Today we’d like to introduce you to Aarushi and Amishi Rohaj.
Hi Aarushi and Amishi, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We began singing together in 2010 when our parents introduced us to Indian Classical music as a way to connect with our family’s roots. Pop and Western-style vocal training came along a few years later, and we credit our parents for passing along an immense love for various styles of music.
The Bollypop compositions that we both create are crafted entirely by ear. After deciding on an accompaniment track, we began to brainstorm songs that could flow with the track. Once the songs are selected, which often takes a few tries due to challenges with aligning the melodies and rhythm, we move on to working out the more complex aspects of the arrangement, including harmony, improvisations, and the Bollywood swag.
While these mashups are sonically pleasing and filled with impressive vocal technique, they also serve another purpose. To us, music is not just about singing to perform; rather, we feel a unique connection to our Indian-American background. These mashups are a collage of valued memories and experiences.
We remember sitting with our family in India and singing old Bollywood songs. We also cherish the moments of jamming out to pop music in our car. Along the path of their lives, we adopted a devotion and dedication toward music that remains with us today. Bollypop is the beauty of bringing Western and Indian cultures together through music, dance, and fashion. Combining our passion for music with our culture allows us to create Bollypop and share it with everyone else!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has not been as smooth as we’d like, but the struggles have taught us major lessons that have allowed us to improve upon our music. In the beginning, it was hard to find songs that fit properly on a single track, their adding spice to the music was a whole other problem to tackle. Eventually, we got better at creating the songs and it comes to us a lot more easily now!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Aarushi is currently a medical student at the University of Utah School of Medicine and Amishi is a pre-med and business major getting her bachelor’s degree at the University of Utah. We both love dancing, lifting, and music of course! We play the harmonium which is an Indian classical instrument and taught ourselves to play the ukulele.
In 2019, we became the first-ever performers to play live at the annual Diwali Dinner at the Salt Lake City Governor’s Mansion. 2019 Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, happened to fall near the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth. To celebrate both occasions, we sang one of Gandhi’s favorite songs while Amishi played the harmonium, a staple instrument of Indian Classical music. Aarushi has sung on national television (Indian Idol in Mumbai) and we have performed for hundreds of people at the Festival of Colors.
What were you like growing up?
We both grew up in a very close family. All of our extended family lives in India, and it’s just us two sisters, and our parents here in SLC. We both were born and raised in SLC and love living here. Our mom always had a passion for music and dance so she got us involved in music/dance performance very early on. We began performing on stage when we were just 4/5 years old so we don’t have much stage fright (haha)!
Both of us have always loved how music has made us feel which is why we both are very passionate about using music as a healing method in healthcare. Music was a huge reason why Aarushi went to medical school and why Amishi is currently a pre-medical student! Music can immediately change your emotions and help with stress relief, pain, anxiety, and depression.
The most amazing part is how many studies have been done to prove the healing part of music and its effect on patients with chronic illnesses. Our parents have been very supportive of all of our passions and hobbies and we would not be here without them today. We also did many shows and musicals growing up. Recently, we have done multiple shows/musicals at the Hale Center Theater in Sandy!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @aa_bollypop
- Facebook: facebook.com/AABollypop
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/AABollypopAarushiAmishi
