Aabha Hanjura
{{Short description|Kashmiri singer and songwriter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Aabha Hanjura
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Aabha Hanjura
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
| alma_mater =
| occupation = {{flat list|
- Singer
- songwriter
- composer
}}
| years_active = 2012–present
| module = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed = yes
| instruments = {{flat list|
- Vocals
}}
| genre = {{flat list|
}}
| label =
| associated_acts = Sufistication
}}
}}
Aabha Hanjura is a Kashmiri singer, songwriter and composer who sings primarily in the Kashmiri and Hindi languages, as well as in Punjabi, Dogri and other languages. Hanjura is the lead vocalist of pop band Sufistication, which she founded in 2012. An indie artist, she is known for music that blends Kashmiri and other Indian folk and Sufi styles with contemporary pop music.
Early life and education
Hanjura was born into a Kashmiri Pandit family in the Kanipora locality of Srinagar in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. When she was three, she and her family were displaced from the Kashmir Valley during the Hindu exodus due to insurgency in the state.{{cite web |last=Murthy |first=Neeraja |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/aabha-hanjuras-new-folk-song-has-with-a-touch-of-punjabi/article65442345.ece/amp/ |title=Aabha Hanjura's new folk song has a touch of Punjabi |work=The Hindu |date=24 May 2022}}{{cite web |last=Sharma |first=Maya |editor-last=Varma |editor-first=Shylaja |url= https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/article-370-jammu-and-kashmir-kashmiri-singer-aabha-hanjura-may-we-soon-reunite-with-our-homes-2080912/amp/1 |title="May We Soon Reunite With Our Homes": Kashmiri Singer On Article 370 Move |work=NDTV |date=6 August 2019}} She grew up in Jammu, which she recalls also being unstable due to the insurgency, but less so than the valley.{{cite web |last=Sharma |first=Sakshi |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/vivacity/her-love-letter-to-kashmir.html |title=Her love letter to Kashmir |work=Daily Pioneer |date=18 July 2020}} She did her schooling in Jammu and received training in Hindustani classical music. In 2005, she and her family moved to Bengaluru in southern India. In Bengaluru, she took classes for western classical music. She graduated with a degree in commerce from Jain College.{{cite web |last=Govind |first=Ranjani |title=Voice of the Valley |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/aabha-hanjura-sound-of-kashmir/article29057973.ece/amp/ |date=13 August 2019|work=The Hindu}}
Musical career
Hanjura auditioned for the second season of television show Indian Idol when she was seventeen and was slated to appear on it as a contestant but says she did not because she believed the music industry was not a safe space for women at the time{{cite web |last=Chakravarti |first=Deepshikha |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/art-culture/kashmiri-folk-singer-aabha-hanjura/ |title= Kashmiri Folk Singer Aabha Hanjura Talks About Being A Woman In The Music Industry |work=SheThePeople |date=23 April 2023}} and instead wanted to continue her education.{{cite web |last=Basu |first=Vijayeta |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/small-talk-meet-the-sweet-valley-girl/amp_articleshow/77045167.cms |title= SMALL TALK: MEET THE SWEET VALLEY GIRL |work=Mumbai Mirror |date=19 July 2020}} In 2012, Hanjura founded a pop band called Sufistication, a play on the words Sufi and sophistication.{{cite web |last=Saksena |first=Shalini |url= https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/sunday-edition/---language--is-no-barrier-to-music---.html |title='Language is no barrier to music' |work=Daily Pioneer |date=25 August 2019}}{{cite web |url= https://kashmirlife.net/abha-hanjura-show-was-a-hit-officials-150942/ |title=Abha Hanjura show was a hit, officials |date=17 September 2017 |work=Kashmir Life}} In 2013, she visited her former house in Kashmir in search of inspiration for her music. She quit her corporate job to focus on music full-time.
In June 2017, Hanjura released the single Hukus Bukus, combining several Kashmiri lullabies, poems and rhymes set to a chanson influenced composition with western and Kashmiri instruments. The song eventually went viral and became popular,{{cite web |last=Singh |first=Deepali |date=17 July 2018 |title=Kashmiri music makes a foray into popular culture |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-kashmiri-music-makes-a-foray-into-popular-culture-2637968/amp |work=DNA India}} and was used in a 2019 Indian film by Ashvin Kumar.{{cite web |author=Ruchita |title=Kashmiri folk-fusion artist Aabha Hanjura on unheard 'Khoobsurat' melodies of Kashmir & more [Exclusive] |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/kashmiri-folk-fusion-artist-aabha-hanjura-unheard-khoobsurat-melodies-kashmir-more-exclusive-830456 |date=20 November 2020 |work=IBTimes India}} It also featured in the first season of Indian television series The Family Man the same year. The song was also used in a video by INC politician Rahul Gandhi during the Kashmir section of his Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2023.{{cite web |url= https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-in-india/aabha-hanjura-song-hukus-bukus-rahul-priyanka-gandhi-8414568/lite/ |title=Singer Aabha Hanjura reacts to her song 'Hukus Bukus' being used in Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi video |work=Indian Express |date=1 February 2023}}
In 2019, she released two singles titled Dilbar Yuier Valo and Chalo Chinaro Ke Gharon, respectively in Kashmiri and Hindi. She released two singles in 2020, Nundbane, from a poem by poet Mahmud Gami, and Khoobsurat.{{cite web |last=Purkayastha |first=Pallabi Dey |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/aabha-hanjura-talks-about-the-inspiration-behind-her-song-khoobsurat/articleshow/78982313.cms |title= Aabha Hanjura talks about the inspiration behind her song 'Khoobsurat' |date=11 October 2020 |work=Times of India}} In 2022, she began releasing tracks for an extended play (EP) called Sufistication Folk Sessions, featuring several folk songs in multiple north Indian languages, with Sahibo, a Kashmiri prayer by poet Mehjoor, and Punjabi folk song Kale Rang Da Paranda.{{cite web |last=Pinto |first=Nascimento |url=https://www.mid-day.com/amp/lifestyle/culture/article/uniqueness-of-kashmiri-music-can-be-described-with-its-sonic-identity-aabha-hanjura-23235952 |title=Uniqueness of Kashmiri music can be described with its sonic identity: Aabha Hanjura |date=14 July 2023 |work=Mid-Day}} She also released a ghazal influenced romantic single in August 2022.{{cite web |last=Tagat |first=Anurag |title=This Is My Music: Aabha Hanjura |url=https://rollingstoneindia.com/this-is-my-music-aabha-hanjura/ |work=Rolling Stone India |date=10 August 2022}} The last track of the EP, a Pahari folk song, was released in March 2023.{{cite web |last=Kadam |first=Bhagyashri |url=https://lehren.com/regional/aabha-hanjura-new-song-mere-hikduye-gadbad/164785/ |date=24 March 2023 |title= Aabha Hanjura's Mere Hikduye Gadbad Is A New Age Blend Of Folk |work=Lehren}}
Artistry
Aabha Hanjura is known for making music that combines Kashmiri and other Indian traditional and folk styles with contemporary pop music.{{cite web |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/entertainment/hindi/2020/nov/04/bringing-long-lost-sounds-to-the-mainstream-2218959.html |title=Bringing long lost sounds to the mainstream |work=The New Indian Express |date=4 November 2020}} She describes her music as "eclectic folk-pop." She lists Lalleshwari, Waris Shah, Bulleh Shah, Surinder Kaur, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Reshma, Jagjit Singh and Junoon among influences.{{cite web |last=Kejriwal |first=Rohini |date=7 February 2014 |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/content/384884/sound-kashmir.html |title=The sound of Kashmir |work=Deccan Herald}}{{cite web |last=Khurana |first=Suanshu |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/aabha-hanjura-singer-songs-from-the-valley-6232156/lite/ |title=Art's job is to catalyse things: Sounds of Kashmir singer Aabha Hanjura |work=Indian Express |date=24 January 2020}} Her and her family's displacement from their homeland in the Kashmir valley, and a visit to her former house in the valley that she undertook as an adult, have shaped her artistry. She states that she wishes to popularise Kashmiri music, create a positive dialogue and build empathy towards Kashmiris—both Hindus and Muslims—through her music. Apart from her mother tongue Kashmiri, she has also sung in other north Indian languages such as Dogri, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.
Personal life
Hanjura is married and has a daughter. She lives in Bengaluru.{{cite web |last=Sudeep |first=Theres |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/metrolife/metrolife-on-the-move/not-just-a-musician-also-a-storyteller-aabha-hanjura-820925.html |date=3 April 2020 |title=Not just a musician, also a storyteller: Aabha Hanjura |work=Deccan Herald}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Song ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2019
| "Hukus Bukus" | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Show ! Song ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="3"|2019
| "Hukus Bukus" | |
Discography
=Singles=
- "Hukus Bukus" (2017)
- "Khanmoej Koor" (2018){{cite web |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/interview-i-wanted-to-make-the-song-my-own-aabha-hanjura-2658378 |title='I wanted to make the song my own': Aabha Hanjura |last=Singh |first=Deepali |work=DNA |date=3 September 2018}}
- "Dilbar Yuier Valo: Roshewalla Part 1" (2019){{cite web |last=Tagat |first=Anurag |url=https://rollingstoneindia.com/watch-aabha-hanjura-new-two-part-video-release-roshewalla/ |title=Watch Aabha Hanjura's New Two-Part Video Release 'Roshewalla' |date=31 July 2019 |work=Rolling Stone India}}
- "Chalo Chinaro Ke Gharon: Roshewalla Part 2" (2019)
- "Nundbane" (2020){{cite web |last=Britto |first=David |url=https://rollingstoneindia.com/sufi-folk-artist-aabha-hanjura-sings-about-kashmirs-beauty-on-nundbane/ |date=15 July 2020 |title=Sufi-Folk Artist Aabha Hanjura Sings About Kashmir's Beauty on 'Nundbane' |work=Rolling Stone India}}
- "Khoobsurat" (2020){{cite web |last=Monalisa |first=Monika |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/cities/bengaluru/2020/nov/23/aabha-hanjura-with-a-note-of-positivity-2226731.html |date=23 November 2020 |title=Aabha Hanjura: With a note of positivity |work=The New Indian Express}}
- "Madano" (2022){{cite web |last=Iyengar |first=Shriram |url=https://www.mid-day.com/amp/mumbai-guide/things-to-do/article/sufi-on-her-mind-23240100 |date=9 August 2022 |title=Sufi on her mind: Aabha Hanjura's Madano is a musical expression of her love for Kashmiri culture |work=Mid-Day}}
=Albums and EPs=
- "Sound of Kashmir"
- "Sufistication Folk Sessions" (2022–2023)
- "Sahibo" (2022)
- "Kale Rang Da Paranda" (2022)
- "Punjabi Folk Boliyan" (2022)
- "Kala Sha Kala" (2022)
- "Banku Deya Chachua" (2023)
- "Mere Hikduye Gadbad" (2023){{cite web |last=Lulla |first=Sonia |url=https://www.mid-day.com/amp/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/kashmiri-folk-musician-aabha-hanjura-showcases-notes-from-her-land-23277456 |title=Kashmiri folk musician Aabha Hanjura showcases notes from her land |date=27 March 2023 |work=Mid-Day}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|nm10206739|Aabha Hanjura}}
{{Portal bar|biography|music}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanjura, Aabha}}
Category:Indian Idol participants
Category:21st-century Indian composers
Category:Indian singer-songwriters
Category:Hindi-language singers
Category:Urdu-language singers
Category:Singers from Jammu and Kashmir