A life told in tune

A large piano dominates the spacious room. A tribal wind flute stands propped against a wall. A music system with large speakers waits by the door. This is very much a musician’s home.

It is a home that Shilpa Rao treasures. A gloriously airy flat with more windows than walls, in a rare quiet neighbourhood in the otherwise deafening suburb of Andheri. “I love living in Lallubhai Park,” she says. “If you take a walk around this quaint area, you will know what I mean.”

Shilpa left Jamshedpur in 2004 to make this little nook in Mumbai her home. A move that was prompted with the significant influences of two musicians–Hariharan and Shankar Mahadevan–who saw, honed, and guided the potential in her. She met the former on a visit to Mumbai. Hariharan not only met her without any reference or appointment, but also referred her to train under Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. Mahadevan, on the other hand, urged her towards singing jingles for advertisements to understand how a singer is different from a recording artist.

“The faith Hariharan showed in me changed my life and Shankar Mahadevan’s guidance taught me how to make a new song my own.”

From jingles the journey to Bollywood was natural. Songs like Khuda Jaane, Tose Naina Laage, Yaara Dhol Yaara and Ek Lau brought her into limelight. With live concerts to fusion shows like The Dewarists, Unplugged and Coke Studio, Shilpa brought the classics out of the past into the present. “As an artist of this generation, it is my responsibility to present the classics in a way that is relevant. The youth devours folk songs, Kabir’s dohas and tribal music in Coke Studio because it is in a format that connects with them.”

Shilpa channelled all her childhood learning for Coke Studio, making her father very proud. “A learned musician himself, he taught me everything I know about ragas and remains my toughest critic. We woke up to music each morning–this imbibed in me the most important aspect of music: the art of listening to it. To cook, you need to eat, to write, you must read, and to sing, you must listen to it. I detach from everything once I start singing. It is just me, the music, and the moment. This is a great time for collaborations and I would like to continue playing with different musicians across the world and experiment with different sensibilities.”

Having spent almost 10 years in Mumbai, she seems very much at home in this city. “It is like this locality. It gives me a sense of space and yet there are enough people around, should I need them.” Staunchly in favour of the suburbs, her haunts, characterised by like-minded friends, music and lots of food, are fairly close to home. “Almost all my friends live on the other side of town, but I love it here. There is Silver Beach Café, Pali Village Café (Bandra), and loads of secret, unknown spaces that we have discovered and kept for ourselves. This is everything I need, why move?”

Shilpa’s fitness facts
Carries her own food when she is working.

She eats every three hours.

Tries and eats healthier in the mornings. Before downing a cup of black coffee, immediately after she wakes up, she makes it a point to eat something first.

Fruits form an ideal breakfast spread.