An indie album called The Music and Poetry Project, helmed by Chinmayi Tripathi, hopes to reintroduce Hindi poets to young people
Delhi-based singer and lyricist Chinmayi Tripathi has found a unique way of bringing the romance of poetry back among young people. She has compiled an album called The Music and Poetry Project, which has been conceptualised to popularise Hindi poetry through contemporary music.
Some of the greatest legends of Indian literature — Mahadevi Verma, Nirala, Shivmangal Singh Suman, Dharamvir Bharti and Dinkar — have been resurrected in the album, either through songs based on their timeless works or recitations of relevant stanzas. “A couple of poems have been recited by the great actor-singer Piyush Mishra. Some phenomenal artists have contributed to the album such as Madhu Mukherjee — the great producer, composer and teacher. Also Tapas Roy has added magic through his strings while Joell Mukherjii has given life to the songs with his soul-stirring arrangement. The album also includes a song by Baiju Dharmajan, one of the finest and most respected independent artists of our time. We have just released the first song Khushgappiyan. Thereafter we will be releasing a new song every month,” said Chinmayi Tripathi.
It all happened last summer when Tripathi was hanging out with her friends at Cyber Hub and the discussion veered around contemporary arts. “Someone mentioned Kabir in the context of sufiayana and how no other Indian sage has had such a massive appeal in contemporary music. Then somebody mentioned Nirala and one of my friends asked, ‘Who is thatIJ’ We all laughed then but it got me thinking how as a generation we had moved away from poetry. Also, our popular music, barring a few exceptions, is devoid of meaningful lyrics.” Another factor that worried her was how most youngsters only read over the internet and had lost the interest and patience to read books, especially literature, in their physical form. “I thought about composing songs based on poems I liked. Then I started reading poetry all over from a musical point of view and got really excited that I could transform quite a number of poems into songs. That’s when I decided to do an album based on timeless poetry of some of the great poets of Hindi literature — Nirala, Bachchan, Mahadevi Verma and Dharamvir Bharti.”
She was apprehensive about their critical reception and purist reactions. “However, I just tried to be as honest as I could while composing the songs to ensure that their essence remains as it is,” Tripathi told us.
Born and brought up in Sagar, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, the singer-lyricist has always been rooted to tradition. “Both my parents taught literature. My father has been a Sanskrit scholar and my mother a specialist in Hindi literature. I was always surrounded by books. Soon my parents noticed that I had a voice and they encouraged me to learn music. I was trained in Hindustani classical (vocals) when I was about seven,” she said.
Everything developed gradually for Tripathi. “I was never really interested in singing cover versions from the beginning. I was keen to work on my own music. So I started writing and composing original songs. Simultaneously, I carried on with my academics as well. Around 2014, I formed a fusion band called Spice Route. We mostly worked on our own original compositions and few covers. We started doing gigs in and around Delhi. I remember my first gig was at Hard Rock Café, Delhi. We were a bit sceptical if the crowd out there would appreciate our kind of music but it was a pleasant surprise. A lot of people really liked what we did. Encouraged, we started touring other cities as well.”
The first song she wrote was Aali (A friend), an introspective number about looking within and find that your best friend is yourself. “I recorded it, released it digitally and got some really interesting comments and responses. That motivated me to write more music. Then one thing led to another and I went on and released more music. Along with that I started performing live with my band and as a solo artiste,” said Tripathi.
Talking about her style of writing songs, she shared, “I take inspiration from everyday life. A lot of times the most random thoughts become songs. So it’s a spontaneous process as far as conceiving a song is concerned. But when I develop it further, I make sure that the lyrics are meaningful and the composition is in line in terms of mood and sentiment. When I was composing the song Khushgappiyan by Anamika — the idea was to take the listener down the memory lane to their own town and relive the journey.”
Now Tripathi is popularising her album through gigs in schools. “I have picked up poems that are relevant for kids too. They loved the songs and joined in though they were listening to them for the first time,” she added.
When not promoting the album, she gets working on showcasing new talent on her indie platform Songdew.com. “I was familiar with what independent musicians in India need and what all should be done as I was going through the same path as a musician. So I tried to bridge the gap through my perspective. After three years of inception, Songdew.com is one of the very few platforms that is doing concrete work to promote independent music, whether it is about building publishing and licensing opportunities or about giving media exposure. It is a one-stop shop for emerging artistes. That’s the reason why so many musicians have connected to it in such a short period of time,” she told us.
Writing in Hindi is not considered aspirational enough, especially among the younger generation. But Tripathi is trying to change that. “It feels great when, after some of my live performances, listeners write back saying how I had inspired them to read more of poems by Mahadevi Verma or Bachchan, and that it has rekindled their interest in poetry in general. I feel glad even if one person thinks so. There are a lot of challenges in independent music. Record labels ignore it and there aren’t enough live venues. But ticketed events and fests are on the rise and courtesy the digital platform, the world can become your audience at the click of a button. So there is a lot of opportunity out there but we need an innovative approach,” she said, rounding off.