Shashaa Tirupati, Shivam Mahadevan and Sid Paul release ‘Ik Raanjha’ a single inspired by Bulleh Shah’s work

Shashaa Tirupati, Shivam Mahadevan and Sid Paul release ‘Ik Raanjha’ , inspired by Sufi mystique Bulleh Shah’s work

Hours after their single ‘Ik Raanjha’ was released on June 30, singer, songwriter and composer Shashaa Tirupati, vocalist Shivam Mahadevan and composer and producer Sid Paul join in on a Zoom video call to relive the making of the song and video. Amid friendly banter and laughter, the trio displays a deep sense of respect towards each other and the joy of working on the song as they take turns to compliment each other’s contribution to the song.

Inspired by the poetry of Sufi mystic Bulleh Shah, the song is treated with a mix of traditional Sufism and contemporary elements. One of the two singers, 22-year-old Shivam, brings alive the freshness and timelessness of folk music aligned with the 33-year-old Shashaa’s husky and powerful vocals.

“This is the first time I sang a traditional Punjabi folk song,” says Shivam with palpable excitement and adds, “I have a lot of Punjabi friends and I was nervous about my pronunciation; I had to get it right. I have been looking forward to working with Shashaa and there was more excitement than nervousness.” For Sid Paul who worked on many versions of the song, it was like “Travelling through the world and finally coming back to one sound that all three of them liked.”

‘Ik Raanjha’ took birth during a road trip to Lonavala during monsoons, says Shashaa who had stopped by a bookstore and chanced upon the Bulleh Shah’s popular poem Ik Raanjha dolidaa and was struck by a melody instantly. “I am not a seasoned songwriter or composer but sensed the liberating quality and earthiness in Bulleh Shah’s writing. When I was putting together the melody, I had to remind myself that a Sufi or a saint will not sing in a polished way. They would sing in unadulterated and unembellished manner. Shivam came to mind immediately as I am aware of his amazing pitch and Sufism that comes naturally through his vocals,” says Shashaa who roped in Sid Paul with whom she had collaborated earlier.

“I played the song to my dad and he and I agreed that we never heard anything like this beginning of the song. It is so different... I don’t know how to explain it, she composed it so beautifully,” gushes Shivam while Sid says with a laugh, “A technical person would try and decode that. She composed a simple melody that has a lot of depth. She made the song sound easy to the listener but it is not.”

On her part, Shashaa says, “Sid has quite evolved that way. To identify what the requirement of the song is based on the premise you need to structure the arrangement of the song that comes from a very mature space. As a producer, you want to go crazy and completely disregard the composition and vocals but he understands the tonality of his singers and the requirements of a composition. He’s done it more tastefully and maturely giving just the right amount of melodic and rhythmic components. The way he incorporated live instruments completely uplifted the song.”

Sid affirms that having two powerhouses of talent is half the job done. “When you have the right kind of artistes everything gets aligned halfway. Eventually, it is all about the song for me and how not to overpower anyone and see everyone comes together. The more you do these things in the art form you are part of, you realise that less is more and you realise when not to do it. Shivam and Shashaa could have gone berserk with the song but they didn’t. This is what music teaches you, you don’t have to overpower anything, you have to complement and let it flow.”