Once upon a time, there lived a high-flying banker. He was enjoying the Indian dream: tailored suits, boardroom meetings, strategic deals, relentless deadlines, and a handsome paycheck. And then, after 15 years, he woke up…not to take the call of a client, but to finally heed the call of music. Today, Ameya Dabli is a ‘complete entertainer’, mesmerising people across the world with his devotional songs, ghazals, sufi music, folk songs, and English soft rock renditions. On June 28, he will be at Shilpakala Vedika to give us a unique musical experience called Krishnaa - Music, Bliss, and Beyond.
While singers usually stick to one or two genres for most of their lives, Ameya clearly wears many hats. But the role that really stands out is the sutradhar — he orchestrates weddings while the purohit chants the marriage mantras. Ameya says, “When I think of Hyderabad, I fondly remember how I conducted the wedding of Rana (Daggubati) and Miheeka (Bajaj) during COVID-19. The Bajaj family is close to us, and Miheeka’s father reached out; since many people couldn’t come, we conducted a live online wedding and it was a brilliant experience!”
When you attend a wedding, do you sit through every ritual, or do you scurry away to gossip and eat biryani? You know the answer, and this is what Ameya seeks to change. “As the sutradhar, I have to know the Sanskrit verses, keep the audience entertained, and involve everyone. And when people from both sides eagerly participate, the joy on the bride and groom’s faces is heartwarming!” he expresses.
Ameya, who has done over 4,000 concerts worldwide, is humble but ever-enthusiastic when he speaks about one standout event in his career. “I performed when Anand Piramal proposed to Isha Ambani at the Piramals’ Mahabaleshwar farmhouse. Both the Ambani and Piramal families are grounded, spiritual, and clear on what they want. I rendered ghazals, sufi music, film numbers…it was magical,” Ameya recalls. He was also part of the baraat to Antilia, the Ambani abode. “The Piramals had planned a surprise for Nita bhabhi and Mukesh bhai; they wanted me to perform as the baraat made its way to Antilia,” he shares.
Although he relives these moments with a childlike excitement, he hails God for his good fortune. “There are so many great performers and artistes, but God chose me to do so many things. It’s not like I told my parents, ‘Chalo, do chamach sufi daalo, teen chamach ghazal add karo!’” he quips, laughing.
Ameya had a humble upbringing. His father placed importance on a good education. So, Ameya studied well, did an MBA, and was hired off campus by the Tatas. “Unlike many musicians at the time, like Shaan dada and others, I didn’t come from a musical lineage. But my mother, Dr Anuradha Dabli, was a trained Hindustani Classical singer. When she did riyaaz, she always encouraged me to sing,” he recalls. Music was always his calling, and after 15 years in the corporate world, he decided to pursue it.
The money wasn’t immediate, and the challenges? Aplenty. But even when things got tough, Ameya and his wife — who he says is his biggest support — focused on giving back. “I always thought, ‘How can my music be of value to people?’ One way is through my initiative, ‘Ekam Satt – One Truth, One Humanity, World Music’. I perform for jawans and their families, free of cost. We’ve done 177 therapeutic music concerts for nearly five lakh soldiers,” Ameya proudly says.
The singer believes that at the core of music lies prayer. “If we look at the world today, there are all sorts of challenges; everyone has some worry or the other. So, to help people tide over the storms, we gathered verses from the Bhagavad Gita and created Krishnaa — a non-preachy, entertaining musical experience that channels Lord Krishna, the only deity who is a true sakha (friend), warrior king, strategist, and lover. We want to bring an energising Krishna to Hyderabad,” he says.
Ameya doesn’t lead life in a complicated way. He simply goes by his own motto: “If gratitude is your attitude, life is beautiful.”