Composer-singer Shekhar Ravjiani, one-half of the popular composer duo Vishal-Shekhar, recently took to social media to reveal his battle with a health condition (left vocal cord paresis) that caused him to lose his voice two years ago.

Speaking to us about the “difficult phase”, the 45-year-old shares, “Losing my voice was by far the most traumatic experience of my life. Even contemplating a life where I might not be able to sing was the most frightening thought. It was extremely hard to stay positive when something so precious was being taken away from me. I suddenly had no voice and just air coming out instead. The phase was deeply shocking and disturbing. Even today, I shudder when I think about it.”

This phase, besides having physical repercussions, also affected his mental health. “A situation like what I went through can pull you quickly into a very dark place. I remember feeling extremely low and despondent at times. It was hard to see any light at the end of that tunnel. I had to put up a strong front at home just to make sure that my family didn’t feel my pain. I continued my work at the studio and pushed myself much harder at concerts. Mentally, I was a bit disturbed. But I avoided expressing or talking about it,” Ravjiani says.

Ravjiani also posted a photo of the Hanuman Chalisa with his post. Ask what, other than spirituality, helped him recover, and he says, “All the credit for my recovery goes to Dr Erin Walsh, who I refer to as my angel. She was unwavering in her commitment to making sure I overcame this setback,” adding, “Vocal exercises curated by Dr Erin helped me to get my voice back. And one huge learning was that a vocal warm-up is extremely important before getting on stage. Otherwise, you can cause great harm to your voice.”