BHUBANESWAR: Faces light up as Jyotirmayee Nayak enters a palliative care facility in the capital city. As she caresses the head of a cancer patient and begins singing a ‘bhajan’ in the praise of Lord Jagannath, a sense of joy prevails in the room that is often shadowed by gloom.
Her soulful voice transports the cancer patients into a space that is free from fear and instills hope in them.
The young singer is a known face in the state’s music industry. But beyond playback singing and stage shows, Jyotirmayee uses her craft for a greater cause - to help cancer patients heal emotionally and relieve them of anxiety, depression and stress through music therapy.
Daughter of Gauri and Chakradhar Nayak of Bhubaneswar, 24-year-old Jyotirmayee is a BTech graduate from KIIT School of Computer Engineering. A passionate singer, she was introduced to music therapy after completing her technical degree.
She inherited her singing talent from her father. Chakradhar, who is into the corporate sector, wished to become a singer himself. But due to lack of opportunities and family pressure, he had to give up on his passion. “But when we saw Jyotirmayee inclined towards music at a very young age, we decided to facilitate music training for her. Even in her kindergarten days, she would memorise songs effortlessly,” recalled her mother.
The couple, then based in Rourkela, urged classical singer Buddhaprasad Rao to train her in classical music. Jyotirmayee was in Class III then. After Chakradhar was transferred to Bhubaneswar, she began learning classical music from Balakrushna Behera and Ollywood music from Sarada Prasanna Sahoo. It was under late Sahoo’s guidance that she became one of the finalists for reality TV show ‘Voice of Odisha’. Jyotirmayee debuted as a playback singer for Odia film ‘Dekha Hela Prema Hela’ in 2019 and since then, she has lent her voice in at least 20 regional films besides, a large number of Odia ‘bhajans’.
Her stint with professional music therapy began two years back. Although she had received a job offer in a Bengaluru-based tech giant after completing her BTech, she refused it to pursue a career in music. “That is when a family friend introduced me to the concept of music therapy for clinical care. The idea that music can heal patients emotionally, aligned with my interests,” she said.
With not many options for learning the therapy in Odisha, she enrolled into Chennai School of Music Therapy and began with online classes for six months. “For the next six months, I did offline classes in Chennai but since staying there and doing internship was difficult, I decided to return to Bhubaneswar in 2023 and pursue internship in music therapy in clinical care at a super specialty hospital here,” said the singer, who has today carved a niche for herself in both film and devotional music.
She began by giving the therapy to cancer patients undergoing palliative treatment at the hospital. Her soulful voice brought solace to many who had been fighting the disease along with a range of other emotional struggles like anxiety, depression, fear and even anger.
“There is also a fear of abandonment among those in this stressful journey. So while singing a song, I place the hand of a patient in my hand and keep tapping it lovingly or caressing their head. It not just calms them but also brings in a feeling of emotional support and comfort in them, giving them the hope that they will heal,” she said.
Researches have shown that music is an effective non-pharmacological intervention for patients who are undergoing cancer treatments. It helps in uplifting the spirits of the depressed patients and enhance their mental well-being which is very important in coping with cancer and the after-effects of its treatment, Jyotirmayee added.
Today, she does not just provide the therapy to cancer patients but also their caregivers and people who are battling clinical depression and anxiety. Pregnant women, who face anxiety, also benefit from her therapy. Apart from the super specialty hospital, she also offers music therapy at a palliative care facility in Bhubaneswar.
For Jyotirmayee, playback singing in Bollywood is a dream which she wishes to pursue. But at the same time, she wants to continue helping cancer patients by aiding them in pain management through her music. She is currently in the race for Indian Idol (season 16) and has made her way to the list of top-16 contestants. “I am giving this contest my best and wish to make my state proud,” said Jyotirmayee, whose soulful renditions have impressed Indian Idol judges Shreya Ghosal, Vishal Dadlani and Badshah.
