Ode to unproductivity | Ankur Tewari's 'Mr. Faarigh'

Following his 2023 release Akela, which reflected on the pandemic, singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari found himself caught in the post-COVID rush, fixated on constant productivity. His new nine-track Mr. Faarigh directly confronts this urban anxiety. Derived from Urdu, ‘faarigh’ means to be free, idle or unoccupied—a state Tewari felt he had lost. “I see hope in just being and not trying to prove something to yourself or to the world,” says Tewari.