Naren's indie round-up/ June 2026, Ep 1

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Sharmistha Chatterjee/ Mere Saiyaan

Language & genre: Punjabi, love song

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

Besides her own repertoire, Mumbai-based Sharmistha Chatterjee has sung with the famed Mekaal Hasan Band. Her latest song 'Mere Saiyaan' is a pleasant Punjabi song.

Sharmistha's voice is backed by the soothing acoustic guitar lines of Neil Mukherjee. The words, written by the singer herself, are, "Mere saiyaan, saiyaan saiyaan, mere saanwal, mere dholna, tenu dil diya chaahi, chhad ke na jaave mere saiyaan".

Manish Gupta's black n' white official video, which uses a shorter edit, lends a retro look. The entire audio offers a more elaborate listening experience.

Kavya Limaye/ Sochiye 

Language & genre: Hindi, ghazal

Label: Sufiscore 

Rating: ***

Young singer Kavya Limaye sings her father Sachin Limaye's composition 'Sochiye', written by Ajay Saahab. This was recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

The song is a call for world peace. It's in the same family as John Lennon's 'Imagine', with lines like, "Sochiye aisa ek jahaan hota, sab ka bas ek carvaan hota; mulk hote na sarhadein hoti, sar pe bas ek aasmaan hota".

A highlight is Santosh Mulekar's immaculate piano-playing. Rizwan Sherazi's video captures the performance well, alternating between singer, pianist and audience in correct measure.

Amritha Thankachy/ Golden Boat

Language & genre: English/ Bengali, love song

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Inspired by RabindranathTagore's 'Sonar Tori', London-based singer-songwriter Amritha Thankachy's 'Golden Boat' explores themes of longing and emotional distance.

Though the bulk of the lyrics are in English, the song has a very Indian melody, with Varun Nimbolkar's melodious sitar and Luke Reddin Williams' ghatam driving the instrumentation. Nitin Muralikrishna's production works well with the tune, and the use of the original Bengali lines in the interludes adds an Indian flavour.

Rhea Najam's video is routine but simple, using shots of the singer. A sincere effort, overall.

Duchess of Spades/ Where's My Wonderland?

Language & genre: English, pop

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ***

Young singer A.D. Burman, who goes by the.name Duchess of Spades, makes her debut with 'Where's My Wonderland?', a song she writes, composes and sings herself.

Influenced by the composition style of pop stars like Billie Eilish and Lana Del Ray, she talks of the feeling of not belonging. Lines like, "But where do I go, I feel so out of place, maybe I'm from outer space" and "Skating on the ocean floor, there's something missing, I need something more" display an emotional maturity.

The arrangements are smooth, and the vocal range appropriate, as a melodic keyboard line graces the ending.

Reble/ Praying Mantis

Language & genre: English, hip-hop 

Label: Homegrown Records

Rating; *** 1/2

Besides tracks like 'New Riot', 'Terror' and 'Killswitch', Meghalaya rapper Reble is known for her contributions to the Dhurandhar films. She's now out with her new single 'Praying Mantis', which has been produced by Lifted.

The song focuses on the double entendre between 'pray' and 'prey' - the space where spiritual posture masks predatory intent. Typical lines are, "They think it's so easy, a soul to be sold, but my demons let a moment, now we turn gold".

A clear highlight is Vimal's video, mostly black n' white but with a few colour parts here and there. Brilliant shots and choreography lift it up




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