Rubab, Tumbaknari (goblet drum) santoor, guitar... percussion and strings come together in pulsating tunes for popular Kashmiri folk singer’s tracks presented by Aabha Hanjura. With hands in the air and fingers in beat, her interpretation of the Kashmiri folk song ‘Hukus Bukus’ has a touch of the French Chanson music blended with operatic flourishes.
“I love Bengaluru where I am based, but I yearn to live in my native Srinagar,” says the singer emotionally who is releasing an album.
Aabha moved out of Srinagar as a three-year-old in the early 1990s. The singer who moved to Jammu then, is happy that with Kashmir in the news now, she is able to give back something in melody that people can relate to.
After attending school in Jammu, she moved to Hennur in Bengaluru with her family in 2005. Now the award-winning singer, song-writer and composer who is popular for her singles released over the last two years, is getting ready to release her six-track album, Aabha Hanjura and the Sound of Kashmir .
About how she feels about her songs such as ‘Roshewalla’ and ‘Hukus Bukus’ going viral, she says, “All of them speak of my pining for Kashmir. If I can express myself through my melodies in ways that people appreciate, it is more than rewarding.” The 31-year-old singer, a commerce graduate from Jain College here revived her interest in music in 2013 while she was working in a company.
“Music has always been in me. When I was working, I visited Kashmir once and was deeply disturbed at the loss of our identity, language and culture.” The conflict and pain was an inspiration for Aabha to create songs.
“My songs mirrored my thoughts of Kashmir. I recorded the six songs in a couple of years,” she says. Ask her if her latest album is an homage to her memories of childhood and school life and she says, “All my music is, as it reverberates with one resounding echo of Kashmir.”
Last week Aabha released ‘Dilbaro Yuier Valo’ and ‘Chalo Chinaro Ke Gharon’ , in Kashmiri and Hindi, a two-part video series for her album, for the track ‘Roshewalla’. Her music is has a folksy feel with generous strains of Rock for energy, with Aabha’s voice balancing the stringed portions with full-bodied resonance. “I have brought in children into the video who represent optimism for Kashmir, and puppetry to represent reality and fantasy. Even though they speak of a refugee’s restlessness, my tracks are still songs of hope,” she says.
Recalling her initiation into music, she says, “My mother was a pillar of support who taught me old Hindi songs with classical base. I later learnt Hindustani from Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in Jammu, and in Bengaluru I broadened my horizon with classes from Neecia Majolly for Western classical.”
After all this, Aabha realised that she had to retain some of her authentic raw style from the Valley. Calling her music “Eclectic folk-pop,” Aabha’s songs now reflect her non-conformist identity.
Aabha also reached the finals of Indian Idol in 2012 with her range and dexterity, and her popularity sky-rocketed. “My brother, Abhay Hanjura, pushed me into this. As a child, I was lost in my own world and I would ignore my surroundings. Similarly, all the attention for Indian Idol passed me by. Fame that chases you, will leave you sooner or later. I will however, strive to be the voice of Kashmir,” she says with a smile.
