This Women’s Day, singer Sona Mohapatra is battling for more women to be in the driving seat in the music industry. The singer, who is doing that herself with her Noor trilogy, a music venture that sees a woman in the driving seat, both literally and metaphorically, says, “I come from a padha-likha background, have Ivy League B.Tech and MBA degrees, worked with FMCG brands and played the role of a successful producer in my production house for years, before my artiste career really took off, commercially. I’ve always wanted a seat at the table, and not just be a pretty face or voice. I have never been shy about stating that.”

The Ambarsariya (Fukrey; 2013) singer says it is important for women to take control of their career. “If the fate of my career is on the line, I would rather fail on my own terms than hand over the reins to someone else to decide what’s right for me. We need more women in places of power in the music industry. But, more importantly, we need good A&R (Artists and Repertoire) people with vision and an artistic appreciation for the depth of Indian music to nurture the next generation of Indian artistes,” she says.

The singer goes on to talk about the way the place of female musicians in India has changed or evolved over the years. “Things like women’s rights don’t improve on their own. A lot of people have fought the good fight to make it happen and they continue to. It’s the same with the state of female musicians in our country. We have been chipping away at the few opportunities available to create a space for ourselves,” says Mohapatra.

She feels speaking up is the only way to keep things moving in the right direction. “Personally, I feel being frank helps, because the debate it stirs is a healthy one. I cannot speak for all female musicians, as there’s no real ‘sisterhood’ between the females in the industry; it’s mostly dog-eat-dog,” she says, adding, “Things are steadily improving and the partnerships I’ve been able to garner have been extremely fruitful in the long term.”