Somewhere along the way, doing nothing became something to apologise for. We fill silences with notifications, measure our days in crossed-off to-do lists, and wear busyness like a badge of honour. The quiet hours we once drifted through as children have become increasingly rare. Yet it is often in those unclaimed moments that we hear ourselves most clearly.
That idea lies at the heart of Mr Faarigh, Ankur Tewari’s latest album. The word faarigh, he explains, means “unoccupied, free or idle” in Urdu, but for him, it represents something much more personal: a return to a version of himself that existed before productivity became a way of life. “I was reminiscing about the times when I was a kid and I could spend hours lost in my thoughts,“ Ankur recalls. “I had no guilt for spending time sitting idle. Life has changed much since. The cities we live in and the work we do make me feel guilty every time I’m chilling. I needed to tap back into my younger self and have a conversation. Writing these songs helped me do that.“
That conversation became the emotional spine of the album. Rather than inventing a fictional protagonist, Ankur created a companion who exists somewhere between memory and the present. “Mr Faarigh is a version of me,” he explains. “The current Faarigh is in a dialogue with the past Faarigh, taking tips on how to be carefree and discover joy in the present moment.” Although the album has been described as being about procrastination, Ankur believes the idea is really a doorway into a much larger conversation about presence. In a culture obsessed with what’s next, he found himself questioning why simply existing had begun to feel like wasted time. “There is nothing more beautiful than being in the moment,” he reflects. “You feel low only about the misadventures of the past or the uncertainty of the future. The now empowers you to smile and be grateful.”
That search for the present moment runs through the album’s most intimate songs. On 1:15 AM (After Hours), the city becomes both a refuge and a distraction. Friends, music and late-night streets soften anxiety, even as they postpone confronting it. “Somewhere one is always aware when you are avoiding self-confrontation,” Ankur admits. “But there is also a lot of excitement in losing yourself to the moment and postponing the stress for some other day.”
But as he wrote the song, he realised he wasn’t really documenting escape. He was trying to understand loneliness. “I was investigating the loneliness that one feels when one is dealing with anxiety,” he shares. “The accidental encounters with other lonely souls seem like a balm to the hurt. The whole idea about getting a crowd to sing the chorus together was to discover a tribe of like-minded lonely souls and find comfort in togetherness.” It also explains why Bandra feels almost alive within the song.
The neighbourhood isn’t merely a backdrop but an emotional landscape that has accompanied Ankur through different seasons of life. “The city is doused in magic,” he shares. “It has always given me a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a better day. Every time I’m in doubt, the sea churns hope in me.”
For someone who has spent decades writing for films and series — including Gully Boy and Made in Heaven — creating something so personal could have felt like shedding layers of other people’s stories. Instead, Ankur sees continuity between the two worlds. “You are the main character of your life,” he notes. “My personal albums and singles are the soundtrack to the life of this main character.” If anything, Mr Faarigh is an extension of that belief. It embraces uncertainty rather than resolution and leaves room for vulnerability instead of performance. Ankur believes there’s strength in allowing audiences to see an unfinished version of himself. “There is radical power in honesty and sharing your vulnerable self,” he adds. “When you do that, you send a gentle nod to others that they are not alone.”
The philosophy extends to his craft as well. “25 years of making music has made me realise that perfection is a myth,” he observes. “But chasing perfection can make you encounter excellence.” Ironically, it was the relentless pace of success that made him crave stillness in the first place. “The last few years have been challenging in terms of workload,” he reflects. “I found myself getting sucked into the corporate rut of deliveries and timelines. Mr Faarigh has helped me reclaim my relationship with time.”
Whether he’s writing for a film, a series or himself, Ankur explains his shared belief. “Stories are the soul of our being,” he says. “They bring hope in a hopeless world. Every kind of story that reminds us of being human is important to tell, whether it’s yours or someone else’s.”
Mr Faarigh is streaming on all major music platforms.
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