Puja Kapoor, the musical prodigy from the city, who was featured among the Telangana Record holders in 2014, has recently been awarded with a doctorate by the Duke University of California, acknowledging her achievements in the world of music so far.
Puja’s story is the one that can inspire and motivate many. An unfortunate incident in her childhood left her with epilepsy and dyslexia. Looking back from where the prodigy stands now, nothing seems like a hindrance for her motivation to work hard and be where she is.
In 2003 when her mother gifted her a keyboard, thinking it would be a great exercise for fingers, she never imagined that it would mark the beginning of her musical journey. “As soon as she held the keyboard she played the tune of Ek pyaar ka nagma hain, leaving all of us startled,” says Neelam Kapoor, Puja’s mother.
There was no looking back after realising this inherent talent. Puja learned to play a keyboard blindfolded and has the ability to compose music on the spot. Puja’s talent was showcased on a popular television show ‘India’s Got Talent’ where the renowned film director Shekhar Kapoor had called her, ‘The Indian Mozart’ and ‘Stephen Hawking of Music’.
Puja got her first break into music industry with Ekta Kapoor and she composed music for two of Ekta’s serials Kavyanjali and Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka.
Among other popular television shows, Puja was invited as a guest in Farah Khan’s talk show Tere Mere Beech Mein along with Hritik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut.
All this still does not gratify Puja and she always has a perennial reserve of motivation and talent that pushes her beyond the frontiers. “She wants to be an established music composer in Bollywood and aims to bring home an Oscar,” says Neelam. All her compositions are ‘on the spot’, soul stirring, mesmerizing compositions
Perhaps the best thing about Puja, who plays the keyboard only with her index finger and composes music using only the white keys, is that she genuinely seems to love to play.
The 21-year-old also holds 21 records for her achievement which include Global World Records, India Book of Records, Limca Book of Records, Asia Book of Records among many others.