Musically Yours -Rashmi Vikas

While checking out Singers from Karnataka On YouTube I chanced upon this channel which you must check out for sure as you would be amazed by the versatility of the singer Rashmi’s Gurukul & I was mesmerized by the melodious voice. This intrigued me to reach out to her & I was fascinated with this multifaceted person.

Born & brought up in Rajaji Nagar,Bengaluru,Rashmi did her schooling from Sri Vani School.During her school days itself learning Carnatic & Hindustani Music took precedence, thanks to her mother who ensured she doesn’t stop her practice with noted Artist Rama Krishna. Her morning ‘riayaz’ was sacrosanct & this was the beginning of her love & devotion towards a disciplined approach towards learning itself.

Along with her school,she also got good exposure  learning music from other teachers like Anand Kumar, Bhagya Lakshmi Ramanujam, Late Raju Datar (under his training, she cleared her junior exam) & also got a chance to work with Music Director Maruti Miraskar  &  also learn music from Manjula Gururaj too in Sadhana School.Success followed where she began to perform in chorus in various events across Bangalore.She was barely in her teens & coming from a typical educated family,her parents ensured her focus towards her exams & grades don’t take a dip. Infact she scored 93% in her SSLC in 2007 & followed by her PUC2 in 2009.Rashmi did her bachelors in Commerce from Seshadripuram Composite College, Bengaluru.In her college days too she performed in various forums, including the Bangalore Habba. Singer B.R.Chaya & her husband  Padmapani(who has directed many Kannada musical shows) were very supportive & encouraging Rashmi to pursue singing as they always felt she has that ‘x factor’ in her !

She proudly recalls buying her 1^st mobile handset from her earnings which also meant being judicious & would quite often travel by buses for the recordings.

She is a dubbing artist  &  a track singer too (where songs along with the music & the right diction is pre-recorded for the established senior artist to hear & replicate it). This also ensured, that Rashmi started to earn from a very young age & with this freedom came responsibility to manage her own finances. Her Father Bhasker (who works for a private firm) & Mother Kalyani (who works in a School) were extremely supportive throughout & quite often accompanying her for recordings too. She also has the distinction of being the only student to get a placement with E&Y when she graduated in 2012, thus starting her stint with Corporate Life. Her younger brother Karthik is an Engineer & works with a start-up is also trained in playing the keyboard & mridangam.

College life also was the turning point as she met her future husband (who has a passion for dance) Vikas who is a CA & works with LOWE a USA based retail chain company.Rashmi says she is very fortunate to have a equally supportive mother-in-law & husband who encourage her to follow her passion for music. She has also done her M.A in Carnatic Music from Jain University.

Teaching music from her younger days has helped her to hone her skills & today has students from America to Australia in her on-line Zoom classes & these student are not limited to NRI’s but also foreigners who have a passion for Carnatic/Hindustani Music. More than 50+ students of various age groups have trained under Rashmi.

Her first television performance was in 2008 for ‘Ede Tumbi Haduvenu’ followed by many more television & even radio performances.She has also been a music educator with Jain Heritage School & has also done a 3 months Music Therapy course too.

It’s hard to believe that 1991 born Rashmi is already a mother of almost 2 year old boy- Virat who is the apple of her eyes &  singing lullabies for him is  her current passion, she even composes music ! Listen to this melodious lullaby here

Being fluent in all the South Indian languages, English & Hindi she has a flawless diction & rendition of songs. Her favorite singer is Shreya Ghoshal. To unwind from a busy day –she prefers to –what else –but sing !Doodling & Painting in her free time keeps her occupied too. She is a great cook too & believes we all are student for life & we need to keep upgrading our skills as well learn new forms of art.

From Devotional songs to Rap music to Romantic numbers—Rashmi loves to push the envelope & excel in all genres. you can listen to  her on:

Instagram @rashmi.sings &

www.youtube.com/channel/UCliuFAoCAgJzMkDbdgpSxCw/featured

Reach out to her on: [email protected]