Dixi Patel: The Indian Pediatrician by Day, Singer by Night

March 25, 2023

Dixi Patel, a multi-talented individual who has made a name for herself both in the medical field and the music industry. As a pediatrician based in Los Angeles, Dixi is dedicated to providing the best possible care for her young patients. However, when not wearing her doctor’s coat, she transforms into a dynamic singer who captivates audiences with her soulful voice and electrifying performances. With her unique blend of talents, Dixi is a fantastic example of what it means to pursue multiple passions and excel in each of them. During a session with TINDS, we delved deeper into her remarkable journey and explored how she balances her two careers simultaneously.

TINDS: Where were you born?

DIXI: I was born in Edison, New Jersey, and grew up in a relatively small town called Midland in West Texas.

TINDS: What was your childhood like?

DIXI: My parents were very ambitious about my brother and me growing up, so I was very involved in many activities. I grew up in Texas, and there weren’t many Indians around; I was the only Indian kid in my class. I loved every bit of being an Indian. I learned ‘BharatNatyam’ and trained in several Indian classical forms. There were a few Indian families whom we met later through the temple, and the daughters became my friends as we were kind of in the same boat, having them just moving in from India. The Indian traditions and culture were always kept alive one hundred percent.

TINDS: 3 words that describe you the best.

DIXI: Ambitious, Hard-working & Versatile.

TINDS: Were you trained in music as a kid?

DIXI: I was never trained in classical music, but I tried to imitate it whenever I heard it. Besides that, I love bollywood music and have always been a huge fan.

TINDS: How’d you start doing music?

DIXI: My passion for music was instilled at a young age and influenced by my family. My dad has always been passionate about singing and still currently sings religious hymns at our temple every Sunday. Whenever I see my uncle, we jam out on his keyboard and play famous Bollywood classics. My mother sang nursery rhymes to my brother playfully and to me when we were toddlers. She also taught us many prayers and religious songs. We also sang at religious events at the temple at a very young age. My passion for singing grew while being part of Swaram A Cappella, the first South Asian cappella group at Texas A&M University. Most of my musicality today is my self-interest in learning music and constantly singing and playing music during my childhood.

TINDS: How many instruments do you play?

DIXI: I grew up playing the piano, and I also played the violin for a couple of years. Funnily enough, I can play the dhol as well. If I am ever at a wedding and somebody is playing it, I will surely steal it.

TINDS: Doing so much how do you manage your time as a full-time doctor and a singer?

DIXI: I started making music when I graduated college. Then later, in 2012, when I opened for Shreya Ghoshal at her concert, that was super inspiring for me. When I joined medical school in Atlanta, I joined a band there, and we started performing in weddings and clubs, etc., and that’s when I got into it. I used to travel on the weekends to perform and come back to sit for an exam on the weekdays. I often studied on the plane while flying back to Atlanta! It was a hustle, but I got used to it, and things gradually got easier. I loved being a medicine student, and I love to sing; I never gave up or compromised doing any of it.

TINDS: Does being involved in two professions clash at times?

DIXI: Me being a pediatrician is a typical 9 to 5 job every week. Usually, events and weddings are on the weekends, so it works out. I get flown out by the client, perform, and that’s that. Everything else is taken care of by the client. It’s cool because it’s like a free trip. I get to meet new people and network. It’s empowering. I enjoy performing live because it is so much different an experience than going to sing in a studio. I feel like I am a better performer than I am the singer in the studio.

TINDS: Would you like to be addressed as a pediatrician first or a singer?

DIXI: OMG! That’s so tough. I do not know how to answer that. Music is my absolute number one passion. It feels like that’s the natural thing for me, but being a pediatrician involved twelve years of my life spent on it, which involved countless hours of study and sleepless nights. That’s my credentials, and I also want that to be known. It depends on who I am talking to because not everybody knows I do both. I’d sometimes introduce myself as a singer if I were talking to someone related to the entertainment industry somehow. I generally refer to myself as the pediatrician, but I never really went both ways and told people that I do both.

TINDS: What would you be if not a musician or a pediatrician?

DIXI: I’d probably be somehow involved in business. It’s interesting because there’s just so many aspects of business that one needs to address. I consider myself a creative person and I think I kind of have an entrepreneurial mind and I get ideas, so I probably would have started some business of my own.

TINDS: Coming this far, what would you say your struggles have been?

DIXI: When I first started singing, I wasn’t doing it for any exposure but because I liked doing it. When people heard me sing, they suggested I upload these on YouTube. Back then, I do not think there were a lot of Indian female singers out there who put themselves out to their audience. With so many platforms like Tiktok, Spotify, and streaming platforms, it is easier to get drowned out. Audiences, especially fans, are always looking for something better, and it isn’t easy to live up to expectations. Being in the profession that I am in, I have a hard time keeping up. I still try to be active on social media, but it’s time for something more extensive, like an album or something else.

TINDS: What would your advice be to young musicians?

DIXI: The most important piece of advice for everyone is to be patient with the process and trust it. You can not have expectations, and one must not get caught up in the media noise, numbers, and fame. One should purely do it for the passion and love of it, and there shouldn’t ever be another motive behind it.