Sumedha Vadlapudi

About this Offering

Varsham Munduga is a Telugu pop song from the movie Sega and Sung by Sunitha and Suzanne D'Mello. I chose this song for my offering because the character in this song is coming to terms with her ambivalent feelings about her life. Many of us have felt confused and unsettled because of the pandemic and the hardships in life. I know of peers who have lost loved ones, which made them ask, "why them?" I also know of peers who had moments of feeling low but felt bad for feeling that way because they knew of people going through a lot worse. With this song, I wanted to spread the message that every individual's emotions are valid and should be acknowledged no matter the circumstance. It should always be a priority to take care of one's own mental health.

In addition, all the articles [from MT149 class] about diversity, inclusion, and equity within music also inspired me to choose a song from this Indian pop genre in my mother tongue that not many have experienced in a Western music setting. I wanted to open that door for others that may have not heard this genre of music before. Indian music is vast, as there are many genres within it. Like so, Indian pop music is also vast on its own, so I thought I could share a glimpse into what it has to offer.

Peace Builder Biography

Hi, my name is Sumedha Vadlapudi and I'm a freshman at the University of Michigan pursuing a dual degree in Voice Performance and Computer Science. I started singing when I was four years old and through the years, I have explored singing different genres of music including Western classical, pop, musical theatre, Indian classical (Carnatic and a little bit of Hindustani), and Indian pop.