Swapna Rani Patra of Berhampur didn’t think twice before she quit her well-paying job in a multinational company to pursue a career as a classical singer.
Known for her distinctive singing style, Swapna has rendered a number of soulful songs. She made her debut as a playback singer in popular Odia album ‘Swapn… A Dream.’ She sang six solo songs and two duets with popular Odia singer Saurav Nayak and Abhishek Mohapatra. The album was critically acclaimed, and experts described her as one of the serious contenders who could rule the Odia music industry. After this success, she got many offers for playback singing from music directors in the Odia film industry.
Daughter of Ratna Prava and Biswanath Patra, Swapna has numerous stage performances to her credit. She has also received several awards and has sung many Kannada songs.
Swapna says, “My father was keenly interested in singing, so from my childhood days in Cuttack, I was inclined to music. I was sent to my first guru in music, Sri A Maheswar Rao of Bidanasi, Cuttack to learn classical music when I was in Class II. There I learned the basics of Hindustani classical. I participated in and won many school level song competitions. I won the first Odia television reality show ‘Parichay’ aired on ‘E TV.’ Though I was doing well in music at that time, I had to stop singing for a few years due to my higher secondary examinations.”
“After completing my engineering course in Berhampur, I got a job as managing executive in a shopping mall of a multinational company in Bangalore through campus placement. But God had a different plan for me. There was a Shiva temple behind my office where people used to join musicians to sing devotional songs every evening. One day, I went there and sang some devotional songs that I used to practice during my school days. The songs gained instant popularity and people asked me to perform daily in the temple. I started visiting the temple regularly and performing there. Meanwhile, I got some offers to sing for Kannada devotional albums and television serials. It encouraged me to take singing seriously. I went on to complete Sangeet Bisharad from Gandharv University, Mumbai,” she adds.
While she was working with the multinational company, the thought struck her that Odisha may be a better place to pursue a career in singing. One day, she packed her belongings and left for her home state to chase her dream of becoming a good singer. To her luck, she got an offer from Ajay Kumar Dash, national gold medal winning keyboard and harmonium player, to perform at a bhajan sandhya at Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar. It was on Kartik Purnima when thousands throng the temple. There she sang ‘Shiva Panchakshari/Nagendra haraya trilochanaya.’ Her performance was noticed by many music directors and she got an offer to sing for some Odia albums. Many groups also approached her for stage performances.
She says, “I learned a lot about music in Bangalore. After that, I got several opportunities to perform in Odisha and outside the state where I performed solos and duets with popular singers of the state. Meanwhile, I got a job in a Cuttack based premium hotel. I also started learning classical music from Guru Saroj Kumar Parida.”
On her future plans, Swapna says, “When I was in school, everybody asked me to be an engineer and to get a good job in a big organisation. I fulfilled their wishes, now it’s time to give wings to my dreams. To me, singing is an addiction that brought me back from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar. I will continue to explore all aspects of music till my last breath. I also want to do something for my state with the help of my mentor, Sri Ajaya Kumar Dash. In our free time, we teach music to children who show interest.”
SOYONG, OP
