I feel that each of us are born in this world for a purpose; for me that purpose was to become a musician. From a young age, I was always transfixed on melody and rhythm, and I would bang on my mom’s pots and pans, or her washing machine, or our dinner table at home, or on my knees, and I was always humming all kinds of tunes. However, it wasn’t until I heard an old recording of Begum Akhtar and Ustad Ahmadjan Thirakhwa that I knew that I wanted to be an Indian Classical musician.

I used to have these very surreal dreams as a child, and even today, on sitting in a red carpeted room with white arched walls, and four wise Gurus in front of me. One would teach me voice, one would teach me Tabla, one would teach me how to combine the two and one would listen and tell me what I needed to do to sound better. I would wake up in the middle of the night and memorize what I was taught.

Music is my way of life as it brings people joy, love, happiness, solace and peace. It is my connection with the universe.