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My Life
Vandana Vadehra started singing at the tender age of five. Today, she is the queen of the entertainment world, with a league of national and international performances. She is a singer, an anchor and a radio jockey. Let us peek into the multifaceted life of this diva
Vandana was only five years old when she participated in her first musical. Her first stage performance was in Jaipur's regal Ram mandir where she played the lead, in a children's musical duet drama. Her love for music grew during her schooling at Loreto Convent, Shillong. She explains, “Shillong is a place where even the air breathes music. I developed a passion for music when I started performing with Choirs and in musical plays. Since I was into English music, when I came to Delhi for my undergraduation, I noticed that Hindi and Punjabi music was much more popular. I decided to undergo formal training in Classical music.”
The challenges
Vandana came to Delhi, completed her honours degree in Botany, a course in Law and later on a course in Fashion designing from NIFT. Yet, music was always her core, her calling. As a disciple of renowned gurus such as Gurinder Harnam Kaur, Shri I S Bawra and Ranjana Narain, Vandana could understand music and her own voice much better. However, these choices were never easy for her. “I am an Army Officer’s daughter. I still remember my father told me that I was no Lata Mangeshkar. I had told him that even if I never become Lata Mangeshkar, I’d at least reach somewhere. I wanted to live life my way, live fully. At one point, I even had to start teaching fashion to earn my basic income, for self-sufficiency is an important virtue in Fauji families. My persistence has paid off and today, my parents are also proud of me,” Vandana gleams with pride.
In spite of the difficulties and the issue that in India people still don’t consider performing, anchoring and singing as respectable professions, if you ask Vandana what has been the biggest challenge so far, she’ll be quick to reply, “I think it is yet to come! Till date, I’ve always known I’ll sail through.”
A typical day
Vandana is a late riser because she usually sleeps late too, “I wake up by eleven, have a cup of tea and later, a nutritious fruit breakfast. Then I get down to household chores. I take some time to pray to God, since I am a firm believer of mata and Hanuman ji. My work begins at three in the afternoon since that is the time I usually schedule my meetings. If I have a show coming up, I start rehearsing with my dance group, if it’s karaoke or with the band. I mostly conceptualise all my shows myself. I have been performing with my dance group Rhythm for two years now. We plan out the entry, exits, the sequence and love to add drama to the performance!”
No stopping
Vandana has found success in the world of entertainment. All her life, she has stood by the principle of never compromising with her principles. She is also a successful radio jockey and is known for her western music show ‘Just for you’. Today, she has a league of shows and a host of corporate clients attached to her name. Some of her shows include her performance in Egypt and Muscat in 2007, anchoring of the Muscat Shopping Festival’s Grand Finale, Singing performance in Hamburg for the Germans, in Berlin in May, 2008 and many more. Her Thailand Cruise Show for Asian Paints and the Indo US Festival in Seattle are the latest additions in her tiara! There is no stopping this nightingale!
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