Identified with Nabil Ayers Song Exploder's Hrishikesh Hirway on Music's Healing Power.
Jun 13, 2024
Hrishikesh Hirway, a musician and the creator of Song Exploder, shares his journey shaped by an immigrant upbringing and the deep impact of losing his mother. He reflects on how grief translates into music and the complexities of family obligations and love. The conversation moves through personal traditions, like his mother's mango pie, and the emotional struggles of his family's diminishing numbers. With poignant moments, Hirway illustrates how he processes loss and crafts a legacy through his art.
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Immigrant Thanksgiving Became A Community Fixture
- Hrishikesh describes Thanksgiving at his house becoming a large, hybrid Indian-American gathering with two full meals and potluck dishes.
- By middle school they hosted 30–50 people, cementing Thanksgiving as their family and community tradition.
Losing The Family Storyteller Over Years
- Hrishikesh recounts his mother's long decline from a degenerative neurological disease and how her voice and role in family storytelling faded.
- He says he began grieving her loss years before her death and felt the family became fractured after she passed.
Family As A Finite Whole
- Hrishikesh reflects that family can feel like a finite whole and that losing one member makes the unit feel fractured.
- He names a visceral loneliness as family 'numbers dwindled' and contemplates mortality and preemptive loss.