TRANSFORMING VALLEY WITH MUSIC : YAWAR ABDAL
It is said that if one visits Kashmir, he leaves a part of his heart over here. Such is the beauty of this land that emperors from different ages have been awestruck with its beauty. Kashmir is also home to plethora of tales, folklore, ballads which have been immortalized by various scribes over eons.
However, the modern Kashmir is known for its trying times that it has witnessed in the last few years. But they say that it is the youth who decide the future of their nation. The youngsters in Kashmir are not baying for blood and cheering for violence. Instead they’re working towards reviving Kashmiri music and folklore. One such musician working towards betterment of the valley is – Yawar Abdal.
Armed with a guitar and songs on his lips, the 24 year old Yawar Abdal intends to spread the word of peace and harmony, through the words of poets like Mirza Ghalib, Mahjoor and Amir Khusrow. He dabbles between Kashmiri language and Hindi so that his music can have a far reaching impact and also so that he may in still the feeling of oneness in the youth.
This young musician from Srinagar felt an inclination towards music from a young age and often wrote songs. In 2010, Yawar arrived to Pune for higher studies and delved deeper into the world of symphonies, when he realized that people outside Kashmir seemed to love his brand of music. In 2017, when Yawar released his first single, ‘Tamanna’ on YouTube, it became a runaway hit with over 4 million views currently. After this, the artist has released many tunes such as ‘Baal Mareyo’, which are a hit amongst the youngsters and on social media.
Yawar mixes Urdu, Kashmiri, Persian and Hindi in his songs and believes in spreading the philosophy of Sufism which has its foundation deeply entrenched in love. Youngsters like Yawar are the future of Kashmir. They ignite hope that maybe the next generation will not relate to the violence that this Valley has witnessed. Through them we realize that the future of Kashmir is not with the militants, rather with rock-stars with hearts of gold who realize that music transcends all boundaries and bring people together.
