Music composer and singer Anurag Saikia, celebrated for recreating the viral track 'Hind Ke Sitara' from the hit web series 'Panchayat 3', has launched a new five-song album titled 'Pardesi' — a deeply personal project rooted in the landscapes, love stories, and folklore of Rajasthan. Released on 7 October 2026 under BL/UR, a new pop label by Believe India, the album marks a significant artistic pivot for Saikia, blending regional authenticity with a modern sonic sensibility.

The Creative Inspiration

Saikia described the album as an outcome of a long-held fascination with the region's emotional landscape. 'This project came from my fascination with the stories, sounds and emotions that exist within Rajasthan,' he said in a statement. He elaborated that the intent was not to recreate the past but to find a contemporary voice that remains grounded in cultural truth. 'For me, it has been about keeping the soil in the soul, while letting the sound evolve,' he added.

The five tracks collectively explore themes of love, longing, folklore, community, and the contradictions of modern life — all filtered through a distinctly Rajasthani lens. Notably, Saikia has resisted the temptation to package Rajasthan as a tourist-friendly exotic backdrop; instead, each song inhabits the region from the inside out.

Track-by-Track Breakdown

'Badeela' opens the album as a slow-burning love story built around fleeting glances, intimate details, and the quiet transformation that comes with falling deeply in love. 'Saajan', sung by vocalist Divya Kumar, captures the ache of a newly married woman separated from her beloved, tracing an emotional arc from loneliness and longing to eventual reunion.

'Maaru' draws from Rajasthan's timeless love folklore, following two lovers bound by destiny but tested by distance and circumstance — a narrative thread that echoes the region's centuries-old oral tradition. The album closes with 'Sheeshmahal', a grand romantic promise where love transforms imagination into extravagance, conjuring palaces and chasing dreams.

Label and Release

The album has been released under BL/UR, described as a new pop label launched by Believe India. The partnership signals the label's intent to back artists exploring regional musical identities within a contemporary commercial framework. For Believe India, 'Pardesi' represents an early statement of curatorial direction.

Context and Significance

Saikia's profile surged after 'Hind Ke Sitara' from 'Panchayat 3' became one of the most-shared Hindi tracks of recent memory, underscoring the appetite for music that connects emotionally rather than commercially. 'Pardesi' arrives at a moment when independent and semi-independent Indian music labels are actively competing to sign artists who can straddle regional authenticity and mainstream reach. Whether the album sustains the momentum of his television-adjacent breakout will be closely watched by the industry.