Indian American Musician Aki Kumar Sings ‘Zindagi,’ a Song of Hope for Troubled Times – Watch
We live in such dark times: Indian American singer-songwriter Aki Kumar, whose lyrics usually lean toward the edgy and challenging, decided the world needed something closer to a kiss.
“Zindagi” means life. And it starts like this: “Walk with the dreams that lie in your heart/ Don’t look back, keep moving forward./ When your desires whisper a melody. / Become the voice of that song.”
“Zindagi” is basically a reggae tune sung in Hindi. The video was shot on a beach in Northern California as shot by videographer Jeremiah Hutchens, who also did Kumar’s singles for Sony India. But there’s no gimmick in the song.
Kumar said his song is “pandemic-induced creativity.”
Downbeat magazine writes: “the integrity of his music marks the difference between novelty and substance.”
The acclaimed blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite has sung Kumar’s praises. “Check it out. I wouldn’t steer you wrong.”
Born in Mumbai, Kumar came to the U.S. to be a software engineer — until he encountered the music of the blues. Goodbye coding, and hello, blues harmonica. “Zindagi” comes from Little Village Foundation, a non-profit record company dedicated to shining a spotlight on music that you might not otherwise hear about.