Bliss-Girls

It’s an honour and pleasure to write about Shobha Sagar. The first two words that come to my mind when I think of her are – Passion and Talent. She is a Hindustani singer, composer, poet, teacher and author who is making mark in her own unique way in the field of music. She has represented Karnataka state and India at various events. She has a number of awards and accolades under her belt. I hope I can do justice to her in this series of posts.

Part 1 – Humble beginnings

Born into a Kannada speaking family in a place called Balligavi, Karnataka (For history buffs, this is the place where great Kannada saint and poet Allama prabhu was born), she was naturally exposed to vachana’s and songs from a very young age. When she was 5 years of age, her family moved to Shiralkoppa which is just 5Kms away from Balligavi. It is here she attend Seva Vikas – a school run by RSS. The strong values and principles on which this school was run, inculcated a deep sense of gratitude, respect and humility in her which is reflected in her personality till date. She studied in Seva Vikas till 5th and then continued her studies in a government school till her 10th. She finished her PU and then moved to Hirekerur for her degree and then to Bangalore for pursuing her MBA.

Interestingly, she never pursued serious music studies till she was in 2nd year BCA. Until then singing was just an hobby for her. A hobby that she was soo good at that it fetched her countless trophies, medals and certificates. In fact, she recollects that her first ever stage performance was when she was in LKG where she was dressed up as Akka mahadevi, recited a vachana and still remembers being scared and crying while performing on stage. But her musical journey did not begin until she was in her 5th grade. And thereafter, has participated in every singing competitions throughout her schooling and college days.

I asked her who inspires her and her response was quick – her sister and some of well known singers like Sangeeta Katti, MD Pallavi and BR Chaya. Her first inspiration was her older sister, Shashikala Sheelavanth. Her sister had a great voice and was a popular singer who often entertained relatives and friends in gatherings. Seeing the praises and applauses her sister received for her performance, motivated Shobha to try her stint at singing. Back in those days, obtaining lyrics of songs was no easy task. While the songs played on radio, Sashikala would make a note of them and both sisters would then practice till they perfected the singing.

Dale Carnegie, in his book, how to win friends and influence people, has elaborated the importance and value of praise and honest appreciation. We see that effect of praise and appreciation in Shoba’s life too. She was still in school, in her 5th when she sang ‘Om Karadi’ at a Kannada Rajyotsava event organized by Dr Rajkumar abhimanigala sangha. Her singing was soo much appreciated and applauded by the audience that it marked the beginning of her Musical journey.

To be continued…