Punjabi is the official language of Punjab, and according to the 2001 Indian census, there are 29,102,477 speakers of the language in the country. The language is written in the Gurmukhi script (literally meaning ‘from the mouth of the Guru’) created by the Sikh Guru, Angad. The Sikh community revere a holy scripture called the Guru Granth Sahib, which is a compilation of Punjabi spiritual poetry of Guru Nanak, other Sikh Gurus as well as poets from other religions and communities. Sufi poetry in Punjabi is simple, with everyday concepts used to symbolise the relationship between man and god. The notable poets were Sheikh Farid, Shah Hussain and Bulle Shah. Kissa is a form of ballad based on tragic folklore with rich details of Punjabi life, social mores and culture and the most famous ones are Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah, Yusuf Zuleikha by Hafiz Barkhudar and Kissa Puran Bhagat by Kadir Yaar. Among modern Punjabi writers and poets, Bhai Vir Singh, Mohan Singh, Amrita Pritam, Gurdial Singh and Kartar Singh Duggal are some of the most respected names. A large part of modern Punjabi literature is centered around the Partition of India and Pakistan.

What is this album about?
Sound Trippin is an album compiled from the television show of the same name, where a song is put together with sounds inspired by a particular location in India. Each song is a collage of the unique auditory experience of that region – musical traditions, ambient sound and local voices – combined in a contemporary framework, in timeframes as short as four days.
Who is it by?
Sneha Khanwalkar is a young composer known for the strong rural Indian flavour in her contemporary compositions.
Why should listen to it?
Khanwalkar makes sense of the sound clutter that beseiges our ears when we walk along the streets of the cities and villages of India. For instance, Tung Tung is inspired by Punjab – the sounds include not just the full throated vocals of the Nooran Sisters and the beat of the dhol drum, it also includes a factory siren, a tractor motor and the voice of the commentator at the rural olympics in Qila Raipur. The very phrase, tung-tung, mimicks the sound of the local single-stringed tumbi instrument.

Phulkari (phool-kaari) literally means ‘flower-work’ is a form of traditional hand embroidery by the rural women of Punjab as a ceremonial veil or shawl for special occasions. It is part of a bridal trousseau and usually created by the women of the bride’s family, now increasingly outsourced. The groom’s family also presents the bride with a phulkari piece to welcome her into the new fold. Phulkari is usually embroidered with silk thread on coarse cotton and looks like the reverse of a darning stitch. Red is an auspicious colour, hence it finds prominence in the workmanship. The most common motif is the sheaf of wheat and geometric patterns. There are also figurative pieces with scenes from village life, that are used as panels rather than shawls. When the embroidery is done all over the body of a piece, it is called ‘baagh’ or garden. Since it is painstaking work, it also tends to be very expensive.

Throwball is a non-contact team sport with seven players per team and five substitutes. The ball is ‘served’ with one hand from across the net and the opposite team player has to catch it and throw it back within seconds. The usual ball sport rules of lines, nets and points apply. Throwball is presumed to have been introduced in Chennai, in the 1940s but it was not until 1955 that the rules and guidelines of playing the sport were formulated by Dr. Harry Crowe Buck, the Head of Department, YMCA College of Physical Education, Chennai. It took until 1980 for the first national level tournament to be organised in Bengaluru, Karnataka. However, for all its slow growth, what began originally as a ‘womens’ sport’ introduced in India, has now become a popular sport in Asia played across schools and colleges, having its own international federation with regional bodies.

Malayalam (mala-yaa-llam) is the official language of the South Indian state of Kerala. According to some historians, the earliest form of the language was derived from Tamil, has an abundance of Sanskrit. It is perhaps this unique amalgam that led to Malayalam having the largest number of letters in an Indian language. Malayalam has a rich literary tradition that extends from religious treatises, translated epics, drama, poetry and fiction. Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, as the last word in his name implies, is regarded as the ‘father of the Malayalam language’ as we know it today. Besides his contribution to literature like the translations, Adhyathma Ramayana and Mahabharata, he is said to be the first person to give shape to the Malayalam alphabet. Some of the noted names among numerous in Malayalam literature include Irayimman Thampi, Thakazhi Sivasankaran Pillai, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, Vaikkom Mohammad Basheer, Lalithambika Antharjanam and Madhavikutty. According to the 2001 Indian census, there are 33,066,392 speakers of Malayalam in the country.

What is this album about?
Traveller traces the route of ancient Indian gypsies from Punjab and Rajasthan in India to Andalusia in Spain. It attempts to find synergies between Spanish Flamenco and Indian Folk and Classical music traditions, while also highlighting the distinctiveness of these genres..
Who is it by?
Anoushka Shankar is a composer and Sitar-player, who has followed in the footsteps of her father, the internationally acclaimed composer and musician, Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Why should listen to it?
The compositions place the Sitar instrument in the midst of the Flamenco structure, accompanied by the sounds of palmas, cajon, ghatam, tabla and vocals from both traditions. The title track is a celebration of the two percussive traditions, with the Sitar and the Shehnai providing a melodic thread through the composition. In the feisty Buleria con Ricardo, the Sitar and the piano represent the sounds of the East and West, accompanied by the palmas (a hand-clapping typical to Flamenco). Boy meets Girl is a delightful melding of the Flamenco Granaina and the Hindustani Raaga Maanj Khamaj.