Anurag creates ripples

After meeting Anurag Dixit, the first word that came to my mind was 'Rockstar'. His inspiration of western songwriters since the age of 11, compliment this thought.

Anurag was exposed to music very early as his grandfather and father both were fond of music. He started with vocal training, piano and then gradually, he started learning guitar and other instruments.
"Songs written by the western songwriters are a 'real thing' for me. That's why I always wanted to do this in life," he said.
"I have always believed I was quite good without formal training, but at one point, you get restricted if you're not trained. So, I took training," added Anurag.

Journey till 'Sounds Gr8'
He was in school when he recorded his first album 'Voyages'. His first commercial recording was for a short film by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It was the first time when he saw a real recording studio and he had great fun. Afterwards, he composed songs like Campus & Career.com for TV, jingles, etc. He collaborated with western artists from the US, Australia and Germany. Meanwhile, some of the top producers like Ashish Manchanda and Ranjit Barot in Mumbai liked his music and produced his album 'Sounds Gr8!!'.

About his album
Sounds Gr8!! is a Hindi pop-rock album, written, composed and sung by Anurag. He also involved some of his students in this album and five of them gave backing vocals for two songs. In January 2011, his name figured in the reputed 'International Producers List' for his work. His biggest dream is to win a Grammy award and make country proud.

Favourite music
He is a total music freak! He is always looking for good music. One can find all genres in his music library ranging from rock, pop, Indi-pop, Indian folk, ghazals to Indian & western classical music.

Live performances
He has been performing all across the country at cities like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, etc. His recent performance was at IIT's annual fest 'Antaragni'. "It's been quite exciting to see the audience's response and that the live music culture is growing in our country. It's going to grow manifolds in the days to come," said Anurag.

Studies Vs Music
He was a good student and had some very good teachers, including his father, who taught him subjects like mathematics, chemistry, biology, etc. But he also enjoyed bunking classes to check out new music albums at the stores. He also used to listen to his favourite albums several times a day. He has learned more from a 3-min song than from a textbook.

Family support
He feels that he was very fortunate to have a very supportive family. "My parents always believed in me and never forced me to take up a certain career.  It was entirely up to me to take decisions about my life and future," said Anurag.

Message to youngsters
He feels that the youngsters should start looking at music and other arts as career options. It's unfortunate for him to see many talented youngsters wasting their talent and moving on to fields which are already overcrowded. Life's not about earning more money and having secure careers. It's about exploring yourself, developing the talents you're gifted with and sharing them with the society.

Favourite food: Vada pao and Cutting 'chai' 
Favourite singer: Mohit Chauhan, Bruce Springsteen
Favourite composer: RD Burman
Favourite place: Miami, Florida
Favourite movie: All Sci-Fi movies like Matrix, Avatar, Inception, Transformers, etc.

--Raushni Bhagia