Priya Malik on Varanasi visit: I feel blessed to have performed Ganga aarti in my soul city; a full-circle moment for me

POet-actor and lyrist Priya Malik had written almost Varanasi long before she ever so visited it. So, when she eventually reached the temple urban center in Uttar Pradesh for the first time, the journey felt like a full-circle moment.“Benaras aa ka meri kavita mukammal ho gai! I had written the poem Tum Mujhe Benaras Mein Milna in 2022, and since then, I had been trying to visit the city. I have always considered Varanasi and Srinagar to be my soul cities, and god-willing, I was fortunate enough to visit both this year,” shares Priya, who was last seen in the OTT series Yeh Kaali Kaali Aakhein. Recalling how she fell in love with the city from afar, Priya explains, “I had received an assignment to watch an ad film for a jewellery brand and write about their product line. I completed that task, but I ended up falling in love with the visuals of the city. The poem emerged from that deep admiration, and so did the desire to visit. Twice, I was scheduled to come here, but it never materialised. This time, the city called me—woh kehte hain sheher aapko bulata hai!”She feels that now as she is filled with the vibes of city, something creative will come out from the trip in form of some poem. Currently on an all-India show tour that began in Lucknow, Priya made a memorable road trip to Varanasi. “We arrived for the Ganga aarti at 3.30 am, and I was blessed to perform the aarti myself as well. I visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the Kal Bhairav Temple, and went on a delightful food trail. I was completely blown away by the spiritual vibes of the city, but what truly surprised me was discovering its modern side too,” she adds. On the work front, Priya’s second song, Adhoora, for Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman and Abhay Deol-starrer film Bun Tikki, will come up next. Additionally, she is gearing up for the launch of her debut book Ishq Ke Saat Padaav.“The book is on the seven stages of love and accordingly it has seven chapters dedicated to each stage. The nearly published and probably next month we will release it. My publisher was telling me that it's after decades that a woman author has come up with a book on love,” says the writer. Poem: Tum mujhe Banaras mein milna…Tum mujhe us shehar mein milnajahaan Ganga ke ghaat parsubah ki aarti ke samayrang-birange taaze phool haath mein liyediye ki jalti hui lau kothandi havaaon se bachaate huemain tumhaara intezaar karungi.Main rajwaadon ki gulaabi meenakaari si durlabh,main Jantar Mantar ki vedhshaala si niraali,main Ramnagar ke kile se bhi zyaada khoobsurat,main us shehar ki galiyon se bhi zyaada surili.Laal saari odhkar,sone ki baaliyon ko kaanon mein pehenkar,chooriyon si khanakti hui,Ganga si machalti hui,jaise gale mein pehna koi prem ka haar ho,jaise nauka ko bhi sirf nadiya se pyaar ho,main theek waise hi tumse milne aaungi.Tum mujhe Banaras mein milna…Aaoge na?