Aaradhna’s India Tour Was a Soul-Searching Trip

With four successful albums to her credit and glowing reviews around the world, award-winning singer Aaradhna, 35, who grew up in Porirua, was recently on a tour of India. Here’s what the ‘Brown Girl’ singer told Mathures Paul of The Telegraph India over email.

“[Porirua] is where my foundation was built for me as a child. We came from a humble neighbourhood that didn’t have much but just enough,” Aaradhna told The Telegraph. “We made the most of everything, turning to creativity to boost what we had. Therefore the craft was already in motion. The memories I created with my best friends and family are something that resonates with me through life. These same memories and stories continue to inspire and motivate me. I appreciate what was, for it makes me what I am now and has helped shape my craft today.

“My dad introduced me and my siblings to a lot of Bollywood movies and obviously these movies involved a lot of singing. My fave Bollywood movie would be Darr and the whole soundtrack. My dad used to play a lot of Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan and so on. My dad is an amazing singer himself. I was introduced to his voice first … my family still has connections with India for sure.”

“[Brown Girl] is a song about empowerment,” she explains. “Being proud of who you are and where you come from. I wrote this song in response to the racism I have experienced while growing up. I am a child of the diaspora, so I grew up being treated differently from all directions. So I wrote this song. This is me saying I am more than what you think and say. And I am here.”

Original article by Mathures Paul, The Telegraph India, September 7, 2019.

Photo by Aaradhna.