Sayeri Gupta Biswas on music, migration, and finding joy in Melbourne.
When Sayeri Gupta Biswas begins to sing, the room shifts. Her voice carries the sweetness of nostalgia and the strength of discipline honed since childhood. A business advisor in Melbourne’s banking sector by day and a professional singer by night, she has built a life that harmonises responsibility with passion.
Sayeri’s journey began in Silchar, a picturesque town in Assam’s lush northeast. Born into a deeply musical family—her mother a classical singer, her aunts equally gifted, her brother a tabla player—music was not a choice but a constant presence. “Every corner of our house was filled with music,” she recalls. “For us, it was like breathing.” She began lessons at the age of four, guided first by her mother and later by esteemed gurus, completing her Visharad in Hindustani classical music and training in Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti.
Her talent quickly found stages. In India, she performed on All India Radio, shared platforms with her mother, and built her repertoire. But life had other plans. In 2015, she relocated to Melbourne with her husband, who had secured an IT placement. Suddenly, the secure rhythms of home gave way to the uncertainties of starting anew in a foreign land.
“It wasn’t easy,” she admits. “Here, most artists cannot survive full-time on music. Performances are limited to weekends, while in India, musicians thrive through recordings, concerts, and interviews.” Yet, instead of allowing limitations to silence her, Sayeri began to build networks, seek collaborators, and carve out her own space in Melbourne’s diverse cultural landscape.
Eight years on, she has her own musical group and has performed across Victoria, Sydney, and beyond. She collaborates with a rich circle of artists—through Kalaya Productions, which creates musical theatre, Melody Theatre, which composes original works, and Shoroluk, a Bengali ensemble. “I’ve been fortunate to work with artists from India, Bangladesh, Fiji, and Australia. Each collaboration has been a chance to learn and grow,” she says.
Among her many performances, one remains unforgettable. Early in her Melbourne journey, she was singing Lata Mangeshkar’s timeless “Lag Jaa Gale” at a local restaurant. A woman in the audience approached her afterward, placed a $100 note in her hand, and blessed her. “She said I took her back to that era. She told me my voice reminded her of a young Lata ji. I know I am nowhere near Lata Ma, but that blessing… it was priceless. I still keep that note with me.”
Her dual life—banking professional on weekdays, performer on weekends—speaks to resilience. But it also highlights her philosophy of success. “For me, success is happiness. If you love what you are doing and feel satisfied when you look at yourself in the mirror, that is success.”
Happiness, too, has a simple definition for her: loving what you do, taking care of yourself, and being content. Yet, she admits there are things she misses about India—the spontaneous addas over chai with family and friends, and of course, the food. “Life here is busy, but those bonds of friendship and family are irreplaceable.”
Sayeri is determined to use her voice not only for performance but also for community. “Music has the power to connect, heal, and change. I want to spread happiness and help people reconnect with their roots through music. That will be my true contribution.”
The journey is far from over. With original compositions in the works, new collaborations on the horizon, and a vision to take her voice to every corner of the world, Sayeri Gupta Biswas continues to build bridges—between India and Australia, past and present, passion and profession.
- Tonee Sethi
