An Interview with Kanika Patawari: A young Jain professional, musician, and entrepreneur
Moderated by Priyanka Shah, Editor-in-Chief, YJPerspectives
Hi, Kanika! Thank you for your time today. On behalf of Young Jain Professionals (YJP), I would like to congratulate you for your selection as the Q1–2019 YJP Professional Spotlight Award Winner! Can you please tell us about yourself? What got you into music?
I was born & raised in Antwerp, Belgium amongst a fairly large Jain community. I discovered a love for music at quite an early age. I was 10 years old when I went to my first concert to watch Beyoncé take over the stage. This concert blew my mind. I knew right then that this was the world I wanted to be a part of. By 5th grade, I was writing, playing and performing my own songs!
Did you pursue any formal education in music, or is this just a natural talent of yours?
I worked my way to being accepted into the Berklee College of Music, Boston, where I spent four years earning my undergraduate degree. Moving to America from a small city like Antwerp was an enormous transition for me. I immediately took a strong liking towards producing music during the technology classes. Also, the strong lack of females in these classes was a major incentive to choose production as my course of study. During my time at Berklee, I was selected to perform with A. R. Rahman at his tribute concert in 2014. As part of the Berklee Indian Ensemble, I had the opportunity to celebrate a lot of Indian music through performances and music videos. Our videos have favorably garnered significant attention on YouTube, especially the “Jiya Jale” cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZy8115sNXM.
…the strong lack of females in these classes was a major incentive to choose production as my course of study
How did you move into the music industry professionally?
Soon after graduating from Berklee, I moved to Los Angeles to intern at Simon Cowell’s label under Sony Music. This was an exciting phase of talent scouting and artist development. It was during my time here that I realized my interest in the business side of music. This is probably thanks to my heritage of Marwari business people.
Since graduating in 2015 and partially, while working at Sony, I spent the last few years developing my sound as an artist. My music is influenced by the variety of music I grew up listening to; electronic in Europe, American R&B/Pop music playing on the radio, and of course, Bollywood Hindi music. After getting a lot of appreciation for the music posted on my SoundCloud page (http://www.soundcloud.com/kanikamusic), I decided to release my first ever single, “Is It Over Yet,” to be available on all digital platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Saavn, etc.).
Do you see yourself as a musician, a business woman, or both?
Both. Alongside my creative work as a music producer and artist, I nurtured my interest in the business aspect with the motivation to do something for the Indian music industry. A world dominated by Bollywood, it’s a shame that a country of +1 billion people does not have a flourishing independent music industry like the west. This led me to beginning one of my current projects: building a creative music recording space in the heart of Mumbai. I envision this to be a co-working space for musicians; a place where both amateurs and veterans may record and edit music, collaborate and network, and especially learn or enhance their music skills. With the support of Sony and Berklee College of Music, I intend to make this a hub for international collaborations, where musicians from all over the world can come and collaborate with local, Indian talent.
As an entrepreneur, how has Jainism influenced the ventures you pursue and business practices you follow?
My family and I have recently committed to an initiative called MusicRecycle (http://www.musicrecycle.com), where our mission is to raise awareness for the need to recycle.
The statistics about our environment are no less than shocking, such as “At the present rate, by 2050, our oceans will have more plastic than fish.”¹ My family has been working in the recycling industry for over 30 years. According to Jain scriptures, there are millions of living beings going through the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth, just like us, and deserved to be treated with respect. With this principle as our foundation, we are wholly conscious of the appalling state of our environment. What’s even more worrying is that the majority of our global population does not apprehend the seriousness of the situation. There is a lack of understanding and information. The world has an unperceivable amount of materialistic “things”, which we have manufactured over centuries. And the majority of these items go to waste. In fact, 91% of all the plastic ever created by humans has not been recycled.² It is simply lying in landfills or in the oceans, which leads to significantly hurting our marine life.
Through MusicRecycle, my family and I are striving to educate, influence and encourage people around the world to take note of what they buy, what they use, and how everything they do impacts the Earth.
The environmental impact plays around in every project I commit to. Whether it’s the studio I am building or events I am organizing, I aim to be as eco-friendly as possible. And this circles back to the way I have been raised, as Jainism teaches us to respect and value every little thing in this world.
Can you tell us more about your recent release? What’s next?
“Is It Over Yet” was released on February 1st, 2019 and has found a growing fan base all over the world. It is overwhelmingly fulfilling to see my name on these streaming platforms, which I use on a daily basis myself. The song has been added to several popular Spotify playlists and continues to grow at an exciting rate. I am now in process of putting together my second single, which will also come with a music video. After recently introducing myself to the YJP team, I have received so much support and encouragement to share my music from the group. It has shown me the importance of our strength as a community, and it’s beautiful to see how willing we are to help each other out.
Kanika, you have had an overall incredible journey so far. In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?
I don’t believe so. I think everyone is on their own journey and everything has its own timeline. Yes, I would’ve liked to share my music much earlier, but I believe I needed the time to grow as an artist to be true to the music. I’ve learned the importance of setbacks and mistakes, which only make you stronger.
What is the best piece of advice you have received that you would like to pass onto young Jain Professionals?
My father is my closest guide and mentor. Out of the many pieces of advice he has shared with me, the one thing that keeps ringing in my ear is that nothing is out of reach; nothing is impossible. If you have a goal, if you have an ambition, there is always a way to reach it if you are willing to put in the effort. I was able to prove this to myself by committing to fasting for 8 days during Paryushan. This fast proved to me that willpower is everything, and with it, you can truly do anything.
…nothing is out of reach; nothing is impossible. If you have a goal, if you have an ambition, there is always a way to reach it if you are willing to put in the effort.
What professional development activities and / or networks have you found helpful?
I find attending women-led panels and talks very effective. Just like the Jain community, I believe there is a strong movement for women to help each other out in various industries, and music is definitely one of them.
References
- Hornak, Leo. “Will There be More Fish or Plastic in the Sea in 2050?” BBC News, 15 February 2016, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35562253. Accessed 15 March 2019.
- Parker, Laura. “Planet or Plastic? A Whopping 91% of Plastic Isn’t Recycled.” National Georgraphic, 20 December 2018, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/. Accessed 15 March 2019.
