MUMBAI: She has mesmerized the audience with her ‘Flautist skills’, given hits like Hulla Re and Katti Batti, we are talking about none other than Rasika Shekar who has worked with Papon and Shankar Mahadevan. But, not many know that she began her musical journey as a vocalist.
“My journey started off with training under my aunt for Carnatic vocals. For a few years, I was into Carnatic and classical music as my aunt and my grandmother both were Carnatic musicians. So, my musical roots started with my family, which surely did help in my career. During college, I performed for Sufi, Gazal shows, concerts. I had certain stages in my life where I got completely drowned into the different forms of music, explored music and got connected to the ambiance of it. My inspiration was my grandmother in my initial phases,” reveals Rasika.
She further adds,”There is this really attractive, addictive thing about music that takes you towards it. I was experiencing a range of emotions that I wasn’t even aware of. Over a couple of years, I understood that music was going to be a huge part of my life and I would take it seriously.”
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The singer did take it seriously and today she is taking her music across the globe. She has been performing Indian music internationally, but this hasn’t been an easy ride. “It was challenging as you have to perform in front of the audience that has never heard Indian music, as you have no idea how they would respond to it. You also want to be sure that you give them ‘authentic music’ as much as possible.”
The singer’s international concerts have also taught her a lot about Indian music as she states, “One thing I have realized that Indian music has a diverse range of elements with its different forms. Our music is rich and has a lot of depth. When you discover Indian music, you can actually navigate different forms of music easily. We have so many elements in our Indian music that we are really proud of, whether classical music, ghazals or folk music, also we have our relevance in other forms of music too. For example, We can find Flamenco’s (Spain music), musical roots in our Indian folk music which hails from Tamil Nadu. This is how one can actually relate our music to various other forms.”
The artiste has also performed with Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan, sharing her experience with him she says, “He is an inspiring person, also he does make people comfortable around him. While we also travelled together, he shared some of his thoughts with me, He also motivated me, saying ‘Tum Mein Woh Ruh Hai’. This just completely boosted me and motivated me to take my journey in the music industry seriously.”
Known for her jugalbandis with Shankar Mahadevan, Rasika has learnt a lot from him. “Shankar ji had once said, ‘You can never shy from hard work and dedication’. I hold the quote close.”
On people knowing her as a flautist over a singer she says, “I think it was that video of mine and Shankar Mahadevan ji which went viral, after which people know me more as a flautist over a singer. It doesn’t affect me whether I am known as a flautist over a singer, I just believe in portraying good music and that’s about it.”
The singer is currently busy with her upcoming projects, she will soon be releasing an original track composed by her.
Below are some of Rasika Shekar’s popular videos.
