26-year old Zarir Marfatia has always been driven by both creative and analytical interests. Struggling to choose between the two, he finally decided to pursue a parallel career path doing both. Qualified as a lawyer, working at a FinTech startup (FinTech is a portmanteau of two of the hottest industries currently, Finance and Technology) – Zarir’s latest foray has been into the world of music composition.
Two months ago, Zarir released his first original single, Parallel Lines, which is available for streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Prime Music and many other platforms. According to Zarir, the song is inspired by a feeling faced by most of his peers – the dreaded ‘quarter-life crisis’. “The song is essentially about being a bit confused about where you are and what your purpose in life is. But that’s not necessarily a negative sentiment. It also comes from a place of quiet confidence, knowing that you have all the tools to succeed. I’m a firm believer in life taking you exactly where you need to be, as long as you help yourself along the way.”
Although written on a particularly frustrating day at a legal internship three years ago, Zarir finally got down to recording it very recently. While performing with some of his friends at restaurants for Friday night gigs and Sunday brunches, he tested the waters with his original compositions, and was amazed at the positive responses. “People were telling me for the next few days that they couldn’t get the song out of their heads and were humming it at work and in the shower. That’s what really pushed me to get it professionally recorded and distributed.”
With its simple melodies, beautiful harmonies and relatable lyrics, the song has the kind of on-loop quality that has seen it picked up by Spotify’s curated playlists, featuring alongside some Indian greats including Blackstratblues, Nikhil D’Souza and Ankur Tewari.
What’s next in the pipeline? Zarir has a few more compositions that he’s been working on, which he hopes to record before pursuing an MBA from a top-tier international business school. He is also featuring in a forthcoming Netflix original movie, Yeh Ballet. The ultimate goal is to make a career in a field that combines both his right and left brain passions. For the time being, he continues to enjoy the best of both worlds.
The song can be listened to at hyperurl.co/4rzlkl
Alternately, you can search for “Parallel Lines” by Zarir Marfatia on Apple music, Spotify or Amazon Prime Music.