Strike the right balance, says Gaavithri

by Nilma DOLE

Gaavithri Fonseka’s voice is as sweet as birds chirping in spring and her cherub face exudes a sort of glow that comes from a fresh face that hasn’t been tarnished by the drama of reality shows. Hailing from Bandarawela, Gaavithri is a delight to listen to, because she just loves to sing and carries that same efferverescent and bubbly personality in real life too.
Possessing a sort of medium octave voice range, Gaavithri always dreamed to sing in front of an audience. “It was on my 17th birthday that my family, friends and school teachers got together to give me a surprise - the joy of singing in my very own concert,” she said.
Gaavithri made the concert ‘Melody D’Amore’ (For the Love of a Melody) a singing success by performing songs she loved including songs from Abba, the Grease soundtrack and some from her favourite pop stars. She said: “My favourite song is Only Hope by Mandy Moore because I sang this song for the first time at a previous concert at my school, Kuda Kusum Balika Vidyalaya.” Asked how she got into singing, Gaavithri said that her father is a Professor of English and her mother is an English teacher. Her father and her two older brothers can sing, so she grew up in a musical background.
“I like singing because it de-stresses me and it’s my passion.
At present, I’m sitting for my AL examination and it is good to strike the right balance with studies and singing, because I think it’s important to relax with a song after, a hard day of studying,” she said.
Gaavithri said she doesn’t believe in talent reality shows which hamper authentic creativity and she feels as though performers are now made to believe that by changing their looks or style that they can be more popular. “I think that any performer should be comfortable in their own skin and not fake an image. They should first be happy with their singing and styles because it’s when you’re genuine that people take you seriously,” she said.
Gaavithri loves to sing but she wants to dabble in the megatronics industry because she is fascinated by invention. “I will always sing but I love to see new inventions making life easier for us,” she said.
Even though Gaavithri sings pop songs of popular acts, she says that she follows singers who are not very famous on the internet. “I follow Tiffany Alvord, Megan Nicole and Jake Coco because they are talented and have not yet made it big in the big music industry,” she said.
Gaavithri advises budding singers : “Whenever you sing, there will be some who will like your style and some who won’t. You have to strike the right balance but you need self-confidence in taking the criticism in your stride. I know I’m not perfect but I want to improve and practise to make my voice better.” Gaavithri would like to go to a studio to record songs she writes but she wants to do it when the time is right.
She acknowledges everyone who has been instrumental in giving the chance to sing for them and making the concert a huge success. “I would like to thank my family, my school principal, teachers, Janaka Ranasinghe, Neil Chandana, Sister Verina, Gayan Joseph, Shanthini Wickramasinghe and the lovely audience who graced the occasion,” she said.
Indeed, Gaavithri has a long-lasting passion for singing and will always put a smile on people’s faces with her beautiful voice but for the moment, she wants to study and aim at greater heights.