Quote for the month

Yesterday I had a shoot for one of the episodes of Nine at Night for Rosebowl. I got to have a conversation with Mr. Alphonse who is creating waves with his latest from Rahman's Vinnaithandi Varuvaya. Apart from being humble, talented and a spiritual person, his struggles ,despite a great entry as a composer through 'Vellithira' ,is worth a listen. His belief in God and constant hardwork without any distractions has inspired me in a way to ignore all the negativity that comes in my way. You must remember that the greatest critic of you is within you. And the Quote for the month is :

"Dreams and Dedication are a powerful combination."

Happy Republic Day !!!

Happy Republic Day to all of you. Though I am still worried about the country's regard towards 26/11, Ruchika case and thousand such problems we can definitely be proud about the declaration of the Padma Bhushan awards..especially to the greatest legend ever, Mr. Illaiyaraja, most admired human being, Mr. A.R.Rahman and the one I consider a perfectionist, Mr. Aamir Khan. It's absolutely great to hear such a good news on the eve of the Republic Day! Let India keep producing such Khans and Rahmans :) and wishing Mother India a great year of environmental peace and tolerant humanity.

The above pic was sent by Dad through some forwarded mail. I found it very attractive and not too loud! Have uploaded few more .. check them out HERE.

One of them from my big list of principles are to keep professional things 10 yards away from personal. I really dread working with those people who can't follow the above . Be it in any field , one should never ever remain silent to any injustice done but should at the same time take care of the society and the time one has to execute the consequences. Sometimes at work I hate to work with some people because of their unprofessional attitude. It kills me to give my 100 % in such situations and to accept the fact that united we stand. Team work is always a success and we just need to ignore a lot of things that happen at work in order to be professional. But I do voice my opinion when it crosses the lakshmanrekha.

Done with Nine at Night shoot for this week. Was as usual fun to do extempore conversations with celebrities. But my best till date has been with Baluji. Firstly his violin is one mesmerizing object which can probably be used all the while. Secondly he speaks so informally that it makes the anchor feel big and nice :) To top it all the last jamming session we made up in Jog. I had asked him to play anything he likes and when he kept thinking about what to play I suggested him to do some piece in Jog to which he kept thinking more. Then he came up with this brilliant plan of jamming and asked me to try out some aalaps.. was daaaaaamn nervous but to jam with him is one helluva experience and was the most appreciated part of the episode. All's well that jam's well ;)

Tiaaaaaaaaaa

Bollywood strip club

To see actors being really passionate about their acting is a good sign but not to an extent where people feel embarrassed to watch them even if the 'role demands it'. John, Neil, etc are some of the brightest actors of the future of our Filmdom. Though I am very supportive of most of the things they come up with nudity is something I do not support. Their justification is pretty convincing but even if the role demands, to watch it on screen with your parents... or even friends it's embarrassing. Maybe it's my mindset. Reality is not necessarily required to be copied on screen. Something’s are understood or they could cover it up in a way that it is understood. It's moving in a too-fast pace. The growth from flowers kissing each other has now brought us in a situation where we get to see love making even before wedlock. Even if we say that people have moved on and have started to support pre mature sex and old traditions have died, onscreen it's a different picture altogether. I don't support premature sex but I am sure that those who support also will not be comfortable watching it with their parents .There is a line drawn to mark a certain saturation point and when that is crossed it's a feeling of being a stranger. Almost all have a goof body to flaunt but when used in the right time at the right situation it doesn't feel awkward. One of the finest examples is Chandni Bar. Be it a two piece or no pieces I wish I soon become comfortable watching all this or soon I will be ditching the movie theatres near my place.

It pissed me off when so much hype is created about a movie with just a big star cast and no script. I never go to watch them and I am glad that public is giving thumbs down for such a heap of waste. I admire Bebo's wardrobe in Kambakht Ishq but I am glad that it was not declared a hit just cos of Stallone and Richards. I guess people have developed a sense of understanding the criteria for a hit movie. It's not about making a serious cinema like Black or something jazzy like CC2C..It’s about providing a story out of it. In some movie of the recent times I just love the acting of some of the superstars but it's such a disappointment to call a friend after the movie and tell him/her that I didn't get the story!

And another thing people should avoid is comparing movies Khamoshi should not be compared to Hum dil de chuke sanam and nor should Ore Kadal be compared to Ritu. They are fresh in their aspects and just show the various interpretations of the director's ideas on that subject. Being one of the singers of Ritu, people shoot questions like why was Asif shown as a gay in the movie. Apparently it was irrelevant. But my take on that subject is that it is relevant. Depends on one's perception. His gay shade was not portrayed cos of the recent hype created about the laws regarding gay rights. Sharath is a friend who believes he knows his friends better than himself and that no one knows him the way he has learnt them. At the point when he is told by some fellow worker that Sunny is a secretly a gay ,it's a moment where Sharath feels that the value created of his friendship is all gone. It' a moment when he self realizes that he never knew Sunny. It actually indicates that what we always see on the outside is not true. So he being a gay attributes a lot to Sharath's evaluation on the understanding he had about his friendship. It took him that long to realize it and that is the importance of Asif being a gay. To each his own.. This is just what I understood from the movie.

Nine @ Night will have some special interviews this whole week cos of Onam. I am not sure about which one will be telecast when. But tonight at 9 PM in Rosebowl channel we have Naresh Iyer opening his heart out. And on the 2nd of September we have 'The Big Onam Splash' on Rosebowl itself from 8 30 AM to 9 30 PM... catch it if possible.. Will be uploading most of it online anyways... till then advance Onam wishes...Ciao!

"Sach Ka Samna"

The hype created about this show is just way too less than I had expected it to be. This whole debate on whether India is prepared for it or not is absolutely baseless. TV being the largest medium for publicity, there are umpteen shows today be it reality or fiction... you can just simply switch the channel if you find any particular programme obscene. There are very few people left in this kalyug who want to free themselves off the burden of their sins.. if not all atleast the lies. One should appreciate and someone rightly said that politicians should definitely take up the hot seat. I really salute all those contestants who really have the guts to take up the hot seat and reveal some of the most deadly secrets of their life. And the best part of the show is it is voluntary decision of the participant which actually illuminates the purpose of the concept. Cos it shows the confidence in him/her. HT was discussing about this at centre stage and there was this big guy who was bragging about how unprepared India is to face this. But the best part of the whole debate was when Rajeev Khandelwal asked the big guy about teaching our children to lie instead of facing the truth to which the guy gave an absolutely vague answer. Funnily, the people who have big mouths to say the worst are the ones who end up not missing a single episode...People should learn to accept the good things of our society and should also digest the fact that it's a heap of truth and not a heap of crap. For those who give it a thumbs down .. please make the effort of extending your hands to this gadget known as the remote which is magically the mode through which one can exercise 'ignorance is bliss'.

Ritu- A Shyam Prasad- Rahul Raj combo..

April 21st: I wished Mom on her birthday and I thought of taking her out for dinner.. so I asked dad to chill out cos he wouldn't be asked for his credit card.. so we made plans for a movie and then thought of going for dinner. As planned we got the tickets and sat inside the theatre I got a call from Rosebowl regarding a show..so I asked my parents to continue watching the movie. Once done with the meeting my dad gave me a call saying someone called to his number asking for me and said it was urgent! So I went back to the theatre and gave a call to that anonymous number and the person on the other line was casually asking me where I was.. I asked him to intro himself and he said he was Rahul Raj! He asked me to come for the recording two days later and said it was for Shyam Prasad's next.

Two days later I started off to Cochin and reached there by around 2 in the afternoon. We were signalled to wait outside the recording room and I was so tired that I unknowingly took a quick nap. After half an hour of napping and waiting a man with average height stepped outside the room.. and the moment I saw him I knew who it was! He shook hands with dad and introduced himself as Shyam Prasad (as if the intro was required). After a little while Suchith, Jeetu and Job came out along with Rahul sir and they requested me to wait for 15 more minutes as they wanted to do some pet-pooja.

Finally they were done with the lunch and I was given the lyrics. I was made to sing every line twice or thrice with the music and so was Job asked to. After a little bit of rehearsing I was asked to go first and record :).. being my first proper playback experience in Malayalam I was a daaaaaaam nervous.. but Rahul ji always makes you feel comfortable with his lame jokes of course! Back in the recording room all I wanted to do was focus.. but with all the joking and pulling the leg.. all I could do was laugh and laugh :D ... But the most tension-ing part of the recording was that Shyam Prasad was there throughout! But the person is awesome infact I had such a nice time talking to him after I recorded the initial portions. Shyam sir had said it's a club song and said that we shoudln't record it thinking it's another semi-art movie ..hehe..great fun with such awesome people to work with..Job was awesome.. the feel he emotes so naturally is something we should have in us naturally...For dinner we all had chapathi and chicken and it was around 11 that I started from there for Trivandrum !!

Cindrella.mp3

I hope you guys had a wonderful time listening to this smashing number!! Do give me honest feedback :D



The Video




For the trailor click HERE.

Check out few posters of RITU Here.

To check out Shyam Prasad sir speaking about Ritu go here

World Music Day - Rosebowl

Check out the World Music Day special On Rosebowl tomorrow from 11 am to 9 pm..again a 10 hour Telethon!!

Anchors are:
Lekha Sreekumar, Roshni, Sidharth Nair, Neha Nair and Tao.

Do not miss it .. and do send in your valuable comments !!!

The Shiney Ahuja case has completely shocked me cos I never expected him out of all the stars to do so. I never got time to watch the channels as I was busy with my own work but when my mom told me about this I was completely taken aback. The guy has just started off and is pretty much talented.. then what made him do so in the absence of his infant is quite horrifying. It's so sad to see such cases where one is completely helpless . The whole thing of the fashion world and Filmdom being corrupted is only being proven right day by day. The respect for the industry falls so low and it's very hard to just ignore it.

About child labour regarding the child artists who are acting in Balika Vadhu, etc. should not be made a big deal about. I mean if the children are comfortable with it ,it's a good way to boost themselves at such a young age besides serials like Balika Vadhu impart a lot of knowledge one has to know. It may not change things immediately but if an effort is being made , it definitely does not become a waste. Also the child artists are doing a commendable job. So talented! and I wonder where they find the time to juggle up their homework’s with their shooting schedules. The children are the light of the serial. Without them the title itself is so meaningless. I hope they are not removed on the basis of 'child labour'.

The other day I was listening to Page 3 expert Simi speak on Sheetal Mafatlal case. What Simi said about the case was that the treatment given was totally unfair. Something like things worth more than 2 crores are not allowed to be carried. She gave this very interesting example of one who is probably carrying a gown or an Armani worth 3 crore aboard, he would have to be detained for paying the extra duty! kaise baat ka batangad bana gaya is a definite look out in this case and I won't comment much as I really haven't dug into the details but of what I heard from Simi I did feel that Sheetal was definitely being targeted for another purpose altogether.

A chat with Balabhaskar

The moment I was told that I am suppose to interview Balabhaskarji I was excited because I am his biiiig fan.. from the time I have heard him in the Soorya Fest. So last night I was busy googling about him and got in touch with some of his close friends to get some itsy bitsy masala stuff for the show. I was told that he would reach by ten and I reached Mascot Hotel ,the venue around ten. The wait is horrible but when you know it's for someone special it's worth it. In between Venu Nagavalli sir had come there for an interview and since he is my distant relative I went up and introduced myself.. Apparently my face is familiar :) God knows how !! By around 11:30 am we were getting anxious about why he didn't arrive on time and voila! he was waiting for us from the past one hour on the other side. Why was there no communication done between the producer and Baluji is still a puzzle in mind... Anyhow the shoot started and I had rehearsed my introductory lines about him. On the side he was testing his violins and was tuning them. I was extremely conscious at first but he is soooo smiley and so natural that he makes you want to be a kid. I mean we were literally giggling and smirking and I was making why-are-you-so-humble-looks for which he returned I-am-born-humble smiles :D The best part of this session was his explanation about one of his works namely pa-less. It was one work which was appreciated by his Guru and it was a small thing that he composed in Vasantha ragam. As Vasantha is a raga that does not use panchama he names his piece pa-less :D :D... Now I don't really have to explain about his humor! One of a kind I tell you! I made him communicate through his violin a lot and he also made me sing. I hate to sing when I am not the guest or the 'main' person. But my producer was hell bent on me singing and blah blah so I eventually sang a Hariharan ghazal. It will be telecasted on Rosebowl pretty soon and will update you on that!

I have finally joined the gym to pull down but guess things are working the wrong way as I lost around 0.5 day before and today when I checked again.. gained one! So I am following a strict diet and blah blah .. oh! Life's totally depressing nowadays. Day before yesterday Jai Hind channel had come over to my place to shoot Mr. B.Sasikumar . They liked the upper hall of my house and thought that it would make a beautiful musical ambience for the shoot. I was in class the whole morning and was upset about not being able to witness the shoot but thankfully that day we were sent back home early and I could make it on time. Met up with my all time favourite Balabhaskar ji!! Also present were Gopan uncle, Kavalam sir, Rajasree Warrier, etc. The shoot went upto 5 in the evening and the anchor was nervous as it was her first time apparently. Sasikumar sir is absolutely chilled out and happens to know my very first Guru Shri. Ramesh K. Narayan in Muscat. He even remembers how he looks. You can have a good look at my house when the shoot is telecasted.

Yesterday I was invited to the drama written and directed by Soorya Krishnamurthy sir named 'Pulari'. It took place in Swathitirunal College and will be going on till the 15th. I never knew that he was a writer until he owned up that fact when I went to his place couple of weeks back. He was saying that he is a theatre person basically and music and dance is something he learns from the artists that take part in his tours! I don't think it will be right to explain the whole story here but the performances was superlative. Especially the Tea shop guy and the old man. All the other characters were too good but these two touched my heart. There would be no life in the play without the tea shop guy ! It's been a long time since I got to watch a play and was looking forward to this . I was worried if I wouldn't get the passes or not but surprisingly there were no passes required .. you just need to be an art lover ! I can't even use paisa vasool here !! :D So if you guys want to catch it there's still time till the 15th. Gates close by 6:55 sharp and the play starts at dot 7.

My lappy is formatted and is looking brand new. *so proud of it* ... It's mother board is totally messed up due to which my CD drive is damaged... so I am just leaving it that way but I really miss watching Friends. I used to keep watching them anytime I feel bored.. and now I'll have to catch it's reruns late night... For now.. adios amigo!

Rajanigandha season 3

I never expected them to work with the team again!! After last year’s success with Srini sir I guess I would be asking for too much... but things worked well with me and I ended up going to Muscat for the show. But this journey without dad was painful for the cause that though he is bugging when it comes to practicing and maintaining discipline... if it wasn't for him... I would probably be in TV Today. M.G.Sreekumar was the guest singer for the show and I got to share the stage with him for ramayana kaate. The other songs I sang were Singaravellane and chandu thottile. A memorable show after all it's my first without Dad! But this would have never been possible without my Gurus Ramesh sir and Khalid sir. I would also like to thank Dr. Thomas , Sasi uncle and Ramani aunty, Ramdas uncle and Sindhu aunty and the sponsors for making this happen!


To check out few pics during rehearsals.. Go here.

It's so messed up... who? The Kerala University! They don't give the dates in advance and expect us to cancel or reschedule whatever we have in mind for the sake of their own-sweet-time-decision-making-system. I had a show just a day before my main paper and had to travel to Trissur and then back to Trivandrum the same day. And now my next headache is that I have a show on the same day as my language exam, the only problem is the venue... it's in Muscat!!! After a lot of thinking I finally decided to take up the show and thought of writing the exams in September. I really wish the University would give us the whole schedule a month before exams so that we could prepare for exams on time! And plan out our extracurricular activities as well.

BTW the Muscat show is on the 22nd of May in Al- Falej. The special guest is M.G.Sreekumar and we have a whole lot of youngsters from Muscat singing on the show. I will be performing 3 songs and the show is conducted by my primary Guru, Shri. Ramesh K. Narayan. The rest of the details will be available in the local newspapers out there.

I am looking out for some good gyms in Trivandrum... really want to shed some kilos... but don't know much about the gyms here... so if someone could help me with it...Please do!!

The R factor...

This is regarding a letter from Dr. Balakrishna Varma, a psychiatrist on his take on reality show.. Click here to read the letter.

Lot of people are saying that the judges are being too harsh on the children and torturing them mentally... but I feel they are fair enough. I am talking about the panel of judges in Malayalam reality shows. In fact sometimes I feel they just show a blind eye to most of the mistakes saying it could affect the votes dedicated to a particular contestant by his/her fan. The children’s' episode is pretty fun to watch and I feel that they shouldn't join if they are not able to take in the pressure. Crying at the elimination stage is fair enough... Everyone does have feelings and at some point do feel that competition has something more than just the participation factor. When I used to enrol for competitions, I was always brainwashed that I am participating to remove my stage fear and not to win a trophy. But knowingly we go there expecting a prize for sure and when we don't win it is a disappointment. But what is funny is some of the reality show contestants are pretty strong enough when they are eliminated and stand there with a bright positive smile just when the comperer does her job and then the river begins to overflow. Elimination episodes have TRP more than any other episodes because we Indians love emotional drama.

The major negative I felt is about this 'family round' where the singer has to perform with all his family members on stage... more like a republic day parade! More than the judges I feel parents are the ones who pressurize their children at home if they scored less marks or wotever. Overall after analyzing the pros and cons I feel they affect in a more positive way and for those who are actually looking for a platform to showcase their versatility...do go for it !!!.. (Though I wouldn't personally go for it)

My first Voting ever !!!

Getting and ID card for this process was a horrible experience...The silly rules and formatting is so irritating leave alone the long queue and name sake fans they have fitted which runs in a speed of a comet! This is not words of a spoilt brat NRI... pleaseee!! .. Ask every single human being who was standing there... each one had a curse on their lips! After standing in the queue for like one hour my turn came and I with a smile bigger than the Colgate one just wanted the signature of the officer there. She gave a brief look and signed and asked to get another sign from some officer bigger than her I guess. Well who cares?? I just went there... and that guy asked for the original copy of my 10th CBSE certificate. On understand from my face that I didn’t have with me at that moment what do you think he expected me to?? He wanted me to go home... which is like 30 minutes and worse with traffic and then go searching like a mad dog for my certificate and then drive back 30 minutes and much worse with traffic. I gave him a very sad innocent face... aaha... nothing could change the man. And trust me...I could feel it in my blood that he was doing it just to trouble me and not because he was loyal to the department and blah. Whatever I was so irritated I asked my parents to carry on... and just stood there jobless... sheeessh... they need to get a life!! And then mom came and tried her best to convince him... I had my passport renewed just a month ago... so obviously it would have got renewed only if I had my 10th certificate... anyways the man was adamant... so I went back home.. He didn’t even bother checking out the certificate... I felt like pointing out my math marks... cos that was the only worth thing to be noticed in that certificate... but who cares?? After all the pain I definitely had to go and vote! For the one and only Shashi Tharoor :)... I've admired him from the time he was in UN...and also cos he is an Indian representing UN. Voting hardly took time cos I went in the afternoon and no one was there. So I got my ID card checked then got some indelible ink on the index finger of my left hand and went and pressed the button next to 'Shashi Tharoor'..With a palm sign next to it. I didn't particularly feeling anything but I felt good about one thing... i.e. my mom and dad voted for the first time with me yesterday. I felt good that I got to vote at 19! And that when I have children I can always boast about it... I hope India enters a more prosperous phase and that all the big problems become miniscule and that we progress a step higher than a 'third world country'... Jai Ho!

Secretariat members family get together

I need to be whacked left and right at least 3 times ... if anyone is willing to do so please do inform me .. cos I will oblige.... I am so dumb!!! I had actually got a call from my friend Vinil, an ace drummer in Trivandrum who said he wanted to call me for a show in Trissur sometime around the first week of April. That is when I got a call from Sangeeth who started the conversation with 'Hi! is this Neha? I am Sangeeth..The Superstar one?' Obviously he meant the Amrita Superstar Global Season One winner Sangeeth!!... He met me and spoke about the show details along with his friend Ramesh.. Everything went great and Ramesh used to keep calling and updating me about the songs I have to sing etc etc. The show is scheduled for the 2nd of April. I was simultaneously "studying" for my exams and for the show... Yesterday we had one practice session is a small hall..
Everything except Mayya Mayya was unplugged... and I was loving it totally..After the practice session Ramesh said that he would holding one more session today and would let me know. I was all prepared since morning for his call today but he ended up calling only around 5:59 asking me to report to the Central Stadium at 7:00 pm. I put on a cotton kurta and just rushed to the Stadium even without my earrings. When I reached there..There was so much of hustle and bustle that I was confused about where the rehearsals were going to be held. After a short while Ramesh reached and was looking pretty surprised at my extremely simply way of dressing and asked me what's wrong with me...when I asked him what's happening in this place and where r we supposed to rehearsal.. He asked me if I was in my senses.. And told me that I would be going live on stage in half an hour !!!!!!!! The only surprising part is that I did not faint on the spot.. Caught an auto.. rushed home.. wore some dazzling clothes ..whitewashed my face in no time.. and I was out of my house.. in exactly 09:00 minutes!! After reaching the Stadium yet again Vinil started mocking me .. and I obviously became red with embarrassment.. But the rest of them never had time to mock me ..so we said our prayers and went onto stage..Commenced with Jai Ho! then Bharat Humko... after that I sang Tere Bina with William and Mayya Mayya with manodharma male portion done by Sangeeth..I sang Adiyae kolluthe and Aapki Nazaron ne samjha unplugged. Great audience! great response!! An awesome team to work with !! Yackson was amazing on the keyboard, Vinil on the drums.. But Vishnu stole the thunder with his individual flute piece in every song.. Other singers who sang were Arun, Suraj (Amrita Superstar Global season2), Raajeshwari(Spicy India- Asianet plus)..One helluva experience!! Will never ever forget this show ever.. for the dumbest things I commit..but like they say.. This is the spice in life

Snaps of the Ghazal Sandhya

With Soorya Krishnamurthy , first from the right.. :D To view more pics pls click HERE. Also will be uploading the songs quite soon .. so keep watching this space :)

I was pretty tensed since the day Shankarji of Habitat Technologies had suggested my name for giving a ghazal concert. But I got anxious and excited when I heard that Soorya Krishnamurthy sir would be inaugurating the function. It's such a great thing to have such a humble person coming to inaugurate an amateur's performance. Before I left for the concert I called up my gurus, Ramesh sir and Khalid sir in Muscat and took their blessings as they are the ones who have groomed me as a singer. Half an hour before the show Soorya sir gave me call.. I got nervous thinking he must be calling to say he wouldn't be able to make it for the show. But undeterred I picked his call and much to my surprise he actually called me to wish me good luck as he would be reaching only by seven because of which he may not be able to wish me before my performance. Apparently due to some confusion he was under the misconception that I would start performing before his arrival to the venue. I was confused too and instead of rectifying the situation I silently took his blessings and left for the concert.

On last minute materialization shamiana was arranged as a roof for the listeners as the rains were unpredictable today. I was asked to say a few words on Ghazals and what all songs I was going to perform today on camera for Manorama News. I am extremely camera shy and like doing stuff behind the camera.. Like being a journalist, a playback singer, a radio jockey :D

Soorya Krishmoorthy sir arrived and everyone stood up as a posture of respect to this personality ...I was in all smiles as I got to light the lamp after him :) These are those moments when one feels elated and God really has to knock you down...Initial speeches began and after the comperer was done introducing me and my accompanying artists I commenced with Om Namah Shiva, a bhajan..After which I sang Man Mohana and then started with the ghazal Apni aankhon ke samundar mein. Also sang salona saaz sajan, Koi samjhayiye, Tumhare khat mein, Khali hai tere bina, Dil cheez kya hai. It was totally fun and definitely an experience to perform in the Poojapura grounds.

While I was singing a young man in shorts pulled up a chair next to Soorya sir's seat and sat on it. He looked extremely young and didn't look like a person who enjoys ghazals. But never judge a book by its cover... Anyways ...towards the ending of my concert this person scribbled something over a small chit and came up on stage and handed it over to me. I was taken aback as I did not expect any farmayish on my very first stage. One of his farmayish was In aankhon ke masti mein. But the organizers asked me to end the concert with a final song and I had to oblige. But I felt bad for that youngster as he was the only person who must have found me that professional to actually request his choice :D... I was looking out for him after my concert was over but he was gone by then. I wanted to apologize and thank him for making me feel special on my very first experience here. If he is by any chance reading my blog ..I am Sorry!! :)

I would take this opportunity to thank architect Shankarji for taking in special efforts to introduce a struggling singer like me into this musical world. Also I would like to thank Soorya sir for finding time out of his busy schedule just to watch my performance. My special thanks to Satheesh uncle on the tabla and Hamsa uncle on the harmonium without whose support I would be like a bird in the sky without wings! Satheesh uncle had a solo tabla concert the previous day but ignoring all that he did find time to rehearse with me thrice. If it wasn't for my present Hindustani guru Shri Ramesh Narayan, I would have never known Satheesh uncle nor would I be able to practice in front of Ramesh sir. When Ramesh sir asked me to keep one session at his home I was almost paralysed cos I couldn't imagine singing in front of him. Though he was a little caught up today cos of which he couldn't watch me performing at the Poojapura I knew his blessings and prayers will be backing me up all the time. Keerthi complimented me by playing the thamburu .Last but not the least... Ellapugazhum Irivanaike

8th Wonder

of the world is A.R.Rahman. No doubt!! Not cos he is nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes but cos he has the time to go receive them. National award was a very natural assumption .. and so is Oscars which comes right after his current achievement. Thanks to Boyle for making this movie and for choosing Rahman. A proud moment for Rahmaniacs, India. He is truly the 8th wonder of the world!

Unaroo

I need to access this song asap. I have searched most of the music stores in the city and have done a little google about it but in vain. I need it atleast by next Monday. The song is Unaroo from the movie 'Ingane oru nilapakshi'. It's a duet by Yesudas sir and Chitraji. So if anyone can get me this song please contact me !!

Voices Within - Interview of Bombay Jayasree and T.M.Krishna

To catch a glimpse of the video GO HERE.


The rest of which I could not upload is here:

Neha: Sir, could you comment on the growing popularity of fusion music?
T.M.K: There is always going to be a form of music which is appealing worldwide in terms of the mass. It tries to bring in few forms of music together in one platform. I have nothing against fusion provided it each form is presented well which is easier said than done. There have been few failures and some who have been successfull but as far as the performers know their music well, it's a good way to attract people who haven't been open to Carnatic and Hindustani music. Today, everyone thinks fusion is about asking someone to play a drum and then asking another to sing an alapana .

Neha: What about fusion between Carnatic and Hindustani?
T.M.K: I won't call that a fusion at all...

Neha: I meant their style of rendering is different.
T.M.K: What usually happens is that a performer of one form tries to sing the other and vice versa which leads to a show of rythms between the tabla and the mridangam or the drum or rythm pad ,etc. That's when it loses it's real essence. If done, should be done with a lot of taste which is not easy to find.

Neha: Mam, You are a playback singer too. I have heard that doing a lot of riyaz in classical music could effect the style of rendering in light music. Is it true?


B.Jayasree: I think your query is very subjective and differs from person to person.Being a classical singer who dabbles a little bit into playback ,if the song suits me ,I don't think the above statement is true. It only helps the singer in moulding the voice and in no way can it harm the style. If that would be the case then no classical singer would be able to do playback which is the order of the day. If you know how to compartmentalize it and if the music director knows what he wants to get out of you and is clear about why he wants you to sing a particular song , then there should be no confusion.

Neha: Sir, could you explain me the differences between major and minor ragas?

T.M.K: Firstly, I don't think there is any classification such as minor and major ragas in Indian music. In Western music we have minor and major scales which could be considered equivalent to the swaras in Shankarabharanam and Kheeravani .I would interpret your question as major ragas are commonly sung and minor ragas are seldom used.

Neha: What is voice culture all about?

T.M.K: It's about having the right way of production of the voice for the system your are practising. You may have a greta culture for opera singing doesn't mean you can sing a Carnatic concert tomorrow. Certain people having better voice culture than the other is completely false. Like you had asked Jayasree about playback singing ,it's about being able to adapt to that system of singing depending on what form you are rendering. Each form requires a different way of production, aesthetic flavour and a different intonation.

Neha: Mam, do you Classical singing helps one in being versatile?
B.Jayasree: You have to be versatile to sing Classical music. (all smiles)

Neha: Versatile as in Ghazal singing,etc..
B.Jayasree: The process you go through mental, physical training of the voice is a huge training. One can adapt to another form of music easily.