My first trip to India in 2005 changed my life for forever and I left my singing career in Europe to sing in Punjabi
By Anita Lerche
I went to India first in the summer of 2005 for trekking in the Himalayas with a Danish group. Gunnar Mühlmann, my friend with whom I had done meditation, invited me. India was like love at first sight. We stayed at a beautiful apple orchard in the Parvati Valley near Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh. It was owned by Anurag Sood who was one of the organizers of the trekking. Sitting around the campfire, I learned some Himachali songs from the tribal people, and we all danced with them.
From Himachal Pradesh, when we were travelling to Punjab by a bus, the driver played Punjabi music. I was blown away by its rhythm and sound and decided to record some music like that.
Actually, we were going to Punjab to record a couple of Himachali songs, but I ended up being offered a record contract. My heart said `yes’ and I decided to stay back in Punjab, canceling all my shows in Denmark.
The Indian trip in 2005 changed my life forever, and I left behind my singing career in Europe.
How I learnt the Punjabi language
I learned all the basics and worked extremely hard on my pronunciation, with the guidance of my language teachers Anurag Sood and the late Rattan Singh Rajput while living in Hoshiarpur.
I have made up my own phonetic language for Punjabi so that I understand and pronounce every word properly. Singing is my ruling passion, and I want to understand every word in depth. As a singer-actor I want to convey the right emotion and story of songs to establish a truthful interaction with my audience.
Over the years, I have learned a lot about the rich Punjabi culture and heritage from the families I have lived with in Punjab, and they have always treated me like their own daughter. Indeed, Punjab has become my second home.
Initial difficulties with Punjabi
Though I had been a professional singer for many years in Europe, the rhythms and style of singing in Punjabi were completely different from what I was used to. But since I had many years of opera and musical theatre singing training and had already sung in 13 languages before coming to India, my discipline – along with great support and guidance from the people I worked with – made it possible.
My Punjabi songs so far
I have around 20 Punjabi songs that I sing. There are several others that I learned but not released.
As for the lyrics, I have worked with some great Punjabi lyricists. On my first album `Heer from Denmark,’ I worked with lyricists Chann Gorayanwala, Satwinder Bhanewala, Mohan Kheharinwala, Lal Hathauliwala, and Jaggi Singh.
My collaboration song `Aao Ji’ was written by King Gurcharan Mall of the UK. The late Dev Raj Jassal wrote my award-winning single `Maahiya’ and other songs in my album `Sadke Punjab Ton’.
Lyricist Dr. Tejinder Harjit and video director Dr. Harjit Singh have been instrumental in my deeper understanding of the rich Punjabi culture and heritage.
Thanks to them, after releasing `Sadke Punjab Ton’ and `Sammi’, I truly felt like being a Punjabi kudi (girl).
My idol
Gurdas Maan has always been my musical Ranjha. He is a wonderful and humble human being too. I have had the honour to meet and share the stage with him a few times in India and the UK. I am also a big fan of Surinder Kaur.
The best compliment I ever got
When I released my first Punjabi album `Heer from Denmark’ in November 2006, The Times of India wrote, “Anita has also rendered traditional Heer in the album and succeeded in imbuing the depth, pain and passion of the rich composition. In fact, going by her style and pronunciation, one would get the impression that she is a Punjabi only to discover that she is a white.”
Another amazing compliment was when I won the award for Best International Artist at the UK Bhangra Awards in 2017.
It was also another proud moment that I will never forget when Punjabi University at Patiala acknowledged and honoured my work.
In his documentary, Agiapal Singh Randhawa, the winner of Doordarshan Annual Award for his documentary on Surinder Kaur, has highlighted my contribution to the promotion of Punjabi music and culture across the world, calling me `Kashish Punjab Di’ (Sensation of Punjab).
My bhajans and shabads
I have also performed in temples and gurdwaras in India, the UK, Denmark, the US and Canada.
In fact, I first sang Hindu devotional songs in Jalandhar during Ram Navami celebrations in 2007. `Tere Poojan Ko Bhagwan’ was the first one I ever learned. I later made a beautiful music video of this bhajan in the largest Hindu Temple of the Midwest – the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana.
Interestingly, my first Hindu devotional album `Bhajans’ in 2016 made it to the American Billboard Music Chart as No. 5 in the New Age category and No. 6 in the World Music category.
Now I am planning to release an album of `Shabads’.
Husband is my rock
My husband and I were best friends in high school and then went our ways. But 20 years later he traced me on facebook.
He is a specialist in social media and helps manage my singing career. He is the best father for our little son Alexander, so I am grateful and couldn’t have asked for more.
Our Punjabi-style wedding
After our wedding in Denmark, the three families in Punjab with whom I have lived over the years insisted on organizing my Punjabi-style wedding. So, we travelled to Punjab to have four-day-long celebrations, going through all Punjabi wedding ceremonies in Hoshiarpur.
On that very special day, I also released my album `Sadke Punjab Ton’.
There were 500 guests and two elephants at our wedding reception. Our family and friends from Denmark, the UK, the US and Norway also joined us. Punjab Kesari Group Chief Editor Vijay Kumar Chopra was among the dignitaries who attended our wedding. It was a true Punjabi Princess dream coming true.
Next day, we went to pray at the Golden Temple.
Punjabi movies
It would be a lot of fun and a great challenge to work in a Punjabi movie, so let’s see what the future brings.
Where I perform these days
I used to tour for about nine months a year all over the world before settling in Indianapolis in the US.
Now my concert activities are mainly in the US, Canada, Denmark, with a couple of trips to India. In Canada, I have performed at desiFEST, the Vibrant Brampton Festival, Anokhi Awards, Vancouver International Bhangra Celebrations and the Surrey Vaisakhi Parade.
I also perform at weddings and special occasions. This April, I also debuted as a host on Rukus Avenue Radio which is North America’s first mainstream South Asian radio station. Here I have a weekly show called `Heart & Soul’ which is a fusion of devotional and New Age music. (Updated: This article appeared here first on Aug 24, 2019)
