20 Steps to 20 Years of Shreya Ghoshal, a whopping 2 Decades of Shreya Ghoshal

20 Steps to 20 Years of Shreya Ghoshal, a whopping 2 Decades of Shreya Ghoshal! 

1) Reality show stage:-

Performing at different age groups for Zee Saregama and winning them multiple times, being judged by stalwarts of music industry, it wasn't a cakewalk for Shreya. She proved her mettle each time and came back bettering her previous rendition. 

2) Bollywood break:-

Smt. Leela Bhansali, mother of Sanjay Leela Bhansali suggested him to check this little contestant for the innocent voice of Paru, character to be played by Aishwarya Rai. The sweetness and melody, dipped in innocence won his heart and little Shreya was now rehearsing for the mega musical blockbuster, Devdas as the voice for the lead actress. Carrying bags to study in free time in between the long schedules of rehearsals, she found the home where she truly belonged to - The studio! This break into Bollywood garnered her multiple awards on debut including the prestigious National award for Best playback singer female. 

3) Debuting the South music industry:-

She didn't restrain herself to Bollywood singing (she had already recorded and released marathi and bengali albums), Shreya ventured into the south industry, Tamizh Industry first, followed by Telugu. Picking up the correct diction and perfect pronunciations became a habit to her. This made sure she spread her wings wide, not just in Bollywood. 

4) Not letting to be Typecast:-

Shreya made a smooth gliding from those melodious genres of Devdas to high note song of Armaan to ending up singing the most evergreen sensuous songs of Jism movie for MM Kreem, the mega chartbusters Jaadu hai nasha hai and chalo tumko lekar chale. The newly crowned princess of melody was here with the most unusual songs and hit the bulls eye perfectly. 

5) Embracing Non film :-

Whilst Shreya was becoming a common name in the credits of playback singing of movies, she also actively sang non film songs like the heartwarming Leja Leja Re, Ye kya hua and many others. The radios and TV's kept humming her songs as they became a routine. 

6) Voice of Love anthems:-

Soon Shreya became the voice of love anthems of the nation. Beautiful songs like Soona Soona, Agar tum mil jao bore her name in the credits. What more, the audience was loving her more than anything. 

7) The rise of Munbe Vaa:-

Munbe vaa song, the baby of maestro AR Rahman was rendered by Naresh Iyer and Shreya. Like all other Rahman songs, this one too grew slowly and steadily, to an extent that even today Tamizh songs of Shreya always start with Munbe vaa. Wherever she went, she was always asked to hum a few lines of Munbe vaa. Munbe vaa not only won her awards but pure love from the audiences. 

8) Association with all the Titanic composers:-

One after another composers, hoping from one studio to another, sliding from one language to another, gliding from one genre to another became a daily ritual to Shreya. She was amongst the favorite artist to every composer for her perfect preparedness and understanding of music. 

9) Break into the Malayalam industry:-

Wherein even the greatest Lata Mangeshkar ji has rendered only one song, Shreya courageously jumped into the Bhool Bhulaiyaa (tough maze) of malayalam aksharamala where the zhas and zhis were waiting to swallow her. Shreya came flying in bright colors with her perfect plus diction, pronunciations and melodious heart warming renditions to become the only north Indian to have won multiple Kerala State awards. Today, pick any playlist whether wedding or romantic or melancholy, it will definitely have a Shreya Ghoshal song in it! 

10) Shreya, the girl next door:-

Shreya came back to television as a judge and instantly struck the chords with the audiences, with her innocent jovial personality. She maintained direct contact with her admirers through social networks, never hiring a PR team or so. 

11) Live concerts performance:-

Performing sold out live at prestigious venues and picking up impromptu requests of the audience, Shreya hit the headlines with sobriquet to the likes of Mistress of Music, Empress of Vocals and many more. The craze and rage for her live concert was across the globe as spectators poured in at all her performances. 

12) Celebrating Shreya Ghoshal Day :-

A feather in her cap, the global recognition of her contribution to the indian music industry and indian cinema, as the Ohio, state of US declared 26th June as Shreya Ghoshal. She was conferred with several other global recognitions too. 

13) Own albums of Indian music :- 

Post strongly rooting herself as the prominent playback singer, Shreya launched her own set of rooted albums to promote Indian music. Humnasheen, Mon Kemoner Station, Gulzar in conversation with Tagore was received positively by critics and listeners both. 

14) Masterclass at Berkelee :-

Berkelee masterclass was her best outing as a mentor and truly complete musician. It demonstrated her deep understanding of music which she shared with the students, including her proficiency behind the mic and experience of fixing where there exists scope for improvement. 

15) Live in concert with Symphony:-

40 musicians. 1 voice. This very tagline expresses the beauty which she uncovered in her live concerts. Magnificent majestic orchestration in the company of an extremely honey dipped vocals became a dream to come to any true music lover. 

16) Independent singles:-

Exploring and exploiting the gen z style of launching music singles, Shreya too came with singles on her own YouTube channel, however keeping the music rooted. Her singles were classical, infused with electronica. The experimentation continues as her last single Angana Morey proudly owned the face of Indian music in todays times! 

17) Candid Interviews:

Her renditions in interviews have moved the interviewers to tears several times, and I'd blame Shreya for singing with her soul each time. Her thinking and ideologies are simple and pure yet powerful, possessing the courage to change. 

18) Home recordings:-

As the doors were shut with lockdown owing to the pandemic, she would come up with tiny surprises from home - renditions from her home studio, her own songs and sometimes of the yesteryear legends. Brilliance found place in the dictionary as the comments kept exploding with appreciations. 

19) Rediscovering Vocal strength in Lockdown:-

The much needed rest and riyaaz for Shreya's vocals was provided by the lockdown. And it's amazing to see that her voice has gained more richness and grandeur with time, aging like wine.

20) Launching SG 2.0:-

Shreya Ghoshal has recently launched this beautiful swan SG logo reading 2.0 version of hers and we await for her to unfurl the curtains and bless us with a glimpse of this ultimate surprise for which we've been yearning since then! 

Happy 20 Shreya Ghoshal. This is just the beginning. Abhi toh bas shuruaat hai :D

Celebrating 12th Shreya Ghoshal Day!

Modern day Nightingale of Indian Cinema, one of the most loved musicians India is truly proud of, Shreya Ghoshal celebrates a special day today, the 26th of June. The United States, state of Ohio, Governor Ted Strickland had declared 26 June 2010 as "Shreya Ghoshal Day" for her contribution towards Indian music and playback singing. The ardent fans of Shreya all over the world have been celebrating this day with utmost enthusiasm and pure admiration for last 12 years! A rare honor to be bestowed upon with at a young age; which however deserves to be acknowledged highly. 

Shreya Ghoshal has sung over more than thousands of songs in almost more than 20 languages for film as well as non film projects ever since debuting in 2002. Her songs color all the hues of a human life, branch wide in terms of genres right from bhajans to romance to lullabies to classical music to ghazals to thumris. She has often encountered with listeners and fans who reminiscence about her songs playing a pivotal role in their lives. She is a household name from Kolkata to Kochi to Kota to Kanyakumari! Her rendition, nuances and perfection in diction is spoken of by composers, lyricists and contemporaries. An inspiration to the aspiring and colleagues, a yardstick of perfect balance between professional and personal life yet maintaining a direct interactive mode with her truest admirers, she's a favorite to almost everyone. 

Her illustrious filmography includes participation in music created for awareness and spreading of social messages, initiated by government and other NGOs. A part of her live concert receipts have been donated for social causes over the years. But what separates her from the crowd, is her staunch belief in Indian rooted music. Her independent projects portray her vision to cultivate the habit of celebrating Indian culture through learning Indian music across the globe, because she truly believes that the world will look up and ape Indian music into its breath. Her latest single, Angana Morey was the perfect example of face of Indian music with electronica infused into classical based ragas.

Boasting of wide discography, spread over multiple languages and genres, it is the endearing personality Shreya Ghoshal dons that steals all the attention. Her innocence, purity and angelic presence on and off screen are magical. She continues her focused aim towards bettering self outing at each of her future endeavors. As she adorns this 12th Year of Shreya Ghoshal Day onto her caps, her words always promise of delivering novel, unadulterated and rooted good music for her listeners because she truly believes that there definitely exists some true music lovers, always yearning to hear from her. Wishing the Mistress of music, Dearest Shreya Ghoshal a very happy Shreya Ghoshal Day! 

What is the purpose of Life.. Lata Mangeshkar an inspiration

Day before Lata Mangeshkar ji left for heavenly abode and I was watching her last rites on the news channel in the evening. Her songs were being played continuously without even having to be repeated, for the number of songs she's recorded is mammoth. Both the sides of the road was guarded by people who were true music lovers and had come to see her one last time. I even saw a lady who traveled all the way from Amritsar to just get a glimpse of her beloved Ma Saraswati. Each face was filled with tears which exuded sincere and selfless love for Lata ji. Each one had only one common thing to say - Not a single day passes without hearing atleast one song of Lata ji. The unfulfilled wish of meeting her will remain in the hearts of so many of them. Getting blessed by her will remain an unticked wish in their bucket list.

Elaborating her musical greatness is beyond my capability and I would refrain from doing so; but what has stuck my mind since then is how one single soul had made such a massive impact in the life of lakhs of people, most of them haven't even seen or met her in person, but still have strong connection with her through her music and art. 

Lata ji had stopped singing long back, but still the fact is, she was there as Guru of playback singing. Though in the last few years her outings must've been restrictive owing to her age and the pandemic, but the solace that she's there comforted every musician, whether established or aspiring. Her teachings in the form of singing technicalities in each song, guided every musician, and will continue to do so. That is exactly the meaning and purpose of life I thought! To make a difference in the life of people by your actions. Not just when you are alive, but also when you have left the world behind. Even after two decades, her musical teachings will still live on. That's the aura of her art, the greatness of the artist residing in her. 

Quoting an example of the same is the recording of the blockbuster song, Deewani Mastani from Bajirao Mastani. Shreya Ghoshal, who lent her voice for the same, said in one of her interview how Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director as well as composer of Bajirao Mastani, asked her to imagine how Lata ji would approach such a song. He asked her to derive inspiration from her songs and singing style to deliver Deewani Mastani and accordingly Shreya's perspective changed and the effects can be seen in her flawless rendition of the Deewani Mastani. That is Lata Mangeshkar ji for you, being an undaunted light of knowledge.

These little things that I see around have an indefinite impact as a person on me. It teaches me what no books could probably offer. Her sincerity and determination, the perseverance and dedication towards her art is immensely inspiring. And as a student for life, I keep on adding such lessons into me. It explains me the purpose and meaning of a life. Trying to make tiny spec of difference in someone's life, someday. And giving my hundred percent to whatever assignment I take up. As for Lata ji, I pray peace for her always and may she continue to inspire people in the world. Om shanti. 

Shreya Ghoshal interview