There has been A LOT of talk about the new season of NESCAFÉ Basement. If you thought the teaser featuring pianists, violinists, percussionists, drummers, sitar and tabla artists, electronic and bass guitarists, saxophonist, dhol, ukulele and dambura player could prepare you for this, you were wrong. The first song is out and honestly, wow. I have no words.

The song, “Bol Hu” is an original by Souch the band. The song represents connotation of a prayer with the lyrics literally call out to the Higher Being.

Khali khali ankhon se sapne bunta ja
Mun apne ki kariye, subki sunta ja
Tooti tooti sanson se larta ja

But the actual treat is an 8-year-old singing prodigy Hadiya Hashmi whose voice brought tears to my eyes.

I mean, LOOK AT THIS GIRL:

SHE’S CUTE AS A BUTTON

BUT ALSO, HER VOICE IS SO DAMN POWERFUL.

‘Kya hai tu, kyun hai tu, soch zara…’

Meanwhile, I was eating dirt out of flowerpots as an eight year old.

I’m in absolute awe. And I’m crying.

But these are happy tears. Damn these ninjas cutting onions.

And Pakistanis are rightfully falling in love with this child prodigy:

People were in awe of her talent 

And of course, lots of praise for Nescafe Basement that made all this possible:

How this fifth grader got to the stage of Nescafe Basement is a whole another story. In a candid interview shared with us, Hadiya shares that she has only had a years worth of training under her belt. The passionate youngling went up to her father asking for singing lessons a year ago and that’s when everything changed.
Her teacher, Zia-ul-haq who runs Surtaal Academy, a school dedicated to honing young talent, taught her raags and everything she knows today. “Xulfi bhai matlab ke insaan ko itna acha sikhatay hein ke…bus“
My heart.
At such a young age, her passion for singing truly comes through. With a voice much more developed than her years, her voice even brought tears to maestro Xulfi’s eyes.

The song also features Jamil Ayyan, a Dambura player from Quetta and one of the few artists striving to save this instrument from being long forgotten.  

An original by Souch the band, the song is a coming together of different genres, proving music transcends age, experience, cultural backgrounds — at the end of the day, it is what speaks to the soul. I mean, it’s obvious that Xulfi and Nescafé Basement was behind this masterpiece – the song is an intense labor of love and it shows. It really shows.
What did you think about the song “Bol Hu“? Are you in absolute awe of Hadiya as well? Looking forward to the newer songs? Let us know in the comments section below.

This post has been sponsored by NESCAFÉ Basement