SHE may not have set the Athabasca on fire. But Aashna Patel, a Bombay-born girl who migrated to Canada in 1974, has taken off on a turf few Indians have. An immensely popular television hostess in Canada, her debut album Aashna, has just been released simultaneously in Canada and India. While A-Ya, one of the tracks, is among the more distinct MTV videos in rotation today, Aashna's new venture implies a tough challenge. The reason: female pop sets forth one star each day, while the number of Whitney Houstons and Mariah Careys keeps on increasing with every passing year.
But Aashna should be loving every moment of this new challenge, considering her impressive track record even otherwise. The girl who, 'speaks a bit of Gujarati' but doesn't sound too keen on releasing an album in an Indian language, hosts the television show The Breakfast Zone on Canada's youth television channel YTV. "I have been on television for four years," she says, "and I interview prominent actors, musicians, and other celebrities on the show." The show sells, which is proven by the fact that stars of the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer have featured on it.
And how old is this budding artiste? "You can take a guess," she teases, adding: "I left Bombay for Canada when I was just a baby." So, what does that make her—24? Perhaps, a year older? She just giggles. In the years she has spent in Canada, however, Aashna has become popular as the country's Anthem Girl. "I wanted to sing ever since I was a kid," she recalls. "When I was about 16, I started performing." Her popularity as the Anthem girl created a rather unique situation: she had to record the Canadian anthem entitled I Love Canada—Je t'aime Canada, versions in both English and French.
In fact, the image of the Anthem girl was to create the platform for an unforgettable experience. At the annual convention of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Aashna, always popular with the Indian community abroad, was invited to Chicago to sing the American national anthem for President Bill Clinton and the legendary vocalist Lata Mangeshkar. "It was a matter of immense pride for me," the young performer remembers. "I also had a chance to sing in front of Lata Mangeshkar whom I have always admired a lot."
But, what in Lata Mangeshkar does she admire so much, having grown up on a musical diet of Madonna and Whitney Houston? "Well, I just admire the fact that she has been so persistent," she replies with conviction. "That's why there's been nothing like the Chicago experience in my entire life."
An interesting confession of a talented young artiste who has drifted towards the toughest challenge western popular music can offer: trying to be a face in the crowd in female pop, mixing ballads and dance songs in an album which has Indian 'bhangra' influences. "I'd love to go on, come up with one more album, even try to be a Hollywood star if possible," she says, giggling.
She'd 'love to go on'. As one of her cuts says, Endlessly.
