Sansara

Sansara is a UK-based all-girl pop group from London. The group forms around Sophie Choudry, with Shinata Patel and Monica Nath as the other members. It is described as a British Asian “desi” girl band, created with the aim of combining East and West in pop music.

Formation and background

The group comes together in early 1999 after Sophie Choudry finishes university. Her connection with music director Biddu plays a central part in the project, and he handles the music. Before forming the band, Choudry does backing vocals on Indipop albums including Made In India by Alisha and Johnny Joker by Shweta Shetty.

Choudry meets Shinata Patel through family friends, and Monica Nath later at a singing contest. The three members are chosen because each brings a different element to the group. As the others do not speak Hindi, Choudry writes the lyrics.

Recording and release

The group records its debut album Yeh Dil Sun Raha Hai for Universal Music India. Demo recordings take place in April, the contract follows in May, recording begins in June, and the video is shot in India in October. The album is released in India in December 1999.

The album includes the title track Yeh Dil Sun Raha Hai, and the group also performs remixes of songs including Disco Deewane, Habibi and Alabina.

Live performances and later activity

Sansara appears at Gatsby 2000, where it performs a set that includes the title track and several remixes. The group is associated with highly choreographed live shows and, in line with much Indi-pop performance of the period, incorporates some lip-syncing alongside singing.

Its work is limited by study commitments and cancelled rehearsals, and the group does not continue for long. Sophie Choudry later performs across the UK and in Los Angeles, works on Zee TV programmes, and develops solo material with Biddu.