Interview with Sara Billah

Sara Billah has been taking music lessons since the age of five. Being a member of a family, which she calls immensely supportive, Sarah’s pursuit of her passion for singing has been uninterrupted. Her debut album, “Mom-er Alo” was released a few weeks ago. The album, targeted towards a wide audience, features eight adhunik (contemporary) songs written by her and other lyricists, and one Nazrul Sangeet.

Sara’s interest mainly lies in Nazrul songs, but the artiste is keen on Lalon Geeti as well. After studying Indian classical music [from an early age], she joined Chayyanaut’s five-year Nazrul Sangeet course. She has been teaching Nazrul Sangeet at the same institution since 2008. She graduated in English Literature from Jahangirnagar University. Considering her extensive training and music lessons, one might think that becoming a singer was a conscious choice. The reality, interestingly, was quite the opposite.

Sara started working in the telecom sector and got married. She also took short courses in French as a third language at her university and Interior Decoration and Design. When her first child was born in 2008, she quit her job to take care of her newborn. Once she had removed herself from the corporate world, she found time to delve once more into music, and realised how much she missed it. That according to her was the “wake-up call.” That’s when she decided she wanted to pursue singing as a career.

She acknowledges the fact that musicians and artistes in Bangladesh are often deprived of financial security. In light of this, Sara feels that the way her family and her husband have supported her over the years has been a monumental inspiration. Aside from her career as a singer, Sara is also part of the band Crimson. The band’s first album “Shurjo” was released in 2006, and they received a nomination for the Citycell-Channel i Music Awards the same year.

Khairul Anam Shakil and Farida Parveen are Sara’s favourite singers and she also enjoys listening to Arnob’s music. Irish vocalist and composer, also a four-time Grammy Award winner, Enya, is Sara’s role model.

“Music is universal. It appeals to people of all origins and orientations; it is a form of art without periphery,” says Sara.

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