Her love letter to home

Samah Sardessai shares how a school project led to her debut song

CHRISTINE MACHADO

When their mass communication teacher asked Samah Sardessai’s class to create music as part of a school project, most students turned to beat-maker apps. But Sardessai chose a different path. “I wanted my music to be original, authentic and show my personality. That wasn’t possible with just the tap of a few buttons,” she recalls.”

At first, the Class 11 Humanities student of Sharada Mandir School experimented with unusual ideas, like recording her dog barking and making tunes with household items. Eventually, she picked up her guitar, which she had started learning a few months earlier. “One morning, I found chords that went well together. Two nights later, as I played the tune again, words started coming to me, and they rhymed,” she reveals.

Within a few hours, Sardessai had composed her first song, ‘Homesick in Heaven’. “Initially, I was unsure if my guitar, voice or lyrics were good enough. But I felt proud of creating something I always thought I couldn’t, so I took a leap of faith,” she says.

Her classmates loved the song and Sardessai began seeing the project as art she could share with the world. Her friend Tushar Kamat introduced her to Nashvin Cunha Gomes from Plug Play Record, who became the music arranger and guide.

Other musicians who contributed included Errol Andrade, Denver Gracias, Jonathan Zuzarte, Nahil Flores, Rolan Sousa Xavier, Chelsea D’Silva, and Nashvin himself. “After some brainstorming and jamming, we finally gave the song the music it deserved,” says Sardessai, adding that Krishna Devate’s vision and Prayag Quenim’s attention to detail elevated the music video. She expresses gratitude to everyone who supported her throughout, treating the song as a piece of art with genuine care.

Speaking about ‘Homesick in Heaven’, which shows that no place beats home, Sardessai shares that despite travelling to many beautiful places, she always experienced pangs of homesickness. “It wasn’t that these places weren’t beautiful but I realised that even the best things can feel meaningless when they’re not shared with the people you love,” she says.

‘Homesick in Heaven’ is a love letter to her home. “‘Heaven’ is a metaphor—a comparison between flawed and flawless, reflecting the idea that no matter how perfect other places are, home will always be special,” she explains. “Little things like the wallpaper torn by my dog, the smell of fresh coffee, Papa singing in the washroom and the sound of our ceiling fan are what make home so special.”

She is grateful for all the love the track has received since its release. Some listeners have even made remixes. “I’ve also had friends sing the same two lines at the top of their voice every time they see me,” she laughs.

Although she grew up around music and is a Kathak dancer, Sardessai never thought she was good enough to pursue it seriously. “I took keyboard classes as a kid. I also did singing classes but struggled to keep up and eventually left because it became too stressful,” she recalls.

Even the guitar was a recent pursuit, learned mainly through YouTube and apps. “I began professional guitar lessons only a few weeks before I wrote the song. In fact, when I wrote it, I didn’t even know what key it was in,” she says.

While she always dreamt of writing a song, Sardessai thought she was “too late and not good enough”. “I thought I had to master guitar and singing first but I skipped those steps and still created a song that everyone loved,” she says.

The experience, she says, taught her that “there will be times when we feel like we will never find “our thing,” or that it’s “too late” “But sometimes your path finds you. For me, this song proves I can be anything I want and that there’s more than one way to get there,” she says.”

Sardessai hopes to release more songs but is in no rush. “I want to take things as they come. I make music for myself based on what feels right.”