It is indeed a rarity for a young and upcoming singer to taste success after only a year and a half of training as a vocalist. However, when the teacher and mentor is the famed singer Shriram Iyer, one can understand the source of this finely-honed talent. Naheed, who goes only by her first name, recently released her first Indie-pop single called ‘Kya Pata’, in collaboration with her guru, Shriram Iyer on December 22, 2022. This soulful Hindi romantic song has been composed by Iyer, sung by Naheed and released by the label Soul Sync.
“The song kicks in with the breezy and romantic rhythmic patterns of an acoustic guitar before Naheed’s soothing voice begins singing about a girl who is confused with respect to her first love. The nature of the song is very relatable, as it is on the subject of love. Ruchit Japee’s lyrics have captured the sentiment really well, as have the melodious notes and Naheed’s vocals, which evoke a warm and fuzzy feeling in the listeners, urging them to reminisce about their own confused love stories,” shares Iyer, speaking about the song.
As she is based in New York, USA, Naheed first approached Shriram Iyer to teach her singing towards the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the classes were held online. Though she was a singer during her days as a student in college, she could not pursue this passion of hers as she was studying medicine. After becoming a successful doctor, she felt the need to follow her dream by working towards what she truly loves to do. The pandemic provided the perfect opportunity for this. “Singing is my passion. Hence, I practiced consistently despite my rough work schedule and through being admitted in the hospital myself during the first wave of Covid,” she says with pride.
Shriram Iyer is a well-known name in Bollywood having sung for popular movies such as ‘No One Killed Jessica’, ‘Udaan’, ‘Shor in the City’ and ‘Manikarnika’, to name a few. He has also worked with Amit Trivedi for MTV Coke Studio and has released multiple independent songs over the last two years where he has collaborated with accomplished artists like Harshdeep Kaur and Nikita Gandhi. Iyer has performed over 4000 shows around the globe in more than fifteen countries.
Speaking about his student Naheed’s first foray into professional singing with her new song ‘Kya Pata’, Iyer says, “I feel Naheed has a magical and expressive voice which can bring lyrics to life. She is a talented and hardworking artist to watch for. I’m amazed at how she has pulled off this feat of singing this lovely tune with just a year and a half of professional training.”
Naheed follows suit with her own thoughts on the subject. She says, “‘Kya Pata’ is a song that is guaranteed to touch the hearts of many with how cohesively and beautifully it is written, arranged and executed. I am so grateful to my mentor and guru, Shriram Iyer. Without his guidance and support, none of this would have been possible. I am also looking forward to a long innings in this industry as an independent singer, and I do hope people will listen to and shower appreciation on my first song.”
‘Kya Pata’ is available on all major music streaming platforms.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.