Crossing all hurdles with a song

Shravya Kanithi  has been winning many hearts with her singing prowess. Beginning her public performances with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs in 2007, she went on to be the winner of the show Black that aired in 2013, and has now successfully got  through the auditions for Padutha Teeyaga, hosted by musical stalwart S.P. Balasubramanyam.

Visually impaired from birth, Shravya’s family noticed her inclination towards music at the age of four and decided to shift from Vizag to Hyderabad at the advice of her music guru Dr Padmini.

“For a long time, my parents didn’t even know if I would get an education,” says Shravya, because no school was willing to enrol her.

Shravya attended Carnatic music classes only because her parents signed her up for it, but it wasn’t until much later that she developed a relationship with the art form.

“Music was just Sa Re Ga Ma for me. When I joined Ramachari sir, my ‘light music’ guru, classes used to be held on Sundays and I used to fall asleep sometimes,” she says with a laugh.

“This was the time I auditioned for Little Champs. My singing was raw and I could hardly replicate a song. However, I still managed to reach the top 10. I eventually realised that it was only due to pity that I was promoted. That was devastating.”

But Shravya says that if she got past hurdles, it was only due to the support of her parents and John Hemanth Kumar, her counsellor. “I was an introvert and had stage fright. He got me through that by meditation. He is also the reason for my independence. I couldn’t even put toothpaste on my brush when I was 13. That’s how dependent I was on my parents. He taught me how to do small, everyday chores on my own,” says Shravya, who has now bagged a job as a Communications Specialist.

It was only after her solo music performance in 2011 that she started becoming confident about herself and since then, there has been no looking back for her. Shravya is currently working on her album with original numbers. “My aim is to get noticed through this, and hopefully get called to be a playback singer for films,” says Shravya.