“To all outward appearances, Jayanti Singh is a perfect wife, an ideal mother and a good daughter-in-law. It is only when one goes through the torn pages of her secret diary that one discovers her secret. It is a simple yet a profound secret ambition - to become a folk singer.

Though Jayanti never aspired to professional singing, she continued her passion. And her passion is our story.

The two greatest loves of her life are music and God - so she combined them. Today, she sings to God of her faith, of her pain, of the changing seasons, of the coming of the sun and of the freezing cold of the Ganga. The passion with which she sings to the Sun God, even after having fasted for 36 hours despite being diabetic and suffering from thyroid issues, is astounding. During Durga Puja, you will find her in the pandal bringing together her two loves. If you see her sing at that time, the impression that will remain with you is of her sindoor dripping down her nose as she plays the dholak while singing her heart out.

In her singing, you can discern her profoundly personal relationship with God. Even in a crowded place such as the Shiva temple, where people jostle for room, she is almost an oasis of calm. She sings hymns to the Lord Shiva with folded hands and eyes closed in prayer. As the noise around her increases, her voice, too, rises, as - aloof from her surroundings - she entreats Shiva to understand her pain and in return, she promises to allow Kartik and Ganapati to play in her lap. At times, her connection to the divine while singing is so profound that she even weeps as she sings.

Singing has become a almost like swarg for her. God is her only audience. The devotees of the divine are her fans. It doesn’t matter that she wasn’t able to realise her ambition of becoming a popular folk or playback singer. She is content as long as she gets to sing. Building a career around singing or even earning a living through it is no longer important.”