“Bhubaneshwar is the place where I was born and Kerala, the place where my passion was born. I got my first solo platform in Kerala and each time I visit the state, it feels like I am coming home. Actor Madhu and his family are like an extended family to me. I met him during a Swaralaya concert and we became friends. Whenever I am in town, I stay with his family. I call his mother, achamma ,” says Sagarika Pradhan.
This petite woman who is known for her powerful voice is no stranger to the state. She has sung at various stages in the state, be it the Swaralaya Music and Dance Festival, the Soorya festival or at Guruvayur.
“I sent my profile to the organisers of Swaralaya, six or seven years ago. They gave me the first platform to perform solo. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Sagarika says she was always fascinated by music and recalls singing Hindi ‘filmi’ songs as a child. She started training in the Gwalior gharana at the age of five with Guru Uma Charan Das Maharaj until her “visharad”. It was her sister who pushed her to spread her wings and discover herself.
“My sister is a dancer. Once when her vocal accompanist was unwell, I accompanied her on the vocals. She told me that I was not meant to be backstage and that I should create my own identity.”
Feeling “incomplete”, she quit her lucrative job in the marketing sector and that is when her father introduced her to Manju Sundaram, a former head of the department of music, Banaras Hindu University. “She asked me to sing a piece and I sang imitating the style of the ustads; I thought I was impressive. She then sang the same piece and I was left dumbstruck. The same piece was sung with such depth and emotion that I knew that I had to train under her guidance. I was fortunate that she took me on as a student.”
Her style Talking about her style, Sagarika says it’s a blend of Gwalior and Banaras gharana. “I have got the best of both worlds. The Gwalior gharana gave my voice, steadiness and the Banaras gharana, emotions.”
The artiste who still considers herself a student of music has enrolled at Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya (IKSVV), Chhattisgarh, for her masters in music.
“There is no end to learning music. I enrolled at IKSVV as I felt I needed to improve my knowledge in the theoretical side of music.”
According to Sagarika, music is not a profession for her, but a passion. “I never feel hungry or tired when I am with music. In fact, during my concerts, I never wear a watch. I tell my audience to tell me when I should wind up.
“Once while performing at Guruvayur, the concert went on for three hours as the audience kept requesting for more. I love audiences interacting with me and often ask them to tell me their requests for songs.”
Although, her ideal way to de-stress is by listening to music, she enjoys tinkering about in the kitchen too. Her family, she says, are the guinea pigs to her various kitchen triumphs and disasters.
Fond of animals, she has “quite a few dogs and cats at home, which are like my own children”. She also helps her brother run his retail business.
Asked why she has not adventured into playback singing, the artiste replies: “I am very moody and need compositions that are in my style. My guru Uma Charan, would compose songs just for me.
“He wouldn’t even teach the other students the songs. I guess you could say he was partial towards me. To ensure his songs stay alive, I have recorded some of his songs. Besides, I am not the kind who goes around promoting herself.”
The singer hopes to start a gurukul-styled music school one day. “But I will only enrol children who are genuinely interested in music and are in it for the long haul.”
