The beautiful and incredulous singer, Raveena Mehta talks about her journey of becoming a singer and the path of good mental health that can lead one there. This story comes from the very depth of Raveena Mehta's journey as an artist, especially with the Pandemic hitting the world hard. Speaking of which, she mentions, "When the pandemic hit, I lived in my home studio. I have a home set up where I record a lot of my music. I decided to get into a routine to make a cover everyday and worked on composing. This led me to release around 7 songs in 2020 which was a great feeling. It has been incredible to see the way India has digitized over the last two years, an immense amount of technological progress."
Speaking of success, it's one of the most beautiful feelings in the entire world; when reality strikes an artist! It just glows over the body and the mind, when the artist makes it big in the industry. However, Raveena does not recollect any such moment where she realized she was going big, but continues to say, "I don't think there was ever such a moment where I realised I was going big, but when I was approached to demo with 'Casanova Acoustic', that felt pretty great! Reality striking was never a daunting thing, reality is also what you make of it and depends on how you are viewing your cup, hopefully always half full. I also believe maintaining a small inner circle is one of the most important things to remain grounded and level headed in a whirlwind of an industry."
Raveena is not only successful nationally but recognised for her talent all over the globe, at film festivals and red carpets. Raveena exclaims gratefully, "For artists, it is always incredible to be able to see your work being recognised globally. I find it endearing when my Hindi songs are appreciated in Cannes. When I was there for the Film festival, it felt brilliant to know the music that comes from India is so sought after."
Singing soulfully has always reached to the most interior bosom of a being and in doing so, Raveena Mehta has attained incredulous levels of success! "I define success with deriving happiness. I tend to keep myself and my headspace quite process oriented and so I find happiness in smaller, process driven moments. Of course, when I release a song and I can see that people appreciate the music, that most definitely also makes me feel successful. Success for me means earning respect and focusing on my happiness."
When the appreciation of fans and people hits, the gaze is difficult to handle. The expectations, the build ups or the love is tedious and risky to respond to! Raveena truly respects all her listeners and fans, understanding that respecting them would earn her respect! "I truly respect all my listeners and fans. I feel blessed to know that people out there listen to and appreciate my music. I try to meet their expectations with my music. I truly feel like as an artist, you have to strike a balance between the things that want to be heard from you and the things you wish to create, remaining authentic and yourself. There’s a happy medium in there somewhere."
When the audience speculate rumours, or show disrespect towards the art and the song, many artists feel undervalued. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes and opinions. To this day, in the world, the fear of a song being perceived incorrectly, is tremendous and has the capacity of wrecking one's mental health. Raveena, reflects on both, the expectations of people as well as one's mental health. "In my opinion, music is art and ultimately art is subjective and open to interpretation. To that point, I feel it becomes imperative to try to detach yourself from the work to an extent; so you can allow the work to grow and evolve wholeheartedly. I personally don't think I have ever felt too worried about a song being misinterpreted or misunderstood."
Raveena also talks about how one's mental peace is key while working in a creative field. Creating can only be brought forward with a clear mind and peaceful environment.
"Mental health is everything. I believe strongly in preserving one's mental sanctity, constantly focusing on self betterment and doing the things that make you the best version of yourself. These are definitely deliberate efforts and as for me, singing and drawing is therapeutic and it definitely helps me remain in touch with myself."
Having said that, a lot of discipline is required from one's team as well. Every form of art, including a well produced album requires a strong and disciplined team. Raveena also comments on the same saying, "One annoying trait for me is tardiness, I generally find it annoying especially if it is concerning work for example in the form of a meeting. But hey, I also recognise that Mumbai traffic is also very hectic."
Hectic schedules and a demanding creative field, on several instances, can also lead to mind blocks. Raveena adds, "If I ever have a mind block while i’m working, I tend to take some time for myself; I either go for a walk or do something that brings me a lot of peace. I try to disassociate any kind of pressure that is possibly creating a wall between my thoughts and inspiration."
This global icon reinforced the importance of being true to herself while retaining the soul of her music and the integrity of her sound. However while acknowledging all of it, she remarked on a very beautiful note, "I find that sometimes in chasing trends, it is very easy to lose the soul of the music. In today's age with reels, tiktok and instant gratification which is equally as important to generating viewership, this can also be a double edged sword. While a lot of today's artists consider trends, it is also important to consider and retain the soul and integrity of your sound."
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