Exclusive: Jashan Bhumkar on Music, Fitness, and a Special Song Dedication for Whosthat360

Ever wondered how a classical singer, entrepreneur, and fitness enthusiast balances it all? Meet Jashan Bhumkar, a multifaceted talent excelling in classical music and running a successful chemicals and pharma business. In this exclusive interview, Jashan shares his deep-rooted passion for music, the vital role fitness plays in his life, and the significant influence of his father. Plus, he offers a special song dedication to the Whosthat360 audience. Dive in to discover his inspiring journey!

1. How did you develop your passion for classical singing, and who were your biggest influences?

I cannot remember any time in my life when I was not into classical music; I was drawn to it without any logic or reason at the age of 4 and have been formally training in it ever since. Even without understanding much of it, I always felt it to be my very own and wanted to explore it with increasing depth. My biggest influence in this field has always been Padmavibhushan Gaansaraswati Smt. Kishori Amonkar. The first time I heard her music, I was in total disbelief that something so beautiful could exist in reality. Many years from that day, I was the luckiest to start training under her and receive a lot of love and blessings from her.

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2. Can you share a memorable experience from your musical journey that significantly impacted your career?

Until I was about 25 years old, I only sang classical music. Forget Bollywood or pop songs, I barely even sang bhajans or ghazals, for which I get a lot of love today. My Guru, Kishori Tai's last wish from me before she passed away was that I should study all different genres of music, love them equally, and work on myself to be able to sing everything. This was a turning point in my musical journey where I started to embrace the beauty of various genres. Since then, I have been amazed by the specificities and intricacies of each genre, but more so by the universality of music itself!

3. Balancing a career in music and entrepreneurship can be challenging. How do you manage your time between singing and running a chemicals and pharma business?

I am very lucky that I love both fields. It is not that I'm a singer stuck in the corporate world or a businessman with just a hobby of singing. I truly value how both fields enrich my life and simply can't live without either! My love for these fields helps me find a balance automatically. Of course, time is limited, and that leads to a lot of practical challenges which anyone can easily imagine. However, I never think much of these; both fields give me so much joy that I'd do anything to keep these pursuits going a thousand times over.

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4. How does maintaining your fitness routine contribute to your performance as a singer?

In the beginning, many people discouraged me from being a fitness enthusiast, saying that lifting weights or doing cardio would spoil my voice. Somehow, every mistake or every failed concert would be blamed on the gym. I think over time it is clear that this is far from the case; being fit has benefits in all aspects of life, needless to say, it contributes to practical aspects of singing such as breathing control, lung capacity, and stamina too. Furthermore, fitness has been great for my mental health in many ways too; if I feel sane and good about myself, I can pursue my goals in other fields with more focus and fewer distractions.

5. As a digital content creator, what strategies do you use to engage your audience and keep your content fresh and interesting?

There is honestly no strategy. I have been very clear that I cannot sustain a façade for even a short time, let alone a longer period. In the end, I have to live with myself peacefully, and that can only happen if I'm my own authentic self. Due to my varied life spread across two professions and many geographies, I am very lucky that there is never a dull day for me; every day looks different from another. In recent times, I have been trying to be more consistent in sharing key aspects of this life with my audiences, and am seeing that it is already paying off well.

6. How do you plan to celebrate Father's Day, and what special activities do you have in mind for your father?

My father is an extremely enthusiastic, upbeat person with a love for all the joys life has to offer. These days, with his hectic schedule as a renowned surgeon, and my activities in business and music, any time we get together is a real treat. I am looking forward to bonding with him on Father's Day over two of our big common interests: food and music!

7. What role has your father played in your journey, both personally and professionally?

I have been very fortunate to be brought up by a father who is not only very well accomplished in his career as a surgeon and serves as a role model on that front, but has always been emotionally available, present, and connected. He has always prioritized my emotional well-being and happiness over more worldly achievements like grades, earnings, etc. Interestingly, the fact that I did not have to try to be “good enough” for my father or to prove anything made me a very secure person from within, which actually made me push myself in my academics and now my career (as an entrepreneur and singer) for the love of it rather than any other agenda. “You're already good at math, study for an hour less and focus on riyaaz”; “You are working too much, we should go for a vacation”; “You have everything in you to take care of [a specific] situation”; “You are so good looking you should totally buy and wear this shining jacket because you can carry it off” are very normal and usual things for my father to say to me. He made me believe that I'm the best looking, most talented, most hardworking, most intelligent, and most kind person. With this belief, it has been very easy for me to find my place in the world no matter what challenges I face in the world outside of my home.

8. How do you handle online trolls and negative comments on your social media platforms?

I am human, so I will be lying if I say it doesn't bother me, but I have learned some quick coping mechanisms that I find helpful. For every one negative comment, there are 20-30 or even 50 positive comments; so I keep in mind that ratio and focus on all the love rather than amplify and obsess over the negativity. Secondly, I try my best to see if there is something I can actually learn from the criticism. Online trolls hiding under the blanket of a fake account would usually write something like this: “Do you have any sense at all? You sound so bad. Can't you hear your besuri harqat at 00:36? People like you don't deserve to sing.” While that of course hurts at first glance, I try to pick out the tangible criticism there: I go back to my recording to see if genuinely I made the mistake at the place where the troll has pointed out. Sometimes I actually have found these mistakes; which then I work on correcting in my riyaaz. As far as the other personal attacks and judgments on whether I deserve to sing or not – I have my Guru's blessings, my parents' unwavering support, a lot of love from my audiences, and a firm belief in myself – all of which cannot be taken away by anyone even if they try!

9. Can you share a positive outcome that resulted from a negative online interaction?

This one is really funny. In one of the songs I released a few years ago, one of the instrumentalists who had played a piece in my song had the same name as another singer in the US. Somehow because of a technical glitch, the online algorithms worked in a way that the singer from the USA got tagged in my album on a lot of platforms. He then posted all over his social media tagging me and saying I'm an unethical artist from India trying to use his name for cheap publicity. When I reached out to him and explained what had happened (and of course, got it corrected immediately), he was very embarrassed and apologized profusely for jumping to such conclusions. He then checked out my music and really vibed to some of the things, and proposed we collaborate across borders!

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10. Tell us something about your "30 days 30 iconic songs" project, and which song would you dedicate to the Whosthat360 audience?

I've been incredibly excited for the “30 Days, 30 Iconic Songs” project, in which I'm singing my most favorite songs. Some of these are tunes we have grown up listening to, sung by legends like Asha ji & Lata ji, while some of them are songs as new as the ones from Heeramandi, which struck a chord with me. As I mentioned above, for most of my life I have been focused solely on classical music and of course, I plan for it to be a lifelong journey. But along the way, I always got a lot of FOMO every time I listened to any of these wonderful songs and somehow wanted to sing them in my own way. I'm glad this experiment has been received with a lot of love by everyone. I'd love to dedicate to our lovely audience at Whosthat360.

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