Just a week ago, 14-year-old Devika SS was shocked to see her name mentioned by the social media handles of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and MP Shashi Tharoor all at once. The 9th standard student from Thiruvananthapuram had turned a thousand heads when she fluently sang the Himachali song Chamba Kitni Ki Door. 

“I’ve always loved learning new music, ever since I was very young,” says Devika, “If I heard a song I liked, I would listen to it over and over on my mom’s phone and try to sing it in the same tune. I’ve always learnt by focusing on the rhythm and trying to recreate it.” Devika had learnt the song as part of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, an initiative that was introduced by the Central Government with the aim of promoting mutual understanding between people of different states. 

Devika continues, “Himachal Pradesh was the state that Kerala was paired with, that’s why I chose this particular song. My teacher chose the song for me. It took me one day to learn the whole thing. I played it over and over again while I was completing my homework. Everyone keeps asking me how I was able to learn the whole song the way I did but I loved the song so much that it wasn’t that difficult at all!”

Most recently, she was invited to the Raj Bhavan by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan who awarded her a gift for her beautiful rendition. Devika admits that she is still overwhelmed by the immense support she has received from the public as well, who have been congratulating her and urging her to experiment more with music. She hopes to become a singer like KS Chitra in the near future. “I want to learn more Carnatic music and become a playback singer when I’m older. Currently, Biology is my favourite subject. So I would also like to become a doctor if I can balance the two,” she says, her voice even sweeter with the inspiring optimism of a young dreamer.