Bhadra Rajin with Dr Divya S Iyer
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
As she joins the list of singers who have turned composers with ‘Sakhi’, a soulful track, Bhadra Rajin says it happened because “several small things came together”.
The first was raag Thilak Kamod, which she learnt from her guru, Ustad Faiyaz Khan. “I have been his student for the last 15 years. He comes to Tripunithura from Bengaluru twice a month to take classes. The day he explained the feel of the raag, which is sung at night, I started listening to songs based on it, sitting on my balcony on a full moon night. On a whim, I imagined the moon and earth having a conversation,” she recalls.
Bhadra says that initially she thought of the two to be lovers who can never meet. “When I shared it with my sister, Lakshmi Kaavu, she was the one who suggested why can’t I imagine the moon to be a woman and that it was two siblings having a conversation.”
The idea was relatable for Bhadra who is close to Lakshmi, five years older than her. “We share all our weird thoughts and ideas with each other. She lives in a world of books. Her view was that female body is connected to the moon; changes in our body are related to changes in that celestial body.”
Bhadra Rajin
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Although Lakshmi gave her the lyrics, Bhadra sat on it for over a year until she decided to do something about it. “I started working on it out of guilt. But I didn’t know how to go about it and that was when my friend-cum-musician Renjith Meleppat helped, starting with making me write the lyrics in the meter I wanted to compose the song. It took a few days to arrive at the pallavi. Once I got that, I organically arrived at the anupallavi and charanam, as if the universe handed them to me on a platter.”
Bhadra adds that it was Anurag Rajeev Nayan who gave it the present shape with his arrangement and production. He had suggested using an ethnic instrument and that was how the sarod came in. Melbourne-based Indian musician Praashekh Borkar, introduced to her by musician Sudeep Palanad, has played the instrument. What adds to the beauty of the soothing melody is live playing of the strings (by Rithu Vysakh). The other instrument used is the guitar.
She adds that the song was mixed and mastered seven times [by Mithun Anand] until everyone was satisfied with the output.
However, she did not do anything about the composition for a year. “Sudeep kept reminding me about it. When he put forward the narrative for the music video I was overwhelmed because I could relate to it. It is about an academically-brilliant woman who gives up her passion for writing and returns one day to her home when her younger sister is requesting her to get back to writing. It is the story of my sister, whose love for writing took a backseat when she became busy with her profession, first as an IT professional and then an architect. I desperately wanted her to write and I am happy that it has finally happened with ‘Sakhi’. This is for my sister.”
Bhadra Rajin (left) with her sister Lakshmi Kaavu
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A highlight of the video is bureaucrat Dr Divya S Iyer playing the elder sister. “We had approached a few celebrated women of Kerala for the role. Sudeep suggested her name, a singer and writer herself, and she was happy to be on board.” The video was shot in Thrissur.
She adds that ‘Sakhi’ is not just about she and her sister, it also reflects on universal sisterhood. “It can be about two friends or acquaintances, with one of them standing up for the other after being apart for some time.”
Bhadra, who found her space in the industry with Music Mojo series on Kappa TV, especially with her band, Storyteller, working along with Sudeep, has sung in movies such as ‘96, Hridayam, and dubbed versions of several movies. The biggest hit this year has been ‘Kokkodelic’ from Sahasam.
She has already composed her next song. “Now I understand the kick of that process. The satisfaction you get as a musician touches another level when you make your own song.”
‘Sakhi’ is streaming on YouTube
Published – December 05, 2025 03:10 pm IST
