Daily Inspiration: Meet Kiran Ahluwalia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiran Ahluwalia.

Hi Kiran, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started learning Indian music when I was five in India. When we moved to Toronto, Canada – my parents found (at that time) the one and only Indian music teacher in town and I continued learning after school. I kept learning music as a hobby right until I finished my Bachelors at University of Toronto and through my first full time job working in Human Resources. After working 9-5 for a couple of years I had a waking dream – I was able to see my future clearly – I’d work my way up the corporate ladder, get a house in the burbs and have a comfortable settled life – that scared me. I was scared of waking up at age 90 and realizing that I hadn’t pursued my real passion – music. So I decided to quit my job and go back to India to be a full time student of music. My parents thought I was crazy for giving up a good job. We had lots of fights – doors were slammed, tears were shed. But when they saw I was adamant they eventually supported me. Being a full time music student in India fro one year turned into 10 years. Then I returned home and continued doing music on the side while working at CBC radio in Toronto and Putumayo Records in New York City. Finally I recorded my first album and fell into a career in music. I’m now 8 albums deep – two of which have earned me JUNO Awards- those are the Canadian Grammys and three of which have won the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Along the way I met master guitarist Rez Abbasi who I married. We have both lived in New York City for over twenty years and continue to make music together.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all smooth – the business of music has been a struggle and continues to be. The big music companies really worked out a bum deal for musicians when they sold their huge catalogues to streaming services like Spotify. Streaming replaced the purchase of recorded music and one big source of income for musicians just vanished – especially for independent musicians like me. Streaming services will say they pay musicians but independent musicians get fractions of a cent per stream.

Added to that – fewer people are coming out to live concerts so that too is a struggle.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I call my music Indian Soul. I write songs driven by Indian and Pakistani music and the Blues. My songs are about personal strife and societal ailments. I write about throwing away shame to pursue female desire and fighting the self sabatoger in us. We all carry the weight of what’s happening in the world today. For me, singing is how I process and release the sadness. My song Jaane Jahan is about cultural intolerance in our largely immigrant society. It reminds us that we all have the same shade of red in our veins – our tears have the same taste of salt. Each group of ‘us’ feels separated from others but we’re more similar than we are different.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Many people
– My husband – he brought a musically progressive sensibility to my arrangements. At times his guitar riffs make my heart ache and at times they makes jump in glee.
– My parents – because of their financial cushion I was able to quit my job and go on my adventure to be a musician.
– My musical guru in Hyderabad India – Vithal Rao – he taught me composition. If you can compose your own tunes then you have power.
– My classical music guru – Padma Talwalkar in Bombay India – she molded my voice – freed it from normality and opened it up to both soar and be powerfully delicate.
– My agents – they’re the ones that book my gigs and make sure I have a touring career.
– My past managers – they directed my career.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.KiranMusic.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/kiranmusic1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiranmusic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@KiranMusic1
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kiranmusic1