Music album Raagraanis releases ahead of World Music Day 2025

Ahead of World Music Day, ‘Raagraanis’ – an inspiring album that highlights the diverse voices of women in music has dropped. This project features five songs that seamlessly blend fresh melodies based on Indian classical ragas, composed in a traditional bandish style. The album boasts powerful vocals from renowned artists, including Pratibha Singh Baghel, Varijashree Venugopal, and Kalpana Gandharv, alongside the talented Prajakta Shukre and Himani Kapoor. The compositions are brought to life by Prajakta Shukre, with lyrical contributions from Himani Kapoor and Madhavan, their in-house lyricist.

Raagraanis album

The album opens with ‘Jiya Naahi Laage’, sung beautifully by Pratibha Singh Baghel, with music composed by Prajakta Shukre and lyrics penned by Himani Kapoor. Prajakta Shukre also shines as both singer and composer on ‘Bairi Chhaliya’. ‘Tere Bina Saawan’ highlights the captivating voice of Himani Kapoor, accompanied by Prajakta Shukre’s melodic composition. The soulful ‘Saiyaan Na Aaye’ features Kalpana Gandharv’s expressive vocals, complemented by Prajakta Shukre’s composition and Himani Kapoor’s poetic lyrics.

Rounding out the album, ‘Sajan Ghar Aaye’ is brought to life by Varijashree Venugopal’s enchanting singing, with music composed by Prajakta Shukre and lyrics by Himani Kapoor. The vocals were recorded at Laya Digi Studios in Bangalore.

The entire project is supported by a talented in-house team of producers and musicians from Namyoho Studios — Kamal Bharti, Nataraj Kshetricha, Swapnomoy Chowdhury, and Rajat Kumar — all songs are meticulously mixed and mastered by Himanshu Shirlekar, ensuring a seamless blend of traditional and contemporary sounds, with the live musicians such as Varad Kathapurkar on flute, Arshad Khan on Esraj, ID Rao on saxophone, along with guitarists Swapnomoy Chowdhury and Madhavan, contributing their artistry to bring each track to life.

Singers react

Talking about it, Pratibha Singh Baghel said, “I have known & been friends with Himani & Prajakta for over a decade now . To collaborate with them on this special album “Raag Raanis” which features some of the craziest female talents of our country, Is absolute delight . This could only be possible because of Sufiscore. This platform gives you full liberty to express your own interpretations & your own ideas of music. So looking forward to present this piece of art to our listeners.”

Varijashree Venugopal added, “RaagRaanis is spearheaded by two amazing music creators from our country, Prajakta Shukre and Himani Kapoor. I fondly remember receiving their warm invitation for me to be a part of this EP and project that celebrates sisterhood by bringing together few of the most wonderful singers and musicians of our country, including Pratibha Singh Baghel and Kalpana Gandharv. It’s been a joy to be a part of this very special project. To talk a little bit about the music, the compositions are both musically and lyrically strongly inspired by this format of composition in the Hindustani traditional repertoire named Bandish. And for me as a musician who has had foundational training in Carnatic music, which is the South Indian classical style of music for more than the past 30 years, it`s been a great joy navigating through this tune, and in my additional learning experience of the past 20 years as a recording session musician and a singer, both as a vocalist and flautist, I have always been a very curious learner where I always look out for something new or a new technique or a new way of musical expression or a new way of emoting or presenting a particular poem or a non-lyrical kind of a composition.”

She added, “So there are so many things to always get inspired from. This curiosity has really helped me experience any new composition in the most fulfilling manner. And this particular composition, ‘Sajan Ghar Aaye’, that I am performing on as part of this album, was equally a great experience for me to figure out the best ways to express the musical emotion and intent of that song. I am very honoured and glad to be a part of RaagRaanis, which is such a beautiful and sweet name, and this project is going to be presented by Sufiscore and Namyoho Studios, spearheaded by Prajakta Shukre and Himani Kapoor. I send them so much love and the best of my wishes,s and I look forward to seeing this EP receive a lot of love from music lovers across the globe.”

Himani Kapoor tells mid-day, “The first song that we made was Tere Bina Saawan, which I sang, and that’s exactly when the idea of an EP struck my mind, about which I shared with Prajakta and without a moment’s hesitation, she said yes. From there, we began shaping this vision together. An EP that would be truly one of its kind. At that point, we didn’t know the future of its release. Once the songs’ composition and writing were completed, I approached Sufiscore and they loved the songs. That’s how Namyoho studios and Sufiscore came on board together for the very first time.”

Prajakta Shukre says, “This EP came from a space where I was immersed in composing songs based on Indian ragas. The idea of creating an EP felt really exciting, and when Himani and I decided to work on it together, everything just flowed and each song is rooted in a different raga and holds a special place in my heart. What made it even more beautiful was collaborating with these phenomenal singers! Varijashree, Pratibha, Kalpana, and Himani, each bringing their own unique charm to the compositions. A special mention also to the live instrumentalists and our music producers at Namyoho Studios. They truly enhanced the sonic landscape.

Kalpana Gandharv says, “There are albums… and then there are experiences. #Raagraanis is one such journey — woven with words by the gifted Himani Kapoor and brought to life by the soulful compositions. Each song holds a different emotion, a different shade of the feminine spirit. And then there’s “Saayan Na Aaye” — a song that touched my soul the moment I heard it. Set in Raag Bhairavi, it speaks of longing, love, and everything in between. ❤️‍🔥 We recorded it in Delhi, and I’ll always carry that magical energy with me. So grateful to be part of something so beautiful. Can’t wait to share it with you all.”

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