I am a professional musician residing in Mississauga since 2001. I am a vocalist and an instrumentalist. I play a unique eastern musical instrument called the Esraj. The instrument looks like a mini version of the Sitar. But it is a string instrument played with a bow. The sound of the Esraj is considered as the sound closest to human singing. My musical journey started when I was 12 years old, while schooling in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I had a liking to the Esraj since childhood and played melodies on my own with no guidance. I focussed in oriental classical music initially and further nurtured my skills in classical vocal and instrumental music from the Bhatkande University of Music, Lucknow, India and developed my proficiency by the age of 22. MUSICAL CAREER Having performed as a supporting artist to many classical musicians from Sri Lanka and India for many years, I wanted to become a solo instrumentalist. As desire of music listeners evolved from classical music to light music, I began replicating popular light musical renditions through the Esraj. As I was one of the few that embraced this trend, my music became popular in Sri Lanka and I was invited to perform musical segments in national television and radio. My first solo Esraj instrumental was telecasted by the ITN television network, Sri Lanka in 2000 which inspired music listeners due to my soothing style of play and the uniqueness of the tone of this hitherto classical instrument. I released my first Esraj instrumental CD “Immortal Melodies - Sonduru Sathsara 1” in November 2000 in Colombo, few months before migrating to Canada. In June 2004, I held my first Solo Esraj Instrumental Concert, “Sonduru Sathsara” in Toronto. Thereafter, the concert was held several times in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Greater Toronto Area and in Detroit, MN U.S.A. I released 3 sequels thereafter. See Attachment 2: Performances & Achievements My Esraj concerts contain renditions of popular South Asian, Sri Lankan and Western light music.