Ahead of the festival of Janmashtami in late August, Lean In India Founder and author Sanya Khurana will launch her first music video titled ‘Kanha Re’ as a tribute to the divine figure. Khurana learnt classical music as a child.
She shares her journey, “In January 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, I expressed to my younger sister how I would do anything to record a song and act in a music video of my own and she encouraged me to pursue it. Honestly, I was reluctant in the beginning because I obviously did not know how to act and I still didn’t think I was good at singing. I was looking for reasons to back out from this when my teacher at Shankar Mahadevan Academy taught me the “Kanha Re” Raag Kedar Bandish as a part of the curriculum of my course. I fell in love with the song and agreed to sing and act in a music video where I could express my love for Krishna.”
The author recorded the song with VideoProductions.in. “The production startup recorded the song and made me act as myself in the video. In the music video you see me churning butter for Krishanji, which I have been doing every Janmashtami for the last 10 plus years. Kshitij Bhargava, the music producer, added Western Style Music to the Hindustani Classical Raag to create an Indian Folk Fusion. Kshitj and I worked together to compose the Sargam of the Song. The entire team made my dream come true — and I can’t thank them enough for the same. After becoming a Software Developer, an author, a Lean In Leader and a TedXSpeaker, I can now call myself a singer.”
Sanya is the author of ‘One Action — Towards Women’s Dreams And Ambitions’. In the book, she throws light on patriarchy bugging the human mind, the ‘log-kya-kahenge’ syndrome, and how unsafe cities become a psychological barrier for women.
“My parents told me that I started singing before I started speaking properly. Apparently, I had difficulties in speaking at a young age, which prompted my uncle to suggest that my father put me into music. I was 3 at the time, and that is where my journey began. I started learning Hindustani Classical Music from a local teacher. Just like any other beginner, I started by learning Raag Bhopali,” Khurana tells IANSlife.
“Growing up, as I delved into the world, I forgot about becoming a singer, because everyone suggested doing something “practical” in life, and I was convinced. Fortunately, coding came to my rescue as I enjoyed it equally, and started working towards becoming a Software Developer. Music became an on and off hobby.”
“As a teenager, I loved singing Krishan Bhajan. Then, six months into the job as a software developer, I decided to go back to music. I joined the Shankar Mahadevan Academy, and started learning again from Raag Bhopali. I was working full-time, managing my Lean In Network, writing a book, giving speeches all at the same time but I managed to find one hour in the week for music.”
The video will be released on YouTube around Janmashtami, and the audio version of the song will be released before it on all Indian platforms.
(Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in)
