Vatsala Mehra is a bit of Bollywood tucked amid the woods of McLean. The 54-year-old ghazal singer moved to the D.C. area from Mumbai as a teenage newlywed. But in more than three decades here, she has become a celebrity in the country of her birth. Mehra has produced 16 albums, founded the Balaji Music Academy and recently performed to a packed house at the Kennedy Center as part of its Maximum India festival. Mehra sat down with The Washington Examiner to share thoughts on her music and its inspiration in her Hindu faith.
Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I am a Hindu, and a follower of Arya Samaj. Hinduism, to me, is a transcendental way of life. We believe in one god, and He’s omnipresent. As an Arya Samaji, I don’t believe in idol worship, because God is everywhere — I can sit anywhere and meditate. I believe in karma, and rebirth — in doing good deeds and building toward a better next life.
When we pray, we pray around a hawan kund, a sort of copper fire pit. There are various shlokas — ancient verses — that you recite when you do hawan. Fire to me is energy — it’s very pure. There is fire in everybody — life must burn, and burn.
Did anyone or any event influence your faith or your path in life?
My father. He was a philosopher, a writer, and a successful businessman. He had eight children. He played the sitar — he was really an all-arounder. He believed in knowledge, movement and achievement — you have to learn the knowledge, then the movement begins in the mind, and with focus, you will achieve.
He gave me so much strength, and discipline. He would sit with us and explain the shlokas, and teach us their meaning. Even when we were trying to rebel against sitting at the ritual every weekend, that teaching left an impact.
What drew you to Ghazal music?
When I started listening to music, I loved Tom Jones. I adored Tom Jones! And then I started listening to the classical and the Ghazal musicians — and Tom Jones had energy in his way, but the Ghazals were so much deeper. The texts are so philosophical — they touch every mood of life. They moved me more than any other music.
I moved to the U.S. at 18, after I got married. That’s when I started taking my music seriously. I would have fallen apart if I didn’t have that discipline to practice the music. I was young, and I spoke English but I had trouble understanding the American accent. And I wasn’t working outside the home — I wasn’t a 9-to-5 kind of a woman. But that music was in me, in every fiber of me. I guess we all come with an aim, and mine was to sing, and to start an academy and keep that music alive.
The thought of being on stage terrifies most people. What personal qualities have you found to be necessary to allow you to be a performer?
It begins with discipline, discipline, discipline! And then the peace of mind to enter almost an inner trance on stage. I feel most connected with myself when I’m on stage — I feel the movements in my body, the feel of the music, and I’m totally, totally into the text. It’s about a connection with God, and there is a strength that God gives back. God’s fire is in me onstage — it changes the voice quality, the mood, and I’m not bothered by anything. The rhythm takes over me, and I’m let go.
Of course, before singing the first line, I’m always nervous. But then I look up to Him and ask for strength, and it works out.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
I believe we all have come here with a purpose, and we have to find out that purpose — we have to find what makes us happy. I believe in going after dreams. Never, never give up your dreams! And I believe we have to stay in the race — that we can’t sit and watch the race, but we have to be a part of it. There’s so much good to do in this world, and we can all do so much, so we have to keep the fire going, keep the focus, stay in the race. And then, no matter what, thank God for every little blessing.
– Leah Fabel
