based on it. As a classical musician, I don’t think this stands
high. Carnatic musicians sing in G and G sharp and Hindustani
singers sing in little higher pitch- but that is totally fine.
What are the other genres of music you like to listen?
I absolutely love listening to Ghazals of Mehdi Hassan,
Begum Akhtar, Subha Gurtu , Ghulam Ali Saab, Madhurani
and Jagjit Singh ji. I don’t know why I love it so much –
whether it is emotional graph, poetry and the imaginary
world it takes me. For people who are in creative space,
we are allowed to be in such spaces (laughs). It is my
own space to be crazy and ghazals to that to me.
What is your take on self-made classical singers?
I feel self-made classical singers are an impossible thing. You
need to give 15 years of closed room practice and learning
from a dedicated guru(s) who follow a same ideology. It is not
an instant transformation. The culture takes time and it is
a deeply personal journey that doesn’t happen overnight. It
needs guidance and sharing of divine spiritual thought between
guru-shishya. It is not just learning a song but a musical
ideology that doesn’t happen without a journey. The self-made
artist might sing a composition greatly but to make it a way
of life- a classical musician has to undergo this journey.
How was experience when you sang for playback singing?
The texture and presentation skills for playback singing was
completely different compared to classical performance. I learnt
a lot during the playback singing and I had great friends who
could help me about the requirements. As a classical singer, the
approach and mindset for playback singing is quite different. The
challenging aspect of it made me explore it with conviction. I am
personally very happy with my Indian classical space though!
You have been singing the Raga Chaya Thillana quite often in
the live concerts and credited Dr.M.Balamurali Krishna for
teaching it. How was the experience learning it from him?
I have actually learnt music from the legend Balamurali ji for
nearly three years. I took a gap between Bachelors and Masters
and stayed in Chennait to go for his classes. I used to go in the
afternoon for the class till evening and learnt music from him.
I also had the privilege to hear about his life experiences, feed
me with sumptuous food and teach me fantastic compositions.
I used to come back home, stay till late night and practice those
compositions. The next day’s afternoon, I used to sing all of
them and he used to correct the mistakes. Every day I had to
go and sing the new compositions and it was quite challenging.
The idiom of Carnatic and Hindustani music is quite different.
The notes might be the same but the rendition style is quite
different. Balamurali ji was kind enough to explain me about
the 72 Melakartha raga scheme , tala structure, and the
compositions of the musical trinity. He also taught me his own
compositions such as Thillanas and Kritis. I was very young
at that time, but was really interested to learn. Balamurali
ji took so much time out of his busy schedule to give me and
make me understand the discipline of Carnatic music.
What was the one advice your father has given
you from the formative years?
I started learning music when I was a very young child.
At such age, people don’t give advice as such. To get
such an advice, a person is expected to receive it
with maturity. The child usually knows just to
do something which is said. To be honest, it
was my mother who was giving me guidance.
Mothers have a unique way of getting the
job done by the kids. They have a unique
sequence of emotional actions to get the
child do what they want! Later on in
my teens when I was 11-12, my father
took the responsibility as my parents
realized I was showing seriousness
in music. It was when my musical
journey started with my father. It was
quite strict and rigid for the coming
10-15 years actually, I never had a
conversation with my Dad. It was
only his direction which I followed.
How do you attain such tremendous
control over voice during your
renditions in performances?
Is it Riyaz or something
more as well?
The
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