From the heart

BENGALURU: Losing a loved one is never easy. And Nyla Saldanha’s latest song, Small talk, delves into the void left by the loss. The number holds a special place for Saldanha, as it’s a tribute to her father.

The song, released on YouTube, was written by her in October last year, when Saldanha, who lived in Mumbai then, learnt about her father’s depression.

“At that time, our conversations were on surface-level, like how are you, did you have food, etc. Although the love was deep-rooted, I wish I had more than just small talks with him,” she says. Saldanha was planning to have a long chat with him about mental health during her visit around Christmas, but he passed away 10 days before her arrival.

Saldanha, who inherited her love for music from him, says her biggest regret would be that he never got to hear the song, which is a blend of soft guitar strings and Saldanha’s soothing voice.

She recorded it with producer David De Menezes, and it is accompanied by a 3D-animated video done by Christy Johnson. “It is a result of a lot of convincing, especially from David. The video has references from old images and elements, like my old bedroom, which was also my dad’s,” says the 20-something singer.