VIRAL WORDSMITH

Abeer has hit the jackpot with the lyrics of Maamla Legal Hai Season 2. Srijita Sen talks to the viral songwriter who made Ravi Kishan rap

- Srijita Sen

I'VE ALWAYS been connected to poetry, right from my early days in Malout, a small town near Bathinda. I then moved to Chandigarh in 2009 for my studies and graduated in 2013.

I WORKED a 9 to 5 job before pivoting to music. Coming from a middle-class family, there was always pressure to get a stable job after graduation. I worked for a couple of years before getting into music completely.

CHANDIGARH WAS the centre of Punjab’s music industry. I knew I had to make money if I wanted to stay connected to that world.

I WAS working at a mall, where I would quietly observe people during breaks and create stories about them in my head. Those stories slowly turned into lyrics and writing ideas.

I WAS a poster designer for a music company. That job slowly helped me build contacts in the Punjabi music industry.

ARTISTES AND singers who visited the office would read my writing. Everyone appreciated it. But none actually said, "Let's do your song."