Jyotirmoyee Nayak is only 17, but the promising singer has performed on almost all stages of the state, participated in national level television reality shows and won many awards too.
Known for her distinctive singing style, Jyotirmayee, who belongs to Bhubaneswar, has a number of soulful songs to her credit. She made her debut as a playback singer in the popular Odia film Ishq Puni Thare and the two sequential songs that she crooned in the movie became hits. No wonder, she is viewed by experts as a singer who could rule the music scene.
Daughter of Gouri and Chakradhara Nayak, Jyotirmoyee is a Class XII student of DPS Kalinga. She said, “I was born and brought up in a family where most of the members are connected with art and culture. My father had a lot of interest in singing. From my childhood, when we were based in Rourkela, I have been inclined to singing. Realising my interest in music, my father sent me to my first guru Buddha Prasad Rao who taught me the basics of Hindustani Classical. Subsequently, I participated and won many school level song competitions.”
After a few years, Jyotirmayee came to Bhubaneswar where she started learning Hindustani Classical from guru Debendra Satapathy. She was among the top four performers in an Odia singing reality show Voice of Odisha Junior. In the meantime, she also tried her luck in Indian Idol Junior, a national level song competition on TV where her rank was 26. She was among the top 36 performers in the 9th edition of Indian Idol. Although she could not make it to the top ten list of contestants of the reality show, she continued to chase her dream of becoming a national level singer. She said, “I learned a lot about music during those reality shows. After that I got opportunities to perform in popular programmes of the Akhay Mohanty Foundation and Prafulla Kar Foundation where I performed duets with popular male singers of the state. Also I got the chance to sing for composer Om Prakash Mohanty’s bhajan Karuna Mayee Go… and Laxmikant Palit’s Nandanandana Mo Jhula Re Jhulanti…”
Jyotirmoyee’s musical journey in the Odia film industry began with the movie Ishq Puni Thare with the sequential numbers Rakhithibu saiti kari.. and Tora udi udi gala.. with music director and composer Prem Anand. After the release of the movie, the singer got a lot of offers but she couldn’t accept them as they clashed with her examination schedule.
About her experience in playback singing, Jyotirmoyee said, “I have performed stage shows on several occasions, but playback singing has its own charm. Prem Anand sir, who gave me a break, was happy with my performance and promised to sign me for his other projects in future.”
Presently, Jyotirmoyee is cultural president in her school. She has represented the school at many national level competitions, winning laurels. A good student, she always secures more than 90 per cent marks in examinations. “I want to do engineering. Right now, I am busy preparing for entrance exams, but my first preference still is singing,” she added.
An ardent fan of Lata Mangeshkar and Shreya Ghoshal, Jyotirmoyee is taking lessons in light music from Sarada Prasanna Sahu of Cuttack.
Feathers in her cap
∙ 1st prize in State Level Akshaya Sangeet Competition 2014
∙ 1st prize PECUC song competition in 2013
∙ 1st prize in Lataji Song Competition by SAMBHABANA in 2013
∙ 1st prize in song competition arranged by LIC in Paradip in 2014
∙ Special Prize from Malhar, Cuttack in 2014. SOYONG,OP