sultan Khan saab in New York City, while sitting in a dhaba. That experience of sitting, eating and singing [filled us] with joy. The song has a folk melody with a thumri feel. Most of the genres that we selected for this EP were chosen because they were associated with memories that were special," he says.
Bheegi, another rendition in this album, has been "vigorously studied" by Shah, who learnt the song from Kaumudi Munshi when she was in school. "The thumri, in turn, was taught to [Munshi] by the queen of thumri, Siddheshwari Devi. This song is part of my soul, and we picked it because each time I'd hear about the number of people dying in New York [due to the virus], this song would uplift me."
But even as they turn to past experiences to bring life to this album, the title, Someday, they say, aims to encourage people to create a promising future. "The idea is to [hold on to the hope] that, someday, we will truly find comfort and solace, and become one, as human beings."
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