Beaut-i-ntelligent by Monica Dogra

FICCI Ladies Organization Jaipur Chapter organized an event with Ms. Monica Dogra,
an American musician and actress of Indian origin. She is one half of the Mumbai-based electronic rock duo Shaair and Func and also performs solo under her moniker, Shaair.

‘ Music begins where the possibilities of language ends  & Singing in the shower is all  fun until  you  get  soap in  your  mouth , then  it becomes  ‘SOAP  OPERA’ quoted Ms. Minal Jain. We welcomed all to a  story of  a seeker, whose grit  & determination to  walk the un-walked,  and always seen as one amongst us.

Friends, We had with us, Monica Dogra, our vi – desi  rock singer & actress , She has proven that fate is always written by sheer hard  work, passion&determination. Her journey between the two B’s  i.e., Baltimore U.S., to Bombay, deserves to be seen in the light of our motto, ‘ Unlimited  you ‘ &Monica embodies the same.

With Her collaboration with artistes across genre, she enjoys intelligent re-inventions in her music with artistic fluidity.

We thank you all of you for your overwhelming support to the initiative ‘ FLO Spreading smile’. This initiative intends to ignite smiles this Diwali , by donating clothes to the under – privileged .
As some one said ‘either you can earn your bread & butter or you can be a rock star’.

Takeaway points:
Monica Dogra started her talk by saying that we always say beauty with brains … but we never say oh look he is a successful gentleman with being handsome. Why do we implicate each other? How often do we say go deardo as you wish to and whatever makes youhappy.

She started her journey at mere age of 17 as a model forSatyapaul. Then was hired as a smart sales executive at a bank which she resigned as she came across her colleages being exploited.She has always funded whatever she has done till now.

Being a women defines you!  It defines you in a way that formulates, that guides,that sometimes celebrates and at times can limit. When you are women you constantly have to decide whether to operate from fear or to empower yourself and the other women around you to operate out of freedom of expression.

Like her parents’ divorce when she was just 12, and people judging her at such a young age led her to not being a part of the common society and hence on the outside of it.

She came up with her own video with the help of her friend in LA . She writes her own music; sings and films it too. She made videos not through the lens of a man but from a woman that portrayed her as rebel.

She also calls herself an accidental rebel – this is so because she never wanted to be a rebel but life’s circumstances made her one.

She believes we are now in the midst of a transformational time  when it comes to feminism … boys equal girls … she truly believes in being a main socialcauseso it can spread change…

India is the land of Oppurtunities but still the Indian Film Industry has songs termed as  “ITEM Numbers” … a lot of people abroad even can’t believe that the word item, which so clearly objectifies women, is used in India.

There was an article in the Huffington Post – it made fun of her, her voice, her art, her speech, and it immediately caught the attention of the public – social media, news. It was even more disturbing because it was wrote earlier by a friends friend and many of her friends and co workers also shared it.She locked herself away, and was almost suicidal.. It was this incident and her comeback from this incident which made her realise that she actually loved music and her art… she realized that even after earning all the fame and the money, people may still not accept you, worse still some may even hate you.

It was this realization that spurred her artistic growth – she now realised that her music and her artistic expression was not for public acceptance but for her own purpose – this led to a lot of spiritual learning and artistic growth for her.