At a young age of 23, Ananya Birla has found her true passion and is taking the music and business world by storm, says Ramya Palisetty
She rehearses for her songs with her crew and during breaks with her management team sitting in the audience, she decides the agenda for the day. That is how Ananya Birla juggles her work.
A staunch believer of the philosophy that the idea of life is to spread love and to give back, she has made a name for herself in the business world as well as the music industry. “When we die, we don't die with money or fame. The only thing that matters is the impact one has on people and the way one makes them feel.”
An entrepreneur in micro-finance and e-commerce, she is the first Indian artiste with an English single to go platinum.
Ananya’s music is born out of experiences that have impacted her in some way or the other. She feels that music is a universal language which makes people happy. A passionate and sensitive individual, she has build a career which has been her dream and everyday she wakes up happy doing something she loves. With fire burning in her belly, she wants to bring the Grammy back home and make India proud, how many ever years it takes.
Her first debut single, livin’ the life has nothing to do with materialistic pleasures at all. “It is about living the life you always wanted to live. With this song, I began to love myself which helped me love others.” Meant to be, her second international single is about certain situations where we look back and think that it was meant to be. “Everything may not have a reason at that moment but in the bigger picture, you understand the larger vision.” The recently released, Hold on is basically about society. “It doesn’t matter what caste, sex, nationalities you belong to, love is love and people in the society may discriminate against it but the message to them is to hold on to that love, the purest form of emotion and fight for that love.” Every song she writes, she writes it from the depths of her heart and it sometimes carries a message that she wants to give out in the world.
World renowned Dutch DJ Afrojack remixed the club hit, livin’ the life. “The collaboration with Afrojack was amazing. He heard the song and loved it and was eager to remix it. He is one of the few geniuses in the DJ world, well aware of what works and how to make people dance to a tune. It was fascinating to see a DJ at work blending melodies. As a beginner in the industry, it was a great learning experience.”
She writes lyrics, composes music and wants to give people access to music platforms through her organisation, One. “I just want to be a catalyst who is trying to give to people what I have been bestowed with.”
At a young age, Ananya has achieved what most individuals are unable to achieve in a lifetime but it has been a journey full of struggles. “It was frustrating in the beginning as everything I did was considered to be an achievement because of my family name. It has been a regular occurrence since I was a child. For instance, when I used to get good grades in school, people used to say it was all because of my mother as she is a Birla.”
In the business world, she is known for running three companies built with dedication and passion. With her first venture Svatantra Microfin, a micro- finance company, conceived out of a desire to help the unbanked, is the fastest growing mid size MFI today. Svatantra supports women entrepreneurs by providing loans to expand their business. “I wanted to bank the unbank. I have seen so much potential in these women and they are like shining stars. I have always believed in giving back to people but in a sustainable way and micro-finance was perfect for it. We have been going at a very good rate. In a country like ours, it is the need of the hour for women to be independent and stand on their own two feet. In the society, money is power. The sooner women become financially independent, it starts creating more equality.”
Ananya is her biggest critic who monitor her progress on a daily basis. “I am very harsh on myself and sometimes it is not good because I tend to forget to enjoy the journey. But I am trying to learn from my mistakes and be kinder towards myself.”
According to her, imperfections are magical in ways one never understands. She strives for excellence in every sphere. “It is all about penning down goals and trying to achieve them. It has worked well and I have succeeded but there is a long, long way to go.”
But after meant to be and hold on, she has carved a niche for herself in an unknown territory. Each day with so much on her plate, all that keeps her going is stories about human strength.She is immensely inspired by people who get over adversities in life.
