With no formal training, Yawar’s love for music came from his grandfather, who practiced at home. “I never went to a training school. I remember taking guitar lessons for barely a month. I won’t brag about it, but I am a self-taught artiste. I also write my songs. It is not just about being a vocalist or a songwriter. For me, it is about being a complete package.”
Yawar says that music as a profession was unheard of in Kashmir. Public performances were not encouraged, as it did not reflect well on the family. “Though youngsters are now challenging these notions, taking up music as a profession is not easy here. It was my mother who supported me. She is my rock. My latest song, Dilshad, is named after her.”
He shot to fame in 2017 with Tamanna, a single with lyrics in Kashmiri, Persian and Urdu, drawn from the poetry of Mirza Ghalib, Mahjoor, and Amir Khusrow. The video has over 11 million views on YouTube and is one of the mostwatched Kashmiri songs on the platform. During mehfils, he would stay awake to listen to mystic Sufi poetry. By 10, he was familiar with Khusrow, Rumi, and Kashmiri mystic poets like Wahab Khar, Mahjoor, Shamas Fakir, and Ahad Zargar. “I grew up listening to these poets back home in Srinagar,” he says.
