12 March marks the birthday of one of India’s finest voices – Shreya Ghoshal. We at Chai Bisket would love to celebrate her birthday by sharing a few facts about the four-time National Award winner, and my favourite singer.

Murshidabad, West Bengal was her birthplace
She was raised by a Bengali Hindu family.

A music student by the age of four!
Her formal training in classical music began at six, though. Still a major feat!

She is an English major
Originally a science student in junior college, she now holds a degree in the arts from SIES College of Arts, Science, and Commerce.

She won Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
It was the year 2000 when she clinched the numero uno position in the Zee TV reality show.

Her first song – Dola Re Dola in Devdas
She was just 18 when she was identified by directing legend Sanjay Leela Bhansali. According to Bhansali, Ghoshal’s voice had the innocence needed for the character of Paro in Devdas. Shreya won the Filmfare Award for that musical masterclass.

Her Telugu debut – Nuvvem Maya chesaavo from Okkadu
Within a year of her success in B-town, she featured in the exquisitely sung number composed by Mani Sharma.

She writes all her lyrics in Hindi
Be it whatever language she sings in, Shreya writes down the lyrics in Hindi, to get the phonetics right. Now imagine singing Blockbuster from Sarrainodu in Hindi!

Four National, Seven Filmfare, Ten Filmfare South Awards
And the list of awards and accolades under her belt is endless

She has chart-topping songs in ten languages
Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Gujarati, Nepali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi, to be specific.

There is a day named after Shreya Ghoshal!
She has been honoured by the U.S. state of Ohio, where governor Ted Strickland declared 26 June “Shreya Ghoshal Day”.

So, what’s your favourite Shreya Ghoshal song?

References:
Source 1
Source 2

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