Sufi-Folk Artist Aabha Hanjura Sings About Kashmir’s Beauty on ‘Nundbane’

During the 1990 Kashmir exodus, Sufi-folk artist Aabha Hanjura and her family were forced to flee their home and move to Jammu. “I was very young went we left,” she says. However, a few years ago, Hanjura as well as her family took a trip back to Kashmir for a holiday, one that would open the musician’s eyes. After visiting her childhood home, interacting with locals and soaking in the environment, she says, “The entire experience was very emotional for me and was greatly responsible for awakening an inner artist in me.” That awakening led to her putting together her most recent album Sound of Kashmir of which she’s just released the record’s fifth single with the folk-rock leaning “Nundbane.”

The latest offering borrows from Kashmiri folklore and explores the region’s beauty.”The words are of yesteryear poet Mahmud Gami,” says Hanjura. “Nundbane” is a song the musician grew up loving and tells us that the track is traditionally performed melancholically but she wanted it to sound “fresh.” Hanjura’s version includes traditional Kashmiri instruments such as the rabab, tumnbaknari and santoor which keep intact the folk feel of the song while soaring electric guitar parts and drums add a bit of gusto to it. The vocalist recorded the song at studios across Bengaluru under the watchful eye of producer Hriday Goswami.

The coronavirus pandemic has been topsy turvy for the singer but she’s trying to maintain her sanity throughout it. She says, “ I think I have dealt with this situation with an equal measure of braveness, positiveness, unsureness and sadness.” Next, Hanjura is plotting for one more release as part of the album before she plans on taking her sound in a different direction.

Watch the video for “Nundbane” below: