About Me
Winning Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2008 USA My mother first recognized my musical capability when I was around 8 months old and could "sing" the nursery rhymes in tune. As a result, I started learning Carnatic Vocal music at the tender age of 4. And that was only the beginning of many more "starts" to come. My music teacher always came around my "nap-time", and so I stopped learning to sing and restarted when I was 6. I cannot remember correctly the number of times I have started and discontinued music classes. Currently, I am in the process of finding a teacher who can help me train my voice.
My ability to sing comes from my mother. She is a trained Hindustani classical singer and she used to sing on AIR (All India Radio) when she was younger, but was unable to pursue a serious career in music because her family was against it.
I learnt my first song "Saaranga" from my mother. She would sing to me at night, and I would repeat after her and learn the song. Since my parents were from two different states-Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, I also knew 2 extra languages and learnt to sing in them as well. My mother sang English songs on the radio as well, so I learnt a few of them as well. Along the way, I learnt Tamil, Bengali and French songs.
Along the way, I learnt Tamil, Bengali and French songs. In spite of being an "on-and-of" hobby, music has been a huge part of my life from when I can remember. I distinctly remember not wanting to sing as a child. Everywhere I went, the other kids would get together and play, but I was expected to entertain the adults. I remember complaining about it all the while I was growing up.
To keep us interested in music, my mom always encouraged my brother and me to compete in local singing competitions. I still remember the first one I was seven, it was a Carnatic Vocal competition and I won second place. I was always quite a tomboy and I looked the part, and they announced the prize to "Master Darshan Menon"! There were many more local singing competitions since, and I kept adding to my collection of awards and certificates. I was affectionately nicknamed the "Nightingale" of my neighborhood.
We then moved to the United States and fortunately, I was able to keep singing, thanks to the sizeable India community in Michigan. My first singing performance was at an ISA function at Wayne State University where I sang a Carnatic keerthana. I was able to find an excellent Carnatic teacher in Canton and restarted my learning of classical music. Unfortunately, due to school and health issues, I had to eventually discontinue music classes again. I was able to find local and national level competitions so that I kept singing. And I won quite a few awards in the US as well.
The year 2008 was going to be a huge year for me. I knew this coming into the year. I was going to graduate with my dual major BBA, get married, move to DC, etc. It turned out to be MUCH bigger and better though it forced me to change my original plans entirely. The auditions were announced and I happened to see the ad on TV. I ignored it, until I saw the same ad a few more times and finally decided to check the website out. I didn't think I stood a chance, but decided to audition just for the experience. Lo and behold, I won the show, AND went to India and had the opportunity to meet so many musical greats.
After an initial period of discomfort with all the recognition from the competition, I have decided to seriously pursue a possible career in the music industry. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. So, there definitely is a reason for the timing of all of this. I LOVE singing and cannot imagine my life without it. As far as success is concerned, in the words of Arthur Rubenstein-Of course, there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings.