Chaiyya Chaiyya | Third Culture Collective | Kavi Pau

Collaboration days

15 Mar

Our debut single is here! An arrangement of the iconic Bollywood song Chaiyya Chaiyya, originally composed by A.R. Rahman for the film Dil Se.

We wanted to bring a touch of western classical music to this Bollywood classic - our version features full string orchestra and choir! There are even references to the composers Maurice Duruflé, Steve Reich and J.S. Bach.

This was recorded and filmed over numerous collaboration days during the summer of 2020.

Producer: Kavi Pau
Lead vocalists: Shahid Abbas Khan, Rekha
Bansuri: Teymour Housego
Clarinet: Jordan Black
Strings: Simon Purdy, Anna Semple, Wallis Power
Bass: Misha Mullov-Abbado
Percussion: Kuljit Bhamra
Choir: Natasha Agarwal, Shimona Rose Thevathasan, Eleanor Cramer, Clover Willis, Shivani Rattan, Serena Shah, Amaya Pitharas, Anneka Shah, Robin Datta, Edan Umrigar, Jaison Jeyaventhan, Abbas Khan, Noel Li, Krishnan Ram-Prasad, John Holland-Avery, Alexander Boukikov
Mix Engineer: Chris Cara
Videography & Editing: Richard Summers

Original music: AR Rahman
Original lyrics: Gulzar
Original Producer: Mani Ratnam - Ram Gopal Verma - Shekhar Kapoor
Original Movie: Dil Se

featured videos

Media Gallery

O Rey Chhori

Kavi Pau’s production of O rey chhori (Hey girl!) from the 2001 Bollywood film Lagaan infuses it with music by German composer JS Bach.

Dhrupad in Raga Yaman

This Dhrupad (Indian classical vocal form) has been arranged for choir by Dr Kanniks Kannikeswaran, a composer of Indian descent based in the USA.

Shanta Karam

Shanta Karam is a Sanskrit prayer (mantra) to Lord Vishnu, the protector and preserver of the universe in Hinduism.

Ich habe genug

We’ve arranged this cantata by Bach for bansuri, piano, baroque cello and singer. Bach wrote more than 200 cantatas in his lifetime. These are sung pieces, often religious in nature. The bansuri plays a virtuosic role here, replacing the oboe in Bach’s original!

In the wonderful month of May

This wonderful music was composed in 1840 by Robert Schumann for the first song in his song cycle Dichterliebe (A poet's Love). The cycle tells the story of a young man coming to terms with unrequited love and has a very tragic ending!

Darshan Do Ghanshyam

Originally featuring in the 1957 Indian movie Narsi Bhagat, we’ve reimagined this bhajan (sacred Hindu song) for a fusion jazz ensemble featuring vocals, plucked bass, piano and tabla.

Raga Kedar Alap

We got together with Misha Mullov-Abbado to record a meditative take on Raga Kedar for double bass and piano. The piece is based on an ‘Alap’ – the opening section of an Indian classical piece, where a soloist improvises on top of a background drone.

Après un rêve | Gabriel Fauré

Meaning ‘After a dream’, this song was composed by Gabriel Fauré in 1878 for voice and piano. We’ve added Indian embellishments and put the vocal line on a Bansuri.

Chaiyya Chaiyya | Third Culture Collective | Kavi Pau

Our debut single is here! An arrangement of the iconic Bollywood song Chaiyya Chaiyya, originally composed by A.R. Rahman for the film Dil Se.

Shivani Rattan | Diversity in the music industry

The wonderful mezzo and conductor Shivani Rattan talks about how the Third Culture Collective brings a fresh sense of diversity to the western classical music industry.

Kavi Pau

Kavi Pau (b. 1996) is a British Indian music director, composer, singer and keyboardist based in London. Alongside his work as Artistic Director of the Third Culture Collective, he is also Director of Music at St Barnabas Church, Ealing and is the Founder Director of Ensemble 1517, a choir specialising in the music of the Lutheran Reformation. He combines these posts with regular freelance activities and also teaches at the University of Cambridge.