MY MUSICAL CAREER
My first remembrance of the day that I fell in love with music when I was just five years old listening to music on the radio from Indian classical to Western music. At the same age my parents started taking me to Indian classical concerts where I had the privilege of listening to some of the greatest classical artists of India like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan,- Shreemati Hirabai bardekar, Gangubai Hungal, Sitara Devi, Pandit Santa Prasad, Nikhil Bannerjee to name but a few which prepared my ears for music and I started dreaming of becoming like Kesri bai, Hirabai, Gangubai. I also started to learn Indian classical music at the age of five from Sri Sudhir Bandopadhyay who was a disciple of Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh. I was discouraged from going to any contemporary modern music programs and I was forbidden to take part in any musical programs outside until my Guru thought I was ready to perform outside. I was a very naughty little girl who would not listen to my parents and quietly went to listen to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Manna Dey, Md Rafi, Mukesh and other great artists from modern and contemporary artistes of Bengali and Bombay music world with my friends. I also started enjoying western music very strongly as I was growing up and could somehow relate to western Jazz, Blues, Country, R&B and Pop music and style of singing more and used to pick up songs and entertained my class mates with them. I had some Anglo-Indian friends who helped me with the words that I could not understand. Somehow western style of songs suited my voice which was very deep and husky and quite different from usual Indian high pitched voice. I knew from a very early age that I was different. I was also ridiculed at school for my husky voice when I was very young. So I was pleasantly surprised when I realised how much people loved my deep and husky voice. I still remember my first recording – (I was doing my BA Honours in Psychology at the time)- at EMI -HMV Dumdum Studio ( which was like my temple) for the Pujas ( biggest festival of Bengal) where the sound recordist suggested that I should not record that day as my voice was not sounding right and I had to tell him that that was my voice!! It was because he never heard a husky voice like mine, ever.
I have learned Classical music from Ustad Aminuddin Dagar and Ustad Munawar Ali Khan. My Rabindranath Tagore’s music which is known as Rabindra Sangeet, Guru was Srimati Maya Sen. I have learnt folk music from Dindendra Chowdhury and last but not the least Mr V. Balsara and Mr Sudhin Dasgupta- two of the great musicians of India- their contribution in Modern and Contemporary Music in my life was immense.
My broadcasting and producing career has run parallel with my music career up until the present.
I am an active supporter of Lions Clubs International, Isle of Man Children in Need and The Royal Overseas League which supports cultural activities throughout the Commonwealth