Sreya Raghav speaks to FWD about how her life shaped her musical dream.

Words by Rheanna Mathews    Photographs from Rasheed Themes

Sreya Raghav is an up-and-coming singer with successful songs like “Nilamanalil” from Kismath, to her credit, and in an interview with FWD Life, she spoke about her singing, what drives her and the kind of musician she aspires to be. Music is in her blood, says Sreya, the daughter of a music teacher, Palayad Yashoda. She accompanied her mother, who was also a performer and successful playback artist, to events. With an uncle who is a singer and aunt who is a dubbing artist -although she received no formal training in it- Sreya grew up learning to use her voice, with songs and their notes woven into every aspect of her life.

A Nightingale’s Dream

However, she became fully committed to this dream of becoming a singer only once she reached adulthood. Until then, it had been solely her mother’s dream. Sreya says that it has always been her mother who inspired her to sing. In fact, she woke up every day listening to her mother’s singing. So it was a blow when just years into her career, her mother passed away. She took a break from music then and stayed with her sister at Dubai, before she recovered enough to pursue her dream again. Even now, perhaps especially now, it is the thought of her mother that inspires and anchors her.

A native of Thalassery, Sreya moved to Kochi and made it her home in pursuit of this musical dream. Her aunt took matters into her own hands and sent Sreya’s demo to musician and composer Gopi Sunder, which got her her first break, singing the song ‘Ekantham’ to Amal Neerad’s 2013 movie, ‘5 Sundarikal’. It had been a struggle until then, getting to sing only background scores for films and for advertisements. It was a similar, yet more bitter struggle when she came back to the field again. She had already tasted the sweetness of success, but had failed to capitalise on it as she had to take a break in order to nurse her ailing mother.

Music is Life

Now that Sreya has gained the public’s renewed attention and her stardom seems to be on the rise again, she’s begun formal training in Carnatic music. She hopes to branch out to other genres of music too, as she doesn’t believe in limiting herself. It is evident that she relishes taking on any challenge and found it quite difficult when she realised she had to turn down an offer since her lack of experience singing in the ghazal style meant she couldn’t do justice to the song. She hopes to remedy it soon. When asked what advice she would give to an aspiring musician, Sreya’s answer was simple. Be brave. It is never easy, pursuing our dreams and it is important to remember to be brave, to teach ourselves to have confidence in our own abilities. It makes it easier if we have something to hold on to, a talisman, that reminds us why we dream what we dream. In Sreya’s case, it is the memory of the mother who sang throughout her life; even when bedridden. It lends strength to her dream, to her conviction, that she too, is meant to sing.

Songs to Note

• Nilamanaltharikalil (Kismath 2016)
• Loneliness (Kismath 2016)
• Ekaantham (Anju Sundarikal 2014)
• Kanavinum (Arikil Oraal 2013)