A musician who blends synthpop tunes with brooding lyrics

Twenty-one- year-old Mandira began writing music at 12. This year she releases her debut EP, writes Caitlin Lester

Even for a talented young indie artiste who lives and breathes music, the current climate of the music industry is “absolutely challenging”.

Bengaluru-based Mandira, originally from Manipal, possesses a pure, effortless voice, and a striking stage presence. She creates original and exciting synthpop tunes which are deceptively feel-good, until a closer listen reveals dark, brooding lyrics.

The 21-year-old released her third single in June and has an EP set for release before the end of the year. “Releasing music without a manager is stressful — I dread it,” says Mandira, adding, “The market is full of brain rot music. It’s incredibly hard to swim through it all and find your audience.”

Her music, she adds, does not cater to short-attention spans or instant gratification — it’s deeper, more emotional.

But even if no one was listening, she’d still be making music. Her lyrics put it simply: “Music is all that I have and all that I am.”

Mandira has always had an affinity for the stage. She recalls performing “mini concerts” at age five on her grandmother’s balcony. “I would scream out songs from the Barbie movies to a non-existent audience,” she recalls.

After a childhood filled with singing contests and talent shows, Mandira started writing and composing music
at 12, and it became her lifeline through the “dark times”. 

She doesn’t sugarcoat it: “Music is the only reason I’m alive right now.”

“But I was able to do something with all those big emotions and create something beautiful I could be proud of,” she says. 

Although her songs are deeply personal, Mandira believes many of her listeners must share her experiences. “I want to give them comfort,” she says. “And, of course, groove and rhythm too.”

Her recent single, ‘Eyes on the road’, is about dissociation — something Mandira is familiar with. “It’s a reminder to people who like to disappear into a world inside their head to not give up on the real world.”

A second single from the upcoming EP, a folk-influenced track called ‘Normal anxiety’, is set for release by October. Mandira says it is “way more intense” and experimental, using breath as an instrument.

With over 300 songs already written, Mandira is ready for more than just her regular performances in Bengaluru. “I’m manifesting a world tour,” she says. “I feel so alive on stage — I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

She still holds imaginary “mini concerts” in her room, picturing every detail; the production, the lights, the choreography, the roar of the crowd. That immersive vision is what she brings to her listeners: not just songs, but a full experience, carefully imagined down to the last beat.