• Nisha Jalori | nisha@jalori.co.in

“Twins are two bodies that sing and dance to each other’s joy; Two spirits that fly with each other’s love, two separate beings conjoined at the heart.” Such is the alchemy between this sister duo, who may not be twins but their twining speaks volumes about their understanding of music. And we have them in our segment for Band of the Month.

Pragya Sodhani Joshi and Chhavi Sodhani Joshi came together as “Parindey”, to soar to skies and horizons unvisited through their musical creations as Singers and Songwriters. Their hearts aligned and dreams entwined, the soul sisters wish to reach out to everybody to share their Music, Love, and Passion. These singing birds “Parindey” feature beautiful songs with rich notes and different sequences. For both Pragya & Chhavi, music has been part of their lives since childhood. Pragya started learning at the age of 7 and Chhavi started at the age of 5.

“Family is the support which you will never have to pay for, because come rain or shine, they will always be there to cheer you in every of your life goals,” and these girls received it fully. Though the entire family was musically aligned, their grandfather was a connoisseur of Indian Classical music, who initiated them to it and their parents were instrumental in helping them sculpt their passion into profession.

They made sure that both were getting the right training. They learned Indian classical music from Raju Pedi Ji, Jhangiah Ji, Rattan Mohan Sharma Ji, and continue to learn from Pt. Pradeep Chatterjee, Ghazals from Vithal Rao Ji, Semi-Classical music from Kaumudi Munshi Ji. They were also a part of The Little Musicians Academy in Hyderabad – an institute by K. Ramachary Ji. In their words, “Our Parents worked really hard on us. Even though mom and dad were working, they made sure to give us a platform to learn, experience, and explore.”

Pragya performed for the first time at Anup Jalota’s concert in Hyderabad. Chhavi was awarded the ‘Child prodigy award’ by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. At the age of 15 and 17, both of them were given a scholarship by Sangeet Martand Pt. Jasraj Ji for Excellence in Music. And that was the beginning of their journey to Mumbai. Pt. Jasraj Ji suggested they move to Mumbai and train under his nephew and student Pt. Rattan Mohan Sharma Ji. And Mumbai brought with it college life, learning, Riyaaz, college festivals, studio time, and gigs.

Pragya and Chhavi took part in duet competitions and always landed up getting an award. Chhavi was in the Top 12 of Fame Gurukul on Sony TV. They also got an opportunity to work with music directors like Jatin-Lalit, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sajid-Wajid, Monty Sharma, Leslie Lewis, and others. But it was not all sunshine for them.

Chhavi somehow suffered from voice impairment during Fame Gurukul, which left her totally devastated. But with hard work and not giving up attitude, she did not let her dreams be shattered and continued embarking upon her journey of music. She learned music production and restarted writing and composing music with the intent of becoming a complete musician. She has gone into giving music for films and one short movie titled “Yaman” won the ‘Best Music Award’ at the LA International Film Festival. According to them, “Learning for us has been constant and that’s what helps us expand our horizon.

We always knew that both of us had a good sense of singing with each other, we understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And since we have been singing together since childhood whether on stage or doing Riyaaz together, we somehow feel very aligned and in total sync. And we’ve always heard from people that it’s the synchronization and our voices coming together that they really enjoy listening to. And even though we knew our comfort levels with each other, we were somehow doing a lot of individual work as well. And we think the true meaning to our band has come in the last few years.” Chhavi quotes.

‘Parindey’ has done two covers – A Rajasthani Bollywood Folk Mashup and the other a Love Folk Mashup. These have got more than a million views on YouTube. Besides, their singles Doorbeen and Allah Om, have also won great accolades from the audience. They have also carved a niche for themselves individually. One of Chhavi’s releases last year ‘Banna Re’ has close to 20 million streams today and Pragya’s debut single – ‘Tu Mera Hai’ releases this month across all streaming platforms with a fun video to watch out for.

For them, it’s very important that they put out work they like and constantly try to collaborate and work with like-minded and talented artists. They put out their work that appeals to the audience both sonically and visually. For them, the music aspect, as well as the visual aspect, are both important. ‘Parindey’ is also extremely focused on doing live gigs. They have performed at social events, corporate gigs, festivals, and for several organizations. They were also invited by Zhejiang TV for a Chinese Reality show – Born U5, to represent India.

Their base is Indian classical music but their influences have been varied and that comes across in their music. In their performance set, they pack in some of the choicest melodies from Bollywood – old & new, alongside a wide spectrum of genres ranging from Sufi, Ghazals, Folk & Qawalli, presenting them in their own individualistic style. Their strength lies in inherent synchrony in music and this attribute propelled them to form ‘Parindey’ and take it to the world.

They have some very talented and dedicated musicians in their band and all of them work on the arrangements and try to make each song count. Band rehearsals are very interesting and that’s where the actual work happens. All of them Sayantan Dutta, Akashdeep Gogoi, Jignesh Patel, Prabhat Raghu, Nitin Chimote, their sound engineer – Pawan Thakur, their management – Shashi and Vijay Bokadia and the entire team at Moksh Events – everyone gives their hundred percent. On stage, they have a great time and that’s what translates and reaches the audience.

‘Parindey’ band are entertainers on stage and make sure their audience is having a great time and enjoying their music. These hummingbirds wish to see the band become one of the finest Bolly cum non-film music show entities, both juxtaposed interestingly together for it to be worthy musically and equally entertaining for diverse audiences. “Big Dreams and Perseverance are a powerful Duo” and here’s wishing the ‘Parindey’ band to turn their dreams into reality and have a fantabulous musical journey ahead.