Some Singaporeans seem to believe that when selecting one’s career path, there is a clear divide between opting for the arts and other seemingly more practical fields. Evidently, Nandhitha Gurunath Hari (BBM 2017) does not fall into that category. She is the quintessential example of someone who has perfectly merged artistry and business, and turned it into a career.
As a young budding artist and trained Indian classical musician who has been heavily involved in the arts scene from a tender age, Nandhitha could have enrolled in any famed school for the arts to deepen and expand her artistic talent; and one might interpret such a choice as “pursuing one’s passions instead of going down trodden career paths”. Yet she chose SMU to pursue her business degree, not at the expense of her artistic endeavours but to realise them. Nandhitha was attracted by SMU’s tagline then, “A Different U”, and was convinced that SMU had the full potential to develop her talent in the arts; that the vibrant campus was fertile ground for business exploration.
In her time at SMU, Nandhitha carefully selected her modules, including Business Marketing, which not only honed her interest in the arts but also shaped her future career as a musician.
To her, SMU had helped bridge business and the arts into a profession. It further sharpened her business marketing skills such as building brand awareness and putting together collaterals for her trade.
Nandhitha’s time in SMU also built her confidence as an artist through its unique pedagogical style. The numerous presentations were seen as performances, and each opportunity to present became a platform to perform and excel. And excel, she did. In the year she graduated, Nandhitha joined the national singing competition ‘Vasantham Star 2017’ and, together with her partner, beat 100 other hopefuls to take home first place. She graciously attributed the success to the excellent working relationship with her partner Swathi Suresh, her family’s unwavering support, as well as her Guru Amit Dhamelia, and former teachers who not only had faith and belief in her potential, but also worked hard to groom that potential.
True to this same faith that her family and teachers had in her, Nandhitha strongly believes that culture plays an important role in helping the arts scene grow, beginning first with recognising and nurturing talent through the employment of good conductors and teachers.
The grooming and nurturing of one’s talent also involves forging the camaraderie amongst students, which Nandhitha considers an essential ingredient for success.
It is also important to strike a good balance between the academics and the arts so that one has the capacity to grow creativity, build innovation, and ignite ideation.
On that thought, Nandhitha suggested that SMU could pioneer intervarsity arts and performance competitions, as it provides a tangible and collective roadmap for teachers, conductors and students to work towards to. Confident that SMU has the entrepreneurial bent and vivacious energy to make that happen, she believes that it would be an opportunity for the University to directly impact the arts culture within the school and across the local institutions.
Today, Nandhitha is the Director of Urban Turban Creatives, a boutique digital marketing, event management, audio and videography company. She has successfully blended her artistic talent with her career and is an example of how one need not choose between excelling in the arts and a career. She advises, “Take risks, you’re still a work in progress. Be comfortable with who you are and find something that works for you. For an artist, there is no peak and no summit – just keep the learning attitude going and take pride in who you are”.
