Coming home, for Falu

Falursquos has been a frequent name in Hollywood circles The Indian singer based in America has found herself among the Grammy nominees on two occasions one of which led to a victory Indian cultures and music styles are prominently represented in the works of Falu who is currently in the country for a fourcity tour She performs at Anti SocialtomorrowAhead of boarding her flight to the city she connects with midday to discuss her plans for this legAlso ReadGrammy Awards 2023 Heres the complete list of NomineesEdited excerpts from the interviewHow has your preparation for the tour been and what are you looking forward toI was born and raised in Mumbai Once an Indian always an Indian The fabric of India is always on my skin and soul My work is always representative of the things that I have learnt from my motherland my ancestors and gurus When I came to America I wanted to keep that identity alive because I was so proud of it I didnrsquot want to lose my roots which I loved dearly That is what helped me pave the way to success Without my roots I would be lost Classical folk thumris and ghazals are all part of my DNA For this leg we begin with a concert in Mumbai I will perform the music that has nurtured me We then move to Ahmedabad Pune and Goa and return for another concert in Mumbai Over 20 days we will have five performances I will also conduct a few masterclasses All the material for the concert will be music from my albums There are thumri kajaris and acoustic songs And then there will be some Bollywood music as wellHaving been nominated for the Grammys over the years how has your music evolved and how was that change instrumental in your win this yearIt all started when I became a mother and saw my son struggling to understand his identity in America My album Falursquos Bazaar was my effort in telling him how original he is My second album A Colourful World explored a bigger topic mdash it stemmed from the death of George Floyd My child was eight and the children in America were scared Children of colour can worry about being killed by a cop I wanted to write an album for all the children Colouring is a big part of our lives My idea was to establish that when all colours of a pack of crayons can live together peacefully people of all colours can do so too if we donrsquot indulge in conflict I suppose since it addressed a global subject it spoke to everyoneAs someone who has put Indian music on the global map do you have any suggestions for Indian musiciansEveryonersquos journey is different I have had gurus teaching me w ell mdash telling me what a raga or ghazal is Some people may not have access to the legendary teachers that I had access to If you donrsquot have it you need to go deep into your study A musician must believe in his or her musicAlso ReadGet into the ghazal groove