Kiran Ahluwalia

It started with learning songs from her parents, When I was growing up in India, very few people had recordings of any kind, Kiran recalls. We would listen to Bollywood on the radio, and when a song came on that I wanted to learn, my mother would quickly write down the lyrics for me



Kiran studied Indian music from the time she was seven, first in India and then in Canada where she immigrated with her parents. She learnt music part time alongside high school and university studies. After finishing her university degree in Toronto, she decided to go back to India to pursue music full time. Her parents were dismayed. Doors were slammed and tears were shed, recalls Kiran. But they saw that I was adamant and this was what I needed to do. Before I boarded the plane for India, I had their support



Kiran spent many years in Bombay, Hyderabad and Punjab studying Indian classical music, ghazals and Punjabi folk songs. Ten years after she left for India, Kiran returned to Toronto to record her first commercial CD. This CD was nominated for Canada's highest musical honour the JUNO Award



In the ten years that Kiran was away -- Toronto had changed and quite a surprise was in store for her. She found poets writing beautiful lyrics in the poetic form of ghazals. A huge door opened up for me, says Kiran, Imagine how ecstatic I felt; I sing in a genre that emerged in India in the 14th century, and here we were in the present day. I was composing music in this genre and I could find lyrics to compose right here in Canada



Kiran started composing these poems and singing them in concert in Canada, India and Pakistan. She and this circle of poets have become a part of the evolution of ghazals, thousands of miles away from its origins



Kirans bi-cultural life experience has made her adept at reaching new audiences something evident in her thoughtful and modern explanations on stage. To one recent audience, she explained that ghazals explore the many moods of love, from the ecstatic to the despondent, from pursuing the beloved to feeling the restlessness of unrequited love, and summarized by describing a ghazal as a highly-literate pick up line. Kiran earned a Juno Award in 2004 for her second CD. She continues to compose ghazals written by North American Indian and Pakistani poets. Her latest CD was release in March 2005. She is currently working on her fourth CD.



Wanderlust also got a 5 stars review in the Evening Standard:



"It's rare to encounter a glorious new voice and talent with such potential."



Simon Broughton



Kiran Ahluwalia in the international press. Click to read the articles.



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