David Britto
Jan 05, 2021
New York City-based singer-songwriter Manas Jha. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
When he was in high school in Mumbai, New York City-based singer-songwriter Manas Jha shared classroom space with his to be wife Preeti. At the time, a shy and introverted Jha didn’t speak to her much and only introduced himself via email. After corresponding daily, they finally met to go out on a date. He says, “I could barely make eye contact, let alone hold a conversation.” However, that led to a few more dates, long walks, sharing meals and sitting on park benches. “Now, 17 years later, we celebrate nine years of marriage, and two years of parenthood,” says Jha.
The musician’s wholesome track “Curtains” – off 2019’s Reimagined EP – captures his journey with Preeti over the years and has also recently been given an animation that plays out the shy, socially awkward moments from their past.
While the song was initially penned in 2003, it wasn’t until two years ago as part of Reimagined, that Jha decided to flesh it out. He says, “’Curtains’ explores the relationship with solitude. Of being an introvert, diving deep into your inner self and finding love for another who feels the same.”
In the clip – designed by animator Hariom Verma from Zombie Films (who has previously worked with Arunachal-bred singer-songwriter Taba Chake on “My Other Side”) – we see a boy and girl doing separate activities until their worlds collide and they have a tricky first interaction. Over time they find warmth within one another that eventually leads to love that lasts a lifetime. Jha says, “Hariom dug deep and immersed himself into the material. Just like the song, the video is deeply personal and shares an intimate story.”
2021 is looking bright for Jha as he prepares to release a new three-track EP called Trifecta. The record is set to feature a whole host of household indie names such as prog-rock outfit Skyharbor’s guitarist-producer Keshav Dhar, blues-rockers Blackstratblues’ axeman Warren Mendonsa and drummer Jai Row Kavi, vocalist-guitarist Siddharth Basrur (of rockers Runt and Last Remaining Light) and electro-rocker FuzzCulture aka Arsh Sharma. “They are some of my favorites from the indie scene back home,” says Jha. Each track is also set to come with creative music videos that include a graphic novel styled one and a stop-motion animation.
Watch the video for “Curtains” below:
