Assamese Folk Singer Transforms Ghazal Song Into Sign Language, Makes Music More Inclusive

'Aaj jaane ki zidd na karo' is a song written by Pakistani poet Fayyaz Hashmi and later popularised by many classical vocalists. Among the widely remembered renditions include that of ghazal singer Farida Khanum in 1993, which gave the song a whole new look. Over the years, many artists continued to recreate the song and take it to a wider audience.

However, a recent version recorded by Assamese folk fusion artist Abhishruti Bezbaruah is gaining attention for its unique take. While the song is known and sung by many, she decided to take the song to the few who would not have heard the timeless classic. Signing the song in Indian Sign Language, her tribute to the song ensures that the words reach out to those with hearing disabilities.

Transforming Songs Into Indian Sign Language

Abhishruti is an artist from Assam who has been guided and groomed in Hindustani classical music under the maestro Padma Bhushan Pt Rajan-Sajan Misra of the Banaras Gharana. Right from the age of 19, when she became the first Assamese woman to have won the All India Radio Hindustani Classical Music competition, to her initiatives into making the music industry more inclusive, she's known to leave behind a mark in every work she's put forth.

She's familiar among music lovers as an experimental folk artist that brings something new to the table every time. The harmony she brings into her music is inspired by natural sounds such as the cuckoo or even the handloom's weave bars. For an artist who has been invested in the concept of sound design for a long, it was an unexpected leap to transform music into a bunch of signs.

"Assam has a long way to go into acceptance and inclusivity," says Abhishruti to The Logical Indian. With her recent video that signs the classic ghazal song, she has hopefully started up a ripple effect that will pace the way into a larger movement. As a believer in the fact that music does not discriminate, she chooses to empower those who often get left out of mainstream representations.

Growing up watching Doordarshan, she was fascinated with the news segment, which showed a signer in a small box in the corner signing the news for the deaf. Her curiosity about the segment stayed long enough and translated into her music. "As an artist, I want my music to be heard by everyone," she added.

Since she always had a thing for learning languages, she decided to pick the Indian sign language and began training under a tutor. However, turning a famous song into sign language was still challenging, and she ensured she did it right with the help of Priyanka Newar, a sign language interpreter from the North East College for Hearing Impaired.

Inclusivity Comes From A Genuine Place

It is said that one has to truly listen in order to enjoy music. Changing the way music is perceived, Abhishruti carries forward a lesson imparted to her by her guru "There is beauty in silence too." With one small element added to her music video, she has opened up the forum for many musicians to venture into such waters.

"But there has to be genuine interest," she stated while saying that inclusive goes beyond PR stunts and is something that needs to be done out of genuine compassion and understanding.

Strongly believing in the idea that it is a basic right for all to have access to music, she now plans on signing many of her originals with the help of her mentors and hearing-impaired people. This decision was further fuelled by the reactions and responses she received over the cover for 'Aaj jaane ki zidd na karo.'

Many of her tutor's students at the college for the hearing impaired were moved by her interpretation of the song and expressed their gratitude to her. Several others, too, reached out to her on social media platforms and conveyed that it meant a lot that she had put in the thought for differently-abled people. Artists she has worked with over the years, such as director Imtiaz Ali and sound designer Resul Pookutty, reached out to her in appreciation for her work.

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