In Tune

Introduce yourself!
My name is Lalita. I’m 22 this year, and I’m studying English Literature at Nanyang Technological University. Fun fact: I speak Mandarin as a second language!

Oh! Are you mixed?
Oh yeah, I am. My mum is Indonesian Chinese, and my dad is Malayali, though I don’t speak the language. When I was younger, my parents wanted me to learn Malayalam, but it was hard to find a tutor for my brother and I. So when it came to deciding on our second language, we ended up learning Chinese because my mum said that Bahasa is too easy to pick up.

So yes, I grew up learning Mandarin, but we only speak English at home. My parents do converse in Bahasa and Malayalam, and while I understand it, I can’t speak either language.

Yeah, unfortunately that’s that case for many of us with our dialects too. Anyway, we see you and your partner have just come from thrifting?
Yes, it’s definitely something that we do very often, ever since we started dating. It’s fun! I wasn’t really into clothes shopping at the start, so he would be the one doing a lot of the work for me, then it eventually grew on me, like “Oh, actually, this kind of slaps. I get it now!”

What are your favourite places to thrift?
We love Queensway Shopping Centre, also because I love the laksa and the waffles there. The waffle is a real hidden gem.

Looks like we’ll have to make a trip down to try it for ourselves! What are some other pastimes you have? You and your partner both seem so carefree.
I’d like to think that I am, but he’ll tell you a different story (laughs).

I really love music. I grew up playing music, and I immerse myself in it a lot. In fact, if my life had gone a bit differently, I would’ve been studying music instead of English literature! I guess I don’t mind this life, but in another life, I would’ve really loved to make music.

But you know what, I can still make music lah. I’ll just find a garage band later (laughs).

Don’t forget us when you’re famous! What instruments do you play?
I started with the piano, then I joined a concert band in school and picked up the trumpet, which since became my primary instrument for 9, 10 years.

I would love to continue, but I don’t have the time. One of my goals is to buy my own trumpet and then actually train myself as a soloist or as an individual player. I have experience with playing in bands but I don’t really have experience being my own musician.

Apart from that, I also dabbled in the drums a bit. I sing as well and played violin for a while, but that didn’t really pan out. Oh right, I’m currently playing bass guitar in my hall’s jam band. I’m not great yet because I only started last semester, and I haven’t been practicing (sorry!). But I really like the bass guitar. It’s the only string instrument that I’m actually consistently playing right now.

Wow, a multi-talented musical queen! If you were an instrument, what would you be and why?
I would love to be the euphonium—it’s my favourite brass instrument. You know the tuba? It’s like a smaller version of it, and it’s in the baritone range, so it’s not quite bass, not quite tenor. It’s lovely. It’s said to be the closest-sounding instrument to a male baritone voice and it’s so sexy (laughs).

I’ve heard phenomenal euphonium players. I’ve seen them, I’ve met them—they were my schoolmates in secondary school. They were amazing players. They make the euphonium sing. I’m just like “Wow, I wish I could do that”.

Eventually I’ll learn, if I have the money. Learning brass instruments is really expensive!