Yamuna by Sreevalsan J Menon

Few songs from 2020 have held their ground as well as Yamuna, a track that keeps finding new audiences. The arrangement here is the work of Sreevalsan J Menon, and it shows genuine craft in how it builds and releases.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Yamuna, Sreevalsan J Menon clearly belongs in the second group. The chemistry of a talented ensemble cast is embedded in every moment of Yamuna, making it as much a performance as a song.

The 2020 release gave fans something to hold onto — a track built for repeated listening rather than a single play. Listeners have described the experience of Yamuna differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

The concision of Yamuna — just 8:20 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. For anyone yet to hear Yamuna, the experience ahead is a good one. For those returning, it will be as good as they remember.