Tu Jhoom: How Mansa Pandey Sang Her Way To Nation’s Heart

More than a decade back, I was practising alongside hundreds of girls for a grand finale pyramid on the big field at our school in Nainital when a girl from the yellow house standing next to me started cracking jokes to entertain us. I mention this because her chronology of slipping these gags, in between practice sessions, eventually led to her discovering music. Music, that would explode across social media a decade later. Today, Mansa Pandey is a voice to reckon with.

While she is content as an independent artist working at her pace, she is also driven to experiment with ideas that challenge her and her latest song Taa'biir reaffirms that. Pandey, who worked as a lyricist for 777 Charlie, does not want to limit herself to one genre; she will soon be seen performing for the much-awaited Coke Studio Bharat. She is functioning hard not just to harbour the adoration she gets from her audience but also never run out of the passion she holds for the profession, which can sometimes be trying and challenging.

Like me, hundreds of people I know, and thousands I don’t, found solace in her singing during the pandemic. Interestingly, Pandey is one of the few artists who prove that you don't need Mumbai to make it big and that the benchmark for success is different for everyone.

In an interview with SheThePeople, Mansa Pandey talks about her musical journey, how the digital world impacted her, why success cannot depend on a big city, her latest work, and what it means to be brave with music.

Mansa Pandey Interview

How it began: the musical journey

Pandey's interest in music rose when she incidentally realised she could sing. "I was a student in class six or seven when I would often be goofy or pull some pranks in between during the sports practice. Some seniors noticed me and asked me to entertain a larger group by singing or dancing, and I knew I couldn't dance thus randomly sang instead. They liked my voice and one of them expressed, 'You're aware that you can sing, right?'," she recalls. Pandey tapped on her ability to sing and find good music and worked hard the following years, participating in the orchestra and varied competitions. She left her hometown and moved to Delhi for further learning. While she performed her gigs during the weekends, the challenge as an independent artist who was still trying to discover genres and find her ground was heavy. Only when live gigs started trending, artists like her started getting more recognition.

Rise amid the pandemic

As the pandemic changed our viewpoints and how we live our lives, it transformed the objective that social media conformed to. While the digital world fitted as a medium of connectivity, the 'video gone viral' phase truly served its purpose when people stopped and not just glued themselves to social media but recognised its power. The platform was instrumental in pushing Pandey to pursue a career in music exclusively. Like millions of Indians, she too returned to her hometown. She started shooting song covers from time to time at home. Pandey recalls a significant moment from 2020 when she found herself in musician Ehsaan Noorani's assembled playlist that featured notable artists he recognised on Instagram amidst the lockdown. Not just Noorani, several people started sharing her Instagram videos covering several music genres. One cover led to another, and she was now shooting at a more regular pace without knowing what lay ahead.

"During the fourth-fifth month into the pandemic, I assured myself I would this into a full-time job. I started setting a disciplined routine where I would sit for at least a few hours daily to record and post regularly. While things didn't look too bright for the first five months, I continued having my friends and family's back. It was this one morning soon after when I woke and noticed my phone was blowing up, the number of followers was increasing by the minute, and so were the shares of the covers I sang. I knew I had to put in double the hard work if I wanted people to stick around and listen to my voice," she recalls. It's surprising and empowering for others, too, she says, that she found fame from the comfort of her home in her hometown and not some metropolitan cities that people assume are hotspots for success.

The creative process 

Pandey, who either performs about 15 gigs a month or two gigs per week as per requirement and schedule, also works through many changes in her travelling schedule. She, however, makes sure that she doesn't face burnout and never compromises on her time when she is supposed to sit down and make original music. She shares, “When I am not doing gigs, I'm home writing and recording covers that I like a lot. I try and give myself deadlines because that is how I function better."

On what it means to be brave with music

Pandey's covers of Tu Jhoom, Pasoori, and Kun Faya Kun among others, have garnered solid attention on social. She immediately shares how hundreds of people have personally told her they find her voice soulful, which sometimes overwhelms her. There are times when she performs in front of a crowd without the expectation of people listening to her because, sometimes, people don't. "A group of people came to me after my gig last night and complemented my performance saying my singing carries the soul. I was happy to hear that people actually listen and it makes my effort worth it."

"For me, being brave with music is directly linked to being honest in my effort. I make covers for songs which I feel connected with and not just for the sake of posting every day because the algorithm demands us to. I try and maintain its sanctity however I can."

Vulnerability and the fear of almost making it

Pandey is also known for her Instagram live sessions. She engages with her followers and talks about the songs she knows, and, fascinatingly, when followers put their requests she doesn't remember the lyrics to, she humbly says, "Iske lyrics toh aate nahin hain, but let me try." She has often shared her thoughts on the flip side of being in this huge industry, how demanding the field is and why challenges can be endless in more ways than one. Is it essential for her to make herself vulnerable when she is creating music? "Some people will tell you to maintain a certain decorum with respect to how you put yourself out there. I can't abide by that because if I am not authentic, who am I?" she says, adding that she loves cracking jokes or narrating anecdotes even between gigs and she has found her equally emotive audience.

There were times when I feared 'What if I become an artist who almost made it?'

An AR Rehman fan, when Pandey first started composing, she frequently thought about switching careers. "I constantly ask the ‘what-if’ questions and making it this far scares me sometimes, but that’s part of the game, and it pushes me to better myself."

"As a child, I always heard my mother say that the experience of music can never be made alone, a team of creators and listeners both add to the experience. Gratefully, I've found my team and in no way I'm letting them down, that is why I need to constantly up my game."

Independent work

Along with musician Elroy Vincit, she created two songs, Tu Naa Aaya which was released in 2021, and Taa'biir which the duo released only recently. An interpretation of a dream, Taa'biir, she expresses, is a song every dreamer and artist will resonate with. "It's about a struggle of a dream in its afterlife where it fights with other broken dreams. I went down to Kerala and we recorded the song in Hindi there. An entire team worked on it and I hope it reaches out to people in the same emotional way we made it with."

Pandey, who also worked as a lyricist for the Indian Kannada league film 777 Charlie, aims to spread her wings across genres. "I want to release much original music and perform at a wide scale. I want to release a lot of music in English, too. I've seen some artists come up with music that is mindblowing but not getting the recognition it serves. I want to try rapping, rock and roll, and Sufi music. I plan to figure out my schedules, take breaks from performances and work on creations to release songs at my pace."

"I'm thankful for the internet's popularity because it opened many opportunities for me. I'm paid well for things I got paid very less for earlier."

Pandey is thankful for " target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media for the growth in her career trajectory but wishes more artists get that similar push too. Discussing the dynamics of how digital mediums work, she notes its flipside reflecting, "Sometimes, as audiences, we hear what we're made to hear. Independent artists do not have that kind of push as other contractual artists have from big media companies who work day and night to make their songs available on ads, trends, reels, and other music platforms from the word go. In hindsight, a lot of solo brilliant artists lose their way navigating how to reach there." Examining how social media is a minefield, and the music industry more expansive than we can speculate, Pandey says that the plus side of it is that social media users have the power of recognition. This helps artists build confidence in persisting in their passion, however long it takes.

"It's not just me, for several artists who perform live gigs, the reaction of people holds immense value and seeing them connect to you feels like the purpose is served. To be honest, it's the authenticity that counts even during times when things look dim."

How family keeps her grounded  

Pandey's mother always implies that it's her followers who have brought her this far and remaining kind to them during interactions is something she must always prioritise. "My family tells me I should be proud of the hard work that I've put in all these years and at the same time not be complacent with it." Pandey's father teaches her that she should be deserving of only what she has worked hard for not beyond that, and it's something that motivates her to push her boundaries. "There are times when I get lazy but my dad's voice in my head tells me that 'isse zyada nahin milega' and I jump out of bed. That's about it. I wake up grateful and motivated to absorb the appreciation and work for more."

"Focus more on the present process rather than constantly questioning what's next."

Suggested reading: From Reels To Playback With AR Rahman, Antara Nandy’s Journey Is Inspiring