Over the last few years, there has been a major growth in the independent music scene in India. Arvind Kywalya is part of that growth. An immensely talented musician, Kywalya is someone who takes his successes and failures as they come. Through all of it, he has managed to keep his composure and set deliberate goals, many of which he has already achieved. This, then, is his story, a tale of how, amidst all the uncertainty, he finds the drive to keep infusing his music with all the things he has to say.
Born in Chennai, Kywalya moved to the Middle East at the age of two. Having spent the majority of his childhood there, he would only return to India, years later, to finish his secondary education. Currently attending university in the UK, Kywalya has just finished his third year in Business Accounting & Finance. Suffice it to say, Kywalya has had a pretty transient childhood. The one thread that ran through all those years was his love for music. However, as he states, it wasn’t always like that.
When he was younger, Kywalya’s mother enrolled him in Carnatic music lessons. Describing his initial engagements with music as not being favourable, Kywalya slowly learnt to foster a love for it when he began to explore different genres, listening and learning from some of the greatest artists around the world. In point of fact, Kywalya goes on to cite some of the greatest influences on him, A. R. Rahman being at the top of that list. To Kywalya, A. R. Rahman symbolises everything that an artist should be, constantly evolving his or her craft and staying relevant regardless of the amount of time that has passed.
Talking about the issue of staying relevant, Kywalya discusses his own growth as a musician and the parallel journey that came with it on social media. The idea of putting himself out there and to let others critique him and his work is something that Kywalya says was one of the bravest things he has ever done. And, if you examine that statement a little deeper, you understand his next few sentiments.
When he did blow up, gaining the recognition that he deserved, Kywalya found himself a little overwhelmed with all the attention. Don’t get it wrong here. Kywalya was immensely grateful for all the opportunities that came his way. However, recognition, even when it’s well-deserved, always brings its own set of challenges. Alongside all the praise, there, also, came the destructive criticism. The need to navigate all of that has taught Kywalya more than he could have ever imagined. In fact, he seems to be grateful for it. While acknowledging that he is at the beginning of his journey and yet to experience major setbacks, Kywalya understands that brief brushes with disappointment and unexpected lows are critical to building mental fortitude.
When talking about the music scene in the country, Kywalya gets to talking about the growth of the independent artists and labels. That is immensely relevant to his own journey as Kywalya experienced his big break on social media. Social media and digital platforms, Kywalya states, are an incredibly important tool for aspiring artists as they allow for transcendence of arbitrary boundaries. Looking forward, Kywalya hopes that the independent music scene in India only continues to grow, allowing artists, such as him, to keep making the music that they are deeply passionate about.
“The independent music scene is building in India, with so many talented creators coming up. My long term dream is to keep releasing music independently and for Indian independent music to become as big as it is in the rest of the world.”
Arvind Kywalya
The manner in which Kywalya describes his journey so far, it becomes evident that there is a lot of internalization going on. As Kywalya explains, music, for him, is all about self-expression and pouring the things he wants to say into his songs. That is what pushes him constantly. It is vital, however, that individual drive be bolstered with consistent effort and an ability to scrutinize and examine one’s own skill sets.
Ever the level headed individual, Kywalya also cautions against some of the unforeseen challenges that comes with pursuing a career in a field that may not be seen as traditional. It is important to keep a long term plan and have a net to fall back on while pursuing your dream. Take it from Arvind Kywalya. After all, if anything, he has lived through it.
