In Conversation with Sachi Badola

Transcribed by Sunita Badola

Gauri : Welcome to Foundations TV everyone, our guest tonight is the superstar of New England. We just got a glimpse of her singing and she is absolutely incredible, I am such a huge fan of yours,  Sachi Badola,  welcome her to Foundations TV studio. Welcome Sachi.

Sachi :  Thank You

Gauri : Are you happy to be here?

Sachi : Yes, I am really excited to be here, I was waiting for this day.

Gauri : Oh wow, excellent. Why don’t we start of with how long have you been singing?  For the listeners it seems   it is perfect, flawless singing.  So  I want to know and  I am sure our viewers  want to know, how long have you been singing for?

Sachi :  I have been singing for about five years. I started when I was four and music is something I really enjoy doing.

Gauri : That’s really good. Would you like to share who your Guru is for music.

Sachi : I have two gurus, one guru is for Hindustani music Mrs. Shuchita Rao and my other guru, well teacher in American, for Western is Rob Woodin.

Gauri: So, does that mean that you sing in more than one language? Do you sing beyond Hindi as well?

Sachi: I sing in Indian,  Western and I sing in French, German,  Italian and I learned  these languages from participating for one year in NEC, New England Conservatory of Music.

Gauri: Wow, so you just listed four languages, but from what I have heard, you sing in ten different languages.

Sachi: Yes, that is right.

Gauri : Wow, So I am sure that singing must take up lot of your time and energy. Do you have anytime left for other hobbies as well.

Sachi: Yes, I do. I have time for swimming and basketball.  I love reading, I also learn piano, and I love to draw and go to Zumba which is an exercise dance and I love math and science.

Gauri: So you are perfect in everything

Sachi: Well I would not say perfect but I do everything to enjoy it and you know practice makes better.

Gauri: She is a little philosopher there too, Miss Perfectionist. I am sure after listening to your singing I can be absolutely sure that everything you do , has to be the best because you know it is a talent, it is a skill, it is the passion that shows  in everything a person does and I am so proud that you are a part of our community.  You are such a huge inspiration for so many others out there who would like to be like you. That is really, really good and I won’t be surprised if you have a long list of awards that you have received.

Sachi: Oh well, I , when I was in first grade and kindergarten, I won Chelmsford Idol and then I also  won  Sa Re Ga Ma Pa  , New England Hindi Manch, award for my age group  and people’s choice award. I participate in lot of school fundraising events and fundraising events around my community and my favorite one was the Sham-E-Leher where we showed our musical talents to donate money for Sankara Eye Foundation. I can really relate to this one because my eyes are not perfect, so it gave me lot of joy to donate money to people who don’t have enough money to see perfectly.

Gauri:  That’s beautiful and it sounds to me like that you take it as your award as well, I should say your reward rather , where you are singing for a cause and donating money towards something that you believe in.

Sachi: Yes, exactly.

Gauri: So  beside this noble feeling that you get, let’s just go back a little bit and talk about the first award that you got which was the Chelmsford singing Idol award. So how did you feel? I want to feel what you felt so describe in as elaborative way as you can. I want to feel that energy within you.

Sachi: Well, I felt like it was a big surprise to me. I did not expect it. I went there to go out and show people that I really like to sing and I did not expect to win but I guess I did win. And you know I was really happy. You know I go out there to sing , enjoy and to have fun, and it is nice to win, it gives you a great feeling . I was little and I felt embarrassed, of course, but it felt really good.

Gauri:  I am sure and that was just the beginning. You have a whole long list of awards that you won after that . That is excellent, so with all these awards, these competitions and these fundraising events and singing plus swimming and zumba and drawing and math and science, how do you manage your time?  There are only twenty-four hours in a day.

Sachi: I don’t know I guess I just have so much fun doing it, you know we think totally separately. I think  time is going by so fast and each activity is going by too fast. I want the day to be longer. I want to do my activities longer. So I mean I wish I had twenty-four hours for each activity, that’s how I feel.

Gauri: That is such a wonderful   level of energy you have and you are transporting it to everybody who is watching you today. I am so happy and so proud and I am sure so many people will fall completely in love with you after listening to you today. So what do you dream of? Tell us about what you want to be when you grow up.

Sachi:  I want to be a scientist, who studies the  human body and makes  medicine but I also want to continue my amazing journey of learning Hindustani music, Western music and all other sorts of languages because music is really my passion,  I love it.

Gauri: Do you play an instrument too?

Sachi: Yes, I play the piano.

Gauri: Oh great, great. So you have a whole life planned ahead of you, a dream ahead of you that you would like to follow. That is great. Would you have a message for other children who are watching you today.

Sachi:  Yes, I would definitely have a message to everyone who  is watching today, I want to tell them that even if you lose don’t give up keep on singing because if you really love singing, it is just something that will make you feel more relaxed, more calm. And always be happy when you are singing, be happy and feel good about yourself and don’t go too hard on yourself. Be happy.

Gauri: Such a beautiful message. I think Sachi has covered so many things, so many aspects of life. Being so young and still  so deep in her thought and so passionate about what she does in life, every single thing and not just music, that itself is a huge inspiration for not only children of her age but also adults such as us and everyone who is watching. Sachi, it has been such a pleasure to have you here today. Before we end today’s interview, Sachi, would you like to say something else.

Sachi: Yes, I would like to give a really special thanks to Gauri aunty and Niraj uncle for giving me this amazing opportunity and thanks to Foundations TV for doing such  wonderful community service.

Gauri: Beautiful, you are very welcome Sachi.