In the central Indian industrial township of BALCO, a seven-year old girl hobbles to the stage of her first singing competition. With her big black eyes, and her bigger, luxurious voice, she captivates the audience and takes second place, surpassing children twice her age. From the beginning, her voice was destined to carry her many places, and to touch the hearts of those who heard its sweet sound.

This little girl Vandana Tripathi, now Vandana Vishwas, was born in the north Indian city of Lucknow, with music in her. Her parents, Krishna (!) and Madhuri Tripathi would often sing to her while her mother was pregnant, and dreamt of their unborn child one day becoming a great Kathak dancer if it turned out to be a daughter. That dream was dashed only two days after her birth, when a careless nurse injected her with an unsterilized syringe, resulting in permanent septic arthritis and virtual immobility of her left hip joint. The condition created both chronic and frequent acute pain. Since then,Vandana’s life has been one of courage and persistence. Although blessed with a divine gift of song, Vandana has had to overcome serious physical challenges in order to be able to share her gift with the world.

Vandana’s talent was recognized early when she sang complex melodies with ease as a four-year old. Her parents promptly enrolled her in the renowned institute for Indian classical music, ABGMM (Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal) of Miraj, India and she started learning from Pandit Parashuram Sharma. When she was eight, Vandana developed an acute case of tonsillitis that threatened to affect her vocal cord. After being treated by a homeopathic doctor, she was told not to sing at all for over four years, or risk injuring her voice permanently. During those years, Vandana continued with her studies, hummed along to the radio, and diligently forbade herself from singing, and resumed her training with Mrs. Vimal Soni thereafter.

Despite this break in her musical training, she earned a ‘Sangeet Visharad’ (the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in Indian classical music) from ABGMM by the time she was 16. She was given special permission to receive the degree in spite of being under-aged for the title. At the same time she completed her regular schooling.

Over the course of the next five years spent earning her bachelor’s degree in architecture, she continued to win every local and regional vocal competition, without exception. She and her brother Nitin on Tabla, formed a formidable team. Vandana was a contract artist with All India Radio for ten years, where she sang songs composed by her and her mentor Mr. D.K. Gandhe. During one such recording session, she was heard by renowned ghazalist brothers Ustaad Ahmed and Mohammed Hussain. They were so impressed by her voice that they took her under their tutelage and taught her the intricacies of ghazal singing. Learning the romantic and expressive qualities of ghazal shaped her unique vocal style. They say, “It is her persistence and dedicated pursuit of music that has made Vandana evolve into a versatile singer with all the finer nuances, melody, and sweet fragrance of Indian music!” She has also performed on the Indian national TV channel Doordarshan and at the prestigious Acharya Brihaspati Sammelan conducted by Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai in 1993, the stage where many legendary Indian artists have performed early in their career. After her performance, she was approached by interested Bollywood music and movie directors, one of whom turned out to be a childhood friend of ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh and wrote a letter for him recommending Vandana. Incidentally, the letter never reached Jagjit Singh and still lies with Vandana. Although she had once dreamt of singing for Bollywood movies, Vandana consciously chose not to pursue that dream because she knew the impossibly demanding life of the bustling city of Mumbai would make it a difficult place to survive given her physical limitations.

An architect by profession, Vandana now lives in Mississauga, Canada. While building her architectural career, Vandana felt that she always missed music in her life, and that singing was a source of healing for her. She has also received advanced guidance from legendary South Asian composer Mr. Sohail Rana who has created timeless classics such as 'Aaj Jaane ki zid na karo' and 'Mujhe tum nazar se gira to rahe ho.' “Vandana's voice is a musical treat!” says Rana Ji.

Vandana says that when she decided to return to music, she did so because she remembered that, “I feel very, very happy when I sing. I feel very content. It is only me and music. I love music, it gives me happiness.” And as anyone who has ever heard her sing will attest, Vandana’s voice gives others a lot of happiness as well.