For the past few months, singer-songwriter Shubham Kabra has been churning out feel-good releases such as Yeh Shaam as well as thought-provoking numbers like Ek Angana. His new acoustic indie-pop number Vaari Vaari is formulaic in the sense that it is set against ambient guitar fingerpicking patterns with poetic lyrics that delve into the notions of eternal love (complete with folk characters like Heer, Ranjha, and so on). 

If you wish to take a break from melodramatic love songs, then maybe keep Vaari Vaari for later. It is definitely melodramatic (in the positive sense) but does deserve some time for it to grow on you. It might sound off like any other recent indie love song but Kabra tries to add his power-packed vocals rather than the hushed-down ‘Prateek Kuhad-like’ voices that we hear every now and then. 

As mentioned earlier, Kabra’s subject matter also includes archaic North Indian tales of binary romance like Laila-Majnu, Heer-Ranjha, and Mirza-Sahiban. Rather than just dwelling on simplistic notions of love, Kabra sinks his teeth into a larger concept of eternal love. The song touches upon how fate and destiny can make star-crossed lovers fall in love even if they have been distanced for years. It’s a concept that’s too good to be true for most of us but it still provides a good dose of sentimentality. An animated visual is equally dramatic that documents the tale of two lovers who meet during childhood and then cross paths in the future. 

Given the homegrown roots in Shubham Kabra’s writing, Jishnu Guha’s guitaring is also assisted with some quintessential Indian instrumentation such as Sanoop S’s flute skills, and Sarvajit Krishna Mohan’s expertise on the kanjira as well as the tabla. All in all, Vaari Vaari is a beautiful and melodic work of an old-school love, that’s well-written and well-produced. 

Verdict: Dramatic love stories inspire this equally dramatic and soothing track.

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