ShowCase Studio Presents In Conversation With Sonam Kalra

Multiple award winning singer-songwriter and composer Sonam Kalra, is that rare breed of musician who has been trained in both Indian and Western traditions of music and is equally adept at both.

Sonam’s unique brainchild, ‘Sonam Kalra & the Sufi Gospel Project’ which blends the many voices of faith, through poetry, prayer and music to create one universal voice of faith, has earned her international critical acclaim. Traditional western gospels meld with Indian classical sounds, and Eastern spiritual texts are enriched by elements of western poetry to create a sound that touches every soul. The Sikh morning prayer blends into the lilting strains of Amazing Grace, Sufi saint Kabir Das’s words find resonance in the hymn Abide with Me, Punjabi Poet Baba Bulleh Shah’s voice is juxtaposed with Persian poetry and English and Gaelic texts flow into Amir Khusrau’s poetry while a Buddhist chant gently shares the stage with a Sufi Qata. Revealing that no matter what the language of the lyrics or the ethnicity of the sounds, there is but one language, the language of faith. And that, is the universal truth.

Narendra Kusnur has been a journalist for 35 years, specializing in covering of music. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Mid-Day, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Music Plus and Seniors Today.

Kusnur has also had a two year stint with EMI Music India, handling the Indian music and Warner Music repertoire. At Reliance Retail, he headed training for their lifestyle products division, including books and music.

He writes on all forms of Indian and international music, besides appearing in conferences and webinars. Recently, he presented a series on the basics of jazz for NCPA Mumbai.