Hitting the Higher Note with Malini Banerjee

The melodious repartee of Malini’s Banerjee’s voice has a calming effect on a listener, like a cool morning breeze it’s soothing.

“Malini is adventurous,

Malini is constantly learning,

Malini is childlike and curious

Malini is a bloody good singer and she is extremely proud of herself.”

When Feministaa sat down with Malini Banerjee, this talented singer couldn’t help but leave the same lasting effect on us, just like the sweet after-taste of her music. She said how she has been singing since she was just three years old, and it came to her just as naturally. Expressing her childhood brush with singing, she said that she had no pressure of attending music classes.

“A lot of kids, Indian kids, they are forced into a lot of things.”

She is rueful when she says how kids today are under so much pressure, to learn to swim or paint. Art should be allowed to free-flow.

“We are in a constant process of evolution. The person that goes to bed tonight is not going to wake up as the same person in the morning.”

Talking of change as the only possible constant, she muses on the shapeless, formless virtue of water, how despite any obstacle it will find a way. This very truth has helped her become who she is today, through her own obstacles.

Bold and ambitious, Malini picked up the art of melody from her mother. But unlike her mother who wasn’t able to pursue her talent brought up in conservative India, Malini, understanding the importance, choose to chase her dreams and find her voice and career through her passion.

But as we joined Malini on her reflections upon her journey, behind those dimples and a carefree smile, we realized how there lies a woman with an old soul trapped in a young body.

“I think I have lived a lot of lives, despite not being very old”.

She is philosophical when she says how we do not need another to complete us, that we are already whole as an individual.

“Even as a single person life is fold.”

However, on the flipside, this very concept of wholeness within has been abused by most people, especially in advertising.

“You don’t need Raymonds to be a complete man. You can be wearing Rupa chaddi and still be complete”.

Completion is an inner job; it is all about being good to our own selves, naturally. If we prioritized on loving the self first, we are bound to meet others equally so.

As Malini talks about righteousness and deeper issues like the essential goodness in humans, we almost see the inspiration behind her music.

No human being is absolutely good or bad, she observes,

“There is a certain amount of goodness in all of us and it is our responsibility to tap into the good part of the human being.”

Flaws are easier to notice as humans tend to overlook the goodness part. However, sometimes we don’t really know where to stop because that’s what makes us emotional beings. We give much of ourselves in loving someone and refusing to stop.

“So the idea is to remain fold.”

Before even giving away even a bit of us we need to make sure that we are filling that void up from somewhere. That could even be music, nature, or books, it our own job to find that energy.

“I am a very expressive person. So be it expressing affection and indulging in PDA or just expressing my happiness, you know I am that sort of a person who will jump onto a table and dance.”

Yet, as a ‘champion hugger’, she calls her own public behavior outrageous, and that she is a social embarrassment to most people.

As Malini’s quirky, childlike persona transforms into a more soulful one, we are reminded how her beautiful voice has touched many. As her vividly deeper personality amalgamates with her voracious attitude, it all makes Malini one of the greatest upcoming artists as she is today. It is a voice that echoes the possibility to revolutionize and unite not just women, but individuals through music.