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!!! Dhara grew up in a single parent household where her father paid no maintenance. She is fully appreciative of the many battles that women face. A strong independent woman raised by a strong independent woman. Subsequently, her music and voice is emotive and reflective of the hardships she has faced.

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

Having always enjoyed singing and writing songs, she was regularly given the “lead” at school , her love for music persistent throughout her childhood and her 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 as a family mediator. Also undertaking small building projects during this time. All of these jobs were flexible and enabled her to carry on being a carer for her mother.

Never one to sit around - she has since undertaken several further small 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, her love for writing songs and performing has flown back into her life. Her performances are warm, entertaining and interspersed with anecdotes and personal stories from a very varied life!!