At 14, almost every one of us wanted to rock a guitar solo on the stage and woo audiences to our music. Guess what, Bengalurean gem Mia Makhija is already up to it! She might be in the eighth standard, but international jazz artiste Chantae Cann couldn't stop gushing about Mia's cover of her song Free Your Dreams, even tweeting and sharing it on her own page!
With her debut single about to release, Mia’s inspiration for the song Speak Your Mind reaches out to children across the world — the underprivileged and unfortunate. “I’m not into restricting myself to genres and themes. The inspiration for this song was derived from a recent dialogue with a coach, where I held my ground on a certain issue and resolved the matter amicably. But it's not just me who needed to speak my mind. I believe most children don't have a voice. This is to help them stand up for their beliefs,” Mia enthuses.
Born and brought up in a musical environment, Mia began professional training at the age of eight. From live performances to videos of her singing covers, Mia talks about her journey to the point where it usually takes people years to reach. “Artistes like Chantae Cann, Hindi Zahra, Susheela Raman, Steely Dan, JJ Cale and AR Rahman are my biggest inspirations!”
At a tender age where she has classes, assignments and homework to balance with regular midnight sessions, Mia’s key to managing things is, “I’m only human; of course I feel the pressure of it all. I guess you just have to take it all with a pinch of salt!” A certified diver, a trained golfer and a snooker player, Mia has indulged in a variety of activities before turning music into her primary focus. “I love it when people I'm surrounded by treat me like any other individual, because at the end of the day, if I like a tune, I sing it.” And that's what she plans on doing in the near future. “The praises and recognition are only a reassurance that I'm doing the right thing,” believes the teenager, who has already bagged the attention of people associated with the Grammy.
Yet that is not all! As part of the Duke of Edinburgh programme in her school, Mia wanted to tie in schools to benefit from her music. All proceedings from the sale and download of her debut single from social media will directly go to the Srirampura Higher Secondary School and the Pragathi School, to provide their pupils a better infrastructure and chance altogether. The little prodigy signs off saying, "I have been extremely lucky and privileged enough to have my parents by my side. So in all fairness I want these children to have the same opportunity — a shoulder to lean on, and to understand the empowerment of reading.”
