Artistes and musicians across the world are currently dealing with canceled concerts, tours & even recordings. Most are freelancers & these are tough times in which it is important to find innovative ways to not only survive but keep a relationship with your fans. Sona Mohapatra has always traveled her own path & earned great cultural currency with her music, social commentary & authentic presence, one on one engagement with fans & even nay-sayers & trolls on social media. Sona ran a contest successfully recently on her pages, with thousands participating, where her followers were asked to identify three iconic looks from her music videos & guess the songs. The first twenty to answer correctly were chosen as winners who could send in a favorite song request of theirs along with someone or something they wanted to dedicate it to.
The best compliment for any artist is when all such requests are from their own careers repertoire, not covers & since many of Sona’s songs are composed by her partner Ram Sampath & both are at home for a change, she has requested Ram, who is normally introverted & happy creating alone in the studios to join her on this live performance by playing the keys with her.
Sona confirms the plan, adding, “Apart from performing these songs acoustically, we also plan to share behind the scenes anecdotes of when Ram & I worked on not only our albums together but films like Delhi Belly, Talaash, Fukrey, shows like Satyamev Jayate & Coke Studio. What is different & special is that fans will be able to ask us questions then & there which we can answer & also they can engage with each other & share feedback & banter! A unique community experience without jeopardizing the idea of social distancing which is very critical for India to flatten the curve & conquer this crisis together. Nothing cheers & heals better than music & for all of us, human contact & camaraderie in these tough times is welcome!”