Ambalika Mukherjee – a Sweet Song from Kolkata to USA

INTRODUCTION

Last year in March/April Smule announced the winners of a highly advertised competition called SmulePeGaoAmericaJao exclusively for its Smule users from India. The constant efforts from Smule to support singers like all you guys in ways that could bring an experience of a lifetime will not go unnoticed. Read here, all about opportunities that Smule brought to you all and how it transformed music of the selected singers.

Just to recapitulate everything about the competition in nutshell

At judges round there were seven selected singers from India: These are the names of that seven: Ambalika Mukherjee, Amitab Reu, Santosh Naik, Ashvini Torvi, Alok Sharma, Kumargupta Munwar, and Sharvari Deshpandey performed in front of Judges Aman Trikha and Shibani Kashyap. They were selected from hundreds of entries on Smule. Five singers from seven initial rounds got selected Ambalika Mukherjee, Sharvari Deshpande, Ashvini Torvi, Amitab Reu and Santosh Naik all got the rare opportunity to come to the USA and participate in the finale at Oakland Arena.

“Smule Pe Gao America Jao- Sing on Smule and visit America”

Of the final five we selected Ambalika, an amazing talent sat with us to discuss her experience of this rare winning. We will introduce her through an interview to understand her music and interests. 

Smule id- AmbalikaMukherji

Please tell us about yourself 

Ambalika Mukherjee, that is my name. I am from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Wish me the second of October along with Gandhiji, as I share a birthday with him! I am blessed to have parents like my ma and baba who are the source of motivation and inspiration since my childhood. As a child, I was always told to study and maintain discipline in my life. I guess anything gets into one’s psyche if the inception starts right from childhood. I am what I was brought up as.

A brief description of your growing up with special reference to your music?

I had an inclination towards music since childhood as my mother is a trained classical and Rabindra sangeet singer. She had her music academy. I am told that, when I was a few months old I used to sit silently just as a listener in my mom’s lap. I stopped crying while listening to music. 

Music has always been there with me along with studies. My mother made sure I always do my riyaaz. On the other side my father being a scientist and academician made sure I carry on with my studies well. I can’t say that music is just a hobby for me. From a very young age itself my parents made it clear that study and practice music must be taken seriously in my enrichment.

Are you a trained classical musician? If so, describe all experiences

As I told you before my first training in classical music was from my mother; later she sent me for learning Hindustani classical vocal music more seriously. I was trained under the able guidance of Pt. Ajay Chakrabarty since five years of age. I still remember the audition day when I was asked to sing a bandish in yaman. I owe that knowledge to my mother. Later on I also had the privilege to learn the basics of Carnatic music from my guruji and his close friend Shri. Balamuralikrishna ji as well.

My training started in hard core Hindusthani classical vocal music where we were taught about the notes, shuddha and komal. Then taal. I was even trained to play tabla. Slowly riyaaz became an integral part of my daily routine. Maa was really stringent regarding riyaaz. As a child I sometimes tried to avoid riyaaz but used to fail most of the times!

Describe each stage of childhood, schooling, and college, how music was a part?

“My childhood was full of discipline and strict routine. I used to do riyaaz, go to school, come back from school, play in a club & do my homework. That time I used to feel my other friends were so fortunate to have a happy-go-lucky life!” Ambalika laughed out loud thinking about her childhood.

I had my schooling done from Loreto Day school which also taught me to practice discipline, culture along with studies. In school I was quite famous as I took part in all musical programs. I would say it was a blessing to study at such a nice school which gave impetus to culture a lot. No regrets.

“The same thing continued in college which happened to be Bethune college under The Calcutta University. Everyone knew me because of my musical side as no fest was complete without my performance.” Ambalika looked very self confident with a big smile on her face.

“But it was tough managing my studies and music as I got into the science stream. We had laboratory works, projects, seminars & conferences to attend. After graduation I got a chance in post-graduation (MSc) from The prestigious Calcutta University. Gradually my studies’ pressure started growing in leaps and bounds. Seminars and conferences became an integral part of my life. But in my mind I knew I would have to keep my focus on music unabatedly. My University would not compromise for music for me nor would my Guruji. Guruji asked about continuing riyaaz even in the toughest situation. Even he asked us to skip any invitation if that affects our daily riyaaz routine. We were instructed to do riyaz for a minimum of four hours at a stretch. But love for something automatically generates energy to continue with that.”

“Now I am into Government service as an officer in the Banking sector. I am currently working as manager in Public sector bank’s HeadQuarter. Still music gives me identity as I am always on stage in my office’s functions. My colleagues know me more as a singer than a banker. Music has always taken a primary position in all spheres of my life.”

What are your impressions about the Smule experience? and What do you like about it most and dislike about it if any?

SMULE came to my life like an angel. I got to know about Smule from a friend who shared his audio on a social media platform. I thought he might have done the recording in a studio. Before that I never had any idea that people would carry a whole of a studio in one’s pocket. Smule was exactly what I needed. I always wished for the experience of  playback recording. Now Smule has become an integral part of my life! Previously, I can remember, I recorded the songs casually. Was not regular in the app. Maybe once in a week or even lesser than that. Most of the time I didn’t have any invite in my profile. Slowly and gradually I found new friends who are like-minded people, more or less music-aholics like me! They joined in my invites, asked me to join them and even invited me for group collabs. I just loved the way things were turning up. Here I could connect with people who are crazy for music just like me. No matter what, I always find time for music and Smule. 

Basically I am so much into Smule that I can’t find any flaw in it. I love everything about Smule. The effects which we give to our recordings are just awesome. For the first year I only did audios as I was not that confident to do VOCs. Smule is such a platform where- You are your own Boss! You can choose whatever track to sing with. It gives a whiff of fresh air and freedom which none can give. When I come back from work tired, the moment I open my app, all fatigue and tiredness just vanishes with the stroke of Smule’s magic wand! The most important point is , whenever I skip riyaaz due to time, singing in Smule provides me the way out. Its my saviour. It provides the benefit of doing riyaaz may not be equally but to a the large extent. Many of my relatives previously wondered what am I doing inside closed room! But now they know I am into creativity there also. 

Do you think lyrics are important? Yes or no why

I absolutely think lyrics are important. Lyrics are the key to any song. People relate to any song through lyrics firstly. Specifically when we are sad, we listen to music. That time we concentrate on lyrics more than the tune. A good tune can be ruined if placed with inappropriate lyrics. So I think lyrics and tunes are the lungs & heart of any song.

What is your take on India’s pop music? And new trends?

Since I am not that into pop music, I might not deliver accurate details. But my Guruji has always inspired me to listen and learn different genres of music to be versatile & not to be typecasted.

When it comes to Indian Pop music two legendary names come to my mind. One is Asha Bhonsle & the other one is Usha Uthup. They are stalwarts in this field with perfect gayaki, entertainment and groove. Even at present we are following them only by remaking and remixing their hit numbers. New trends are getting mixed with western culture more as India has now gone global.

Comment on the importance of classical music in this era? Why?

Classical Music had importance previously, has importance and will continue to have importance in all the eras. Classical music teaches us the grammar of music. Just like if we can’t speak we can’t sing, if we can’t crawl we can’t walk, we won’t be able to sing anything if we don’t know its grammar. The sur, the taal, the laya and the gayaki. These are the basics of music. Classical music teaches us to sharpen our skills on them. Practicing classical music or listening to them gives us immense pleasure, concentration and peace. 

What is music to you?

Music is my oxygen. Music is my identity. Music is worship. I am completely musicaholic. I usually am unable to concentrate on any work if music starts playing. Music becomes a primary part of my brain’s attention. I usually study or do any work in a completely shut room where I can’t hear any music playing.

I think music is a much better way to communicate with others than words or any other medium. In any family gathering you will always find me singing rather than talking. 

Where do you want to go from here in five years?

Music was always with me all the time I lived. I want to continue just in the same manner where I will find myself engaged in different sorts of activities and music will always be up there shining like a star! I will continue to try to sharpen my skills by improving on my riyaaz & performances. I will try to live upto the expectations of my parents and other well wishers. Maybe I will perform in stage shows more than what I do now along with my job. If God is there with me, I can definitely hope for that thing to happen.

List all your achievements.

I was an All India Radio artist in the Bhajan Section where I used to sing from the Akashvani. 

In my college I got their prestigious Artist of the Year prize, bagged the first prize in Classical music, light classical and Indipop sections at the same time. I participated in reality shows. I consider my win on Smule, the Smule PeGao America Jao contest a very big achievement for my music talent.

Describe for us how you got selected for the Smule pe gao America jao contest

“I can still remember, it was in the month of April 2019, I was casually going through my invites in my Smule profile, the banner on the Smule homepage of the Statue of Liberty caught my attention. I found really interesting song tracks and sang some nice songs from the list and posted them. I had completely forgotten about the results.

Maybe in about a month later, I received a call from Smule that I have been selected in the preliminary/ online round and would have to go for a face-to-face audition. On that moment I completely went blank in my head!! Couldn’t trust my ears. I was like- Am I hearing right? Then I came back to my senses. I was invited for the face to face audition in Mumbai.

Smule arranged all the travel and accommodation. In Mumbai I met with another 6 contestants from various parts of India. The audition was judged by famous Bollywood singers Shibani Kashyap & Aaman Trikha. It was an awesome experience to sing in front of such famous singers from the music industry. It was a great time we all had together at the Judges sessions. We had photo sessions and interviews for promotional videos. It felt all so dreamy that I pinched myself! It was so fulfilling that I couldn’t ask for more. 

Returning back to Kolkata with a heart full of happiness and delight I hardly expected to hear  anything more from Smule. To my utter surprise, I received a call for selection in the face to face round from Smule along with 4 other winners. I was jumping with joy. Couldn’t think about anything else. The Smule executive repeatedly kept on saying- Yes Ambalika, you are going to the USA in the next few days!! Oh My God!! I couldn’t thank Smule more!”

Describe the whole experience of you coming to California 

It was in the month of June 2019. I was provided with all the details of my journey and accommodation. It was totally an impressive detail sent to me about our travel and visit from Smule. Each and everything was so clearly described to me that I had no questions to ask. Every aspect was taken care of.  I flew to San Francisco; our stay was located in Foster City in San Francisco. I met with all the other four winners at the hotel. Smule coordinators also reached that place. They planned everything in our five days’ visit to San Francisco that finally culminated in attending a Gala stage show with Sonu Nigam and Neha Kakkar at Oakland Arena. 

We visited various places notably San Francisco’s Fisherman’s wharf, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, Facebook headquarter, The Golden Gate Bridge, The crooked Street of San Francisco. We saw Alcatraz island from The Golden Gate but couldn’t reach there due to time constraint. Smule coordinators took us to visit Smule’s HeadQuarter in San Francisco. We met various officials at their office. Their office was ravishing and built in style. Every one congratulated us for getting selected in the contest. We were given an opportunity to sing Live Jam in Smule’s studio which they shooted. They filmed everything we were doing. We were busy checking all the modern technologies that Smule use for betterment of our recording experience. We had a nice time taking some pictures, shooting videos, talking with staff at Smule office. We were invited for the day’s lunch in their office. We got gifts with goodies and a SMULE T-shirt.

My time I spent at the Oakland bridge and shooting videos with Smule staff was an amazing memmory. We sang there and had so much fun! Smule staff was very friendly and seemed to be enjoying themselves as well.

Finally the day arrived when we headed for Oakland Arena. We were taken from the hotel and reached the arena on time. The Arena runs under tight security checks.It was a memorable show. Neha Kakkar started off with her very charismatic performances on her hit numbers. Oakland was grooving to her beats. Then came the legendary Sonu Nigam. He aced the stage with his foot tapping numbers and semi classical numbers. It all ended quite late in the night and it was really cold at that time, yet we were burning with excitement. I was still thinking, am I really here?

Sonu Nigam and Neha Kakkar met all the five of us, greeted us, wanted to know about the competition and congratulated us. They clicked pictures with us. We were immensely happy. Prayed for the night not to end.

It was an absolute honor on my part to have received such an opportunity from Smule. The icing on the cake was publishing our competition’s news and our interview in leading newspapers of Delhi and Mumbai.

I was a Smulean and will be one forever!! Lastly I would love to say… ‘SMULE…Thank you for Everything, it’s a journey with you which has just started. Miles to sing before I sleep!

22 March 2020

ENDNOTES

It is a unique story of a singer somewhere in India who came to Smule and got recognition of a lifetime to make a mark in a very competitive manner. There is no doubt in our mind why it happened to Ambalika. It is her pure effort and faith in everything she did. She made an effort to join the competitions that happened on Smule. She is critical about herself, and gave her one hundred percent to all she did. Rest all happened around her.

This story is a story of hope and determination. Above all, thanks a ton to Ambalika in sharing her experience with us and now with all our readers. This is Ambalika’s page on smule. Please follow her and encourage her in her music. 

The following section has some exclusive videos Ambalika did for this feature. Do listen to her Hindustani bandish, amazingly mature performance.

Ambalika said this Thillana was taught to her by none other than Balamuralikrishna when she was instructed by him for a short period.

Her favorite idol Neha Kakkar’s famous single sung by Ambalika

Mohe Rang Do Laal, Solo by Ambalika

A live stage show by Ambalika, Lal isque

Amaaro Purano Jaha chai- Rabindra sangeeth

We leave you all with this stunning performance of a Rabindra Snageet. This one performance is enough to show why Ambalika is here. Her maturity in singing this gem of a Rabindra Sangeet tells volumes about this singer and her music. Love it. Enjoy.

We will see you all with two extra special features of two celebrities next two weeks back to back. Come back very excited