Experimental Hindi pop artist Chaar Diwaari’s 2026 EP Parvana draws on folk tales and first-hand experiences. A story of unrequited love, it’s narrated by the proverbial moth so irresistibly drawn to a flame that it leads to his eventual destruction. “When that kind of love remains unfulfilled, it slowly turns into obsession,” says the singer-songwriter and music video director also known as Garv Taneja. The idea for the EP was sparked by two cinematic sources: a line in “Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai”, the Kishore Kumar song from composer R.D. Burman and lyricist Anand Bakshi’s soundtrack for classic 1971 Hindi film Kati Patang and a segment in 2008 documentary film Had-Anhad. “From there,” says Diwaari, “I started thinking about my own experiences and emotions—things I’ve felt and observed and lived through—and tried to see them through this metaphor [of ‘like a moth to a flame’]. People keep adapting stories like Laila-Majnu [and] Shakespearean tragedies get reinterpreted again and again. This EP is my own adaptation—of the story of Parvana losing his sanity bit by bit.” Like most of his work, it’s a genre-defying effort that somehow feels cohesive despite the wide range of styles it brings together as evidenced by the sheer variety of collaborators featured on the project: playback singers Sonu Nigam and Sanjith Hegde, rapper Encore ABJ, folk-fusion band Indian Ocean and singer-songwriter GINI. Here, the pop pioneer takes us through the making of each of the EP’s six tracks… “Banda Kaam Ka” “‘Banda Kaam Ka’ showcases joyful, innocent love and has Parvana [who represents the moth] crushing hard, [with] full-on roadside Romeo vibes. He’s telling Shamaa [who represents the flame], ‘Come on, let me take you out, show you around’. For the second half, I approached the lyrics differently—deep underneath all this excitement, there’s something divine. In Sanjith Hegde’s verse, he’s praying to God, singing, ‘If only time could stop right here’. “The main idea for the song [originated from] that couplet attributed to Ghalib, though some say he never wrote it: ‘Ishq ne Ghalib nikamma kar diya hai/Varna hum bhi aadmi the kaam ke’ (‘Love made me a worthless person/Otherwise, I too was a man of some use’). That’s exactly where the [chorus] lines come from.” “Iss Tarah” “This is like a confession of love to Shamaa. It’s about waiting and wanting someone who isn’t there. There’s a simple wish in the song: let’s be together, let’s fall in love. Towards the end, the feeling becomes more vulnerable. [The last verse] captures the insecurity that creeps into one-sided love. With this track, I wanted to show the anxious and unfulfilled side of loving someone who may never feel the same. That emotional thread continues through the rest of the EP. “The way [the feature] happened was quite unexpected. A lot of people tried working on the song and eventually it reached (composer-singer) Vishal Dadlani who felt Sonu Nigam would suit it much better. So he sent the track to Sonu and spoke to him about it. Once Sonu got on [board], he brought his own magic to it.” “Tu Kyun Na Mujhe Dekhti?” “In the previous song, Parvana asks himself what’s missing in him that Shamaa never noticed him. Here, that question becomes more direct. Now he’s asking Shamaa herself: why don’t you see me? This is my favourite track from the whole EP. It really reflects the overall mood and emotion of the story. Lines like ‘Tu kyun na mujhe dekhti, main dekhta rahoon’ (‘Why don’t you look at me/I keep looking at you’) carry that feeling of constantly waiting to be seen. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, without many layers or metaphors to decode. It’s just an honest expression.” “Shamaa Interlude” “This is the point where the story hits its emotional boiling point. Parvana is completely overwhelmed now. All the feelings that were building up burst out. He says that he will destroy himself in front of Shamaa. It’s a very intense moment that shows how far his obsession has gone.” “Chaand (Tu Jo Dekh Le)” “Here the EP takes a turn. The emotion shifts from desperation to acceptance. Parvana now wants to speak to Shamaa one last time. The second half of ‘Chaand’ is where the moth finally dies. Parvana reaches the flame and his story comes to an end.” “Aashiqana” “‘Aashiqana’ is where the story of Parvana turns into legend, almost like a folk tale the world narrates—like those about Laila-Majnu and Heer-Ranjha. I collaborated with Indian Ocean for the track [because] the way the song is written and performed feels like someone retelling this story through music. You can also look at it as Parvana watching the world, looking down at it from the afterlife, like his soul is observing everything from the outside. “Throughout the EP, he’s been the one speaking, longing and questioning. Here, Shamaa responds to Parvana for the first time. That’s why I consciously kept only one feature [by a] female [artist], which is [contributed by] GINI. In a way, Shamaa finally gives him the comfort he was always looking for. [Consequently,] the ending stays a little ambiguous. It could be that his soul is imagining this or it could be something more surreal, almost like divine intervention. Even though I wrote the song, it still feels open to interpretation.”