MY JOURNEY WITH SACRED MUSIC
I was born in Wales, UK to wonderful parents. Both my mother and father were deeply spiritual people that inspired me to love God from a very early age. Although living in the UK, my mother longed for her home country and fervently wanted us to learn our language and heritage. As children we were sent back and forth to India as my parents tried to work out where we would ultimately live. I recall I would be in my Indian school one year, back to my Welsh school the next year, then back again to India only to be back in Wales the following school year!
It was during my time in India that I had the blessing to be in the presence of great saints. Wandering sadhus would visit our grandfather's home, he was a sincere devotee and spiritual man and was loved and respected by the 'acharyas'. Several acharyas and sanyasis would visit our home and I got to meet so many enlightened saints. I heard them sing, I experienced their devotion through a child's heart.
I recall vividly when Swami Abhedananda Bharathi of Trivandrum visited our home and led us in devotional chanting. Throngs of devotees were chanting along, all of us energized with divine love. I was just 8 years old and tears of bliss were rolling down my cheeks. I didn't understand the lyrics and I couldn't understand why I felt so uplifted. All I knew was that I had experienced a little taste of the Divine and my young heart longed for more.
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The practice of singing to God became a faithful habit and these songs stayed with me all my life. I would sing them while I cook, while seated at my little shrine, at kirtan gatherings.
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At no point did I ever dream I would record an album. However, certain events and signs in 2023 made me realise I was meant to record these divine compositions. I have no vocal training and I am deeply humbled and honoured to be the one tasked with this sacred project, to be acting as the vessel to bring this precious music to the world. These songs are so pure, so blessed - spiritually charged with the devotion of the saints. They have brought me so much happiness and my sincere wish is that the listener will feel the same joy that I have experienced.
My own musical background exposed me to both Eastern and Western music styles. Both my parents were wonderful singers of Indian classical music whereas my brother and sister swayed towards Western music; both are talented musicians. I personally sang both styles growing up, mainly serving as my brother's backing singer! While I've sung a wide range of styles spanning both eastern and western music, in my adult years I drew closer to the traditional kirtans from my Indian heritage. For me, this music possesses a spiritual quality that brings peace to my spirit in a way incomparable to anything else.
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This album is thus a meeting of the 2 musical styles that I love. Traditional Indian ragas and vocals are set to a beautiful meeting of eastern and western musical influences.
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A mother to 2 teenaged boys, I now live in the USA and run a yoga studio in beautiful Oceanside, California.
We recently started to offer Sacred Music events at our yoga studio and I could see the impact this music is having on our community. People tell me they feel uplifted and peaceful from this music. Proceeds from our concerts went towards supporting independent musicians and the entire remainder was sent to ashrams in India. Our events have thus far provided the equivalent of 15,000 meals for the under privileged in rural India.