There are a few people who are extremely good at everything that they do, Siddhi being one of them. She is an artist, designer and a musician. Creativity being her forte, she has been ‘thrashing’ the drums for many years, and has pursued it with a diploma in drums from the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music, Chennai. She is also a Rockschool 8th Grader and conducts private drum classes at DrumCore. Siddhi has around 14 students currently.

In her free time she loves travelling to places, preferably beaches and mountains. Even quaint old markets become a vast treasure trove of materials for her, and shells, feathers and carved stone items find their way to being featured in Dark Reflection’s products. Yes, Dark Reflections is her initiative, a decor company that makes the best dreamcatchers and customized accessories in India. Siddhi is responsible for the entire product range currently featured in Dark Reflections and also handles marketing and publicity. The way she excels in whatever she does has often made her an inspiration for a lot of people, young and old. We were honored to have a small chat with her allowing us to understand her a little better.

Everything you do has an angle of creativity associated with it. How did art and music start for you: Since I have been creatively inclined since childhood, I always knew that I never wanted to do a regular job. I tried my hands on several instruments (like keyboards and guitar) but connected with the drums later in school. When I was doing my graduation (which for me was for the mere sake of doing it) I started Dark Reflections. Sometime then, I came across the concept of Dreamcatchers online. After thorough research into this fascinating art form, I taught myself how to make them and things just went forward from there.

Since you are equally passionate about music and craft, do you always have time for both activties? And if you have free time, how do you use it: It is indeed a task to find “the balance” between these two things. Sometimes I get burdened with so many orders that it takes me days to complete them. Sometimes I have all the time to continue my practice and playing! I love reading and always have a book with me. Experimenting in the kitchen and helping mom with gardening is always satisfying.

If you ever get into a creative rut, how do you come out: Its complicated yet simple, but the best solution is to give it all the time it needs.

The kind of music you play is very powerful, what are the small things in life that give you the power to keep going: I just have to be doing something almost all the time. I can hardly ever sit idle doing nothing. It works best for me to use this restlessness creatively and do something productive with it. Knowing that I learnt something new today, or practiced a skill to make it better, makes me happy and keeps me going.

You also teach music. Two tips for aspiring musicians: I love learning music theory and find it extremely essential to have your concepts and basics clear. Practicing the right techniques (which can get boring, slow and strenuous) is something that must be done. And of course, playing like you don’t care and enjoying yourself after all the hard work you put into your practice sessions is a must!

Five musicians that have inspired you: So my favorite musicians are primarily my teachers who will always continue inspiring me – Ferenc Nemeth, Dafnis Prieto, Harvey Wirht and Jovol Bell. I am also a big JoJo Mayer fan and I also love and follow some really talented female drummers like Yasmin Kazi and Meytal Cohen. I also admire Sivamanis creativity and style too.

Check out some of her work as drummer on Youtube. Pure Madness!

A few quotes that you stand by: “Life is beautiful, as long as it consumes you. When it is rushing through you, destroying you, life is gorgeous, glorious. It’s when you burn a slow fire and save fuel, that life’s not worth having.” – D. H. Lawrence

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein

“I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald

You can check out more of Siddhis’s killer work through:

Dark Reflections: you can purchase online through darkreflections.in/shop.php (shipping worldwide); www.facebook.com/darkreflections9 ; Instagram@ dreamcatchersindia;

Email@ darkreflections9@gmail.com, the Studio is setup on North Main Road, Koregaon Park, Pune.

For music classes, DrumCore – Email @ drumcore.drumlessons@gmail.com; www.facebook.com/drumcoreindia