Feeling hot hot hot !!!.. yups.. in a desert and during summer and an open air show definately makes me feel hot. The moment I stepped out of the car I started sweating. My very first show in Muscat, held by the Bhojpuri Wing of the Indian Social Club. This is the club that nurtured me all the way to sing confidently, which I'm still not. I don't know why am I so nervous all the time. I get the butterflies and it keeps flying and dies probably when I am out of stage heaving a sigh of relief. And today was a pretty hectic day. I was asked to report for rehearsals at 2 pm and much to my surprise the rythm pad player had apparently fallen sick and was on antibiotics and hence the rehearsals were cancelled off. So I landed up in a nail biting situation as I had not rehearsed the complete song with him and had to verbally and numerically do it through the phone. Numerically cos I was literally counting the number of bars as he was playing it on his laptop on the other end of the line. Thanks to mobiles!! Unsatisfied ,I decided I would not keep thinking about it too much and probably risk it live on stage. So then headed to a family friend's place and then lunch. Hogged like a pig and was hoping that it would digest by my show time. As soon as lunch was over ,Dad had to meet someone officially so I and mom felt like we were sitting in a furnace despite the a/c in the car. So much for the summer in the desert!! Got back home ,plugged myself to the world of Kumbakaran.
But time's always a villain and soon I had to wake up and apply war paint and get dressed and all those usual things. Another bad habit of mine is when I don't get my full sleep I lose my temper on every single thing. And poor mom has to bear them all...wish I could become a better person someday.. i.e. if I am devoid of full sleep :) At the venue (the bhojpuri show) ,caught up with some other singers performing and I was again full of laughter and excitement just when the bug bit me and I could soon feel the butterflies. Ignoring them as I have no choice ,I gave my best. Since I was the first performer for the evening I was given a little gap until the next. But realised that by nine I had to reach the other show for the evening. It was taxing and I knew I have to keep my energy levels up. Unable to manipulate the schedule I couldn't sing any more songs and had to leave for the green room to change my costume. I felt bad cos I had planned to sing barso re and couldn't. After freshning up and doing the bye- byes I was on my way to Kal aaj aur kal .
The entrance was grand and the hall was booming with voices ,felt good to perform here after a whole year. I was frantically running around cos I thought I was a little late but with God's grace I had reached well before my turn. I was singing Mayya Mayya and Yeh Ishq Hai. I had a dancer along with me for Mayya Mayya who looked awesome in her Arabic costume. It was fun singing both the songs except that I had few mic problems intially. Met with a couple of old friends who said I have become 'longer' and talkative! Usually after these shows ,all the participants dine together and celebrate over the success. But today I could not, firstly because I was almost half dead and secondly cos I have early morning classes. So couldn't Jashn Mana-fy this time :(While I was going back home my cousin brother who has become my 'official' photographer was commenting that I had my eyes closed most of the time. I am always involved into whatever I do , especially when it comes to singing. And it doesn't apparently give 'shobha' when I close my eyes while singing a number like Yeh Ishq Hai . It's visible in my pics taken during the show, where in most of them I have my eyes closed. That's probably one singing 'manner' I may not be able to change! The pressure of giving your best, to capture the audience's hearts is one of the greatest quality a singer can get. And to be appreciated dil se, is the most priceless award an artist can receive .Speaking of awards during the Bhojpuri show I was gifted a memento by the Indian Ambassador, A. Wadhwa. After murmuring a thank you I expected a welcome or least a smile. But much to my arousement this gentleman was posing happily for his photograph and before I could leave he whispered "wait! the cameras!!". Ofcourse that did bring a smile on my face but to think of what celebs and famous personalities go through when they face the media. That is something I hate about fame. Just no privacy.okkkkk...enough of bakwas ..time to put my exhausted brain and voice to sleep. With another show coming up looks like I'll have to live with 4 hours sleep for another week. But the next show is something I am looking forward to... will soon post on it.
Couldn't take any scenic pics as yet but the concert pics are available HERE.
14 comments:
i am glad you had fun while feeling hot hot hot! :-)
looked like you had fun over there :) i used to be really really scared of getting on to the stage for whatever reason. a coupla ppl gave me some really good advice. a senior said 'just imagine that all the people sitting in the audience are naked'. lol, that was probably the best advice i got :) only, its kinda hard to stop laughing for some people :D
Glad to see u r doing lotsa shows and being a busy gal.. and hey, the privacy thing.. get used 2 the celebrity life!! or elz, u're gone!
and abt the heat, u going frm ker rite?then y the heat probz?.. here at pkd also its 42.. so am usd to it totally! :)...
hope the folks njoyed ur singing .. and as i always say "place a smile wen u sing"! or else it seemz like u aint njoying th job...and as long as u dont, audience also wnt! so it means ur show bcomes a failure.. so betta start getting jiggy with it!!
gman : your senior's advice doesn't seriously work !! But stage fear .. that is my 'kuduporappu'.... it's pretty hard for me to keep a smily face too.. either there has to be something funny happening in the audience, or either I should make a spontaneous mistake or either my co-singer should smile at me. These are the only ways that can make me smile. Otherwise I always keep a frowned face..unintentionally. And I am making an effort to make it more pleasant.
Raaji: :D
Vikas: Kerala is nothing compared to here. Even the water that comes out of pipes are burning hot from 8 in the morning to like .. 7 or so. So we fill and keep it for a while..and only after it cools we use it .. otherwise we ll die out of burns.
hmm, tats hard! do wel!
well...i didn't use his advice :D i was scared i'd start laughing and never stop. i dunno, one day i was terrified of getting on stage and the next one, i wasn't. our school used to host an inter-school cultural event. 9 other schools in our school auditorium. we rehearsed like hell but i was still damn sure my knees would be banging against each other when i finally did get on stage to host my event. funnily enough, i walked on, took one look at the audience, and i liked being on stage :) for the first time. didn't wanna get off it...
g-man : It's super exciting to get on stage but it's the starting trouble. Once I start singing it's so much fun .. you just wish you could sing all day along. It also depends on how motivating the crowd is. But audience or no audience it's always proffessionalism to give your best. You host??? That's hard.. I've done it twice, it was fun but scary.. you just gotta keep talking and talking ... and most of the time extempore!!!
i don't usually host. that was my very first time :) talk about a stage for it lol...
hosting is not permamnent BTW.. it's for a particular season. Atleast you did attempt and realise the beauty of the art. That's what matters!
yea, it was totally fun :) there were 7 of us on the team, and four rounds to conduct. we had tonnes of fun. one moron got it into his head to wear a bandanna. we all felt like strangling him with it, but apart from that, fun :) you've sung at trivandrum? which college you studying in?
Yups... I have sung for the Kerala Television Award Night at Nishagandhi and also at Pujapura field for Onam. Women's college
wow ok, nice...if you ever do sing barso re, send me the clip. i think that song would be perfect for your voice
I was so excited about singing Barso re on stage but sadly coz I had to reach the other venue at time I had to run off without singing that one. But I shall soon record and upload it in my audio blog. Inshallah !!
Post a Comment