SHEVYA AWASTHI SHEVYA AWASTHI & HER JOURNEY WITH MUSIC

Learning and understanding music is an art that is highly regarded in South Asian homes As kids, we are pushed into the arts by our parents, and as we grow up, we are left with making a choice on how heavily the arts will influence our lives Today, we sit with Shevya Awasthi to learn more about her journey with music, her transmutation of challenging emotions, and her mentality surrounding duty.

Shevya started learning Hindustani music when she was just ten years old and is still taking classes today She recounts situations familiar to many South Asians, “I have had stage fright my whole life growing up, and I never liked singing in front of aunties and uncles, but my parents pushed me through it ”

Shevya chose to continue her music path in college. She joined an acapella group where she was surrounded by fellow musicians who helped motivate her to pursue music again Namely, Varun Jhunjhunwalla and Shankara Srikantan assisted in her sound and pushed her to songwriting However, she recounts, “When I was on the acapella team, because I was surrounded by so many amazing artists, I fell into a bad habit of comparing myself I became very, very insecure in college. Throughout my entire time on the acapella team, I developed a poor relationship with music. I almost got to a point where I stopped singing altogether because I just got so in my head, thinking I wasn't good enough and ‘what's the point in singing when there are so many other amazing artists?’”

Sometimes the things we are passionate about can instill a comparison in our heads No matter how much we may love what we do, a part of us will feel like there is someone out there doing it better. This comparison can come from many places and create a range of feelings that we trace back to ourselves Music is one of the most powerful art forms, and with that comes a degree of reverence That reverence can also make us feel as if we are inadequate in some aspect, as Shevya experienced This profound impact that a passion like music can have comes from a desire to be “the best ” Desires like that, and so many others, often shape the way we see the world and move through it as humans.

We as people have a natural inclination toward what we choose to do with our lives Our interests are so vast, and our desires and talents control our path. As we go through life’s challenges, our desires and wishes would seem to scream in our minds louder and louder and influence how we want to conduct our lives Challenges, along with successes, allow us to connect with ourselves, thereby forcing us to act on our truest desires However, doubt can be our biggest enemy as we attempt to grow closer to ourselves.

This world has a way of showing us our largest flaws, restricting us from what we truly want. Comparison has a way of seeping into our minds, but finding ways to transmute that energy can be extremely powerful Shevya chose to do just this

Around 2019-2020, she graduated from the acappella team and went through a breakup at the same time and found she needed an outlet to process her emotions Songwriting proved to be a valuable channel for her as she was able to create original content without the hassle of comparing herself with others With songwriting, “I can only compare against my previous self, and that became a healthier outlet to develop a better relationship with music again I didn't have anybody to compare myself to as songwriting is entirely original ”

She was able to create a pathway that allowed her to not only understand and transmute her emotions into something that allowed her to feel free, but was able to do so in a way that served her community. She says, “I grew up with this culture… at the end of the day, I just really want to share it with the rest of the world I don't know if this is maybe because I'm South Asian, but I feel like when it comes to our culture in the West particularly, I feel like we tend to get overlooked a lot.” She verbalizes further on her desire for more representation and discusses the importance of having South Asians in mainstream media and feels it to be her duty to improve this “One of my goals is that I want to show the world that South Asians can also be in the media ” She notes that we are usually seen as the butt of the joke and says, “We don't have to be like the comic relief or the scientists We can be creative; we can be singers, dancers, actors, and not [just] side characters.”