“THE KASHMIRI SUFI ROCKER WHO HOPES TO BRING THE DEPTH OF HIS BELOVED PERSIAN, URDU AND KASHMIRI POETS TO A NEW AUDIENCE.”
Cxe Yewaan Roshey Chhukh, Nate, Hoshey Dalaeyo Madano
Are you coming my beloved? Or else, should I lose my senses, my love
Be Rivaan Harn'e Cheshman, Sorme Chalaeyo Madano
Are you coming or should I weep the collyrium off my gazelle eyes, my love
Cxe Yewaan Roshey Chhukh, Nate
Are you coming my beloved?
Ashkini Daadi Hyotnam Naar Paanas, Khaak me Gov
Sick of Love, my body on fire, it turns to Ash
Ashkay Aab'nabad Bo galaeyo Madano
My tears dissolve me, like a lump of sugar in water, my love
Mae Nyootham Tchoori Dil Mastoori, Kortham Hoori Kasoor
You stole my chaste heart, a fairy I, but now I am spoiled
Badanas Suur Maalayee, Door Chalaeyo Madano
I shall rub these ashes to my body, and run away, my love.
Yawar Abdal stood on a university stage, his Epiphone in hand. He said a short prayer, “Alhamdulillah”, and the curtains went up. For a brief moment, surrounded by a fog of dry ice, Abdal closed his eyes and listened to the crowd in the packed auditorium. “Goosebumps,” he told me when we met the next day at a cafe in Delhi, a few months ago. “This is what I was born to do.”
Meet Yawar Abdal, a 23-year old from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. His tryst with music started at an early age. He used to write songs and practice all day to the imaginary tunes made in his mind. Growing up in a culture where Kashmiri music and Sufi poetry was very much respected, Abdal was determined to represent his rich culture to the audience outside the valley.
Soon after the release of his debut album, Tamanna, Yawar Adbal has been subjected to a torrent of fame. A composer, vocalist, songwriter and a guitarist, Yawar became an Internet sensation overnight when his 1 minute video went viral and earned appraisals from all over the valley.
