PUNE: Blessed with two mothers, Vidya Lisellotte Sundberg lost both of them to fate. Her pain became a wellspring of creativity that turned her to the liberating world of jazz.
"I am music. Music is me," she said, her brown eyes sparkling as she passionately described her journey through life.
On Saturday, before a heartfelt performance, the celebrated jazz singer shared her odessey at Patrakar Bhavan. Later, she shared more under the open skies.
Lost, found, lost & found again!
Born in India, raised in Sweden, at age 10, Vidya began yearning for her biological mother. "I would always feel that something was amiss," she said.
Deeply intuitive, she started writing songs, with her first album, Peaceplay, exploring love. She said, "We leave love behind in our quest to do so much, to achieve something, but love is a choice we must make."
A quest of 39 years led her to her biological Indian mother. Vidya connected with advocate Anjali Pawar and Arun Dohle of the Adoptee Rights Council in 2017, who helped reunite her with Shanta. For the next one-year and four months, she visited Shanta thrice and even brought her to Sweden. Tragically, Shanta passed away in Aug 2018 during a pilgrimage to Manasarovar Lake.
"When she passed away, she was content. She devoted her life to social service for women and children, and found fulfilment in reuniting with her daughter and witnessing her success," said Anjali.
In 2022, Vidya released her second album, The Papillon, capturing themes of longing, searching, finding, and losing. Still overcoming Shanta's loss, Vidya faced another blow. Her Swedish mother, diagnosed with cancer, passed away.
Amid this grief, Vidya found solace in Sufi poet Rumi. "As if in a flash, it came to me, ‘Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.' I have been carrying this with me ever since, and the Adi Shakti mantra," she said.
Vidya's latest album Adi Shakti was released earlier this year to critical acclaim across Europe, the USA and Japan. "I was full with the wholeness of it. The poem, the mantra and jazz helped me heal," she said.
Vidya spoke of her mothers with admiration."Both were very determined in different ways. Shanta was goal-oriented, always clear about what she wanted. My Swedish mother was equally strong-willed. Both of them had incredibly soft skin. When I first met my Indian mother, we held each other by the elbow, and I felt her skin — it was as if I was feeling her essence. I think, sometimes, I too am as determined as them," she said.
"After reflecting upon how both their lives were and how they dealt with everything I realise I personally need to let go of more to make life flow even more. Less control often brings more flow in life," Vidya said.
Early life & the essence of jazz
Born to single mother Shanta on Nov 30, 1977 in Pune, Swedish parents adopted Vidya when she was three months old. Exposed to music at an early age by her Swedish father, her high school teacher introduced her to jazz, igniting a lifelong love for creative expression.
Today, a mother herself, Vidya uses her music to inspire others to reconnect with their inner selves.
"Jazz liberates me. I can do whatever I want to. I can improvise, pour my heart out into the craft, sing all I want," she said.
After her shows in the city, she will perform in Bengaluru. In June next year, she will be on a London tour. "After the success of Adi Shakti, we are planning to go more international," she said.
In jazz, she found a path to the inner home, a connection with the Paramatma, the supreme self.
"There is a Swedish saying, sometimes it goes fast, and sometimes it takes years to find yourself, your home. As we go through life, we often lose ourselves, always striving to find something. But when something truly shakes you — like the loss of my two mothers — you realise there is nothing left to search for. All that remains is you."
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