When the Melody Calls the Shots: How Avra Banerjee Followed the Music to ‘Dil, Barish, Aur Hum

A sarod player, composer and music producer walks into contemporary pop. It sounds like the beginning of an unlikely genre experiment, but for Avra Banerjee, it is simply where his music has taken him. With a foundation in Indian classical music and years spent exploring fusion, world music and contemporary sounds, Avra has never really treated genres as walls. His latest EP, Dil, Barish, Aur Hum, is the result of that instinct, bringing together five songs that found their identity along the way.

The funny part? That wasn't quite the project Avra set out to make. The original idea was to explore Indian classical influences through a more globally oriented fusion record. But as the songs began taking shape, they started pulling the project somewhere else. Rather than forcing the music back into the original blueprint, Avra followed where it was going. The result was a contemporary pop EP that still carries the musical instincts he started with. Sometimes, apparently, the music gets to make the executive decisions.

The songs themselves grew from different emotional and cultural ideas. Unche Pahado draws from the spirit of the mountains and folk traditions, while Dil Ka Irada leans into romantic optimism. Pehli Sawan explores the feeling of first love through the imagery of the monsoon, while Khoya Hai Rasta turns towards separation and longing. Neendo Mein Khwab takes things in a more contemporary direction. Five different moods, but part of the same journey that eventually became the EP.

That willingness to follow an idea instead of controlling it seems to sit at the centre of Avra's creative process. Nearly a year went into composing and arranging the EP, with singers and musicians contributing remotely from different locations. The process crossed borders and time zones, with performances recorded and sent back and forth before Avra brought the pieces together. For someone whose musical foundation comes from an instrument as rooted in tradition as the sarod, there is something fitting about that constant movement between the old and the new.

Then there is Avra's other professional life: IT. Alongside composing, producing and playing music, he has maintained a career in technology. On paper, the two worlds seem completely different. One runs on systems, logic and problem-solving; the other leaves more room for instinct, curiosity and experimentation. But perhaps the overlap is in the process: patience, attention to detail and the willingness to keep working until something clicks.

If there is one word that captures Avra's musical journey, it is “Unfolding.” And it feels particularly appropriate here. Dil, Barish, Aur Hum wasn't born from a perfectly fixed plan. It evolved as Avra listened to what the music was asking for. Rather than treating the change of direction as a detour, he made it part of the journey. Perhaps that is the most interesting thing about Avra: he isn't trying to arrive at a final version of himself as an artist. He is still letting the music figure that out.