For those who love ghazal will know that it is heart to heart conversation with their beloved. Powerful emotions intricately woven in the form of poetry is the core of ghazal. Emotions dipped in musical compositions make it an intimate conversation between the lovers, which leaves behind a long-lasting impact on the soul of a person. Vidhi Sharma, a playback singer, a semi-classical vocalist has been performing around the globe for more than a decade now. She is a professionally trained singer in Indian classical and light classical music. She recently performed at the Khazana Festival in Mumbai and talks about her association, about her passion and much more.
About the association with Khazana festival
My association with Khazana has been since 7-8 years when I used to look forward to listening to legends of ghazals at this festival. The dream of singing at Khazana has since then been harboured. Everything from the ambience to the audience to the artists adds so much of enthusiasm to be associated with one of the biggest ghazal festivals that we have in our country.
Are performing at this festival for the first time or you had been a part of this festival. How happy it feels to be part of Khazana -a festival of ghazal
Certainly, I am performing at Khazana for the first time. I feel extremely blessed as the festival is a family- a small and a warm family of legends and artists. I would, in fact, like to thank the most respected and revered Padmashri Anup Jalota Ji for introducing me as one of the performing artists at this festival this year. The feeling of sharing a stage with legends like Padmashri Anup Jalota Ji, Padmashri Pankaj Udhas, and other great artists, playback singers etc can’t be expressed in words. It is so exhilarating and wonderful. It is a matter of honour and privilege to be a part of one of the biggest ghazal festivals. I would say, it is s dream turning into a milestone memory. Apart from being the music festival that it is, Khazana is music for cause as well. The proceedings from this fundraiser event are contributed towards medical aid for thalassemic children and cancer patients. For the past 18 years, it has been serving needy patients who cannot afford expensive treatment of these deadly diseases. I feel so blessed that my music contributes in such a noble way through Khazana.
You are passionate about classical music, have you ever performed Bollywood music on audience demand
Yes, I do perform Bollywood music on audience demand. Bollywood has always been inspired by Indian classical, Sufi, folk and ghazals so it is a great experience to perform popular songs on demand that gel very well with my style of singing. I make it my own rendition and the audience always welcomes an improvised, unplugged version. The lovely audience that demands me to sing such songs creates spontaneity and novelty to my recitals.
Youth are losing the charm of classical music... what message do u want to give them
I think, if the youth is losing charm in classical music then we as artists have to responsibly make music, produce music with meaningful lyrics that connect well with their day to day life in order to bring them back to their roots. The only message for the youth is that they also should be responsible enough to listen and support independent artists who work within the framework of Indian music and culture and their music is not abusive in any way. All of us as a society have to be more aware and responsible in terms of what kind of music we are feeding ourselves and our children with.
She shares
Music is continuously evolving, changing with the times. For any artist, it is a challenge to adapt to these changes and not loose his or her identity. The act of balancing and evolving at the same time makes way for a wonderful and intriguing journey and I am looking forward to this journey ahead.
