Vintage Sounds

This year,the category of “Best Pop Album” at the Global Indian Music Awards,has thrown up an unexpected nominee. Among names such as Clinton Cerejo,Ram Sampath,Spud in the Box and Ska Vengers is Pragnya Wakhloo,a musician not so familiar in Delhi’s growing underground music circuit. Let’s not mistake Wakhloo as just some beatnik making it to the coveted list. For someone who has already become a sensation online with her soothing vocals and vintage sound,interesting arrangements with no frills and flounces and reflective lyrics,30-year-old Gurgaon-based Wakhloo prefers a style that’s a throwback to the ’90s pop,the jukebox rotations of which still find attention from those of us hungry for old style Indian pop. Wakhloo’s debut solo album titled Journey to the Sun,with its mellow and unobtrusive sounds,builds the promise to bring us something more captivating from the singer-songwriter.

Growing up in a Kashmiri Pandit family that left the disturbed Valley soon after her birth,Wakhloo wasn’t listening to a lot of music at home. As a 10-year-old,she did not want to be dragged into the world of riyaz and ragas by her parents. “My friend’s mother used to teach Hindustani classical and I began learning from her. I enjoyed my classes so much that I continued learning for many years thereafter,” says Wakhloo,who adds that it is this strong Hindustani base that has her arrange her English songs much better.

As of now,she is working on her next project which will be “an effort to popularise and revive Kashmiri folk and the language,and make it all known to the rest of the country”. These days,her Gurgaon residence,which is also her jam pad,is resonating with Ladishah,a satirical style of traditional singing,which is native to Kashmir,and the poetry of legendary

Kashmiri singer and acetic Habba Khatoon.

Her upcoming project,like her debut album,will again border on folk fusion and will pair Kashmiri folk with the sound of piano and acoustic guitar apart from her own interpretations of these traditional tracks. “These songs are disappearing; even in Kashmir. I hope my small effort will grab some attention from the non-Kashmiri audiences,” says Wakhloo.