Firefly Waltz was written during a trip to Shantiniketan with my wife Karie. It’s a place we would visit almost every month during that point in our lives. As I recall, this particular trip was during the monsoon months which is absolutely lush and beautiful in the Bolpur region. The rain makes the mercury drop quite a bit and makes the intense summer feel quite subdued. The fragrant blooms and petrichor fills the air.
It was our nightly ritual to have dinner at the Park Guest House adjacent to theDeer Park, which is a part of the Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary. We relished the good food amidst the calm and quiet. I would especially look forward to the post-dinner walk back to our lodge, through a dimly lit laal maatir rasta (the Laal Bandh Road). We would share stories about haunted houses with the sounds of frogs and cicadas in the background. At a particular curve, the road has two huge water bodies, the Laal Baand and The Deer Park Lake. That night as we stepped out on our usual walk, we sensed immediately that something was different...the night was like a dark blanket that had covered everything, scary yet beautiful, drowning everything in sight. The frogs and the jhijhi pokas, providing comfortable companionship. As we arrived by the water bodies, seemingly out of nowhere, thousands of fireflies lit up the space like little light bulbs. We had never come across something so magical and my heart instantly filled up with a beautiful melody. Dazed and drunk with the beauty, we almost waltzed back to the lodge. On returning, I recorded the melody in a little notebook that I always keep in my mandolin case; the song resided in that notebook for several years, unsung and unplayed. At some point I then added words to it in an attempt to recapture the magic of that night.
In the last few years, the pandemic completely upended our lives and our almost routine trips to Shantiniketan has now become a distant dream. It took me longer than ever to put together this song, which will now always remind me of our weekend trips and that beautiful night we were lucky to have witnessed. I would like to thank everyone who made it possible for the song to come alive.
Anousha for playing and singing so beautifully on it. I had accidentally come across her music on YouTube during a time when I was recovering from a really tough phase in life. From the day I heard her play, I knew I had to write to her and put in my request! I had never imagined that she would say yes! To Sayan, for always helping me out with the mixing. To my dad who was still with us the day I started recording the song... he always encouraged me to try new things fearlessly and was hugely supportive of my music. I miss him and wish he could listen to this. And last but not least, Karie (whom I dedicate this to), for always being by my side, from my happiest trips to my darkest days.