E-Paper
Get to know... Sona Mohapatra
Singer-producer @SonaMohapatra is journaling, listening to Sufi music and craving hot aloo paranthas. She’s also wishing she could mute people
Currently I am
Headlining the Sufi Heritage Festival in Delhi.
High point in life
I find one every day. Waking up with purpose, creating beauty, and starting conversations that matter.
Low point in life
When I spoke up during India’s #MeToo movement and was removed from a TV show. Many accused predators faced no repercussions.
On my playlist
Chayanat, by The Anirudh Varma Collective; Ghat Ghat Mein Panchi Bolta, by Kishori Amonkar; Night Song, by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook.
One thing I would never buy
Bots. Or validation.
Today I’m craving
Hot aloo parathas with white butter.
Last thing I ordered online
Henna for my Untamed Beloved show.
App I check before bed
Notes. I journal when the world goes quiet.
Advice I’d give my 18-year-old self
Your dissent will scare people. Do it anyway.
My favourite subject in school
History, drama, music.
I’d swipe right on
Curiosity. Intelligence. And someone unafraid of strong women.
My secret skill
I can turn soundcheck chaos into showtime magic.
A magic tool I wish I had
A mute button for noise - social, digital, ideological.
My favourite Sunday memory
Dawn in the Khadakvasla hills, cycling through mist to the stables, oiling my favourite horse before riding bareback over dew-kissed grass. That’s what teenage freedom tasted like.
My most star-struck moment
Meeting the poetry of Kabir after aeons for the Untamed Beloved show and realising it still breathes.
My favourite bad habit
Saying exactly what I think.
If I could travel back or forward in time, I’d…
Sit with Mirabai for an evening and ask her how she survived being untamed.
The best thing about fame
Amplification. When your voice can shift culture and reach someone who needed it that day.
The worst thing about fame
Projection. People fall in love with an idea of you, not the (flawed) human being.
