About Dhara…

Dhara was born in London and is of Sri Lankan heritage. Her outlook on life was shaped very early on as a young child, when her mother ( who was a teacher in Central London), escaped an extremely violent and abusive husband. Her mother, unusually for that time ('70s), then bought a house on her own - at a time when a man’s signature was required for such a purchase and where her ex-husband paid no maintenance !!! She is therefore fully appreciative of the battles that many women face. Her music and voice are emotive and reflective of her life experiences.

She studied Law at London University (SOAS) where a conventional Law degree was interspersed with a few modules on how both official and customary laws worked together in other cultures. She qualified as a solicitor.

As a child she loved to sing and she was regularly given the “lead” at school. Her love for music and singing remained throughout her childhood and adulthood . In fact, her very first gig was at Ronnie Scotts!!

However, tragically, her mother became very ill at the start of her legal career and as the love for her mother prevailed, she gave up her legal career and along with that, she gave up her aspiring musical career too. She became a carer for 11.5 years until her mother passed away.

During her mother’s protracted illness, She retrained as a counsellor ( primarily working with women suffering domestic violence) and also as a family mediator. She also employed builders and undertook small building projects during this time. All of these jobs were flexible and enabled her to carry on being a carer for her mother.

After her mother died, she undertook further building projects, met her husband, had her kids, opened a coffee shop - amongst a myriad of other things!! A “Jack of all Trades” !!!

An empty nester now, she is enjoying writing songs and performing again.  Her performances are warm, entertaining and interspersed with anecdotes and personal stories from a very varied life!!