Aabha Hanjura was too young to understand the gravity of what was happening around her when her parents migrated to Jammu from Kashmir, leaving everything they owned behind. Her childhood innocence protected her from the harsh realities of her world, a young girl who was too innocent for the world’s dark truth. Years later, she decided she would change the way people look at Kashmiris - with her music.
“It is when I left Jammu that I realised how people talk about us. And this is true for everyone. If you’re from Jammu or Kashmir, people meet you and at first, they get scared. I think there’s a need to change that.”Aabha Hanjura
Soon, her musical journey found its feet when she ended up auditioning for Indian Idol. Before she knew it, she was in the finals. But that happiness was short-lived. Fame that comes quick is fleeting, believes Aabha.
“There is a time when everything is really great and then there’s a time when it sort of comes down. I feel like any kind of fame or any kind of glory that comes to you very fast will also go away very fast. And that’s what happened with me”Aabha Hanjura
She then joined a corporate job, only to give in to the constant nagging feeling of emptiness in her heart. She traveled to the heart of her being - Kashmir. It is here that she realised that music is what makes her truly happy, and that she wanted to use music to heal the people of Kashmir - all religions, all communities. Everyone has suffered enough, Aabha believes. With that began her journey into self-expression, soon, her song Hukus Bukus was on every Kashmiri’s lips. She also recently released her newest track:
You can watch the second part of the video here.
Watch her share her journey as an eclectic folk pop singer-songwriter, who doesn’t like boxes. She believes music is fluid, and as long as it is “honest” it will find its audience.
Producer: Hiba Beg
Cameraperson: Sanjoy Deb
Assistant Cameraperson: Gautam Sharma
Video Editor: Ashish MacCune
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