‘Music is dear to Lord Shiva’
He describes himself as a boring banker turned happy author. Amish Tripathi, one of the most celebrated mythological writers today, has made the literati sit up and take notice of his best-selling books The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret of the Nagas (two parts of the Shiva trilogy). For his recently released third book, The Oath of the Vayuputras, the celebrated author in association with musician Taufiq Qureshi and singer Sonu Nigam, unveiled an album titled Vayuputras.
An innovative move, this is the first time an album was launched to commemorate a book series. Amish, however does not want to take credit for the innovative idea. “My friends Sangram Surve, the CEO of Think WhyNot ad agency, Rajeev Sharma, music producer, Amit Pandirkar, director of the music video, deserve most of the credit. I’ve been a witness to their brilliance. I’ve been told that an original soundtrack has never been made for a book series before. India is a musical country, so it would appear obvious to use our collective passion for music to promote a book. The concept of using music for promotion has been used well by our movie industry for many decades,” says Amish, adding, “I think, more importantly, music is dear to Lord Shiva. He is not just the God of Gods, He is also the God of music. So creating music is a wonderful way to celebrate our devotion for Lord Shiva.”
The album comprises 10 original songs which have been drawn from various sections of the three books of the Shiva Trilogy. The lead track, Jo Vayuputra Ho, has been composed by Taufiq Qureshi and sung by Sonu Nigam and is a classic fusion of traditional and modern. “I have known Taufiqji for some time and I was very clear that I wanted him to compose the lead track for this album,” says Amish.
“Sonu Nigam is a thorough professional. He had come in from Bangladesh the day of our recording, his flight was delayed and he was tired. Even worse, his mother was not keeping well. But he had given us his word; so he came to the studio at night. We suggested postponing the recording. But he said that he had given his word and that we’d booked the studio, so we should record. And he sang brilliantly, taking the song to a whole new level.”
Music, Amish claims, is his muse. “I am deeply passionate about it. It is a very important part of my process of writing. Songs of different moods are like keys, which help me enter the world of my book’s characters. Therefore, having an album which captures different parts of the books through the beauty of music is magical for me indeed.”
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