listening to one genre of music , I was very open to listening to all forms of music .
Was music always on the forefront of your mind as a career path ? How important is education to you ?
Music was not a career choice for a very long time in my life . I never thought of doing anything . I never thought I could do anything in my life , so I think it was a good thing , I looked at music more and that is something I love being around , as opposed to something that I need to do to get somewhere , so therefore it was something that I would do with my heart without any expectations or without any thinking of the returns that I would get from it . I still do that when I listen to music . I am still a tourist . I don ’ t listen to it like a singer or a vocalist , but I listen to it to give me peace , so I think it never works for me . I don ’ t think I work to live my life .
There is a lot of overlap between mathematics and music . Having studied applied statistics , are there any mathematical concepts that you have been able to apply in your musical endeavours , or rather , draw parallels to ?
I feel everything is connected , from cooking food to doing maths to making clothes to having a conversation , everything is music and there is a background that keeps happening behind it , so I don ’ t see that it is any different . Actually , studying or getting an education is very important . More than anything else , going to school or college allows you to make friends , which is the whole point of going . So never look at things in compartments . I think everything is interrelated , so please finish your education . It will be so much fun to have these friends and to have stories to think about later on .
You are especially known for your success with songs sung in your lower register - was this a conscious artistic choice or did it just happen due to songs you were initially known for ( Tose Naina , etc .)?
So , Tose Naina was low registered and just the exact opposite was ‘ Khuda Jaane ’ was the upper register . I will be very honest . When I first heard about Khuda Jaane , I was quite intimidated and I felt that I couldn ’ t do it . This was the last time I saw Vishal and Shekhar , but they were so sweet and supportive , and it really turned out to be something beautiful . I would like to do many things , and it has been years since I have put out music that you guys have been showing love for .
You first started your music career singing to jingles ? Jingles may seem relatively simple on the surface , especially if it ’ s a short commercial . What goes into a jingle ? Is it more complicated ?
So thank you to Shankar Mahadevan Sir , because he advised me to start with Jingles . I had just moved to Bombay with no recording experience , and he said , why don ’ t you start from the bottom and work your way up , and I think that was the best piece of advice that someone ever gave me , and he actually made me see how recording is a different art form .
The Artistry
How do you balance precision in vocal delivery with expressing emotions ( this could go hand-in-hand but there are times when you may have to compromise one for the other ). LIkewise , as a listener how do you balance paying attention to precision / technicalities vs premise / emotion ?
So , when you are at the recording and you are at the mic , that ’ s not the time to think of precision . At that time , I just connect with the song and I don ’ t think , I don ’ t calculate , I don ’ t measure . At that point , you just need to emote . Precision work comes at home when you are actually practising , so your Riyaas is your precision . You really need to work hard and get the precision right , the pitching right , and the emotion right . I think it ’ s like walking on fire because Riyaas is never pleasant , but that fire transfers to those beautiful songs that you eventually record , so you need both of them .
It could be as simple as not understanding a line . I ’ ve been singing these ghazals since I was a kid , “ Dekh toh Dil ke Jaha se Uthta Hain , Ye Dhua sa Kaha se Uthta Hain ,” and I never knew the meaning because it ’ s just a coma . On the first line , it makes all the difference . And just this year , I was going through an interview with Mehdi Sahab and he said , “ When you keep doing things and when you keep bettering yourself on a daily basis , that ’ s progress .” So enjoy every single day because that ’ s progress .
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