Deveshi Sahgal’s debut album 'Woh Jagah', released by Tiger Baby Records, introduces a powerful new voice shaped by classical training, eclectic influences, and deep engagement with Sufi poetry. In this interview, Sahgal reflects on her musical evolution, the emotional terrain behind the album, and how she brings her own perspective to centuries-old verse.
There is something otherworldly and out of time about Deveshi Sahgal’s music. Trained in Hindustani classical tradition under the tutelage of Gurinder Kaur — a disciple of Kishori Amonkar — from the age of four until she was about fourteen, Sahgal’s voice was shaped as much by her rigorous training as by the eclectic listening habits of her parents.
“My parents filled our home with an incredible range of sound — ghazals, qawwalis, old Hindi film classics, and then the revolutionary, lyrical universe of bands like Pink Floyd,” Sahgal says. Those influences, she says, formed the split foundations of her musical identity: an ear for immersive contemporary textures and a deep attunement to poetic lyricism. Today, she is one of the most compelling emerging voices in the country.
‘Woh Jagah’, presented by Ankur Tewari, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti-led Tiger Baby Records, is Sahgal’s debut album. Before ‘Woh Jagah’, she was best known for her appearances at Muzaffar Ali’s Jahan-e-Khusrau festival, where she had the rare opportunity to share the stage with Abida Parveen. Those formative performances, combined with years of classical training and a broad appetite for global music, now inform her first full-length project, which interprets the works of poets such as Amir Khusrau, Bulleh Shah, and Dagh Dehlvi alongside an original composition by Mohammed Muneem Nazir.
Across the album, Sahgal attempts to balance sonic fidelity to centuries-old verse with a contemporary, deeply personal approach — a task she frames as both a responsibility and an intuitive process.
In conversation with Homegrown earlier this week, she spoke about the evolution of her musical voice, the emotional undercurrents that shaped ‘Woh Jagah’, and what it means to bring her own perspective to a musical lineage that stretches far beyond her:
You started with rigorous classical training and later shifted towards qawwalis, ghazals, and more atmospheric, contemporary soundscapes. Reflecting on your journey, what were the key moments that steered your musical voice to its current form?
My musical influences have always been unexpectedly varied. Even though I didn’t come from a family of musicians, my parents filled our home with an incredible range of sound — ghazals, qawwalis, old Hindi film classics, and then the revolutionary, lyrical universe of bands like Pink Floyd. I think that early exposure planted two impulses in me: one toward immersive soundscapes and the other toward deep, poetic lyricism. I only understood the significance of that duality much later.
As I grew older, my world kept expanding. My cousins drew me into psy-ambient and atmospheric electronic music during my teens, while I was simultaneously training in Hindustani classical and listening to everything from 2Pac to Mariah Carey. Over time I’ve realised that aside from electronic dance music, there’s hardly a genre I don’t have an appreciation for.
Can you walk me through how a feeling becomes a melody for you? What does the earliest, most vulnerable shape of a song look and sound like before words or structure appear?
I take songs as beautiful presents or gifts. I’ve always just caught them if I’m lucky — sometimes all at once. First comes the melody, like a skeleton, and I rush to flesh it out on my guitar or piano. If I’m really fortunate, I catch everything in the same moment: the melody, the words, the emotion. Writing is a cathartic release for me, and I find it hard to create unless I’m deeply moved by a feeling or experience. The song helps me make sense of my own emotions, and all of my art forms, including painting, are expressions of my inner world. It has little to do with how the world will receive them; for me, it’s about the release. For me, it’s about releasing my emotions, and almost instantly, once the song is over, the feeling or emotion has already passed.
You’ve described ‘Woh Jagah’ as a way of reconnecting with yourself and seeking peace and harmony. What moments of your own life, inner shifts, or periods of silence shaped the emotional landscape of this album?
‘Woh Jagah’ as an album is a mixed bag of emotional expressions witnessed at different stages of one’s life. From the beautiful ghazal “Uzr Aane Mein Bhi Hai” by Dagh Dehlvi, which captures the indecisive mind of a lover, to the existential questioning in Baba Bulleh Shah’s “Bullah Ki Jaana Main Kaun”, the album spans a wide emotional spectrum.
The making of the album — including till the filming of its videos that spanned over two years found me at different points in my own evolution, from losing myself to finding myself and somehow I feel I’ve arrived at “who I am“ all over again.
But as the saying goes, true wisdom comes from knowing nothing. So I guess the journey continues.
The album draws on poets such as Amir Khusrau, Bulleh Shah, and Dagh Dehlvi. How do you approach bringing your own voice to centuries-old verses? What does interpretation mean to you when the lyrics carry such a long and layered lineage?
I’ve always been drawn to lyrical content in songs. And the poetry of Sufi saints and fakirs always seemed to stem from unconditional human love that then turned them towards the divine. The obliteration of the egoic self, fanaa, to find a higher truth.
For instance, Rumi’s encounter with Shams i Tabrizi became a mirror that reflected the depth of his own soul, inspiring a lyrical voice filled with longing and devotion. It is this journey from human emotion to spiritual transcendence, the alchemy of love turning toward the divine, that resonates deeply with me and guides my own expression through the songs I sing.
Your grounding in Hindustani classical music and your early experiences at Jahan-e-Khusrau — including sharing the stage with the legendary Abida Parveen — have clearly shaped your musical sensibility. How did those formative experiences shape this album?
Singing at Jahan-e-Khusrau in 2014 was my first big stage performance, and that too with Abida ji, whom I had been listening to since my early teens. I used to crawl up to the front of the stage just to get a better view of her, and to finally be on that same stage seemed like a blessing.
It’s one of those memories I remember so clearly, taking mental note of as I stepped onto that stage. I think I was grateful enough at that time for that opportunity, and I’ve always been grateful for whatever comes my way after. I love singing, and that will never stop. It’s lovely when people listen and appreciate your music, but for me, there is no other way to exist. I love creating music and singing — that will never stop — and that’s honestly all I think about if you ask me about my journey.
‘Woh Jagah’, Deveshi Sahgal’s debut album, aims to bridge ancient spiritual wisdom with contemporary musical expression. Listen to ‘Woh Jagah’ here:
Follow Deveshi Sahgal here.
If you enjoyed reading this, here’s more from Homegrown:
How The Qawwali Became Indian Cinema’s Most Enduring Ode To A Secular Nation
A New Film Explores Death & Grief Through The Spirituality Of Ghazals & Qawwalis
Thursday Qawwali Nights At Delhi's Nizammudin Dargah Are A Hidden Cultural Gem