Urdu rap about the hood

We, at Sunday mid-day, are constantly searching for exciting indie music emerging from the country. And there is so much! Rap, especially, has taken over our imagination recently. And our latest love is Mumbai boy, Sahir the Magician, aka Sahir Nawab. Son of Nawab Arzoo, who wrote the SRK-hit Baazigar main baazigar, the 25-year-old music producer, says, "It's not really rap, but it's not hardcore singing either.

I mostly focus on the lyrics, and that makes up the song and the vibe." We like that his musical styling is more melodic than others. He has a relaxed vibe and his songs have the R&B touch. His latest track, Guzarish, is a ballad with Urdu lyrics. "Yehi sifarish hai ki sukoon ke yeh do pal, na khatam ho." He says the lyrics are inspired by his childhoodhood. Well, it seems to be working.

Catch Sahir on leading music streaming sites

For a peek into Goan heritage

An issue of the online magazine

Heritage is something that we have inherited from our past. It's almost as if by being born into this world, we enter into a covenant with our ancestors where they entrust us with the duty of safeguarding this heritage. Who are you to suddenly step in and decide to stop this tradition? To abolish all the lessons stored in them?"

Lester Silveira

This is Goa-based architect and aspiring conservationist, Lester Silveira, 25, on his blog, The Balcão.
Started two years ago, it gets its name from the traditional Goan balcony, and it's here that Silveira shares his musings about Goan heritage. "I started it soon after my training under conservation architect Vikas Dilawari," he says of his inspiration. He has written over 17 essays on the page, which documents everything from the importance of the historic Kala Academy—a bustling centre for the arts on the banks of the River Mandovi in Panjim, to the history behind the private chapel of Dr Miguel Caetano Dias (1854-1936), the director of health services in Portuguese India, and an architectural analysis of Panjim's Santa Inez Church and Cemetery. This January, The Balcão also published an online magazine. The first issue explored the life of Goa-born, Mumbai architect Charles Correa, his early years and the special connect he had with the sunshine state.

thebalcao.com

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