An award means a lot to me. It brings happiness along with a kind of fear. It brings fear because the award is the responsibility which audiences have put on us. So a singer winning an award should always try to give best of him to the audiences.
Shreya Ghoshal
I learnt to sing in Bengali, my mother tongue, then went on to sing in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and every possible Indian language.
A studio is like a meditation room where music is created. And a live performance is the place where the creation of the studio is taken ahead. I love both.
I'm not a gadget freak, so to say. I own an iPhone, which I love, and would sorely love to upgrade to MacBook Air from my current MacBook Pro. But what gets me going is the technology behind the gadgets, new websites, new apps. And I'm way too much into social media - FB, Twitter and Instagram are always open on my phone.
If given a chance, I would really want to explore the monuments in Delhi, like Qutub Minar and the forts. I have been there as a child, but now I want to go back and understand the history and significance behind them. We take all of these things for granted in life.
I'd say, for me, it's cooking that gives me a space beyond music. I love food. And somehow, music and food go together so well. Cooking is very therapeutic. That preparation, the fragrance of spices, the wafting aromas - it just sweeps aside my depression, tiredness and name what you may.
I don't have a lot of desires, you see; I feel so lucky. God has give me a lot of things already; there's nothing to ask for.
It is only your passion which takes you forward. So it is my gyaan to all budding singers that keep faith in your passion and prepare yourself, because you will get that opportunity sooner or later, and if you can prove yourself, people will line up for you.
I listen to a wide range of music, from country to pop to alternative rock, as well as Indian music. You know, what excites me are new ideas. And with a lot of the international hits - from Lady Gaga to Rihanna and others - you'd find excellent production and groundbreaking ideas that lift the music to a greater realm.
No matter where I go, I actually have a lot of couples coming and telling me that one of my songs was instrumental in strengthening their romance!
The Indian music market is very film-oriented, and any other creative music venture doesn't receive enough support. I'd rather do singles and put them on my website.
I love the idea of waking up to a song. It could be any song.
It is immensely enjoyable to work for an album because there's a lot more creative freedom. In films sometimes, all that the makers care about is making the music commercially appealing.
It's a great feeling to be wanted, but it's more exciting to be inaccessible.
I appreciate art in any form. So it applies to clothes as well. On stage, I think people prefer me in Indian outfits... in fact, it goes with the kind of songs I sing as well. Indianness in the form of a sari, or a chaniya choli or jeans with something interesting, matches my style of singing.
I believe that when the going gets tough, you should just hit pause. Assimilate what is happening for 10 minutes. Your thoughts will be much clearer.
I do not like sweets. But if I have to choose one, it has to be rasmalai.
Music reality shows provide a platform to people who have talent and gives them visibility and exposure. It is a win-win situation for participants.
I'm not superstitious about good luck charms and all that. I don't have any ring or any tangible thing as a charm. But I like to have at least one of my parents with me during my shows. It gives me strength to find their faces... or my brothers... in the audience. It comforts me.
I've never seen a low point. I like to believe that they don't exist.
My parents being Bengali, we always had music in our house. My nani was a trained classical singer, who taught my mum, who, in turn, was my first teacher. Later I would travel almost 70 kms to the nearest town, Kota, to learn music from my guru Mahesh Sharmaji, who was also the principal of the music college there.
I'm not thin! I just wear clothes that make me look thin.
I don't believe in pretending to be someone else. I'm what I actually am in real life. For instance, like any normal girl, I fight with my mother. I mean, it is just fine. In fact, I fight daily with my mother.
My break in Bollywood is definitely the high point of my life.
I don't do anything specific for the stage. I'm just myself. I can't stand still for five seconds. I'm normally quite active, so that just comes out on stage. If I see people react to me and my music, I just have to give back and express myself.
I'm not a person who comes with bodyguards. I'm a simple jhola-kurta kind of girl. So people treat me as a buddy.
Gujarat is truly vibrant. Be it handicrafts, folk music, art, costumes or food - the state offers the best of everything.
Since I stayed in a colony where either one was an engineer or a scientist, everybody thought I would be a scientist. This was the expectation everybody had apart from my parents. Honestly, I, too, wanted to be a scientist. I think it was the way Dad would explain us scientific theories and concepts that made the subject more intriguing.
As someone who worships music, I believe it can never be ugly!
Singing in Hindi is nice but restrictive. Regional languages are more rhythmic, have a different tone and sound, making it more interesting.
When I am not recording, I do live shows or am at home catching up on shows which I regularly watch. But there will always be some music around me.
Unfortunately, we are living in an era where plenty of songs with vulgar, objectionable lyrics are also becoming popular. It's a disturbing trend, and I feel really sad when I see small kids dancing to such numbers in television shows. In my career so far, I have refused any song whose lyrics I haven't been comfortable with.
It's nice to create something you believe in. It's even nicer to dance to your own tunes sometimes.
I have always enjoyed dressing up, but I don't do it as often as I would want to, because it's time consuming.
