Monday, May 14, 2007

Stop and Sing

I went to the beach today with mom after a long time.
What's new? Nothing much, except that a lot more people come up and talk to me, and very loud whispers.. "hey its the super singer host.. "
And then a malli-poo girl comes to me and asks me to buy some specified length of flowers and I say no, I don't wear flowers. "Have to do sales illa ma" And then "OH neenga Sahana nalla paadirukkenga, adha solla dhan vandhen" And then she tells me to walk across a few feet to some guy she knows, and give my autograph to him. And nope I didn't do that.
Abhirami Mega Mall is next door to our FM channel office, and our team usually goes there to grab a cuppa. And sometimes there are this school kids / college goers who run after me and say "sing a song for me"
If there is one thing that I don't understand is this. Dancers are not asked to perform in the middle of the road, actors are not asked to act in the middle of the road, but why is that Singers always have to "sing and show" "at least 2 lines"?
I used to oblige in the beginning, but when there is a ruckus happening all around you, a TV is blaring POGO, and you have to sing and prove that you can, in between all this hullabaloo.
Same instance at the beach. We are leaving, and we see all these battery operated hurricane lamps. They look good and then one of the guys says, why don't you sing a song on these lights? All that I could say was "idhu konjam over-a illa?", smile and go.
No matter what I do, where I go, and with whomsoever, I might be breaking my head with mom, trying to decide about the shopping that needs to be done for the next episode, the right clothes and the right what-not, and in between I ll have to sing and show.
Of course I have to grin at the irony of it all. I have no problem when people talk to me, but I really don't understand why I have to sing at the drop of a hat, rather the drop of a sentence, " sing two lines". And most of the times it is an order.
Orkut is the next thing. I sign up to find people who are long lost from my school days, just to relive the nostalgia. Then I exchange scraps with a co-musician about a wedding that I have to attend and that realize it has totally slipped my mind. MOm and I go into a tizzy search for the invite, and see the event is tomorrow, heave a huge sigh of relief. In the meanwhile, X goes looks into my friend's scrapbook and mine, and then asks, "what function tomorrow, you told him something?? I want to know becos he is my friend" I dont know X from Adam, he says Hi, and I like your singing, I say thanks, and then he wants to know where I am going tomorrow.
And others, invite me to their college/school or other work related stuff on the scrapbook. How long does it take to send a message on Orkut itself??
Is this a rant? Probably
Of course its all part of being what I am. Some people who might read this blog will say don't crib about lack of privacy, or rather get off Orkut. WHY should I? "if not, then don't crib".
Also I get scraps like, I saw you performing at this place, and I thought you would be someone with super attitude, I thought you would be a proud peacock.
And all these assumptions with just a performance. See someone from far away, you don't even walk up to that person and talk to them, or better still, haven't seen them anywhere but on TV or the newspaper, but happily make assumptions that they are all nasty things, like you are paid for it.
I am a small fry as long as the industry is concerned. And I am having a fair share of all this and more. I wonder what happens to the stars.
A lot of people tell me that I should not be as reachable as I am now, and shut off, and behave like a celebrity.
Of course, I might get a fair share of comments for this post, but then, well that is the way things are. Thank God for this blog.

13 comments:

Sriram said...

"A lot of people tell me that I should not be as reachable as I am now, and shut off, and behave like a celebrity. "

If it were me, I'd ask those folks to bugger off. Why? Because, they are asking you to stop being yourself and be someone else. Simple as that.

Oh and..
"Some people who might read this blog will say don't crib about lack of privacy, or rather get off Orkut. WHY should I? "if not, then don't crib". "

Simplest answer : This is your blog. Not theirs. They can bugger off as well.



Oh and can you sing a song for me? please? :P

Pria's said...

This is like me whining everyday "But I dont want to sleep in our bedroom cuz there's no internet connectivity there and I want to check my scraps before I hit the bed". And then my husband reminds me - "You should be proud of the fact that you have a 4010 sq ft house! No wonder we don't have wireless connectivity in that corner"!! If people recognized me at Barista and went 'Hey look who's here', I would be on Cloud 9! If they asked me to sing a line or two, even better - I would be ecstatic! But hey, they neither know me nor know that I can sing! You ought to be proud that people recognize you when you are out shopping or when they ask you to render a line or two. Hey, its the price you pay for being in tamil cinema! Whether you are a celebrity or not is the next question ;o)

Honey Bee said...

Look at the other way round. From Dawn to dusk, the working class hear music. Can you live without music?Frankly speaking No. So, when someone who is so good at singing, all the mind wants is to enjoy their fav. song from their fav. persona.An actor cant act, a stunt man cant do stunts and neither can a dancer dance. But you singers are the only group for whom, everything is a platform. You singers are most revered. Pls. understand.

IF anyone asks me to sing, I would definitely sing. For I know, the next moment either they will be running or they will never ask me even to speak. Do you want to hear me singing?

Karthik Murali said...

well said !!
i had always wanted to ask u these pondering and inevitable questions
and u seem to answered them yourself..brilliant

one final question i need to ask, for which i couldnt find the solution here.
do u prefer this recognition and adulation or u wanna make it a quiet affair wherever u go?

Chinmayi Sripada /Chinmayee said...

Of course I am proud, I am happy I am where I am, I love the adulation, but you are bone tired after something, you just want to unwind, catch some fresh air. Seriously, Honeybee, can you be singing 24/7? The voice needs rest. Everywhere might be a platform for musicians or singers, but we are allowed some time to rest our voice. Wot say?

PokerMachi said...

half way down reading the post i forgot what the post title was and what am I reading about really :)

by the way, why can't I post a comment without having to enter my Google/Blogger credentials? This is bad! :(

Anand
www.vanand.com

EsKay said...

Privacy and Celebrity don't go well together. One often has to loose the former to become the latter. More the mystery, bigger the star becomes. Indian celebreties somehow dont get the PR training to handle public and press. Very few seem to handle it convincingly. Those who cant handle well just moan.

You seem to come across very well or atleast have the guts to say what you feel. Shdnt be too difficult for a Psycologiest, shd it?

Honey Bee said...

I give it to you chinmayi.. everyone needs rest.. The problem is we lay men we dont actually understand. Every problem is due to lack of understanding.

Moreover the prob is even if god gifts me the stamina to sing 24/7/365 there will not be a single soul to listen me? :) More to it even i cant bear to hear my voice for more than 5 mins.

matthew88 said...

I wonder what happens to the stars.

I'm just shooting totally Off the topic here.. That made me wonder what kind of pressure "Stars" come under from the invisible public.. Imagine Tendulkar@18 being the talk of the world..wonder what it took him to carry on .. he was a tough Nut..he still is :)

Unknown said...

We thamils who are spread by the wind, lacking culture, missing the first smell of rain from our own country are greatful to have singers, actresses, actors, directors, music directors, bands, camera men, light men, etc. to give us the culture we are unable to see. For time is so little, to go on holidays etc. when you are an average student like me. Trust me, kids/adults/folks like me who are missing our country, find joy and peace in our co-motherland if I may say so about India. Whatever you're doing, do it more :-) We love music, with a touch of India, the sensation it offers us is undescribable. You don't know, what watching tamil movies, songs etc. is for us. For us that is the time we are with our culture. I don't even know if this is the forum I should be putting it in but really, WE LOVE YOU INDIA! You're doing a great job! I learnt my language through movies and I'm not kidding, if not I'd be speaking everything else but my own tongue, lol. Chinmayi you have been blessed my gyal with a lovely voice, take care of it, give it the rest it needs. May God be with you.

Jozzie

madhu.g said...

Just Wonderful. Cant think of anything now but to read again and again what you wrote.

Anonymous said...

'can u sing a song on lights'...lol...hilarious !!
yup...privacy-thats always the problem...(i am No celebrity :D)..but stil can imagine how it is for,to face fans..when fans get overr excited (seeing thier favourite stars)...
Me in the same group too...

N yaa..voice rest is essential..
It was for Naresh Iyer -'wherever he goes ,college functions,fan meets(i hav been virtually part of it)he was made to sing 'lose control' n 'roobaroo'...again n again...
can imagine how difficult it is to handle.. :(
u are v right chinmayee...'singers should be spared when they are casually outdoors ...(i,e when they are not on any concerts or programs') :)

Srividya said...

Been reading through your blog all morning and enjoying every bit of it :)
Every person - whoever it may be, needs their time n their space... so don't get bogged down by what others say or do, just be urself and do ur own thing - that's what makes you "YOU"!
& how can I forget.. u have a lovely voice. All the very best.
God bless!