Apoorva Mudgal’s ‘Dasht-e-Tanhai’ is a Haunting Take on Faiz Ahmed Faiz

New York-based artist Apoorva Mudgal’s rendition of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s “Dasht-e-Tanhai” has found a special place among fans of the legendary writer and classical music, accruing over 125,000 views on YouTube since its release on Oct. 19, 2024.

For the minimal yet stirring song, Mudgal enlists guitarist Ria Modak, seasoned clarinetist Doug Wieselman, kora artist Yacouba Sissoko and bassist Dan Klingsberg. With this new arrangement taken on by Mudgal, Modak and producer Rameez Anwar, “Dasht-e-Tanhai” unfolds like an apt new age song that builds on Mudgal’s repertoire while also fitting in with the current run of ethereal Urdu music by Grammy-winning artist Arooj Aftab.

Mudgal says in a statement about how the song came together, “Over the years, friends would share with me musical renditions of the nazm by iconic singers – and ask me to sing it – but somehow none of the versions already out there would stick with me or find themselves in my playlist. This was confusing since I otherwise deeply admired both the performers and Faiz’s nazm itself, but I’d never end up listening to any of them in full or getting to learn the actual melody of the tracks. I would always feel that the arrangement needed less. That there needed to be more expansiveness and space for silence, almost like one would find in a physical desert.”

One night ahead of a “local gathering” where Mudgal was figuring out which pieces to perform, she heard Modak’s guitar arrangement of the composition originally by Mehdi Zaheer. Mudgal realized then that “all these unsurfaced, unexpressed ideas would finally find a home.” She adds, “At the time, being in the wake of a dying relationship I was experiencing such raw pain that it simply struck a much deeper arrow in my heart. Ria then taught me the melody – and we couldn’t help but end up weeping every time we would try to rehearse or perform it. Almost immediately we decided we needed our own version.”

After a few performances that involved Mudgal, Modak and Sissoko, “Dasht-e-Tanhai” was recorded in December 2023 at Teaneck Studios in New Jersey. Wieselman – who has performed with the likes of Lou Reed – was brought on as a last minute addition to the track, improvising clarinet parts for the arrangement. “These later ended up being some of our favorite parts on the track,” Mudgal says. The track was mixed and mastered by Daniel Blonde.

Elevating the power of Mudgal’s vocals is the music video shot by filmmakers Shruti Parekh and Adam Holoubek. A press release adds, “The music video treatment seeks to emulate the still, spaced out and silent quality of the audio recording, setting the story in an empty room where but a few furnishings remain – a hint at something that used to be but is no more.”

Watch the video for “Dasht-e-Tanhai” below.