It would not be an exaggeration to say that life without music is no life at all. With World Music Day approaching, Sunday POST catches up with a few singers and songwriters to find out how music has changed their lives over the years.
The Paisa Yeh Paisa singer Arpita Chakraborty says, “Music has given me my identity. Growing up in a musical environment, I was destined to be a musician. A song, whether it be three minutes or five minutes long, has the power to stir your mind and emotions. People choose what music to listen to depending on circumstances. If you look at their choices and try to find out why they made them, you will uncover a different world altogether. For me, music is more than a profession. It has changed my life.”
Priyanka Mitra, who has sung duets with well-known singers such as Shaan, Amit Kumar, Javed Ali, Jolly Mukherjee, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Vinod Rathod, Udit Narayan, Usha Uthup, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Pyarelal and Sameer at over 1,000 shows, says, “Hailing from a family that owned a theatre, music has been a vital part of my life. I have grown up listening to music, be it on radio, television, or someone singing. Having learnt music from a tender age and with parents who sang well, music has always been there in my life. The impact of music has been so much that I turned my passion into my profession, leaving a flourishing IT career. In short, music is something that runs in my veins, my best friend, and has helped me evolve into what I am today.”
Bishnu Mohan Kabi, who rose to fame after winning the reality show Voice of Odisha and lent his voice for movies like Bachelor, Rumku Jhumana, Rudra, Tanka Tote Salaam and Chirkut, says, “ Though I had received formal training in music and have performed at many cultural events since my childhood, I had never thought of becoming a playback singer. After winning the Voice of Odisha title, I quit my job and settled down in Cuttack to focus on music. Then offers started pouring in. I realised that I was born to sing. When I was new in the industry, I used to get Rs 500-600 for a show. However, thanks to my growing popularity and the appreciation of music lovers, I now get Rs 30,000 or more for a concert. Even if I suffer from a throat infection, I overcome it once I set foot on stage. I feel blessed to be associated with music. Indeed, I am nothing without music.”
Priti Ranjan Pradhan, a songwriter who has penned popular songs like Haladia Dress Pindhi, Tiktok Bali, Lalita Labanga Lata, Sunpampudi, and Rangabati, says, “I am a schoolteacher by profession but songwriter by passion. Music is something that makes my life beautiful. When I sit down to pen a song, I forget what is happening around me. And when I listen to my songs, I get enormous pleasure. Music allows us to express ourselves and our creativity in ways that words can’t. Music can change our mood and can affect us in so many ways. Whenever my family members feel stressed, I persuade them to relax by singing songs. Music has the power to heal anything.”
Mumbai-based Abhijit Mishra, who quit his engineering profession to follow his passion for music and rendered hit numbers like Ranjha Trance, Tum Phir Suru Ho Gaye, To Sathi Jebe, Katijaithiba Kagajara Gudi, Prema Rutu and Sisira Bidu Go, is currently in Mumbai to try his luck in the film industry. He says, “Music is in my blood. My father had bought me a Walkman MP3 music player when I was a kid. He gifted me three cassettes including Jagjit Singh’s album Insight, Hariharan’s Gulfam and a Pandit Jasraj album. These three cassettes changed my view of music. I took music so seriously that I quit my cushy job to follow my heart. Young people of my age are thinking about securing a job with a handsome salary and getting married, but I cannot think of anything other than music. I get motivation from music and I love appreciating good music. Music has changed me into a better person. I stay connected with people around the world thanks to music. Music is my life.”
Popular lyricist and composer Saroj Pattanayak of Bhubaneswar who left an IT job to write lyrics, and has several hit numbers to his credit like Dheere Dheere, Ranjhana , Kahide I Love You and Aei Desha Ama Maa among others, says, “I was drawn towards music from my childhood. I don’t know how I became an engineer and worked at a top IT company in Bangalore. But I never lost my passion for music. Mano McLaughlin, one of Britain’s best songwriters, has been quoted as saying, ‘The song is all, don’t worry about what the rest of the music sounds like: you have a responsibility to the song.’ I found that really inspiring. It reminded me not to worry about whether a song sounds good or fits with everything we are thinking about – but just to let the song be what it is.”
“So, one day I quit my job and came back to Odisha. I started writing the lyrics for my first song when I was sitting in a cottage at Deras Dam in Bhubaneswar. Suddenly, I came across a pair of lovely birds and thought of their resemblance to a human couple. Then I thought about a sequence where an affair between a couple ends in a field with a pair of birds as the only witnesses. Some lines came to my mind and the song became an instant hit on social media and initiated my journey in the music world,” he adds.
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP