Twenty-five-year-old Abhilasha Sinha, a singer-songwriter from New Delhi who now lives in New York has just returned to home turf with original compositions that stream in the form of both sad and sunshiney love ditties. The lead vocalist for bands No Honey, and River will now set out on a solo tour called Labours of Love, starting at the Piano Man on July 21 moving on to Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, culminating on August 2. The tour will include the release of three singles Mother, Tum Ho Yahaan and Hold Your Pride.
As soon as she starts speaking about these three songs, her voice exudes buoyancy. “My first single Mother is born from nostalgia of when I fell sick and alone while working in Mumbai. You quickly realise how important your mother is when you have to do your laundry. The second one called Tum Ho Yahaan is about meeting somebody at a party after a long time and realising you’re not over them but you’re neither holding on.
Hold Your Pride is about shedding your ego for the sake of love,” says Sinha, who writes in English and Hindi but for the latter, takes support from her mother who is trained in Indian classical music.
While currently on a summer break from New York University where she’s pursuing a Masters in Music Business, Sinha yearns to be home, which is Delhi. How she played hide and seek, oonch neech ka paida (an urban street game) outside her charming home in West Delhi as children, how she went to India Gate for lick lollies.
“We would go to the Rose Garden and Garden of Five Senses for a walk and Lal Kila for a historic excursion. And Delhi winters were my favourite. I would come home, remove my chappals, turn on the heater and get into the blanket,” she reminisces.
New York, on the other hand, has given her professional satisfaction. Its cultural energy, she believes, is unmatched, . There is a place for everybody and she feels like she too belongs. “I can be performing at the smallest pub and people will give standing applause because they appreciate music so much despite knowing the language,” says Sinha, who thinks Delhi needs more performance venues and better systems to support artists. But we’ll surely get there.
ON: July 21, 1:00 pm onwards
AT: The Piano Man Jazz Club, Safdarjung Enclave, Delhi