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Museek
Mag
SOUND
CHECK
Selvakumar : Do you recall any incident and share with us ? Devi - I remember an incident when I was performing a Malayalam song about Onam in Queen Mary ’ s College , where PB Srinivas sir was the chief guest . ( sings ) He told my principal that I should be sent to represent the college in various inter-college competitions . And I won prizes in Mardi Gras ( IIT ) where these masters like MSV sir were called to judge . It ’ s been a long learning process till today . The very first and foremost thing that I feel about me is that one , I ’ m an ardent rasika and two I ’ m an student . Selvakumar - What was your first song as a playback singer ?
Devi - It was the great Ilayaraja sir who introduced me . Naturally , I was introduced to him , when he used to come for his lessons with TGV sir . I got a rare and golden opportunity having introduced by none other than him . My song was Kalyana Selai Unathaagum Naalai from Ambigai Neril Vanthaal with SP Balasubramaniam uncle , it was a complete shock for me as I was literally shivering him . I never knew I was going to sing my first song with him . ( sings ) Since then and till today , SPB uncle has been my greatest well-wisher , mentor and absolute encourager . Another person , who I am encouraged and blessed to be associated with is Janaki amma . As a child when I was 9 , I had a condition of tonsils and asthma . From Kerala when I came to Chennai , I met a doctor cum director from Malayalam industry called Dr . Balakrishnan Menon . He introduced me to Janaki amma and as she asked me to sing , i sang one of her songs which she got an award . She took me her house and she taught me a lot of wonderful things for a singer . I used to go for recordings with her and I used to watch and learn from her . I think these are the greatest blessings as a student and a lover of music , that anyone would have aspired for .
Selvakumar - Tell something about your guru , Dr . T . V . Gopalakrishnan . How did he influence you in your music ?
Devi - One of the most awe-inspiring about my guru is that , he is open to all kinds of music . He never stopped me or any of his students to pursue any other genre of music . He never insisted me to stick only to the Carnatic or Hindustani . He always encouraged me to learn as much as I can and told I should never stop learning . That ’ a a mantra that reverberates in my ears . He always advised me not to take success to my head . So , these are the two mantras , which I take seriously in my life . Because , I have accompanied him everywhere and he has met many great maestros , many Oscar award or Grammy award winners . I have witnessed how grounded , unassuming and open they all are . So , in my growing years , I had a lot of opportunities to learn folk music from different parts of India and the west . Which is probably one of the reasons why I really gelled singing with the composers in film music industry . Ottha Ruba Tharen from Naattupura Paattu was one of the folk songs i have sung which became a huge hit . Before that , I have sung quite a number of songs , which I never got credited in any cassettes . I never used to bother that before , but when I toured Malaysia for a concert , I was upset when people suspected whether I was the original singer of those songs . When I told Raja sir about this , the very next album I did was Naattupura Paattu in which I sang for all of the songs . The album was a super duper hit which gave me a lucky break . After that I got opportunities to sing with various other composers like Deva sir , Vidyasagar sir . Vidyasagar sir gave me few hit songs like Noorandukku Oru Murai fromThayin Manikodi which one of my favourites .
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