HOMELAND CALLING

A rumination on post-Partition migration, life in Delhi’s refugee colony, search of identity...Delhi-based musician Tarun Balani opens up about Kadahin Milandaasin, his most emotional’ album to date

- PRIYAMVADA RANA

WHEN Delhi-based musician Tarun Balani set out to make a new studio album, he found himself enveloped by the warm memories of Sindh, a homeland where four generations of his family lived before migrating to Delhi, post-Partition. While Balani has never lived in Sindh, for him, his grandfather, an artist and photographer, was its living manifestation. Some of his belongings he held to his heart-the vintage Yashica 635 box camera, black and white photographs, his watch and stories written in Sindhi. The latter has found its way into the music video of his upcoming album Kadahin Milandaasin.

"The album title was inspired by the lyrics and poetry of Sindhi poet Shaikh Ayaz, specifically his poem Tiri Pawanda, which includes the line 'Tade Milanda Si' meaning 'We will meet then.' The poem, reflecting on Partition, inspired me to tweak the line to 'Kadahin Milandaasin' which means 'When will we meet?' It's sung by me as a metaphor for the lost homeland, for my grandfather, whom I've never met but have always admired and been deeply inspired by, and now also for my late father," Balani says beginning our conversation about the album.

The album comprises seven tracks 'Lajpat Nagar Sometimes', 'Kadahin Milandaasin', 'The Laburnum Blooms', 'Sailaab', 'Locusts Are Descending', 'Samadhi', and 'For Every Man Saved A Victim Will Be Found'.