Satish Sharma and Meeta Pandit release ‘Naina Milaike’, a Valentine’s Day song

Guitarist and classical musician Satish Sharma collaborated with renowned classical vocalist Meeta Pandit to release a song ‘Naina Milaike’ to mark Valentine’s Day.

The semi-classical melodious track based on raga Jhinjhoti is rendered by Meeta with a touch of Baul vocals by Satish.

“ ‘Naina Milaike’ is the depiction of Meera Bai’s complete surrender to Lord Krishna,” says Satish who conceived the idea of this song while practising Jhinjhoti on his guitar. “I consider all my compositions a gift from the almighty,” he adds.

Having collaborated earlier with Meeta in recording a few songs, Satish felt her voice would be perfect for this composition and roped her in. The video was shot at picturesque locales of Ajmer in Rajasthan.

Music beyond genre

Recalling her experience of recording the song, Meeta who has gone beyond her classical forte to render this song says, “Music is music. If you are a performer, you would want your music to reach out to the audience through all kinds of genres.”

‘Naina Milaike’ is also dedicated to people who suffered hardships during the pandemic, especially families who stayed apart in different places. “Lovers were separated, aged parents were stranded in different parts of the world due to the lockdown. People have lost their loved ones without being able to say goodbye. The song is about yearning for your loved ones and expressing the unconditional love you feel for them,” she says.

Meeta belongs to the Gwalior Gharana and is the sixth in the unbroken lineage and the first woman in the family to take up music professionally. Becoming a professional performer was not a smooth journey for Meeta, though singing came naturally to her. Her father, Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, wanted her to pursue her academics and his son, Tushar Pandit, to carry forward the music legacy. The untimely demise of Tushar in 1994 changed things and Meeta eventually took to the stage and made her family proud by becoming one of the country’s foremost vocalists.

“Change is inevitable. We can now enjoy a choice in our music – a privilege earlier artists did not have. A wise artist will learn the best from his guru but not copy him,” says Meeta.

Ga ga over guitar

Satish Sharma’s roots in Rajasthan and his love for Hindustani ragas combine to make him a great composer but his first love is the guitar and he adds a new dimension to the ragas while strumming on the nylon strings of his guitar. “I prefer playing the nylon string guitar as the sound is quite smooth and well rounded, and the dynamics are perfect for my style of playing,” says Satish who has recently developed a guitar called ‘Sapt guitar’, which is a fretless, nylon seven-string guitar.

Satish had composed music for television serials, a few Bollywood films and jingles. His recent albums are Love Songs on Guitar (Vol. 1 &2), Ragas on Guitar’and Morning Bliss’, Ek Tu, and Sufi Strings. “ To give expression to my thoughts, I started writing lyrics, composing music. Eventually, I started singing and that gives me a lot of satisfaction.”