Being busy has always been a marker of ambition. In cities where calendars are packed and productivity is measured by how little free time one has, ‘doing nothing’ can begin to feel like luxury — or produce guilt. Singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari’s new nine-track album, Mr. Faarigh deals with this feeling.
Tewari — popular for songs like ‘Dil Beparvah’, ‘Baahon Mein Teri’ and the Gehraiyaan title track — is bringing Mr. Faarigh to audiences with a live concert today at The Piano Man, Eldeco Centre, where he will perform with his band.
‘Faarigh’ is an Urdu word; it means unoccupied, free or idle. “In today's times, the pressure to constantly remain productive has changed the way people look at moments of inactivity,” he says, in contrast to his younger self when he could idle away his time without feeling guilty.
The album emerged from a period of reckoning. Tewari recalls that after completing two long-term projects, he suddenly found himself with a lot of time on his hands. But instead of embracing the break, he began to feel guilty about being idle.
Songs and memories
The artist’s music has so far reflected what he has been experiencing at a particular point in his life. For instance, his previous album, Akela, emerged from the isolation and loneliness of the pandemic.
According to Tewari, the ability of music to stay with listeners ultimately comes down to emotion. A song may speak to someone because it captures something they are already experiencing —a heartbreak, love, joy, jealousy, betrayal or some other feeling. This emotional connection, he believes, allows a song to become ‘personal’ to the listener.
A collaborative process has played an important role in shaping the new album. Tewari has worked with musicians and producers including Sidd Coutto, Xulfi and Rohan Ramanna on earlier projects. For this one, he worked mainly with Sandunes, along with Hashbass and Neil Mukherjee. “Whenever you work with talented musicians, they bring in a different perspective. You learn a lot from how they approach songwriting and music, and their inputs on how you can make the song better are always a learning experience,” Tewari adds.
Finding life in music
For Tewari, there is a fundamental difference between making music independently and creating it for films or series. When working on a mainstream project, the music has to serve the story and characters, and help elevate the narrative. Independent music, on the other hand, is much more personal and artist-driven, he says.
“When you make music independently, you’re pretty much reflecting your own life. It’s like writing your own diary — you’re writing about what you’ve gone through... You are the main character in your own story,” he adds.
Tewari says live performances remain exciting because they allow musicians to interact directly with listeners and immediately understand what works and what does not.
Some of the songs of Mr. Faarigh have, in fact, already had a life on stage. The band has been performing ‘Anjaana’ and ‘Yakeen’, for the past six to seven years. Since they had become almost permanent fixtures in the setlist, the band eventually felt it was time to record and release them.
That makes the upcoming Delhi concert particularly interesting for Tewari. While older songs from his catalogue have been performed repeatedly and have become familiar to the band, the newer songs are still being tested in front of audiences.
“We're still trying to see how they translate live and how the audience responds to it,” he says. The freshness of the new material, he adds, makes the performance feel “very exciting and adventurous”.