Hailing from the picturesque of Kashmir valley, Alif’s writing in Urdu, Hindi, and Kashmiri depicts the juxtaposition of life through a variety of themes, utilizing a personal voice in order to explore notions such as social constructs, religious divide, conflict, and loss, through delicate and profound verse.

Combining Kashmiri folk and contemporary instruments with his many musical and multi- media influences, such poetry and film-making, Alif’s music is a heady mix of voice and verse, with the former enveloping space and soaring high with abandon, punctuating songs with lyrical whispers.

He has composed tracks for a number of films, including ‘Laila Majnu’ and ‘Two Sisters and a Husband’ , as well as television productions such as “Made in Heaven” and television series’ such as ‘Minus One’ . Alif has also collaborated with several celebrated musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Rekha Bharadwaj, and Tajdar Junaid. He is the recipient of the Indian. Recording Arts Academy Award, the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival Award, and the Indian Independent Music Award.

Besides songwriting, Alif’s world of poetry also finds expression through his specially designed course on classical Urdu poetry writing and songwriting, titled ‘Sarir-e- Khamma’.