By now that familiar voice that has been cautioning you umpteen number of times to take various necessary precautions on following social distancing, wearing masks, and washing hands regularly, in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
Now, get to know the lady behind this iconic voice.
Jasleen Bhalla, a former sports journalist, has been working as a voice-over artist for 10 years. A graduate in English from the Delhi University’s Khalsa College, Jasleen has previously recorded her voice for various advertisements and announcements for organizations and companies like Delhi Metro, SpiceJet and IndiGo.
Now, in a conversation with TOI, Jasleen said she was awestruck when she first heard her voice playing as a caller tune. She informed she had recorded the message for a production house in March, but was ignorant that it was meant for a public campaign.
“Now I can’t help but feel a certain sense of pride whenever I hear it,” she said.
Since March, telecom companies in India replaced ringtones with default caller tunes that spread awareness about the virus.
In an earlier interview with NDTV, Jasleen called listening to her own voice on phone an “out of body” experience. She also informed, “Each time the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) updates its information, I have to record a fresh voice-over like the time they changed social-distancing norms from two feet to six feet.”
She has recorded the message in English and Punjabi.
Jasleen admitted her previous gigs didn’t sound as resourceful as this one, saying, “My family knows it’s me on the other end of the cell phone so in a way it has made them more cautious about following guidelines, wearing masks and using sanitizers.”
She further added the responsible tone came to her pretty easily as she was taught discipline and responsibility at a young age.
Bhalla, like most of us, has spent most of the lockdown attending to household chores, taking up cooking lessons simultaneously completing her professional assignments from home. “I always respected my house help but my respect for her and the whole astonishment about her stamina, given the amount of work she does, has gone notches up. I can’t just even imagine how much physical labour they put in their work,” she says.
She also said how grateful she was for being able to earn her daily bread when a lot of people are not that favoured. “It’s been a very humbling experience and it’s very difficult for all of us to accept this new normal, it doesn’t feel normal at all,” she shares, adding, “Whatever we have done with Mother Earth, we are just paying for our deeds. I hope we all come out of it by making some changes in our lives.”