Indo-Iranian band Narang’s sound quest

The members hope to create musical vibrations that transcend barriers and connect the world

That music is a way of expressing our connection to nature and life-affirming human relationships is a belief that band Narang holds dear. That was abundantly clear at the live musical web series Sounds of Society that they featured in episode of the musical series that appeared on its website and Urban Beat Project’s YouTube channel recently. This Indo-Iranian international music band established by Iranian-Indian artists find harmony among rhythms and melodies, sings in Farsi and Hindustani on themes of hope, love, forgiveness and peace for all, including enemies. With two core Iranian and Indian members — Faezeh Sepherzadeh (vocals), Meissam Alinaghian (vocals and a Persian bow instrument Kamancheh) along with Indian and Shivam Bharadwaj (vocals, percussions and an Iranian string instrument Sehtar) and Kartikeya Sinha (vocals, guitars) -— the band also has Kartikeya Vashishtha (bansuri), Dhyan Vatayan (percussions) and Jimmy Stevens (bass) and Tayna Radova (back vocals). Kartikeya recalls an instant connection with Faezeh and Meissam on their very first meeting at Arahmbol in Goa. “We met in 2019 BC, Before Corona,” laughs Kartikeya. Through their creative and cultural exchanges, he and Shivam began to discover and teach unique melodies to the Iranian musicians. “We found a platform to express feelings through music,” says Kartikeya on Narang’s outdoor performances till March 2020. With its ‘open-music group’ philosophy the band kept adding new members and slowly transformed into a world music project bringing in diverse musical styles.