Singer-songwriter Shaheen Sheik, a friend from college, just signed with Times Music in Bombay and is on a promo tour here this week. (Watch her video.) Last night she sang on a TV show with a name that’s a paragon of ridiculously nontransitive branding, the Tuscan Verve Zoom Glam Awards. Other nights she slums with the plebeians. That’s usually when I get to see her.
A few of us went to see her first performance at a downtown Bombay club called Prive, which is around the corner from the Gateway of India. It’s decorated like a Southern strip club (black lacquer ceilings, gold bead curtains and lap dance seats), albeit one with floating roses. It was an odd venue for folk-pop ballads, but Shaheen sang four gorgeous melodies and encored with a cover of ‘In Your Eyes.’ Like most desis of a certain age, the duet guitarist provided by the label knew Pink Floyd, the Eagles and Led Zep but was baffled by Peter Gabriel.
There’s an interesting tradeoff when Indians in the diaspora come back to promote their wares (Apache Indian, Salman Rushdie…) On one hand, the potential market is huge with a built-in cultural interest. On the other, the middle class is limited in size, and you earn less per unit than in your home market after currency conversion.
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Ballads at Prive |
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Sisterhood of the traveling leather pants |
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Brothers at Insomnia |
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Shaheen and Natasha, her publicist |
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Shaheen and stylin’ Time Out dude |
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Anil from Time Out scratches the dome |
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Every night in Colaba ends up at Bademiya |
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Chillin’ in Bademiya’s, uh, ‘expansion’ quarters; but the rolls are delish |
If I’ve left out your photo, please forgive — I’ve only included those whom I was pretty sure wouldn’t mind.
