Who is Ananya Birla?

Ananya Birla is a singer-songwriter and an entrepreneur. (Photo: Instagram/ananyabirla)

Ananya Birla, who recently accused a top US restaurant of being ‘racist’, is a singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. The 26-year-old is the daughter of Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.

Ananya is currently attached with the music label Universal Music India, with hit songs like “Hold On,” “Better” and “Circles” to her credit. She released her debut EP Fingerprint in May last year.

During a recent interaction with indianexpress.com, Ananya Birla opened about her musical journey. The artiste said, “I actually started learning the santoor around the age of 9. I was inspired by my mother who I used to watch play for hours. I still play it today and it is one of my favourite things to do to relax after a long day. I think learning it way back then, helped in my training immensely. When I got a little older, I taught myself the guitar with YouTube tutorials and started figuring out how to compose too. While I was at the University of Oxford, I would head to London every week and gig around the city.”

Apart from music, Ananya is also the founder of a microfinance company called Svatantra Microfin, which provides financial aid to women in rural India. In 2018, she featured in GQ’s list of Most Influential Indians.

???? The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Entertainment News, download Indian Express App.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd