As Rebecca West said, “It is the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires.” But very few fulfil this with utmost honesty. However, Kanika Malhotra is one such artist who treads the path of her passion with all heart. Kanika is a professional singer and performer, who has recently come up with her original “Mundeya Ve”. 

Kanika started learning music at a young age of five and since then, she has embraced the world of music, learning and growing with it. Born in New Zealand in an Indian family with no musical background, she has strived and persevered through the years to be the singer that she has evolved to be. She is not only a star performer but plays a charm on everyone with her euphonic voice.

Kanika has grown up in different countries across the world. From New Zealand to Australia and back to India, her life has added many exciting experiences to her journey since the very beginning. Being trained in Hindustani and Western vocals has added to her caliber as a vocalist. Apart from being a vocalist, she has completed grade 5 in piano and grade 8 in violin. 

Starting up as a professional singer was a tough decision for her. Kanika, after completing her graduation from Shri Ram College of Commerce in Economics (Honors), did not instantly take up music professionally. She went through a lot of planning and thorough research about the music industry in India before stepping ahead into the profession. It was then that she took the leap of faith, quit her job and became a full-time artist to follow her dreams. Ever since then, she has never looked back and is more than satisfied with her decision.

Kanika Malhotra is not just a name in the industry, but is an experienced artist too! She counts her US-North America-Canada musical tour with famous singer-rapper Guru Randhawa as the golden opportunity of her life. Apart from him, she has also performed with the likes of Badshah, Papon and Jasbir Jassi. Taking inspiration from Sunidhi Chauhan, a wonderful performer and singer herself, Kanika is determined to move ahead and achieve a lot more in life.

One of the biggest milestones in her musical journey is the release of her first original Hindi-Punjabi music video, titled ‘Mundeya Ve’. Performed by her, the track is a piece of groovy pop music that will bind you to dance to the beats. The upbeat track was co-composed by Kanika and Sukhamrit-Sachin and the lyrics were penned by Siddhant Kaushal.

Artists like Kanika, who have taken a leap of faith, chose risks over certainties of life and worked hard day and night, to fulfill their dreams have proved that great success demands great sacrifices. Kanika’s message to all the artists is to never give up on learning. One can achieve great only when there is a balance of talent and knowledge. Kanika’s journey is indeed an inspiration to the young artists out there paving their way to success.

As the age of internet flourished, a lot of things have changed and transformed over the period. Social Media, an offspring of the internet, has come into picture and taken the center stage for people’s primary source of entertainment. Because of that, entertainers and artists have got a huge stage to sparkle among the masses without having to hold themselves back for their much-deserved break.

One of them, an artist in the making, who is ruling social media with her euphonious voice, is Tanishka Bahl. Bahl, currently studying in 11^th standard has taken her passion for singing to its peak and has established a massive audience of her own, all with the help of internet, determination and her naturally gifted voice. It is quite astonishing and inspiring that at such a tender age, Tanishka has managed her curriculum while also garnering fans all over the country at the same time. Her melodious renditions of great songs take listeners to a different realm and bind them into her magic.

The Beginning of her Journey

Born and raised in Ghaziabad, Tanishka has grown up with music around her. It was for her mother, who herself is a Prabhakar in vocals, recognized the melodious caliber of her daughter and encouraged her to learn music from a very young age. After about 5 years of vocal training from T-Series Stageworks academy, she is now a 17-year-old vocalist, currently completing her intermediate school.

Bahl started her singing journey by posting covers of songs on social media in 2019. And she has grown considerably well on Instagram in a short span of two years. Currently, she has over 70,000 audience online and is attracting more numbers every day!  

Steps Towards being a Successful Singer

It is said that a successful person is made from little steps on the path to success. And so has Tanishka. In 2017, she won the Radiocity Super Singer Junior Competition held on national level, which was the biggest achievement for her till date. She was also the 1^st runner up of Sangamkala group in Sur Tarang All India Singing competition.

Apart from these little-big achievements, she got selected among 100 participants all over the country for blind auditions of the reality show ‘The Voice India’ in 2018. Auditioning for a reality show ‘Love Me India’ and getting selected for auditions among 80 participants across the country encouraged her even more to keep trying and pave her way to being a professional singer. She also got to perform with the very talented and renowned singer, Navraj hans on stage of the reality show.

Bahl aims to pursue graduation in Psychology from Delhi University and keep moving ahead with music for her career. She would surely keep moving ahead to become a part of the Bollywood industry and is aiming even for more.

A Message to the Youth from the Young Achiever

Tanishka, indeed, is a prodigy. Not just in terms of her god-gifted talent but for the way she believes in herself too. She believes that every person is unique in something. Just like her own self, she wants every artist or every unique person to showcase the talents that he has. That, one should never refrain from showcasing the talents, merely from the fear of not being liked or accepted by the society.

Artists like Tanishka have a long journey to cover and with utter dedication that she has to fulfill her dreams, she is an example to the youth. Tanishka is a rising star of today’s generation and when it comes to her dreams, the sky is the limit for her.  

Creating and producing original musical compositions is an artistic triumph. Music Artists not only create music for themselves, but for us as well. We have music for every single event in our life. Music for our difficulties, for sad and happy days. Music for celebratory and fun days. On tired days, music can relax us. For some, music becomes a better means of communication with oneself and others. Music dominates our life so much. We can never extricate ourselves from some melodies and beats. 

Here are some contemporary Indie musicians, putting together rhythms and lyrics, gifting us original soulful musical compositions.

Phir Miloge Na by JalRaj 

‘Phir Miloge Na’ is a beautiful and emotional piece. An original single by JalRaj (Jalaj and Rajat) the song with its simple yet sincere lyrics is about long-distance relationships. JalRaj created this song from scratch. The two brothers worked on the vocals, lyrics, composition and mixing and mastering on their own. Prolonged physical distance, sometimes oceans apart, between two people, be it family, friends, lovers, is hard. They have delivered this piece in all honesty and truthfulness. Throughout the song, the anxiety yet the hopeful belief that the distance will not ruin the relationship, and the reunion will happen soon, is persistent in the song. It’s a song on faith, promises and love.

Tumhare Aane Se (Reprise) by Ashu Shukla

Ashu Shukla is a singer-songwriter. He released his fifth single, ‘Tumhare Aane Se’ on 2nd July 2021. The song is about the magic of falling in love. It is a blend of chirpy music with idyllic lyrics. Ashu’s vocals are very soothing. With the metaphorical deep lyrics, Ashu earnestly creates that magical aura around us. In his reprise version of the song, he beautifully captures the essence of true feelings with his singing. The song is a work of his passion and his candour. 

Tara by Deepak Rathore 

Deepak wrote and composed ‘Tara’. Just like stars against the dark blanket of the space bring us peace, so does the song ‘Tara’. The lyrics are truly a work of artistic genius. Tara is a song you’d want to listen to after a day of hard work. It is a slow and a relaxed song, yet still moving because of its lyrics. The galaxy metaphors used in the song make the piece even more stellar. The subtle comparison between a broken heart and a shooting star is poetic. 

Mere Yaar by The Local Train

The Local Train is one of the most famous four-member Hindi Rock Band in India. They produce and perform original pieces. ‘Mere Yaar’ is just another of their raw music. Mere Yaar is a song on friendship and togetherness. The Urdu lyrics will remind you of Sir Mirza Ghalib. ‘Mere Yaar’ is deeply poetic, beautiful, and emotional as well. The song weaves around the love and intimacy that is found in friendships. Our friends, with whom we’ve grown up, leaned on and learnt from, hold a special place in our hearts. The Local Train sing the beauty of our profound relationships with our friends.

Trishita sits with her ukulele, and lets words, thoughts, and rhythms come to her. That’s how the Indie singer-songwriter, Trishita Recs, produces her original songs and music. 

Music is indeed one of the most honest ways of self-expression. It is a free, welcoming sphere for both the musician and the listener. Music always gives us respite from gloom and sadness. Indie musicians and singers depict the rawness that we seek. No wonder the Indie industry is currently on the rise. Independent musicians get to sing their inner thoughts and conflicts freely. Their music talks about mental health, love, friendship, loyalty, and can also sometimes be socially and politically critical. This appreciation of music, in its naturalness, also serve multiple projects. 

Trishita has been invested in music for a long time now. Her two most recent releases: ‘Sab Ruk Sa Gaya’, and ‘Tum Mujhe Jaante Ho’, are her original pieces. These self-produced songs, with her talented team, talk about Mental Health and Adoption of Indie Pets. We had a conversation with Trishita and learned about these projects, the motivation behind them, and the processes involved. 

Mental Health

The pandemic has been detrimental to all sections of society in different ways. The social isolation spiralled all of us in a loop of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and hopelessness. Trishita, during the initial lockdown, lost her sense of direction. Forced to be apart from her social group, she went through peak anxiety in those four walls of the house, alone. On talking about the initial lockdown days, she stated that, “Mental Health wise I had already seen the worst”. Consequently, Trishita prepared herself for the second round of lockdown. This preparedness helped Trishita cope with what followed the first wave of Covid-19. As a result, Trishita could clearly understand what many people around and away from her have been and are going through. “I don’t sympathise, I empathise.” and this was the push behind her original piece, ‘Sab Ruk Sa Gaya’.

The song, its lyrics, and the music video reflect Trishita’s own struggles with mental health problems. She has overcome her struggles and braved relaying her vulnerabilities through music. The song is an assurance for struggling people, that they’re heard and it’s okay to ask for help. Both the music and music video are edited and shot with utmost precision. It was a challenging task for her. The music shoot took 12 hours. Even though she portrayed her own character, she had to act and perform realistically, keeping in mind that it should trivialise no one’s lived experiences. That is why it was a taxing task for her, since she didn’t want to tarnish such a sensitive topic. 

Adoption of Indie Animals

‘Tum Mujhe Jaante Ho’ is a single from Trishita’s debut album ‘Khoyi Rahun’ which was released in November, 2020. It is a song for our friends, people we love and cherish, about loyalty and unbreakable bonds. Trishita released a music video under this song on October 10th, 2021. The idea of the music video came to her through her followers on Instagram. Last year, when the song was released, Trishita asked people to tell her who their soulmates were. A lot of people shared their adoption stories. These adoption stories had one common aspect in them: not only how they’ve rescued them, but how their pets have rescued them too, especially during the lockdown. Their pets were the only ones who kept the feelings of loneliness at bay. 

The music video is adorable! The pet owners enjoying with their furry adopted pets is a serotonin boost. More than the visuals of the video, it is about adoption of Indie pets, rescued pets from streets and nearby areas. Naturally bred animals, in need of homes and care-givers, should be prioritised and normalised. ‘Adopt’ instead of ‘Shop’, because pet stores are harbingers of ‘breeding factories’. 

Music for All

Trishita’s amazing team of her friends, with whom she met at an audition, continue to produce soulful songs. Since the last 2 years, Indie singers and musicians are carrying India’s music industry. Trishita stated that, as an artist, she works to carry out two mottos through her songs. First, songs which can relax her listener after a tough and heavy day. Second, songs that make her listeners question something they would have never thought about. Songs which throw light on things that have never been pointed before. I guess, therefore, the Indie sub-genre is growing at such a fast pace. People are consuming and embracing the honesty in the art.

‘Fusion music’ is a well-defined genre now in Bollywood and has taken various shapes with every new generation. The concept of this lively genre of music arose with the introduction of rock music in the late ‘60s. And since then, the combination of classical jazz with rock music elements has been loved worldwide. In fact, most of the music that we enjoy listening to today is the very result of this astounding genre of music.

Taking you all back in time, to the days of evergreen classics and to the decade of ‘60s, when Indo-Jazz music started to bud. This 28^th October, we commemorate the legendary Indian-origin composer, John Mayer, on his 91^st birth anniversary.

John Mayer was a renowned Indian origin Indo-Jazz composer and violinist of the ‘60s decade. He gained fame from his beautiful fusion compositions in Indian classical and jazz music. His compositions made him the most-liked violinist of London in the late 1960’s.

Early Life of Mayer

John Henry Basil Mayer was born on 28^th October, 1930 to an Anglo-Indian father and a Tamil mother in Calcutta. He was born in a middle-class family and did not initially have a hierarchical musical history. Although, Mayer’s interest in music developed at an early age. He studied violin with Phillipe Sandre since he was only seven and later in his teens, with Melhi Metha in Bombay.

Life brought him the greatest opportunity when he won the scholarship to London’s Royal Academy of Music in 1952, which brought him to England. There, he studied music composition and comparative music. Mayer was truly dedicated to becoming a great composer and he did achieve it through his hard work and excellence. He learnt the theoretical aspects of Indian classical music with Sanathan Mukherjee in India and also became a part of jazz bands as a drummer in his youth.

The Journey from A Violinist to A Composer

During the days when he was studying composition in London’s Royal Academy of Music, he professionally started playing violin in London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1953. The year 1958 brought him success as his fusion composition of Indian and western music was premiered for the first time by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. And right after the premiere, he joined the Royal Liverpool Orchestra as a composer.

In the 1960’s, his first fusion album, Indo-Jazz Fusions was released, in which he had worked with the jazz musician, Joe Harriott. The album made Mayer a star in the world of music. Acka Raga, Partita, Contrasts, Multani are a few of his famous compositions from the Indo-jazz Fusion album.

John revived Indo-Jazz Fusions in 1995 after the death of Joe Harriott in 1973. The revived album had a fresh collection of his compositions. Toccata, Capricio, Saraband are some of the most famous etudes composed by Mayer.

Mayer achieved early success in life, but behind his success was his journey of dedication, perseverance and passion for music. His excellence and his willingness to be better marked him extraordinary in the crowd. Mayer passed away in a car accident in London in March 2004, leaving his fans around the globe in tears. A part of him will always be remembered through his rich compositions and will continue to be an idol for several musicians to come.