Farewell Ashoke

Farewell Ashoke is an instrumental composition by British-Indian musician and producer Nitin Sawhney. The track appears as the eighth piece on the original motion picture soundtrack for Mira Nair’s 2006 film The Namesake. Sawhney composed, arranged and produced the score for the album, which Rounder Records released on March 6, 2007, in CD format.

The track runs for 44 seconds and serves as a brief, atmospheric interlude within the soundtrack. Sawhney employs sparse instrumentation, blending acoustic and electronic elements to evoke a reflective mood. The composition aligns with the film’s exploration of cultural identity, migration and generational change, though specific thematic connections remain open to interpretation. No vocal performances or lyrics feature in the piece.

The Namesake soundtrack marked Sawhney’s second collaboration with director Mira Nair, following his work on her 2001 film Monsoon Wedding. The album received recognition for its fusion of Indian classical motifs with contemporary production techniques. Rounder Records distributed the CD globally, with the soundtrack accompanying the film’s theatrical and home media releases. Additional details about the track’s recording sessions or alternate versions remain undocumented in publicly available sources.