“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything” ~Plato. Today we have a soulful musician – Aditi Veena aka DITTY from Delhi who is doing her bit to bring attention to the impermanence of nature and the importance to conserve our mother earth – through her gift of music.
She is also a professional architect, who tries to stay true to her concerns for the environment through various environmental conservation projects. She was also at Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh recently to perform at the Ziro music festival. We caught up with her to know more her music and more.
Talented musician and singer-songwriter Aditi Veena, aka, DITTY from New Delhi chats with R&L team about her music, what drives her art, her recent trip to Ziro Music Festival, her upcoming album ‘Poetry Ceylon’ and more.
Aditi Veena, aka, DITTY is a talented singer-songwriter, spoken word poet, architect and conservationist from New Delhi.
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Hi Ditty! Thanks for speaking with us. Tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from and what’s been keeping you busy.
Hi! I’m Aditi Veena. Most people call me Ditty and I was born and brought up in New Delhi. I’ve been busy recording my upcoming album ‘Poetry Ceylon’ which is inspired by the years I spent in beautiful Sri Lanka. I’m also a trained architect and I work mainly with natural materials.
“Music is what I do part-time and on the side, I am currently also working with physicist and ecologist Prof. Vikram Soni of PI Sci Foundation on several environmental conservation projects.”
Aditi, aka DITTY | Photo by Obada V
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What got you interested in music and singing?
I started singing as an angsty teenager, and I suppose soon it grew into this beautiful relationship with music that I can’t imagine myself without anymore.
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How have your roots and upbringing influenced your creativity?
“My parents are extremely peaceful human beings – and growing up, I was hugely influenced by their philosophies. Mum grew up in different parts of the country as her father was traveling and she spent most of her formative years in Shillong. My dad was extremely artistic and loved making and building things.
They exposed my brother and me to all sorts of creative things during our formative years. I was going to Kathak classes and my brother was playing the tabla. We were both going for art class, skating, playing tennis, swimming and learning French.”
Ditty and her mum sightseeing in Rajasthan.
Ditty and her mum sightseeing in Rajasthan.
Ditty with her brother
Ditty with her brother
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Tell us about your upcoming album ‘Poetry Ceylon’.
I’ve been working on my album which is due to be released early next year. It is inspired by the few years I spent on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka. I moved there because I was tired of the city that is Delhi. Everything from pollution to the rape culture to overpopulation made me feel quite low. Over the years, I have become more conscious of the impact our actions have on the planet around us.
“I’ve been working on this album which is due to be released early next year. It is inspired by the few years I spent on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka. It talks about the planet, the oceans, the life around us that is going extinct along with stories about some beautiful experiences I’ve had there.The album brings all of these to music. “
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Tell us about your passion for ecological conservation and sustainable living.
Everything that’s given to us by nature – mountains, rivers, and forests are evolutionary resources that can’t be recreated. Once lost, they are gone forever. We are losing these resources to our greed at an alarming rate– everything we see around us, use and own comes from the soil. Our infrastructure, fossil fuels, food and all objects.
“Architects, planners and designers today have a huge responsibility since we create man-made environments. So do artists, since we are the philosophers of our times.
And citizens, because we give power to everyone – the government, corporations etc. I believe that in these pressing times, we have to take responsibility for whatever we do and how we live our lives and work together for the future of this planet.”
Ditty in Colombo, Sri Lanka | Photo by Felix Muller
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We recently saw you playing at Ziro Festival of Music this year! How was your experience?
Ziro was lovely, the festival venue was built of bamboo! They were gearing towards zero waste which made me super happy! It really was lovely 🙂 I had a beautiful time playing to the audience there who seemed to really love my music. I loved them and loved the festival!
“We played songs into the wilderness.” Ditty and her bandmates, Dhruv Bhola and Shantanu Pandit taking the stage at Ziro Festival of Music 2018
“We played songs into the wilderness.” Ditty and her band members taking the stage at Ziro Music Festiva
Ditty performing the first song she wrote, “Daddy’s Little Girl”, a heart touching tribute to her father.
Ditty’s upcoming album “Poetry Ceylon”, due to be out early next year is inspired by her lovely experience on the island of Sri Lanka. Listen to Ditty’s “Mumblings EP” and follow her on Instagram to get updates on her releases and gigs.
Ditty | Photo by Felix Muller
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