Indian electronica duo Burudu have given the famous Sufi poet Amir Khusrao’s ghazal the 21st century treatment in their latest release, ‘Zehaal-E-Miskeen’. Crafted as a modern day qawwali, the track – released today – preserves the timelessness of the ghazal which has been popularized by qawwali singing for centuries.
The array of diverse sonic textures in ‘Zehaal-E-Miskeen’ create a world that is romantic and mystic, foreign and familiar, raw and refined — and brought to life by the striking voice of Sukanya Chattopadhyay, a frequent collaborator of the duo.
One of the most beautiful aspects of the original work is the weaving together of two drastically verbal traditions, the court Persian Khusrau used to compose formal verse, the other, Brij Bhasha, the language of common folk that Khusrau used for songs about seasons and festivals.
“We were initially drawn in because of the coming together of the two languages in the poem,” explains Burudu of their decision to focus on ‘Zehaal’. “We didn’t understand half the words but it was phonetically beautiful and assertive, and once we understood its true meaning, to us it became even more powerful,” they add.
Sung by legendary ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali amongst many others, ‘Zehaal-E-Miskeen’ is one ghazal people across South Asia and the diaspora know by heart. A fact that didn’t escape Nakul Sharma and Sahil Bhatia, and one that also prompted them to take their time arriving at a sound they were happy with.
“We wanted to make sure we did justice to the words and their meaning, while nestling them in a sound we believe in, so the challenge was the timeless and epic poem itself,” they say, before adding, “The initial idea leaned heavily on electronic instruments and as we built vocal melodies, we were able to hear the possibility of the more traditional instrumentation of a qawwali finding its place in the song. We recorded the instruments that we felt were needed, like the tabla, sarangi, oud and cümbüş to name a few. And finally, we were conscious of not trying to force the two worlds, for which a key factor was that we took our time with this song.”
The song has also been used to soundtrack Beyond the Light, the recently released fashion film by Mumbai-based couturiers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. Produced by Abu-Sandeep’s production company La Filmi Compania and directed by wedding filmmakers House on the Clouds, Beyond the Light features Shantanu Maheshwari — the actor and choreographer who was recently a part of the Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi.
