Name: Pankaj Awasthi


With the upsurge of Sufi music in the Indian pop scene, you might almost mistake Pankaj Awasthi as yet another Sufi singer trying to ride it out to fame, till you look closely. The Delhi-based singer, lyricist and composer has recently released his new album `Nine' that has but of course nine songs ranging from love ballads to those that brandish the olive branch. Interestingly, however, unlike many others, Awasthi is not merely jumping on the bandwagon, but is one of the few who have been singing and writing sufi music for over a decade albeit in relative anonymity.

Ask about his album and he talks passionately about his first song `Khuda' which is currently airing on music channels. Created as a need to pen his heartfelt emotions at the time of the Babri demolition, he wrote the song unaware that it would later be categorized as Sufi. Preferring to call his songs as contemporary music, Awasthi got his first taste of success as a singer when his composition became a hit as the title track of Harry Baweja's mid-year release Karam that starred Priyanka Chopra and John Abraham. With the mainstay of his music being catchy tunes, easy hook lines and bluesy guitars he also experiments with Electronic Folk music as a part of the band duo Mili Bhagat. A self-trained musician with no formal training Awasthi's has made the best of his talent and picked much up from music magazines and websites and later by arranging and sequencing music for bigger bands such as Indian Ocean.