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Meet the first South Asian woman to win a GRAMMY: Falu Shah | Ep. 2
61 Plays1 year ago
Welcome to our second podcast episode, where we have the pleasure of talking with the first South Asian GRAMMY award winning woman and singer-songwriter, Falu Shah.
Join us as we delve into the life and work of this remarkable artist, who has captivated audiences with her soulful voice and unique blend of Indian classical music and Western pop. In this episode, we explore Falu's musical journey, from her childhood in India to her current success as a celebrated musician in the United States. We discuss her sources of inspiration, creative process, and the challenges she has faced along the way. We also get an exclusive peek at her experiences meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and collaborating with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Whether you're a fan of Indian classical music or simply curious about the creative process behind it, this episode is not to be missed. So sit back, relax, and join us for an intimate conversation with Falu Shah.
About Falu:
Falu (born Falguni Shah in Mumbai, India) is an American singer whose music blends ancient classical Indian melodies with contemporary western sounds. In her burgeoning U.S.-based career, she has worked and collaborated with a wide array of artists including A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Yo-Yo Ma (in The Silk Road Project), Philip Glass, Wyclef Jean, her teacher Ustad Sultan Khan, Blues Traveler, Ricky Martin and Bernie Worrell (Parliament Funkadelic). In 2022, she won the Grammy Award for Best Children's Album for her album A Colorful World. She is the first South Asian woman to win a Grammy.
To see the video version of this episode subscribe to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thezainabkhan
Website: https://thezainabkhan.com/
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/zainabkhanpodcast/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Falu Shah
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to our latest episode of the podcast.
00:00:02
Speaker
Today, we are thrilled to have a very special guest joining us, Falu Shah.
00:00:07
Speaker
Falu is a Grammy-winning artist who has been hailed as one of the most influential musicians of her generation.
00:00:12
Speaker
Her unique sound blends traditional Indian music with contemporary pop, creating a style that is both innovative and accessible.
00:00:20
Speaker
She has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, from Yo-Yo Ma to Wycliffe Sean, and has performed at venues all over the world.
00:00:28
Speaker
She has also used her platform as an artist to promote social causes, working with non-profit organizations to support education, health and human rights initiatives.
00:00:38
Speaker
Wow, we are honored to have Falu on our podcast today.
00:00:42
Speaker
I'm so happy and thrilled.
00:00:44
Speaker
We can't wait to dive into her music, her career and her vision for the future.
Falu's Musical Journey: Early Years and Training
00:00:49
Speaker
So without further ado, let's welcome Falu Shah to the show.
00:01:03
Speaker
Hi.
00:01:04
Speaker
So nice of you to have me.
00:01:06
Speaker
Thank you for having me.
00:01:07
Speaker
Thank you so much for taking your time out.
00:01:09
Speaker
And I know you have been very, very busy.
00:01:12
Speaker
And I follow you religiously on the social media, every platform, whether it's Instagram or Facebook or Twitter, anywhere.
00:01:21
Speaker
You are amazing.
00:01:23
Speaker
Absolutely amazing.
00:01:25
Speaker
Thank you so much.
00:01:26
Speaker
I feel the same about you.
00:01:27
Speaker
Thank you so much.
00:01:28
Speaker
It's an honor for me.
00:01:29
Speaker
We're so excited to have you on the show today.
00:01:32
Speaker
Oh, thank you for having me there.
00:01:33
Speaker
I am really happy to speak with both of you.
00:01:35
Speaker
Thank you so much.
00:01:37
Speaker
So let's start at the beginning.
00:01:38
Speaker
Can you tell us a little bit about how you first got into music and what inspired you to pursue a career as a musician?
00:01:45
Speaker
Yes.
00:01:46
Speaker
So my mother is a musician.
00:01:48
Speaker
She's a singer.
00:01:49
Speaker
And music was sort of, you know, everyday music.
00:01:56
Speaker
vibrations in my house.
00:01:58
Speaker
My mom sang, she always practiced and then we had a little radio.
00:02:03
Speaker
So radio would always be on and I was always listening to and listening to my mom sing.
00:02:07
Speaker
And then she put me in a music class when I was three years old to start my training.
00:02:13
Speaker
Cause she felt like I had pitch the, you know, just like when a child sings in pitch versus when a child doesn't sing in pitch.
00:02:22
Speaker
And she found that I was able to sing in pitch.
00:02:24
Speaker
So I started my training pretty early on at three.
00:02:28
Speaker
And I was fortunate because I had really great ustads and great teachers.
00:02:34
Speaker
And, you know, it's one thing to want to learn, but it's one thing to be blessed by incredible teachers and gurus and ustads.
00:02:43
Speaker
And I learned from both a Hindu guru and a Muslim guru.
00:02:47
Speaker
So I have adopted both trainings in my music and I feel like music has no boundaries.
Creating Indie Hindi: Blending Traditions
00:02:55
Speaker
And it transcends between one human soul to another and it goes freely back and forth.
00:03:02
Speaker
And this is one language that we can all speak.
00:03:06
Speaker
Without any boundaries and with just love.
00:03:10
Speaker
So my training started very early on with great teachers.
00:03:14
Speaker
My first teacher was Komudi Munshi.
00:03:17
Speaker
She was from Banaras Gharana.
00:03:19
Speaker
She taught me Thumri Dadara Chaiti Kajri Horis.
00:03:22
Speaker
And then I learned the classical music from Ustad Sultan Khasa and also Srimati Kishori Amonkar.
00:03:32
Speaker
And then a little bit of light music training from Uday Mazumdar.
00:03:37
Speaker
So these are my four teachers and I owe everything.
00:03:41
Speaker
I give everything that I have to my teachers.
00:03:44
Speaker
I offer them.
00:03:45
Speaker
That's really interesting.
00:03:46
Speaker
So your music combines traditional Indian music with temporary pop.
00:03:50
Speaker
Can you tell us a little bit more about how you develop this unique sound and what inspires you when you're creating new music?
00:03:58
Speaker
So, you know, as your father also knows, and I also know that when you grow up in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India,
00:04:07
Speaker
Music is everyday life for us.
00:04:09
Speaker
It's a way of life.
00:04:11
Speaker
If a child is born, we have music.
00:04:13
Speaker
If there is a death in a family, we have music.
00:04:16
Speaker
If there's a marriage, we have music, right?
00:04:18
Speaker
So it's what we breathe.
00:04:21
Speaker
And having grown up in a great civilization, in a great culture,
00:04:28
Speaker
I always wanted to maintain that and actually grow it, not just maintain, learn, but actually pass it on to the next generation.
00:04:36
Speaker
And when I got an opportunity to come to America,
00:04:40
Speaker
this is also a great land of great music.
00:04:44
Speaker
And it would be very foolish of me not to learn Western music.
00:04:49
Speaker
So I went to great teachers here and also a little bit for, I went to Berkeley for a little time.
00:04:57
Speaker
And I sang...
00:04:59
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Western music and I learned composition, songwriting and arrangement and the craft, song craft.
00:05:07
Speaker
So I blended both because I felt like Indian music is melodic based, but American Western music is harmony based.
00:05:17
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So if I could bring both without disturbing their own identities, without ever like making something impure,
00:05:26
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keeping their purity but drawing freely as I find aesthetically beauty.
00:05:33
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I started doing English songs in ragas based on melodic scales.
00:05:39
Speaker
And that sort of worked.
00:05:40
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And it became a genre that was created called Indie Hindi.
00:05:45
Speaker
Wow.
00:05:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:46
Speaker
We have, I've done, all the albums have that and it's doing like, you know, like I go on tour now, I do shows and people are trying to now understand that we can have our ancient traditions, but at the same time we can adopt American and Western music and it becomes a beautiful melting pot of all of these cultures together.
00:06:09
Speaker
Wow, very well said.
00:06:11
Speaker
Before I talk about your latest album, Faloo's Bazaar, I want to ask one thing that since we people who belong to the subcontinent like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, all these countries,
00:06:25
Speaker
We are like most of the classical trained musicians are from gharanas like Patiala and Gawalyar and all these gharanas.
00:06:35
Speaker
So do you belong to any gharana or you just you are the only person who got into music in your family?
00:06:44
Speaker
How I mean, how did you come into classical Eastern classical music?
00:06:49
Speaker
Well, my mother is a classical singer.
00:06:51
Speaker
So she is a classical singer.
00:06:54
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She was trained.
00:06:55
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She did her bachelor's in music.
00:06:57
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So I do belong to a gharana.
00:06:59
Speaker
Actually, three of them.
00:07:01
Speaker
For Thumri, Dadra, Chaiti, Hori, I belong to Banaras Gharana, which comes from Sideshwari Devi.
00:07:08
Speaker
And the Thumri Queen, we consider her a Thumri Queen in India.
00:07:13
Speaker
And for classical, I learned two.
00:07:16
Speaker
One is in Dhor Gharana, Ustad Amir Khazab, coming down to Ustad Sultan Khazab, and then me, and then also his other disciples.
00:07:26
Speaker
And then I also learned from Jayapur Gharana through Kishori Amunkar.
00:07:31
Speaker
So I have, I sort of wanted to learn and not be just limited to one.
00:07:39
Speaker
And sort of get, I'm always hungry for something that I can adopt.
00:07:44
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I can learn.
00:07:45
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Sometimes it works.
00:07:47
Speaker
Sometimes it doesn't.
00:07:48
Speaker
Right.
00:07:48
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But I'm not afraid of failures.
00:07:51
Speaker
So I try to kind of do an experiential music style rather than experimental.
00:07:58
Speaker
It's more, if I feel that it really touches my soul, then I do it.
00:08:05
Speaker
Very nice.
00:08:06
Speaker
And if I feel like it's,
00:08:08
Speaker
it's okay it's not really doing anything i let it go right and sometimes the audience agrees with me sometimes it doesn't so it's pretty organic and yes i do a lot of ghana's and i had i've trained very very intensely by all my teachers i did chilla chilla which is a tradition where you sing one scale if you do rag yaman you do rag yaman from sunrise to sunset
00:08:35
Speaker
Oh my God, that's very, very like rigid.
00:08:39
Speaker
Very rigid, yeah.
00:08:41
Speaker
I used to do 16 hours of practice, continuous.
00:08:45
Speaker
And then chill hours were 12 hours for 40 days, non-stop.
00:08:49
Speaker
So during those...
00:08:50
Speaker
During the time when you're doing chilla for 40 days, you sort of eat the same food.
00:08:56
Speaker
You have two pairs of clothes that you wash and you wear, you wash and you wear.
00:09:00
Speaker
Basically, repetition is the key.
00:09:03
Speaker
Right.
00:09:03
Speaker
If you're doing dal chaval, you only eat dal chaval.
00:09:06
Speaker
You don't go and then eat lamb biryani or chicken, nothing like that.
00:09:10
Speaker
If dal shawal is your best food for your practice, for your soul, that's what you stick to for 40 days.
00:09:18
Speaker
Imagine eating the same food for 40 days.
00:09:20
Speaker
It kind of...
00:09:22
Speaker
It's hard.
00:09:22
Speaker
It
Collaborations and Performances on Global Stages
00:09:23
Speaker
is.
00:09:23
Speaker
It is.
00:09:23
Speaker
Let's talk about, yeah, let's talk about your latest album, Falou's Bazaar.
00:09:28
Speaker
You collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and Wycliffe Sean.
00:09:32
Speaker
So how did these collaborations come about?
00:09:37
Speaker
How did you?
00:09:38
Speaker
So, right, right.
00:09:39
Speaker
So my latest album is A Colorful World.
00:09:42
Speaker
Before that was Falou's Bazaar.
00:09:44
Speaker
And the collaborations have happened throughout.
00:09:47
Speaker
So Yo-Yo Ma was my first collaboration in America.
00:09:50
Speaker
Wow.
00:09:51
Speaker
Wow.
00:09:52
Speaker
I came to Boston to learn and I was 20, 21 years old, very young and really not experienced.
00:10:01
Speaker
I didn't know anybody.
00:10:02
Speaker
You're still young, come on.
00:10:06
Speaker
Like clueless.
00:10:07
Speaker
Oh, okay.
00:10:07
Speaker
Okay.
00:10:07
Speaker
Right.
00:10:08
Speaker
I think the right word should be clueless.
00:10:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:10:10
Speaker
Right.
00:10:10
Speaker
And completely FOB, fresh of boat.
00:10:15
Speaker
I ended up in a small club in Boston singing wherever, you know, at this point you're finding gigs wherever you can.
00:10:23
Speaker
And one, maybe one or two shows, somebody must have seen me.
00:10:29
Speaker
singing right and and then i next thing i know i got a call from his musician to see if i would go and sing for him and then potentially join the store for silk road project so yes i i just i was fearless i went and i did my ragas that i know really really well and he said yes that's it and then i did some concerts with him and
00:10:54
Speaker
in Salem, Massachusetts.
00:10:56
Speaker
And, you know, it's the first break and journey started with Yo-Yo Ma.
00:11:02
Speaker
Wow.
00:11:03
Speaker
Your music has taken you to some incredible places and introduced you to many influential people.
00:11:08
Speaker
For example, you have had the opportunity to meet with both the Indian Prime Minister and Australian Prime Minister.
00:11:14
Speaker
Can you tell us about those experiences and how they have influenced your music and perspective on the world?
00:11:20
Speaker
That's...
00:11:21
Speaker
A great question.
00:11:22
Speaker
We really want to know that how you were there with the two prime ministers of the world.
00:11:28
Speaker
I mean, it was amazing to see you there.
00:11:31
Speaker
Oh, thank you so much.
00:11:32
Speaker
So yeah, I think
00:11:35
Speaker
When I went to India, I met with the prime minister and we were talking about the power of music and he's a visionary.
00:11:41
Speaker
So he said to me, write a song on millets and try to promote this song so you can help end hunger worldwide.
00:11:50
Speaker
So that was the cause of doing my latest single that's released.
00:11:55
Speaker
But in that, then he asked me to come down to India, where this cricket match was being played between Australia and India.
00:12:03
Speaker
And both prime ministers were attending the match.
00:12:06
Speaker
And it was the opening day.
00:12:09
Speaker
And, you know, first they came and inaugurated and everything.
00:12:12
Speaker
And then they wanted me to do this medley for seven, eight minutes in that stadium.
00:12:18
Speaker
And it is one of the largest stadiums in India for cricket players.
00:12:21
Speaker
I think we had more than 125,000 people there.
00:12:25
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And everyone's cheering.
00:12:26
Speaker
And something that music and sports do is they bring people together.
00:12:33
Speaker
And it was so nice to see both prime ministers hi-fying to each other.
00:12:38
Speaker
There was a sixer or not a sixer.
00:12:41
Speaker
No matter which team was doing a sixer or no matter which team was, you know, getting the cricketers were getting out.
00:12:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:12:49
Speaker
There was this spirit of oneness that we are all one and we're all humans and we are enjoying this beautiful game of cricket.
00:12:58
Speaker
Thanks.
00:12:59
Speaker
And we are unifying our countries and we are giving each other so much love.
00:13:04
Speaker
And I think music added a spice to that whole experience.
00:13:08
Speaker
So we have two countries sharing all this love for sports, but at the same time, music adding spice and really making the whole thing very festive.
00:13:19
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:13:21
Speaker
Then he, you know, it was the women's, it was March 9th, which was the women's International Women's Day.
00:13:26
Speaker
So they had to do this thing.
00:13:28
Speaker
We for women, we for victory.
00:13:30
Speaker
Yeah, exactly.
00:13:33
Speaker
So they were, they were like, they were like, okay, what do we do?
00:13:35
Speaker
What do we do here?
00:13:36
Speaker
So.
00:13:37
Speaker
I being the woman, I was teaching them V for victory, W for women, victory for women.
00:13:42
Speaker
Very nice.
00:13:43
Speaker
It was like the sweetest thing because, you know, these prime ministers, they're like, what do I do?
00:13:48
Speaker
What do I do?
00:13:48
Speaker
And I'm like teaching them to do this.
00:13:51
Speaker
And it was so fun.
00:13:53
Speaker
It was really like a experience that I will never forget in my life.
00:13:56
Speaker
Right, right.
00:13:57
Speaker
It was such an honor for you, just like it's an honor for us to know you.
00:14:01
Speaker
Oh, you're so kind.
00:14:03
Speaker
Thank you.
00:14:04
Speaker
I feel very honored that I know you guys.
00:14:06
Speaker
Thank you so much.
00:14:08
Speaker
You have also worked as a music educator teaching Indian classical music to students of all ages.
00:14:13
Speaker
How has teaching influenced your own music and what have you learned from your students?
00:14:18
Speaker
What a great question coming from a student.
00:14:22
Speaker
So I am a lifelong student.
00:14:24
Speaker
I have always told myself and behaved that there is so much to learn.
00:14:31
Speaker
The world is like an ocean and the deeper you go, the more you realize that you don't know anything.
00:14:35
Speaker
Right.
00:14:35
Speaker
So this is my motto.
00:14:37
Speaker
I don't I don't think I know even one bit of what I can know.
00:14:42
Speaker
So I'm always eager to learn.
00:14:44
Speaker
And education is a way of giving back to the younger generation, to the you know, to the next future generation.
00:14:52
Speaker
the kids.
00:14:54
Speaker
And I have a child too, who is 12 years old.
00:14:57
Speaker
And every time he asks me a question, it's so meaningful because I don't think I have thought from that perspective.
00:15:05
Speaker
So I learn when I teach.
00:15:08
Speaker
and I never want to stop learning.
00:15:11
Speaker
Even with my students, when I'm interacting with them, they might have some questions that are so amazing that maybe I didn't think about it, and maybe I have to figure out how to go through this theory and tell them how this works.
00:15:25
Speaker
So it's innovative, it gives you a lot of thinking power,
00:15:31
Speaker
And it brings you with this beautiful energy of young children that is so, it's positive and it's uplifting.
Music as a Social and Unifying Force
00:15:41
Speaker
So I always surround myself with kids and I love to educate and learn from them as well while I teach.
00:15:47
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:15:47
Speaker
Learning is an ongoing process which never stops.
00:15:50
Speaker
Very well said.
00:15:53
Speaker
Okay, your music often incorporates elements of social and a little political commentary.
00:15:59
Speaker
How do you use your platform as an artist to address these issues?
00:16:03
Speaker
And what do you hope to achieve through your music?
00:16:05
Speaker
That's a very important question.
00:16:09
Speaker
So, you know, you and I both know that musicians are blessed.
00:16:14
Speaker
They are.
00:16:14
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:16:15
Speaker
We are.
00:16:16
Speaker
I would think that we're special.
00:16:18
Speaker
Now, some people might not agree.
00:16:20
Speaker
Yes, I totally agree.
00:16:21
Speaker
I can relate to this thing.
00:16:24
Speaker
I really think we are a different soul.
00:16:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:16:27
Speaker
We see the world in a very different way.
00:16:31
Speaker
And I'm not saying good or bad.
00:16:33
Speaker
We just see it in a very different way.
00:16:35
Speaker
Different way.
00:16:35
Speaker
Yes, true.
00:16:37
Speaker
And...
00:16:38
Speaker
I think music for us means expressing in the most purest way.
00:16:46
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:16:47
Speaker
It comes right from your heart and soul.
00:16:50
Speaker
There is no filter.
00:16:51
Speaker
When we do music, we can say everything and anything without thinking of how this person is going to feel, how this is going to be received, because it's just... How can I do filtering?
00:17:07
Speaker
Beautiful, beautiful.
00:17:09
Speaker
You're such a melodic person.
00:17:12
Speaker
Oh, my God.
00:17:12
Speaker
It's such a pure form of expression.
00:17:17
Speaker
And why do I do music?
00:17:19
Speaker
Because that's the only thing I want to live for.
00:17:24
Speaker
The minute, God forbid, the minute I cannot sing, I don't want to live anymore.
00:17:28
Speaker
Wow.
00:17:29
Speaker
This is a true sign of a true musician that they really want to live for the music and not for the fame or fortune or anything.
00:17:37
Speaker
That's a secondhand thing.
00:17:39
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, if your music is good, things will follow.
00:17:42
Speaker
But I'm not going to base success and then write music.
00:17:46
Speaker
Yeah, exactly.
00:17:47
Speaker
You know, if it is good and if it appeals with people, it will come.
00:17:52
Speaker
Definitely your music is good.
00:17:54
Speaker
That's why it touches everyone's heart.
00:17:56
Speaker
Thank you.
00:17:57
Speaker
You're welcome.
00:17:58
Speaker
Yours too, Imran.
00:17:59
Speaker
Thank you.
00:18:00
Speaker
You have performed at venues all over the world.
00:18:03
Speaker
What have been some of your most memorable experiences as a live performer?
00:18:07
Speaker
And how do you connect with your audience during your shows?
00:18:12
Speaker
This is going to be a long answer.
00:18:13
Speaker
Ready?
00:18:13
Speaker
Yeah, please elaborate.
00:18:16
Speaker
So, you know, for musicians, as your father might agree with me,
00:18:24
Speaker
live energy, live performance, and making that audience feel what you feel is the most gifted, precious element that we get, right?
00:18:36
Speaker
When you give, you get more love.
00:18:39
Speaker
When you do music, you get more joy.
00:18:41
Speaker
When you share this, you get more.
00:18:44
Speaker
So the energy that live concerts give you
00:18:47
Speaker
is something you cannot experience anywhere else in a studio or in a tour bus or anywhere.
00:18:54
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:18:55
Speaker
Totally agree.
00:18:56
Speaker
There is nothing like human energies exchanged between an audience and a musician.
00:19:03
Speaker
And everybody who does live music only does it because of this.
00:19:06
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:06
Speaker
I mean, you want your audience to feel and just get carried away with you.
00:19:13
Speaker
And get connected as well.
00:19:14
Speaker
Yes.
00:19:15
Speaker
Yeah, one soul to other.
00:19:16
Speaker
Music is such that a soul sings and a soul hears.
00:19:19
Speaker
There is nothing else, right?
00:19:20
Speaker
So my best experiences were, you will not believe, most something that I will think when I'm dying are three.
00:19:31
Speaker
mainly three.
00:19:33
Speaker
So first, obviously, when I was singing for the two leaders, world leaders, one was President Obama at the White House.
00:19:41
Speaker
And the second was Prime Minister Modi at the Narendra Modi stage.
00:19:45
Speaker
So these, obviously, these were absolutely something that...
00:19:51
Speaker
or i will never forget absolutely second was at carnegie hall when i first debuted awesome awesome and sold out carnegie hall that was you know for an immigrant a south asian minority woman who immigrated to this country selling out carnegie hall meant
00:20:12
Speaker
that your story was heard.
00:20:15
Speaker
Oh my God.
00:20:16
Speaker
That's a huge achievement and you are blessed.
00:20:19
Speaker
You are absolutely blessed.
00:20:20
Speaker
I do feel that too.
00:20:22
Speaker
And the third one was in a prison.
00:20:25
Speaker
Maximum security prison for men.
00:20:27
Speaker
Wow.
00:20:28
Speaker
It's called Sing Sing and it's in upstate New York and we had 400 inmates.
00:20:34
Speaker
Oh my God.
00:20:34
Speaker
And this is gruesome crimes.
00:20:36
Speaker
This is not petty thefts.
00:20:39
Speaker
It's murders.
00:20:41
Speaker
It's extremely most criminal natured where the highest crimes have been committed.
00:20:50
Speaker
People are in this prison.
00:20:53
Speaker
And
00:20:53
Speaker
Music is so powerful that when you sing and when they listen, these 400 inmates, now imagine they cannot move, right?
00:21:04
Speaker
They are sitting and they're not able to stand up and dance with you.
00:21:10
Speaker
Yeah, they're like in the shackles maybe or they are confined in one place.
00:21:14
Speaker
They are not in the shackles, but they sit in one place.
00:21:17
Speaker
And the only things that they can do is their heart can dance with you.
00:21:21
Speaker
Wow.
00:21:22
Speaker
but they cannot move, right?
00:21:24
Speaker
So when you take music to a facility where there is otherwise no live performances and when they give you that feedback of when you sing, goddess Saraswati comes and appears in front of us.
00:21:38
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:21:39
Speaker
You are taking us out of this place, out of this facility and into somewhere that we can't access.
00:21:46
Speaker
You are spiritually connected to the whole thing.
00:21:49
Speaker
Exactly.
00:21:49
Speaker
And that spiritual...
00:21:52
Speaker
experience.
00:21:53
Speaker
And also, I also teach in prisons through my social justice work at Carnegie Hall.
00:21:58
Speaker
So I go to maximum security men's prisons, Rikers Island, which is a woman's prison, and we write lullabies with young mothers.
00:22:06
Speaker
Wow.
00:22:06
Speaker
who are teenagers, 17, 18, and they don't know how to bond with their child.
00:22:12
Speaker
So we write lullaby to bond the mom and the baby.
00:22:16
Speaker
So we perform there as well to give them this beautiful lullabies that they can then sing to their children and then the children can take away when they leave prison.
00:22:26
Speaker
Because moms are still in prison and children are separated.
00:22:29
Speaker
Right.
00:22:30
Speaker
They go to foster homes.
00:22:31
Speaker
So what do they take from their mom?
00:22:32
Speaker
Is this only the song that we wrote?
00:22:35
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:22:35
Speaker
That's the mother's voice is the only thing that goes with the child.
00:22:40
Speaker
And this is so meaningful to me with the social justice work that I've done for 15 years.
00:22:46
Speaker
And now with this new song, Millets, abundance in millets, which is also to end hunger by promoting millets everywhere.
00:22:54
Speaker
So music for a cause is very important to me.
00:22:57
Speaker
Your music has been phrased for its ability to bring together people from different cultures and backgrounds.
00:23:05
Speaker
How do you think music can help promote understanding and unity between different communities?
00:23:14
Speaker
Oh, it is the only thing that can, I think.
00:23:17
Speaker
It is the biggest powerhouse.
00:23:18
Speaker
It is the biggest God's gift that we humans have received.
00:23:23
Speaker
It came from the birds.
00:23:24
Speaker
Again, the way that God gave us music is through the birds is what I learned.
00:23:29
Speaker
And sound, the first sounds in the universe were music.
00:23:35
Speaker
And when we embrace God's language, the universal language of love and the 12 notes.
00:23:44
Speaker
Right, right.
00:23:45
Speaker
Sometimes in our culture, 22 notes.
00:23:47
Speaker
Right.
00:23:48
Speaker
I think it is one language that no matter where you live, you will understand and you will enjoy, you will feel.
00:23:59
Speaker
It is a language of feeling.
00:24:00
Speaker
Right.
00:24:01
Speaker
Right.
00:24:02
Speaker
And it has no boundaries.
00:24:03
Speaker
So I feel like music is the greatest gift and the greatest, greatest unifier for all humans, for all lives, for even when you sing it for plants, they grow better.
00:24:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:19
Speaker
Right.
00:24:19
Speaker
When you're doing music for trees and plants, even they like it.
00:24:23
Speaker
So if it can have this much shakti and power to to really reflect in our, you know, everyday living with plants, animals, birds, humans.
Songwriting and Cultural Representation
00:24:35
Speaker
Even like, for example, when you're sitting at the beach and you hear the waves, they are creating such a beautiful sound.
00:24:43
Speaker
So music is everywhere, I believe.
00:24:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:45
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:24:46
Speaker
Music is everywhere.
00:24:47
Speaker
We just have to listen.
00:24:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:51
Speaker
Your song, Rabba, was featured in the 2012 film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
00:24:56
Speaker
How did this opportunity come about?
00:24:58
Speaker
And what was it like to have your music featured in a major motion picture?
00:25:04
Speaker
You know, it was my first ever written song.
00:25:07
Speaker
I have never written a song before, Rabba.
00:25:09
Speaker
Wow.
00:25:10
Speaker
And I was, you know...
00:25:13
Speaker
very, very young, a teenager when I wrote it.
00:25:15
Speaker
And at that time, you know, Rabba was mostly about finding your lover.
00:25:20
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:20
Speaker
Not realizing that Rabba can also be God.
00:25:23
Speaker
God.
00:25:23
Speaker
Right.
00:25:24
Speaker
So the song is like a ghazal, which is, which has two meanings.
00:25:28
Speaker
It could be worldly.
00:25:29
Speaker
It could be human.
00:25:31
Speaker
And I feel like the melody is a little bit universal.
00:25:37
Speaker
So it, that is what affected the, the,
00:25:41
Speaker
people who liked it and they took it.
00:25:43
Speaker
And I mean, really like coming in limelight like that for bigger platforms.
00:25:51
Speaker
Yeah, that's an honor.
00:25:53
Speaker
That gives an instant publicity to your music.
00:25:58
Speaker
So, you know, getting anywhere on a soundtrack, be it TV, be it movies, it always gives you a lot of, what happens is more people know about you and that's always good.
00:26:09
Speaker
Very nice.
00:26:10
Speaker
Very nice.
00:26:11
Speaker
Okay.
00:26:11
Speaker
You have been called a musical ambassador for Indian culture.
00:26:16
Speaker
What does this label mean to you and how do you hope to represent your culture through your music?
00:26:24
Speaker
It's a lot of responsibility.
00:26:26
Speaker
Yeah, it's a big responsibility indeed.
00:26:29
Speaker
You cannot mess up, right?
00:26:31
Speaker
So even in the, this is the first time in the Grammys that an Asian woman is selected as a trustee.
00:26:40
Speaker
entire Asia not just India yeah so I feel that the responsibility on my shoulder is humongous because just even if you take Bangladesh Pakistan and India our population is around two billion people right absolutely
00:26:57
Speaker
right and then you put in china and the southeast asia and all of those countries and here we're talking three four million billion people yeah so when you are representing a sole representation of that entire population there is nothing that you can say or do that has no impact right
00:27:20
Speaker
Right.
00:27:20
Speaker
So every word, every act, every proposal, every thing that somebody does in that situation has to be accountable.
00:27:33
Speaker
Right, right.
00:27:34
Speaker
And it has to represent everybody in the fairest way that I know.
00:27:39
Speaker
Again, I don't know everything, but from my experience of growing up in India, in South Asia and being in Asian culture, surrounded,
00:27:49
Speaker
by so many Asians in New York.
00:27:52
Speaker
It is very important that I understand what the community needs and I represent everyone with the best of my abilities.
00:28:03
Speaker
Right, right.
00:28:05
Speaker
Awesome.
00:28:06
Speaker
You have worked with a number of nonprofit organizations, including the American India Foundation and the Global Fund for Children.
00:28:13
Speaker
You have performed at several benefit concerts to raise funds for these organizations.
00:28:18
Speaker
Additionally, you have been involved in several projects with the American India Foundation, including the Digital Equalizer Program, which provides technology and education to underprivileged children in India.
00:28:29
Speaker
How do you use your music to support these causes?
00:28:32
Speaker
And what impact do you hope to have through your philanthropic work?
00:28:38
Speaker
I think everybody does music for different purposes, right?
00:28:43
Speaker
Very true.
00:28:43
Speaker
Some want to do, some want to make money.
00:28:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:46
Speaker
Some want to be famous.
00:28:47
Speaker
Some want success.
00:28:49
Speaker
Some want legacy.
00:28:51
Speaker
I want to give back.
00:28:54
Speaker
And there is only so much you can take from the universe.
00:28:58
Speaker
Wow.
00:28:59
Speaker
There comes a point in life where what is your legacy after you leave this world?
00:29:06
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:29:07
Speaker
And as musicians, it's our huge responsibility to A, make sure that our music is going to a good cause.
00:29:17
Speaker
Very true.
00:29:17
Speaker
It's making a difference in someone's life who basically might not have the means that we have living in America.
00:29:25
Speaker
It's touching a child's heart and making that person's life positive and giving an upliftment a positive effect
00:29:36
Speaker
So they can try to live their dreams just like I was able to.
00:29:41
Speaker
So philanthropy, giving back and giving back to the underserved communities and in all over the world.
00:29:49
Speaker
is something that I feel is probably a responsibility in so many ratios for so many of us.
00:29:57
Speaker
Right.
00:29:58
Speaker
How much can you really take?
00:29:59
Speaker
Right.
00:30:00
Speaker
I mean, we do shows, we do recordings, everybody listens to our music.
00:30:05
Speaker
Yes, it's great.
00:30:06
Speaker
But how can you use that powerhouse that you have, that God has given you to betterment of humanity?
00:30:13
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:30:14
Speaker
You know, even if a musician dies physically, he leaves the world, the music lives on forever and ever.
00:30:23
Speaker
That's the beauty of music.
00:30:24
Speaker
We have that power.
00:30:26
Speaker
We have that power.
Future Plans and Social Impact Initiatives
00:30:27
Speaker
Yeah, this is eternal.
00:30:29
Speaker
It's eternal.
00:30:31
Speaker
I don't think everybody is blessed with this power.
00:30:33
Speaker
So people who have it should absolutely use it for the betterment.
00:30:38
Speaker
Very true.
00:30:39
Speaker
For the positivity and betterment of the society and for the people in general.
00:30:44
Speaker
Very well said.
00:30:45
Speaker
What are your plans for the future of your music career and what can fans expect from you in the coming years?
00:30:52
Speaker
What a great question.
00:30:52
Speaker
Thank you for asking.
00:30:55
Speaker
Just this month, we released a brand new single called Abundance in Millets.
00:31:01
Speaker
This song was written...
00:31:03
Speaker
along with me, Gaurav Shah, Kenya Auri, Greg Gonzalez, and the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi.
00:31:11
Speaker
Wow.
00:31:11
Speaker
Wow.
00:31:12
Speaker
Wow.
00:31:13
Speaker
That's huge.
00:31:14
Speaker
Oh, my God.
00:31:17
Speaker
The song Abundance in Millets is written
00:31:20
Speaker
with a cause and a goal in mind, which is to help end hunger worldwide by promoting millets, which is a super grain.
00:31:30
Speaker
It is high in nutritional value.
00:31:32
Speaker
It grows in low rainfall regions.
00:31:34
Speaker
It is gluten-free, low diabetes, and it's so healthy and holistic in nature.
00:31:40
Speaker
So what we want to do is promote millets so that
00:31:45
Speaker
Farmers, small farmers in countries where there is low rainfall, they can also grow and promote and export millets so that their children and their families can go to sleep with a full stomach.
00:32:00
Speaker
With this song, even if one child or one family doesn't go to sleep hungry, I think our motive, our cause has been...
00:32:10
Speaker
you know, serving the humanity has been successful because with music, if a child is sleeping full stomach, I think that's a great, great thing that any musician can achieve.
00:32:24
Speaker
That's the biggest contribution you can give to the humanity.
00:32:28
Speaker
Yeah, because I've seen in India children not having food and picking from garbage and eating whatever people are throwing away.
00:32:37
Speaker
So that really doesn't sit in with me.
00:32:41
Speaker
I don't want any child to sleep hungry ever.
00:32:45
Speaker
And if I can use this powerhouse of music along with the pen and songwriting capacities of the prime minister,
00:32:53
Speaker
And partnership with him will really lead and open more doors.
00:32:57
Speaker
Even the United Nations declared this year as the International Year of Millets.
00:33:03
Speaker
Right.
00:33:03
Speaker
So we're trying to promote and grow this grain everywhere in the world and end hunger.
Advice for Aspiring Musicians
00:33:10
Speaker
Yes, you have achieved that.
00:33:11
Speaker
If one person doesn't go hungry, so you have achieved your goal with that.
00:33:17
Speaker
Very well said.
00:33:19
Speaker
Thank you.
00:33:19
Speaker
You're welcome.
00:33:20
Speaker
OK, before we wrap up, we wanted to ask you one final question.
00:33:26
Speaker
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians, the upcoming musicians who are trying to break into the industry, particularly those who come from underrepresented communities or from different parts of the world and they really want to take a break in music?
00:33:42
Speaker
What advice do you have for them?
00:33:46
Speaker
You know, when I was growing up, I was bullied.
00:33:50
Speaker
And there was only one cushion I had, which was music.
00:33:54
Speaker
That's what embraced me with full arms.
00:33:57
Speaker
That's some music never told me how I was or how I could become or anything.
00:34:03
Speaker
It didn't judge me.
00:34:05
Speaker
And I feel people who are aspiring musicians keep this cushion forever, never let go.
00:34:12
Speaker
And if you feel that you have a future in music, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
00:34:20
Speaker
Right?
00:34:21
Speaker
So dream big and do not ever give up.
00:34:24
Speaker
Exactly.
00:34:25
Speaker
Very well said.
00:34:26
Speaker
That's great advice.
00:34:28
Speaker
Thank you.
00:34:28
Speaker
Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today.
00:34:31
Speaker
It's been a pleasure to talk to you.
00:34:33
Speaker
Yes, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and your music with us.
00:34:38
Speaker
We can't wait to see what you do next.
00:34:40
Speaker
Thank you for having me.
00:34:41
Speaker
So nice to talk to you.
00:34:43
Speaker
That's it for today's episode of our podcast.
00:34:45
Speaker
We hope you enjoyed our conversation and learned something new.
00:34:49
Speaker
If you want to keep up with our show, don't forget to subscribe on our favorite podcast platform and leave us a review.
00:34:56
Speaker
It really helps us to reach new listeners.
00:34:59
Speaker
And if you have any feedback or suggestions for future episodes, feel free to reach out to us on social media.
00:35:05
Speaker
We love hearing from our listeners.
00:35:07
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next time on our latest podcast, another guest, another podcast.