Memory’s loose ends: Delhi-born composer Jayant Sankla on his latest song Musalsal

Love is quiet, soft, and often unexpected like a breeze brushing past or impossible to hold still. That’s the feeling at the heart of ‘Musalsal’, the latest track by Delhi-born singer-songwriter and composer Jayant Sankla. ‘Musalsal’, is derived from Arabic. “It means continuous, something that keeps going and never stops,” says Sankla. Drawn first to its sound, it was the Urdu poetry of Mirza Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, that drew him first to the word. “The word stayed with me while listening to Pritam Chakraborty’s song Phir Le Aaya Dil. I had been writing freely, letting the lyrics take shape. That’s when musalsal just clicked with me.”

Singer-songwriter and composer Jayant Sankla takes us through his latest track Musalsal.

The track is intentionally bare, with slow guitar strums and the soft rhythm of the mandolin trailing behind his vocals. “If the melody is simple like the feelings in the song, it's easily understood,” he says. “If the lyrics say one thing, the melody another, and the music is on a different trip, it feels like cheating—at least to myself. If what I’m thinking and making don’t align, the listener will feel that disconnect too.”

‘Musalsal’ unfolds slowly. “Most people don’t listen consciously anymore; they scroll through songs, rarely letting anything sink in,” he says. “But I wanted to take the risk and create something slow, against the trend.” The music video echoes that stillness. Shot in a barren Nashik landscape with a lone windmill, the frame lingers on Sankla as he walks—no heavy cuts or visual overstimulation. “Just like the song slows down and breathes, I wanted the video to breathe with it.”

The windmill, he adds, is a metaphor for emotion. “When we feel something, it means something has happened. Even if nothing is visible outside, we’re still feeling something inside. The windmill felt like that—it moves only when the wind blows.”

Where it all began

For Delhi-born Sankla, music wasn’t a sudden discovery. “My mom tells me whenever a musical advertisement plays, I’d stop crying and sit down,” he says. “She always felt I was meant for music.” His earliest memory of wanting to pursue it dates to the third grade. “I told my parents I wanted to learn. They weren’t sure.” It wasn’t until ninth standard that school teachers encouraged them and he began taking classes.

His journey as a composer began in 2010, when his late friend Pravesh encouraged him to sing. “He’d play a riff on guitar and say, ‘I can’t compose, but you can. Just sing whatever you’re feeling,’” says Sankla. One of those jam sessions led to their first composition,‘Tere Naina’ in 2011, later released on T-Series. In 2012, the high school duo formed a band called Aayudh, teaming up with college students and performing across Delhi. After Pravesh’s passing, Sankla often remembers him while composing. “He believed in me, and if it wasn't for him, I wouldn’t be here.”

Beyond the buzz

Since moving to Mumbai in 2019, Sankla has steadily carved a space for himself, with his melodious voice and ability to compose across mediums. He’s produced music for films and series No Water Land, House of Lies, and Lock Upp, commercials, spiritual projects, and original tracks like ‘Mausam’ (2023) and ‘Halke Halke’ (2024). Even while juggling a wide range of projects, Sankla is focused. “I want to compose something people will remember me for,” he says. “No matter what I’m working on, I want to create something that changes everything—for me, for everyone.”

He’s worked with big names, including Salim-Sulaiman, but admits he’s not in it for the spotlight. “In the beginning, you feel those little highs. But in the long run, it fades,” he says. “The way this profession works—you create one song, some people might like it, and then you just move on. You go back into your shell to make the next one.”

It’s also what’s kept him grounded after the rush of his early days. “I just wanted to be everywhere. But soon I realised everyone has their own journey. Just because someone else is killing it on stage doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same for me,” he says. “You can make the best music and it might just float by. If I have to make music for the rest of my life, I will. And if something blows up, it will. But that’s not in my hands. My focus is just to make good music.”

Although now based in Mumbai, Sankla is still a Delhiite at heart. Every winter, Sankla returns home to perform for his Delhi fans. “I will always be a Delhi kid. I can't do anything about it.” With ‘Musalsal’ out, Sankla is relaxed and excited, lining up his next: “It’s with a female singer who’s already given a thumbs up. We’ll record and release it very soon.” 

Jayant Sankla’s ‘Musalsal’ is currently streaming on all platforms.

This article is written by Adithi Reena Ajith