Page 40 - IB December 2021

Culture Culture

FROM FIJI

TO MELBOURNE

KAVITA KALYAN’S MUSICAL JOURNEY

By Rowena Singh culture in Australia.
“In my 20s, I was blessed to meet my husband who shared
“Fiji is a strong part of my existence,” says ghazal and Bol- the same passion, and taste for music as myself,” she says.
lywood singer Kavita Kalyan. “Early into our relationship we invested in learning music,
Kalyan is Australian born, but with strong family ties that and slowly playing, learning, teaching and performing became
take her back to Fiji, and her extended family in Suva regu- a way of life. We inspired each other to grow and learn and
larly. with every step we took, our love for music grew stronger. I
“Despite living in Australia, I have always identified as be- believe that learning and growing is an ever-lasting process,
ing Fijian. Furthermore, my parents’ heavy involvement in and I’m currently continuing my learning from an amazing
the Fijian-India communities of Melbourne ensured that my teacher based in Vancouver, Harsharan Singh Ji, and I look
knowledge of Fiji-Indian culture never seemed very far away.” forward to continuing this ever-beautiful journey of music.”
Australians have really embraced Bollywood music as a
unique and fun addition to their birthday and Christmas Performing original music
parties, she says, noting that this has given her the oppor- “Some of my best experiences of music have been while
tunity to spread the music style in different communities in creating original music. One of our trips to India involved us
Australia. writing, recording and shooting a Ghazal clip in Goa, which
Similarly, she says, the Ghazal scene has been growing was based on the hardships people endure in their lives. Re-
steadily. cently, I am enjoying the creative process of making covers of
“Being quite a shy girl when I was young, I dwelled on these songs to give listeners a difference experience.”
two genres and used them as a form of expression. “I was fortunate enough to be asked by AIFAV (Australian
“Music became my voice. The lyrics and words of much of Integrated Fijian Association of Victoria) to prepare a song as
what I sing today has a lot to do with who I actually am as a part of their Fiji Day celebrations this year,” states Kalyan.
person today.” “This song [Teri Mitti] really appealed to me, as it spoke of
how I feel about Fiji.”
Early beginnings The instruments used on this track are ones usually played
“I started singing when I was seven,” says Kalyan. “My in traditional Indo-Fijian music such as dholak, electric banjo
parents were first generation Australian migrants of Fiji- (bulbul tarang) and harmonium.
Indian heritage, and ever since I can remember, my parents In English, the song translates to:
immersed themselves in music to maintain their Fiji-Indian “I wish to merge in your soil, I wish to bloom as a flower

40 Islands Business, December 2021