A Musical Collaboration with Sham-e-Ali Nayeem

Last fall, I had the chance to work with the brilliant Zara Khadeeja Majoka to translate Sham-e-Ali Nayeem‘s beautiful poem, “Hypothetically Speaking,” into Urdu. When we began our translation, Sham-e-Ali was in the process of composing music to accompany her poem, and invited me to recite the translation and to lend my vocals to the track. I improvised a little in Yaman, a raga that is very close to my heart, and evokes the night and its enchantment. Sham-e-Ali then worked her magic. This is her stunning creation, and also my first musical collaboration. I am excited to share it with you all.