10 Important Lessons We Learnt From The Song Pasoori

he Song Pasoori sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill has slowly become one of the most popular songs not only in Pakistan but on Indian charts as well as and it's the top pick for Reel videos. The song, has reached a new milestone after hitting 100 million views on YouTube.

I love the song and slowly Adi picked it from me, we decided to dig in and find out about how the song was created. Here are 5 interesting lessons my son learned from the song:

It was interesting to find out that Ali Sethi who is the lead male singer read the lines of the song behind a truck. 

The song is a result of a failed project where Ali Sethi was supposed to travel to Mumbai for collaboration but he could not due to political reasons, so the idea was to create music that could travel beyond the boundaries. He created lyrics that could resonate with people all over the world. 

This also reminded me of something that Ali Sethi said during one of his interviews about Pasoori, “I might not have been able to travel to India, but I knew my music could.”

My son learned that music has no boundaries and can be created from anywhere. 

Another interesting thing we found out was that the female lead singer Shae Gill was found via Instagram, Ali Sethi heard her and sent her a request. 

"Shae Gill—a student of economics whose best friend started posting videos of her singing on Instagram in 2019—and brought her into the project, thinking that her smoky voice would pair nicely with Sethi’s rich tenor"- The New Yorker

Adi was also very inspired by the fact that Shae Gill, the lead female singer had never sung professionally before this song. 

So, this was only getting interesting, this made us look deep into how the album was created and we were lucky to find the making of the song on YouTube. 

We also found how music is created in Coke Studio. How Coke Studio is supporting local artists.

Coke Studio is a Pakistani television program and international music franchise which features music performances by established and emerging artists.

Coke Studio is known to showcase many kinds of musical influences, that includes classical, folk, Sufi music, etc. The show is noted for promoting Pakistan's multiculturalism by inviting artists from different regions and languages.

This was an interesting lesson for Adi, to find that there are people working behind the scenes to create such beautiful music and how each artist has their own story. 

My son also learned about the lyrics of the song and what they mean. We found a translation of the lyrics and he was able to understand them. 

Adi Asked me if Ali Sethi is from Pakistan and when I told him, "yes he is from Pakistan". He told me ma. "why do people think Pakistani people are not good, they have created such a beautiful song, how does it make them different?"  I was happy that my son could think beyond the politics and see the beauty in this song. 

The video features Sheema Kermani, the Bharatanatyam dancer and activist from Pakistan to Gill, who is from the Christian community, which makes up only 1.59 percent of the population of Pakistan.

My son was able to see the diversity portrayed in the song

Through this research, Adi was able to learn a lot of things. To list a few:

1. He understood the power of Social Media- how a girl who was just posting videos of her singing on Instagram was found by Ali Sethi and given a chance to sing in Coke Studio. He understood how music has no boundaries- it can be created anywhere, by anyone. He was inspired by the fact that Shae Gill had never sung professionally before this song and yet she did an amazing job.

2. The making of a song- He learned about the process of how music is created in Coke Studio and how many people are involved in it. And finally, he learned about the lyrics of the song and what they mean.

3. Promotion of Local artists - He learned how Coke Studio is promoting local artists and how it is showcasing Pakistan's multiculturalism by inviting artists from different regions and languages.

4. How YouTube enables creator economy- He learned how people are making a living by creating content on YouTube and how the platform helps artists reach a global audience. All of this is from just one song!

5. Music Travels beyond boundaries- He learned how the song was created with an intention to create music that could travel beyond the boundaries and how it has become one of the most popular songs not only in Pakistan but also in India.

According to the New Yorker, “The song is stealthily subversive: a traditional raga—the classical Indian framework for musical improvisation—has been laid over an infectious beat that sounds South Asian, Middle Eastern, and, improbably, reggaetón, all at once"

This was a great exercise to do with Adi and discover all this. He was able to make sense of so many things and his perspective on music changed. 

• Now he notices the videos in an album and talks about how it is created - the instruments being used, the different voices, the mixing of sounds. He also tries to understand the lyrics and what they mean. All of this is from just one song! Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
  

• He discusses what determines the success of a particular album- He also analyses why some songs become popular and some do not. What determines the views it gets, the number of likes and shares? Does the length of the video matter?

Are certain topics more popular than others? All these questions are important to consider when creating content for social media. It is not just about creating something that is popular, but also about creating something that is meaningful and has the potential to make an impact. Adi's research has taught him a lot about this.

6. He is able to find out about the origin of the song, the music, etc.- He is also able to understand the lyrics and what they mean. The inspiration behind the song, the thought process of the singer, etc.

7. The language of the song didn't stop it from going viral - The song was appreciated by people all over the world, regardless of the language barrier. This is proof that music truly has no boundaries.

8. He understands the hard work that goes into making an album- He is also able to see how each album is a result of the passion and hard work of so many people. It is not just the artist who is important, but also the team behind them- He learned that it takes a lot of effort from the whole team to make an album successful.

9. He is able to notice other musicians in an album- He is also able to see how they interact with each other and how they contribute to the song. He can see the different roles that everyone plays in making a song successful.

10. His perception of people in different countries has changed- He has learned that people in other countries are just like us and that we have more in common with them than we think.

He understands how music can unite people- He sees how music has the power to bring people together, regardless of their differences. This is one of the most important lessons that he has learned from the song.