Shall we sing you to sleep: How a Lullaby project makes you sit up and take note

On a cool evening in Mattancherry, old Kochi, nestled beside the serene backwaters, the Uru Art Collective’s intimate, makeshift auditorium awaited a special performance. As independent musicians Vedanth Bharadwaj and Gurupriya Atreya began their set, ‘Lullabies of Kochi’, with the gentle strains of the generic ‘Aaraaro Ariraaro’, it felt like a familiar embrace slowly transcending languages.

The lullabies seamlessly flowed into Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Nepalese and other languages like Lithuanian, touching diverse cultural notes. Unlike the usual audience of their lullaby project, there were fewer children, yet the evening unfolded in perfect harmony, their soothing voices, thoughtful renditions, and deep sensitivity creating a tranquil and captivating atmosphere.

It was not just another performance, Vedanth Bharadwaj and Gurupriya Atreya have been working on a project to collect and perform lullabies from various parts of the globe. This collection and the performances grew out of their year-long online workshop series, ‘Sing A Lullaby’, launched during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the series, they collected, researched, and shared 52 lullabies in 38 languages from India and beyond. The project quickly expanded, drawing together a diverse community from around the world, creating a much-needed sense of warmth and comfort during the pandemic when even sleep was hard to come by.

“When we put out a call for a workshop, we reached out to family, friends, friends of friends, communities, neighbourhoods for lullabies (heirloom, folk or otherwise — to learn, to help us translate / pronunciation and more. This in itself opened doors to a treasure trove of languages and dialects. Lullabies as a genre exists in every household, every language, every culture and tradition,” say Vedanth Bharadwaj and Gurupriya Atreya.

As the project grew, it brought together a vast community of participants from different parts of the globe, creating an oasis of warmth and comfort during those stressful times, when even sleep became elusive.

In 2006, when Gurupriya Atreya had to record voice samples for playback singing in Chennai, she made an unconventional choice by selecting two lullabies to showcase her talent. At the time, singers typically displayed their versatility with a mix of styles, but she felt drawn to lullabies. Fast forward to 2014...

“When Vedanth had his daughter and I had mine two year later, we briefly spoke about his idea of working on a lullaby album. Ever since, the idea has been brewing but the time aligned when the pandemic happened. Vedanth suggested we do a workshop instead of album. I was overwhelmed with the year-long promise, but it has perhaps been the best decision. Incidentally, the lullaby I first recorded facing the mic in 2006 was the same lullaby we started the workshop with,” Gurupriya told The Federal.

On the other hand, Vedanth Bharadwaj’s deep connection with lullabies spans over two to three decades. Inspired by his child’s birth a decade ago, he began a compilation of lullabies, reflecting his long-standing passion. His work as the music director for the Tamil movie Aruvi (2016), alongside Bindhu Malini, also includes songs that echo the theme of lullabies.

“In fact, every person I meet who speaks a different language — every musician, every actor, every person from the performing arts — the first question I ask them is, ‘Can you please sing a lullaby in your language?’ Finally, when the lockdown happened, it all came together. Guru Priya and I started a workshop where we did 52 lullabies over 32 weeks, in 38 languages.”

Lullabies, or ‘cradle songs’, are found in nearly every culture, traditionally to soothe children to sleep. The word ‘lullaby’ possibly originates from Hebrew folklore, where ‘Lilith Abi’ means ‘Lilith be gone’, reflecting the protective role of these songs. Historically, lullabies date back to 2000 BC, with the earliest examples found on Babylonian clay tablets. These often contain dark themes, like angered gods, reflecting the struggles of caregivers. Poet Federico García Lorca noted that lullabies were created by weary mothers burdened by life's hardships, expressing love despite sorrow.

Lullabies are believed to be the oldest genre of music known to humanity. These soothing songs carry centuries of quiet love, gently arriving at the end of a long day as mothers, fathers, and caregivers sing their children to sleep, often drifting into its calming rhythm themselves. Within the lullaby’s simple lyrics and melodies lie emotions, stories, timeless wisdom, and vivid imagery drawn from nature. Their performance revealed that lullabies are not just for lulling children to sleep, but also a medium for storytelling, struggle, and resistance.

Gurupriya and Vedanth were very keen on singing lullabies from various social locations, from Islam to the Lithuanian farming community.

As per religious texts, Prophet Mohammed’s mother Amina Bibi sings to her child amidst her flowering garden. While she also calls upon angels Jibreel and Zeeshan to rock the cradle and give him their blessings.

“Especially when it comes to the divine, while many lullabies are written for Jesus, Allah, Rama or Krishna, it looks at them as little children with all the might yet retaining their tender innocence of kids. Primarily, it helps us humanise gods and only lullabies have the ability to show them in a relatable way,” explains the duo. “When we released the famous Urdu Naat ‘Amina Bibi Ki Gulshan’ we had collaborated with Khadija Rahman, the daughter of AR Rahman. We have been huge fans of AR Rahman’s music and it was very large-hearted of him to enable this collaboration with Khadija and us, and Amina Bibi was our first lullaby that we put out,” says Vedanth Bharadwaj.

A sharp cut from an Urdu Naat, evoking the grace of Prophet Muhammad and his mother, transitions into a Nepali lullaby that calls upon sleep itself. The lullaby, a soothing invocation, becomes a gentle melody not just for a child, but for the singer — an intimate lullaby for the self. This was written by Komalnath Adhikari, a troubadour known for his unconventional, off-metre compositions and his calls for social transformation. He also penned the first-ever Nepali lullaby, ‘Ayijo Nidari’, which invokes sleep itself in a poetic and transformative manner.

“This Nepali lullaby is a rare one that speaks to sleep itself inviting and welcomes sleep by asking it to come somehow — on a horse, elephant, motor rail but just come. While it also asks sleep to travel to Russia and China, it speaks of the popular dishes, the attractions of Nepal itself in the song — there is so much that is passed on — colloquial Nepali language, intonation, culture, regional cuisine, animal names, while also indicating the political climate in association with Russia and China back then,” say the singers.

Interestingly, the Lithuanian lullaby carries explicit political undertones, reflecting the country’s ongoing struggle by farmers against genetically modified crops. This demonstrates how lullabies, beyond their soothing nature, can also serve as vessels for social and political expression, highlighting the resilience and concerns of a community even in the simplest of songs meant for children.

“The Lithuanian lullaby in particular was very special since it was a guidance and ask that came from the children with special needs at the V-Excel Kaleidoscope Centre for Learning, Chennai. They asked us to teach and sing this lullaby in solidarity with the farmers of Lithuania as they were protesting against genetically modified seeds. It was indeed a blessing for the project as a whole to be able to receive an ask such as this and see it through,” say Gurupriya and Vedanth.

According to Vedanth and Gurupriya, lullabies carry profound emotional significance, reflecting the caregiver's feelings at that moment. They create vivid images of nature—birds, trees, sunshine—serving as companions to the baby.

Additionally, lullabies often function as work songs, with women singing while tending to fields or grinding grain, expressing their frustrations and fatigue from daily life. Each lullaby embodies the essence of its community, carrying the fragrance of its cultural roots. Heirloom lullabies, passed down through generations, may also include personal anecdotes and experiences, adding a unique touch to each family's musical heritage.

The multilingual approach is central to the project, allowing Vedanth and Gurupriya to capture the diversity of societies and their cultures effectively. By incorporating lullabies from various languages, they highlight the rich mosaic of traditions, emotions, and experiences that define different communities. This inclusivity not only showcases the uniqueness of each lullaby but also emphasizes the shared human experience across cultural boundaries.

“Whenever we approach a new language, we approach it as a friend, as if we are making a new friend—with compassion and love. We try to learn the word-to-word meaning and not just stop there; we get into the etymology of it so that we understand the history of the lullaby and the history of every word that is used.” says Vedanth Bharadwaj.

“We spoke to locals, people who speak the language and went over the lullabies before we taught them. Of course, these conversations that happened with people from the region, had more sharing and in between—giving us context, cultural sneak peaks, some anecdotes that further helped us make friends with the lullaby itself. It brought us closer to the idea of sharing it when we learnt it, internalised it before we taught it,” added Gurupriya.

“We have had sleep concerts where 45-70 audiences were sitting upright but gradually dropped to sleep over the first half hour. We also had a show where children came with their sleeping bags and were angry on being woken up after the concert,” says Gurupriya.

“Choosing to do this during the pandemic was, in many ways, healing for us. It grounded us as musicians and as individuals, allowing us to see what music can offer beyond mere entertainment. This experience suddenly infused our work with deeper meaning and a renewed sense of purpose as musicians,” he adds.

Vedanth Bharadwaj and Gurupriya Atreya both come from musical backgrounds, with classical music as their main influence. Vedanth, a Trinity-trained guitarist and traditionally trained Carnatic vocalist, has embraced multiple genres, including rock, while exploring songs and poems from the Bhakti Movement as he came of age in his musical journey.

Gurupriya Atreya, who had a brief stint as a journalist with The Times of India, grew up in a musical household, with her mother as a doctor and Carnatic vocalist and her father a self-taught musician and composer of devotional songs. Her brothers are also engaged in music as singers and percussionists. She is currently pursuing her musical journey as a disciple of Ayaz Khan, focusing on Hindustani classical music.