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Jazz musician and drummer Tarun Balani
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It is inspired by Delhi-based musician Tarun\u2019s memories of his grandfather \u2014 Khialdas Suratram Balani, an illustrator, artist and photographer, who migrated from Naushahro Feroze, in Sindh, Pakistan to Delhi\u2019s refugee colony Lajpat Nagar during the Partition. \u201cWhile Kadahin Milandaasin<\/i> explores my quest for familial roots, it is a deeply personal account of the loss I feel, first from the demise of my grandfather, who I never had the chance to meet; and second, from that of my father, who passed away in November last year, soon after I completed recording the album,\u201d shares Tarun. <\/p>\n

He traces the album\u2019s inception to February last year, when his father handed him two photographs of his grandfather. \u201cI grew up around my grandfather\u2019s art. As a kid, I remember opening the cupboard in which his Yashica 635 camera rested, and would play with it all day. Though there was palpable grief about my grandfather\u2019s death in my family, no one really talked about it. So, I only could know my grandpa through his works and material memory,\u201d says Tarun, adding, \u201cMy grandfather was a short story writer too. One of his short stories, Prabha ain Kranti <\/i>was featured in Sindhi Sahitya Academy compilations. I would often concoct imaginative stories about his life. Now, as a mid-career artiste myself, I would love to have chatted with him about his life and maybe know what it was like to be painting and photographing in the 1960s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Name\u2019s sake<\/h4>\n

The two photographs that Tarun received from his father now serve as the album\u2019s cover art. \u201cThe cover was designed by Travassos, an artist from Lisbon. A Sindhi scholar and poet, Vimmi Sadarangani, helped me get the Sindhi script, a mix of Persian and Arabic, for the cover,\u201d says Tarun.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Many of Tarun\u2019s influences, ranging from jazz stalwarts Ryuichi Sakamoto and Nina Simone to electronic musicians like Brian Eno and Indian classical music too, bleed into his music.\u00a0
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The title of the album finds its muse in Sindhi poet Shaikh Ayaz\u2019s poem called Teri Pawanda<\/i>. \u201cHe wrote this poem for his friends and family and it expressed a feeling of loss and grief, along with a reassurance of reunion; thus, the verse, \u2018Tade Milandaasin\u2019, which means \u2018we will meet then\u2019. I flipped it around to Kadahin Milandaasin<\/i>, which translates to \u2018when will we meet\u2019,\u201d explains Tarun. <\/p>\n

The metaphorical interpretation of the title could be addressed to Tarun\u2019s longing for his father and grandfather, while also extending to their longings \u2014 perhaps, the longing of his grandfather for his homeland, which is now in Pakistan, and maybe his father\u2019s longing to become an Indian classical singer or hearing his son sing. It could as well be assigned to the collective longing of the Sindhi community for the lost land of Sindh or to those migrants who moved to India during Partition. He leaves the interpretation to the listener. <\/p>\n

Tune in<\/h4>\n

With improvisation being the essence of jazz, Tarun has experimented with a wide spectrum of tonal textures to intensify the art of sonic narration in Kadahin Milandaasin<\/i>. It does feature his signature style, with nuanced, layered and subtle sound aesthetics, but also takes a cathartic relief from the confines of structured bars. <\/p>\n

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