Amritha Shakti: Soul singer + Reppin' my Indian roots + It's all about Self-Love.

Written By Chauncey Woods

My name is Amritha, and I'm an Indian-Australian singer/songwriter. I fuse my love for soul/jazz/blues with my Indian classical music training to write songs that capture my experiences as a womxn, a womxn of color, and as an individual finding her way to total self-love. I feel like the path to self-love is paved with unlearning the things society has taught us as womxn - including the idea that our worth is dependent on our marital/ relationship status.

This song, 'Because they told me to' is my 'fight song', protesting the fact that I, and so many other (South Asian) womxn, often face intense pressure to hurry up and get married, before we even get a chance to get to know ourselves. The biggest thing I've learned in my 20s is the fact that our worth comes from within - and making decisions out of societal pressure is disrespectful to your own spirit and the progress of society as a whole. Being in a relationship and/or getting married is a choice - and when it comes from a place of self-love, any choice you make is worthwhile.  

I spent most of my twenties feeling intensely pressured to be in a serious relationship and hurry up and get settled. And at one point, it hit me - this isn't what I wanted. I didn't know who I was yet. I had dreams, passions, adventures I wanted to go on. And the thought of marrying a traditional guy who'd just see me as a 'pretty face' and a 'wife' scared the living daylights out of me. I walked away from the pressure and all the expectations in my mid-twenties and vowed to never let it stand in the way of my own decisions again. 


Marriage pressure is still real for me today - let's be honest, by 30 I should've been married and had a kid by now, by society's standards. But I happen to be the happiest now than I've ever been - I'm living life on my own terms, in the way that feels right for me. and even though I may not have achieved all the things I thought I would've by now, I know that I stood my ground and fought for my right to CHOOSE.
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Marriage is a choice. It's a life-changing decision. Take your family, the community, society out of the picture - and make that decision for yourself. Whoever you are, you have a right to choose when and who you want to be with - and how. And you even have the choice to NOT be with someone, if that's what makes you happy.

 
 
Chauncey Woods
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