EXCLUSIVE: Ananya Birla – Girl Power

Ananya Birla is a singing sensation with real humanity and a hunger for bettering society. The pop princess has made significant moves throughout the course of her career to inspire others whilst deftly managing to balance her business responsibilities and her music portfolio.
Beautiful, talented and ambitious, Ananya grew up into a supportive family who encouraged her to follow her dreams: “I had a great childhood – filled with music, laughter and love,” she reminisced.
“My siblings and I were all inspired by my parents to pursue the things we loved from an early age and to work hard at them. I was singing before I was talking and when I was 9 I learned the Santoor (a traditional Indian instrument). I knew that music was what I wanted to devote myself to.”
When she was just a teen Ananya took to playing the guitar and the piano, posting videos on YouTube. Whilst studying singing and song-writing became her escape, and her passion soon became her career when she was approached by Universal Music.
“Pitching to them was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life,” Ananya admitted. “However, I pulled myself together and played them some of my early songs which they responded really well to.”
Ananya soared to success and has since performed with Coldplay at the Global Citizen Festival and recorded with Afrojack. Despite her achievements Ananya has found it challenging to adapt to life within such a challenging industry: “You need to develop a thick skin to survive in the music world.
“I initially found it really difficult to deal with criticism, but I have learned that it comes with the territory. Saying that, getting to do what I love on a daily basis is a massive blessing. Knowing that people are enjoying my songs is a huge encouragement for me to continue.
“I love music for music’s sake, but I also like that music is this incredible universal language that people can connect with regardless of nationality, gender, sexuality or social background.”
What makes Ananya different is the fact that she is the first Indian artist to have gone platinum with an English single (‘Meant To Be’). She describes this as an ‘amazing and surreal feeling’ and hopes that this will encourage more musicians from her hometown to make songs for an international audience.
“There is so much undiscovered talent back home that needs to be heard,” Ananya said. “Music is becoming increasingly global. With more and more people learning English, I think we are going to see more international popstars emerging out of India in the next few years.”
Ananya isn’t just a musician – she is also a successful businesswoman. Her technology-based company, Svatantra Microfinance, was set up to provide loans to women in rural India to help them to grow their enterprises whilst becoming self-sufficient.
“There is a huge gap between rich and poor in India, and I wanted to do something to address it,” Ananya explained. “As a female entrepreneur, I strived to build a platform to encourage other women in India to fulfill their potential.
“I am a firm believer that the circumstances you are born in to do not determine your character. Banking the unbanked is a crucial step for economic development. I wanted to empower other female entrepreneurs because traditionally Indian women were expected to stay at home and take care of the family, thereby severely limiting their participation in the economy.
“Around the world, when more women work, economies grow. Strengthening women’s roles as leaders, entrepreneurs, consumers and economic stakeholders can transform countries.”
In her efforts to create a better society Ananya has also started a mental health initiative in India called MPower Minds. The purpose of this was to stamp out the stigma related to mental health issues.
“I am a big believer that everyone should aim to leave the world a better place than they find it,” Ananya concluded. “I would like to continue making music whilst expanding my businesses – the aim is to positively impact as many lives as possible.
“The key thing that I want to encourage people to realise is that they can break down barriers and stereotypes to follow their passions. I was encouraged to pursue more traditional things when I started focusing on my music, but life is too short to base what you do on other people’s expectations.
“Where possible – and I know it’s not easy for everyone – your life has to be an expression of your most authentic self.
“I want to encourage young people – girls especially – to be more self-accepting and patient. I do have a responsibility to use my platform in the best possible way. With everything I do, I want to make a difference, and hopefully I am leading by example.”
> Hannah Montgomery