Just figured out that there is a fake profile of mine on Orkut.
If you are on orkut and have me on your friend list, chances are that its not me. I have not been 'adding' any friends on Orkut for the past couple of years or so.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Queries on Airtel Super Singer
Ever since promos started off on Vijay TV and registrations opened and also the fact that I blogged about it, I have been getting at least 10 queries a day asking about who will listen to the entries, questions on the selection process, when the intimation of the selected entries will happen and how, venue, date and time for the live auditions... and some other oft repeated questions.
Though I have hosted the show, I have no information whatsoever on what is happening with the current season.
Even while shooting the previous seasons, most of the times I had no idea what was going to happen on some episodes until I landed on the floors. When we shot outdoors I was not told what we were going to shoot and there were no scripts. Such was the policy of the channel in maintaining secrecy that sometimes even I, as the host never knew what was happening. In a way it was easy when harried parents asked me things, I would have no clue on how to answer them.
Earlier the questions were like how to record, what software, in a professional studio or at home, with or without music, dry voice or processed voice.. to an extent I could handle answering those but now its kinda OTT.
I understand that probably I more reachable to ask questions, but I am now beginning to feel like an unofficial helpline. This post is to say that I do not have the answers. Only the channel has them all. TIA.
Though I have hosted the show, I have no information whatsoever on what is happening with the current season.
Even while shooting the previous seasons, most of the times I had no idea what was going to happen on some episodes until I landed on the floors. When we shot outdoors I was not told what we were going to shoot and there were no scripts. Such was the policy of the channel in maintaining secrecy that sometimes even I, as the host never knew what was happening. In a way it was easy when harried parents asked me things, I would have no clue on how to answer them.
Earlier the questions were like how to record, what software, in a professional studio or at home, with or without music, dry voice or processed voice.. to an extent I could handle answering those but now its kinda OTT.
I understand that probably I more reachable to ask questions, but I am now beginning to feel like an unofficial helpline. This post is to say that I do not have the answers. Only the channel has them all. TIA.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
One of my favourites
While in Canada, I was hosting Aahaa Kaapi Klub from there and the last Thursday and Friday, I invited Sathya, a singer in Toronto and Ralph of Agni to speak on the show. It was fun to say the least and this is the last link on Friday. Our Audio Engineer at Aahaa FM seemed to have worked his magic on an otherwise normal link. Loved listening to it.
Here it is. Give it a listen if you so please :)
Here it is. Give it a listen if you so please :)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Canada Concerts - Curtain call.
The concerts went exceedingly well. The South Asian Festival was actually bigger than I imagined and it was great to be a part of it..
Since you already know of the show on Day 1, let me continue to the others.
Had a show catering exclusively to the Hindi Punjabi audience in the evening, so much so that the hosts addressed the gathering in Punjabi. I decided to do only Tere Bina and Mayya Mayya, it took less time and did not eat up into other people's performance time. There was a small hitch before I went on stage though. My minus tracks were missing. I had no clue what to do but had to go ahead with the songs anyway. The musicians just supported what I sang through the two songs but actually it turned out to be fun. None of the interludes and preludes were played according to the original but the audience I saw was highly receptive. Even though I was new to this cross-section of people, the way they sang along and responded was awesome to say the least.
The next day we had a guest performance on Agni's show. Krish and I were the 'surprise' elements in the show. The crowd that the Band Agni for itself drew was stunning to note. Not surprised actually. They have a great set of musicians. Once Krish and I finished singing our respective songs, we decided to do a small unplugged version. The boy on the keyboards was spectacular. He had a way of playing which made us want to sing more. The unplugged session hit quite the right note with the audience. Though I had no idea on which songs to pick up and sing after Krish finished , he was kind enough to prompt me with some. When he started with a couple of old songs thats when I drew a blank. He sang Chithiram pesudhadi and a couple more which I can't quite place right now. Once that was done, somewhere at the end I sang Naakku Mookka.. Somehow love that song. Have played it many times on my show on Aahaa FM and it has that 'it' factor
Agni also had some very capable dancers and am looking forward to performing with them again.
Every time a show happens with other singers, I try my best to observe what they do and see if I can imbibe and adapt some aspects into my own singing and performances. I have been quite inhibited so to say as long as singing on stage is concerned but that has kinda changed now. Especially after Super Singer. There is much that I have learned from so many people.
Shankar Mahadevan ji is one helluva performer. I just love the way he keeps the audience on their feet. Never lets the energy sag. When I watched him concert for the first time in Anna University I wished I could be a blotting paper of all his energy and brains. Ah well. I know its hoping for too much but if I aim for the stars I could probably at least reach the first branch. Lets think about the tree tops later. I guess to make the audience respond to you the way you want them to requires mastery, a lot of conviction and expertise. And he is all that.
I have been watching Benny ever since his S5 days. He was one of the finds of SS music's band. They broke up sometime. But I saw him perform quite a lot in all the college culturals. Naresh is a bundle of energy and does a lot of prancing about on stage and generally there is something about his performance that I can't quite define. Not that my definition matters anyway. And likewise with Krish. He seems to do a lot of things that singers usually don't do. He mimics. He dances. Talks to the audience. And as I have noticed his style of interaction is quite different. I guess sometimes a strong background does count. He was also one of the judges in Paadum Office and when I was given a briefing that he was the first Indian on Walt Disney and that he played Aladdin for about two years, I was surprised and most people gaped. Anyway, I guess with that kind of an exposure it was quite interesting to see how he kept rattling off dialogues and songs from the some of the oldest Tamil moves this that and wotnot.
Mom has been telling me to let my hair down and perform in a different way and gave me pointers to do so. For quite a while actually. I tried what I could for the first time. I was very unsure. Scared but of course most people don't know that. I am pretty nervous - and sometimes enough to forget the lyrics of songs I have sung a zillion times - I have just gone blank. Yeaap. Thats me. Hello. And now that I have started knowing some basics on performing, I hope to evolve and grow.
I have been brought up to realize that life is all about constant learning. And I have tried to learn from the experts and my contemporaries. And for now I wish I have the opportunities to perform and sing with singers and musicians I can learn from and get inspired by. That will be one of my wishes. Amongst the trillion others. But like they say - baby steps. And I feel like I have just started.
Since you already know of the show on Day 1, let me continue to the others.
Had a show catering exclusively to the Hindi Punjabi audience in the evening, so much so that the hosts addressed the gathering in Punjabi. I decided to do only Tere Bina and Mayya Mayya, it took less time and did not eat up into other people's performance time. There was a small hitch before I went on stage though. My minus tracks were missing. I had no clue what to do but had to go ahead with the songs anyway. The musicians just supported what I sang through the two songs but actually it turned out to be fun. None of the interludes and preludes were played according to the original but the audience I saw was highly receptive. Even though I was new to this cross-section of people, the way they sang along and responded was awesome to say the least.
The next day we had a guest performance on Agni's show. Krish and I were the 'surprise' elements in the show. The crowd that the Band Agni for itself drew was stunning to note. Not surprised actually. They have a great set of musicians. Once Krish and I finished singing our respective songs, we decided to do a small unplugged version. The boy on the keyboards was spectacular. He had a way of playing which made us want to sing more. The unplugged session hit quite the right note with the audience. Though I had no idea on which songs to pick up and sing after Krish finished , he was kind enough to prompt me with some. When he started with a couple of old songs thats when I drew a blank. He sang Chithiram pesudhadi and a couple more which I can't quite place right now. Once that was done, somewhere at the end I sang Naakku Mookka.. Somehow love that song. Have played it many times on my show on Aahaa FM and it has that 'it' factor
Agni also had some very capable dancers and am looking forward to performing with them again.
Every time a show happens with other singers, I try my best to observe what they do and see if I can imbibe and adapt some aspects into my own singing and performances. I have been quite inhibited so to say as long as singing on stage is concerned but that has kinda changed now. Especially after Super Singer. There is much that I have learned from so many people.
Shankar Mahadevan ji is one helluva performer. I just love the way he keeps the audience on their feet. Never lets the energy sag. When I watched him concert for the first time in Anna University I wished I could be a blotting paper of all his energy and brains. Ah well. I know its hoping for too much but if I aim for the stars I could probably at least reach the first branch. Lets think about the tree tops later. I guess to make the audience respond to you the way you want them to requires mastery, a lot of conviction and expertise. And he is all that.
I have been watching Benny ever since his S5 days. He was one of the finds of SS music's band. They broke up sometime. But I saw him perform quite a lot in all the college culturals. Naresh is a bundle of energy and does a lot of prancing about on stage and generally there is something about his performance that I can't quite define. Not that my definition matters anyway. And likewise with Krish. He seems to do a lot of things that singers usually don't do. He mimics. He dances. Talks to the audience. And as I have noticed his style of interaction is quite different. I guess sometimes a strong background does count. He was also one of the judges in Paadum Office and when I was given a briefing that he was the first Indian on Walt Disney and that he played Aladdin for about two years, I was surprised and most people gaped. Anyway, I guess with that kind of an exposure it was quite interesting to see how he kept rattling off dialogues and songs from the some of the oldest Tamil moves this that and wotnot.
Mom has been telling me to let my hair down and perform in a different way and gave me pointers to do so. For quite a while actually. I tried what I could for the first time. I was very unsure. Scared but of course most people don't know that. I am pretty nervous - and sometimes enough to forget the lyrics of songs I have sung a zillion times - I have just gone blank. Yeaap. Thats me. Hello. And now that I have started knowing some basics on performing, I hope to evolve and grow.
I have been brought up to realize that life is all about constant learning. And I have tried to learn from the experts and my contemporaries. And for now I wish I have the opportunities to perform and sing with singers and musicians I can learn from and get inspired by. That will be one of my wishes. Amongst the trillion others. But like they say - baby steps. And I feel like I have just started.
Third Concert at 7 pm today
Same venue. South Asian Festival by CMR.
If you are around here. Please be there at the concert. :)
If you are around here. Please be there at the concert. :)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
One Done. Two more to go.
Just came back after finishing a concert. We performed with Bharathi Arts musicians this afternoon.
The concert was for about 90 minutes as usual great fun.
Krish and I were the main performers and there were singers from here as well.
It was awesome fun to say the least and this evening I should be performing with Malkit Singh from the UK and other musicians and singers from here. That is going to be a show with Hindi songs alone.
We had a jam session last night, since we landed at the last minute with two bands for the Tamil shows. After we finished the one with Bharathi, we headed out to meet the Agni band. We entered to see a lot of dancing and practice. Thereafter we started practising our songs and somehow there was a very magical mood last evening. Or rather almost morning. We were in a huge mood to keep singing and we kept jamming singing one song after another, of course none of them were in the list that we are to perform tomorrow. By the time we got back to the hotel it was five in the morning.
We started our concert at 12:30 and went on till 2.
Krish when he goes on stage has his own mimicry act, if I may say that. His favourite seems to be Kamal Hassan and I have seen him talk like him right since we performed at Singapore together. And then some other artistes as well. So when someone asked him to mimic some other voice, he asked "Did you invite me here to sing or to mimic?" Anyway he has a way on stage.
I sang Singara Velane Deva after a long time and I love the way the audience here responds to classic songs like these. And yep the kids played along on the keyboard whatever the Nadaswaram had to play. Oh, I guess I did not mention, Bharathi Arts musicians were all predominantly kids below the age of 16 except one gentleman on the pads.
Oooh and yeah though it might be surprising, I sang Naakku Mookka. Several times when I heard the song playing on the radio while driving I have had the urge to start dancing. But there was not much leg shaking I could do today. But the was our final song. At the end of the day I had super fun :) Actually its still mid-day. But .. figure of speech. :)
And I must say this South Asian Festival is bigger than I imagined.
The concert was for about 90 minutes as usual great fun.
Krish and I were the main performers and there were singers from here as well.
It was awesome fun to say the least and this evening I should be performing with Malkit Singh from the UK and other musicians and singers from here. That is going to be a show with Hindi songs alone.
We had a jam session last night, since we landed at the last minute with two bands for the Tamil shows. After we finished the one with Bharathi, we headed out to meet the Agni band. We entered to see a lot of dancing and practice. Thereafter we started practising our songs and somehow there was a very magical mood last evening. Or rather almost morning. We were in a huge mood to keep singing and we kept jamming singing one song after another, of course none of them were in the list that we are to perform tomorrow. By the time we got back to the hotel it was five in the morning.
We started our concert at 12:30 and went on till 2.
Krish when he goes on stage has his own mimicry act, if I may say that. His favourite seems to be Kamal Hassan and I have seen him talk like him right since we performed at Singapore together. And then some other artistes as well. So when someone asked him to mimic some other voice, he asked "Did you invite me here to sing or to mimic?" Anyway he has a way on stage.
I sang Singara Velane Deva after a long time and I love the way the audience here responds to classic songs like these. And yep the kids played along on the keyboard whatever the Nadaswaram had to play. Oh, I guess I did not mention, Bharathi Arts musicians were all predominantly kids below the age of 16 except one gentleman on the pads.
Oooh and yeah though it might be surprising, I sang Naakku Mookka. Several times when I heard the song playing on the radio while driving I have had the urge to start dancing. But there was not much leg shaking I could do today. But the was our final song. At the end of the day I had super fun :) Actually its still mid-day. But .. figure of speech. :)
And I must say this South Asian Festival is bigger than I imagined.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Finally....
By the time you read this Mom and I will be airborne. Wish us a good flight and all those who prayed for us, Thank You very much. :)
Sometimes though it seems like we are put through somethng like grinding-mill, when the ordeal is over, we think it is all for the best. But being in the mill is not the best thing. And I realized that my fingernails are well and truly bitten. Thats when salons come in handy.
Talking of salons, I thought I should maybe start writing about the 'wellness' places as they like to call them nowadays - Spas, Salons et al. The ones mom and I have tried, tested, decided to stick with or give it a miss. On by blog.
Anyway that was quite a run on some other tangent.
Grace of the cosmos, I will be performing as scheduled in Toronto on the 17th and 18th.
Wish me well and I am off for some time with the night sky.
Sometimes though it seems like we are put through somethng like grinding-mill, when the ordeal is over, we think it is all for the best. But being in the mill is not the best thing. And I realized that my fingernails are well and truly bitten. Thats when salons come in handy.
Talking of salons, I thought I should maybe start writing about the 'wellness' places as they like to call them nowadays - Spas, Salons et al. The ones mom and I have tried, tested, decided to stick with or give it a miss. On by blog.
Anyway that was quite a run on some other tangent.
Grace of the cosmos, I will be performing as scheduled in Toronto on the 17th and 18th.
Wish me well and I am off for some time with the night sky.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Urdu and callings.
There is a joy in learning something totally new. I am talking of a language again. For years I had been wishing and attempting, in vain to learn the magical, mystical language of Urdu. Finally when I located a teacher, I requested him to teach me. At that time all that he said was Insha Allah. That is one of the most beautiful expressions I have heard. Insha Allah. He did not start teaching me right away. I met him again, gave him my number and reminded him. He smiled and said God willing, soon. It was only after nearly a year of running into him and reminding him time and again that I am serious about learning the language that he was convinced and one beautiful, lovely day a couple of months ago, my relationship with Urdu began.
I was not taught the way we learnt languages in Kindergarten - 'A' 'Aaah'..... But with simple phrases instead. I had to read that and started learning the alphabets and practicing the script on the go. There is a certain surreal feeling, if I may call it that, when I practice the script. And once I finish the homework that I am assigned, looking at what I have written gives me a sense of peace actually. I am wondering why. Usually it so happens that I practice only after the sun has risen high in the sky - but on the side of the earth that is miles away from mine. Time seems to melt away as I curl my fingers, move the pen this way and that trying to imbibe and replicate the art that of the Urdu Script.
I remember the time when I was singing a song for Rahman Sir. I guess it was during the recording of Tere Bina that I saw Gulzar Saab penning down the lyrics of the song. In Urdu. Even when Javed Saab wrote his poetry, it was in Urdu. When I saw the writing unfold from their hands it looked like an ethereal painting. I wished to all the Gods then and longed to be able to read and write the language myself. It was quite a while before my wish was fulfilled.
And now I'm counting my blessings and I revere the book that I hold in my hands.
Talking of beauty.
Have you been able to see the sun rays filtering through the trees in the morning? On my way to the Aahaa FM station, a lot of times I see the games sunlight plays, the tapestry it paints, each one different, each spectacular. On the roads I wind through, from a distance of about 30 metres, maybe a week or so ago, around the time the hands on the clock are on their own rush to make it to 7 o clock, I saw the sunlight flow through the trees tops, meander its way through branches, turn around leaves and finally make its landing on a tarred road, with leaves on them, which themselves had now assumed the colour of that very sunlight which they had probably waved to, smiled to on their greener days. From the distance that I was, it felt as though there was a time lag and nothing else seemed to exist but me and that light. It was like some golden beam, a pathway to peace perhaps, to ... I don't know. What would it be like to close your eyes and just be imagine that you are light? What would it be like to feel as heavy or as beautiful as light? Shimmery, Golden, like creamy silk? Or maybe all these adjectives are just not good enough. That morning it was almost like epiphany. I wished that beam were a pathway to a world that I wish to explore but know not what to expect. A world of tranquility. Or what would it be like to walk on water shimmering like a thousand diamonds and find a huge sun beam there.. and as soon as you place the tip of your big toe on it, you are drawn into .. Well I am looking for a word here .. Liquid Gold? To feel as light as a feather. Or maybe even lighter if that is possible?
There is a search. For that elusive something that I have been unable to name. Unable to place. Unable to even search for. For I don't seem to know that that 'it' is about. If there is one thing I would ask sometimes, is deliverance from the constant seeking. And I guess that would be the end of my road. Probably a key to? The number of questions grow. The number of answers that I have is a big figure. 0. Strange ain't it. That which seems to give all the 1s and 2s of the world infinite power, seems pretty powerless as singular entity. Or is it?
What a post this is. Starting from Urdu and ending with a number.
The call from the unknown, or rather, ironically, the call that is unheard seems the loudest. The noisiest. Insha Allah I will have the answers. How soon is upto the cosmos to decide
I was not taught the way we learnt languages in Kindergarten - 'A' 'Aaah'..... But with simple phrases instead. I had to read that and started learning the alphabets and practicing the script on the go. There is a certain surreal feeling, if I may call it that, when I practice the script. And once I finish the homework that I am assigned, looking at what I have written gives me a sense of peace actually. I am wondering why. Usually it so happens that I practice only after the sun has risen high in the sky - but on the side of the earth that is miles away from mine. Time seems to melt away as I curl my fingers, move the pen this way and that trying to imbibe and replicate the art that of the Urdu Script.
I remember the time when I was singing a song for Rahman Sir. I guess it was during the recording of Tere Bina that I saw Gulzar Saab penning down the lyrics of the song. In Urdu. Even when Javed Saab wrote his poetry, it was in Urdu. When I saw the writing unfold from their hands it looked like an ethereal painting. I wished to all the Gods then and longed to be able to read and write the language myself. It was quite a while before my wish was fulfilled.
And now I'm counting my blessings and I revere the book that I hold in my hands.
Talking of beauty.
Have you been able to see the sun rays filtering through the trees in the morning? On my way to the Aahaa FM station, a lot of times I see the games sunlight plays, the tapestry it paints, each one different, each spectacular. On the roads I wind through, from a distance of about 30 metres, maybe a week or so ago, around the time the hands on the clock are on their own rush to make it to 7 o clock, I saw the sunlight flow through the trees tops, meander its way through branches, turn around leaves and finally make its landing on a tarred road, with leaves on them, which themselves had now assumed the colour of that very sunlight which they had probably waved to, smiled to on their greener days. From the distance that I was, it felt as though there was a time lag and nothing else seemed to exist but me and that light. It was like some golden beam, a pathway to peace perhaps, to ... I don't know. What would it be like to close your eyes and just be imagine that you are light? What would it be like to feel as heavy or as beautiful as light? Shimmery, Golden, like creamy silk? Or maybe all these adjectives are just not good enough. That morning it was almost like epiphany. I wished that beam were a pathway to a world that I wish to explore but know not what to expect. A world of tranquility. Or what would it be like to walk on water shimmering like a thousand diamonds and find a huge sun beam there.. and as soon as you place the tip of your big toe on it, you are drawn into .. Well I am looking for a word here .. Liquid Gold? To feel as light as a feather. Or maybe even lighter if that is possible?
There is a search. For that elusive something that I have been unable to name. Unable to place. Unable to even search for. For I don't seem to know that that 'it' is about. If there is one thing I would ask sometimes, is deliverance from the constant seeking. And I guess that would be the end of my road. Probably a key to? The number of questions grow. The number of answers that I have is a big figure. 0. Strange ain't it. That which seems to give all the 1s and 2s of the world infinite power, seems pretty powerless as singular entity. Or is it?
What a post this is. Starting from Urdu and ending with a number.
The call from the unknown, or rather, ironically, the call that is unheard seems the loudest. The noisiest. Insha Allah I will have the answers. How soon is upto the cosmos to decide
Monday, May 12, 2008
Concert in Canada - May not go through
Might not happen after all. Our visa is stuck with the embassy and we might not make it in time for the concert. We spent enough time biting our finger nails over this issue, but looks like sometimes all the collective goodwill of well wishers does not work in our favour.
And maybe it is best that I do not inform in advance about concerts. Guess it is not too lucky. And hey .. there is my first serious superstition!
And maybe it is best that I do not inform in advance about concerts. Guess it is not too lucky. And hey .. there is my first serious superstition!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Thirai Isai Virudhu
Awards constituted only for Musicians and Lyricists of the Tamil movie industry, the press meet for which happened on Friday.
Organized by Jayam charitable Trust and Tamilmovie.com, I was invited for the Press meet and much to my surprise I was asked to be one of "dignitaries on the dais". Mr Selvakumar of tamilmovie.com, journalist Ramji, Actor Karan were also the chief invitees. When I was mentioned in the opening of every speech, it felt weird, because singers are not invited on to the dais in events like these. We not only playback, but we are also in the background. Singers are not usually invited for audio releases and sometimes even the music director is not given the due credit which seems to happen only on this side of the map. Or so I would like to believe.
They later unveiled the model of the award trophy and presented it to Mr Karan and I. Mr Karan is one of the friendly actors that I have come across and even across a crowded room he makes sure he waves out to people he knows. I got formally introduced to him at the Jaya TV awards that happened on the 31st of December. And happened to give him a small tip that mom and I have been practicing to maintain our weight. Thereafter, when I happened to meet him at another function, I guess it was the Hindu Cinema Plus Party, he mentioned that he is following what I said. At that moment I was like a deer caught on headlights, was almost brain-dead and did not have an inkling of what he was referring to. Some time and retrospection later, it dawned on me.
In my address to the press on this particular day, I made it a point to mention that I was not told that I would be asked to sit on the dais, and neither have I ever addressed a gathering from this side. And hoped I was doing it right. I even had to ask the names of the two other gentlemen on stage, who were sitting with us, to mention them at the beginning of my 'speech'. Anyhow, that event went well and I hope it brings good tidings.
As for this award, I have won the Best Female Playback singer this year for 'Sahana'
The best Male Playback Singer is S P Balasubramaniam sir.
The Award Ceremony is slated to happen on the 18th of this month, which I would be unable to attend due to my commitment in Toronto. A couple of pictures are given here. If you would like to see some more, please do visit www.galatta.com
Organized by Jayam charitable Trust and Tamilmovie.com, I was invited for the Press meet and much to my surprise I was asked to be one of "dignitaries on the dais". Mr Selvakumar of tamilmovie.com, journalist Ramji, Actor Karan were also the chief invitees. When I was mentioned in the opening of every speech, it felt weird, because singers are not invited on to the dais in events like these. We not only playback, but we are also in the background. Singers are not usually invited for audio releases and sometimes even the music director is not given the due credit which seems to happen only on this side of the map. Or so I would like to believe.
They later unveiled the model of the award trophy and presented it to Mr Karan and I. Mr Karan is one of the friendly actors that I have come across and even across a crowded room he makes sure he waves out to people he knows. I got formally introduced to him at the Jaya TV awards that happened on the 31st of December. And happened to give him a small tip that mom and I have been practicing to maintain our weight. Thereafter, when I happened to meet him at another function, I guess it was the Hindu Cinema Plus Party, he mentioned that he is following what I said. At that moment I was like a deer caught on headlights, was almost brain-dead and did not have an inkling of what he was referring to. Some time and retrospection later, it dawned on me.
In my address to the press on this particular day, I made it a point to mention that I was not told that I would be asked to sit on the dais, and neither have I ever addressed a gathering from this side. And hoped I was doing it right. I even had to ask the names of the two other gentlemen on stage, who were sitting with us, to mention them at the beginning of my 'speech'. Anyhow, that event went well and I hope it brings good tidings.
As for this award, I have won the Best Female Playback singer this year for 'Sahana'
The best Male Playback Singer is S P Balasubramaniam sir.
The Award Ceremony is slated to happen on the 18th of this month, which I would be unable to attend due to my commitment in Toronto. A couple of pictures are given here. If you would like to see some more, please do visit www.galatta.com
Rendezvous and Once-overs
I had a weekend off after ages I must say and since a friend of mine came down from Bangalore and another had come down from US it was good opportunity to catch up with both of them. A group of 15 gathered to watch the IPL match on TV of course and that was when I realized that watching a match with a whole bunch of people was damn fun. There is a lot more adrenalin pumping and lot more cheering than usually exhibited. We picked one of our friends and kept tripping on him that most of were ROTFL. Also, we decided to play a prank and told the people at the restaurant that it was one of our friends' bday. So they made a human 'train', came around all tables, landed on ours and sang Happy Budday loudly. Of course the man was hardly embarassed, just went on to enjoy his treat on the house.
Today was much better. Spent a brilliant day with family friends and hardly realized how the day just flew. I don't remember having a couple of such happy non-working days in the recent past. I had met these friends after ages, even though a lot of us live in the same city, I just don't make it to most rendezvous. It was interesting to note, while I got talking to them, how they had changed, evolved, thought processes, attitudes, mindsets. So many changes. That's when I realized that when we are hanging out with people close to us on a daily basis, we might fail to note the changes that may be slowly but steadily happening. But when you meet them over lunch or dinner and just start talking on nothing particular it leaves you with fond memories, and more so, it helped give myself a once-over. To reevaluate my mindsets and question my attitudes on various things that I come across on a daily basis, the decisions I take, the opinions I form.
Like they say, the journey within is one of the longest, most complex ones.
Today was much better. Spent a brilliant day with family friends and hardly realized how the day just flew. I don't remember having a couple of such happy non-working days in the recent past. I had met these friends after ages, even though a lot of us live in the same city, I just don't make it to most rendezvous. It was interesting to note, while I got talking to them, how they had changed, evolved, thought processes, attitudes, mindsets. So many changes. That's when I realized that when we are hanging out with people close to us on a daily basis, we might fail to note the changes that may be slowly but steadily happening. But when you meet them over lunch or dinner and just start talking on nothing particular it leaves you with fond memories, and more so, it helped give myself a once-over. To reevaluate my mindsets and question my attitudes on various things that I come across on a daily basis, the decisions I take, the opinions I form.
Like they say, the journey within is one of the longest, most complex ones.
Times of India Article
I was interviewed by Chennai Times a few days ago, and though I did not expect it to come as a full page article (I just thought it will be a box somewhere).
Another thing that needs to be noted, the media and generally too many people have been assuming for a while that I won the national award for Kannathil Muthamittaal. Though it is nice to know that everyone believes so, it has to be noted that I am not yet a National Award winner, but I hope to someday. Like anyone else. To be precise, I won the Tamilnadu State Government Award.
Another thing that needs to be noted, the media and generally too many people have been assuming for a while that I won the national award for Kannathil Muthamittaal. Though it is nice to know that everyone believes so, it has to be noted that I am not yet a National Award winner, but I hope to someday. Like anyone else. To be precise, I won the Tamilnadu State Government Award.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Other Pictures
The pictures from Rahman Sir's show and the recent Madurai show with Anuradha Sriram, Vijay Yesudas and Harish are in my photo blog. Please have a dekho.
Pictures of the razed Paramakudi Temple
Though late, as the saying goes better late than never.
According to the villagers, this stone image is from the buried Ranganatha Temple in our village Thiruvarangam, Paramakudi. Portions of it were damaged after it was unearthed, by the children while they were playing with it.
According to the villagers, this stone image is from the buried Ranganatha Temple in our village Thiruvarangam, Paramakudi. Portions of it were damaged after it was unearthed, by the children while they were playing with it.
Aahaa Kaapi Klub on Aahaa FM 91.9
I have been making a point to discuss issues mostly relevant to Chennai often. I would like to do it all the time but then it would make it too serious to digest on a daily basis. If you have listened to the show and have suggestions in general and on issues that you think I should discuss, or anything else at all, please do leave a comment.
TATIA (Thanks A Ton In Advance!)
TATIA (Thanks A Ton In Advance!)
"The Chepauk Cricket Stadium Grouse" @ Kiruba.com
In case you are one of the few who already have not visited Kiruba's, I would suggest you read his write-up on the Chepauk Cricket Stadium. I knew that the stadium had some issues but that on safety is most worrying. Even if you (I am guessing) and I cannot do much, it would help to at least stay informed.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Voice Culture Workshops in Toronto
As you might know My mother and I will be in Canada for the 17th and 18th Canadian Multicultural Radio Trade Show.
Mom has been getting umpteen requests for voice culture and classical music classes during my concert tours and the demand was a pretty high in Toronto. So this time she might lecture demonstrations as introductory sessions for grooming a good musician and measures for voice culture.
We shall post the full details later.
Mom has been getting umpteen requests for voice culture and classical music classes during my concert tours and the demand was a pretty high in Toronto. So this time she might lecture demonstrations as introductory sessions for grooming a good musician and measures for voice culture.
We shall post the full details later.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Vijay Awards 2007
Hands down Rahman sir won the award for best Music Director for Sivaji. The fans were going ballistic every time they showed him on the screen.
I was nominated for the Best Female Playback singer for Sahana, and you guessed right :) I did not win. Neha Bhasin won the award for Paesugiraen. Krish was the Best Male Playback Singer for June Pona. To know who else won, you will have to wait for the ceremony to be telecast on Vijay TV!
I was nominated for the Best Female Playback singer for Sahana, and you guessed right :) I did not win. Neha Bhasin won the award for Paesugiraen. Krish was the Best Male Playback Singer for June Pona. To know who else won, you will have to wait for the ceremony to be telecast on Vijay TV!
Friday, May 02, 2008
The Pen ......
The media - Television, Print and Radio - has been the kindest to me right from the time I stepped into the industry, wanting to fulfill a lot of my dreams and on the way to conjuring some more and making them a reality. All the leading Tamil and English magazines and Dailies have had writers who have spent time with me on interviews and spent some more penning it down and these are people to whom I owe tons of thanks and am immensely grateful.
I still remember the time, 5 years back, I was still a new entrant. A girl about my age came from the Economic Times to feature me on ET Madras Plus. It was a 1000+ word article on the first page and to this day the sheer beauty of that article makes me remember her time and again. I have not heard from her since then but she remains in my thoughts. I have made several friends and all of them have taken genuine interest in my growth and have played their part in recording it for posterity.
Another girl, Thilakavathy of Ananda Vikatan. She chased me for quite a number of days for the article on "Azhagaana Aangal". On what I thought of the men I loved. Unfortunately for her I kept insisting that I had no close encounters on a daily basis. For one I had no starting point. The primary influence in anyone's life would be their parents. Ask me to talk about women. I start from my mom. But I have not grown up with my father. So I said, I would not be good enough to to talk about men and asked her to reserve that article for after my marriage. Or when I fall in love. But she was relentless. And when she did come home I said she was wasting her time. I love men. I have had several crushes. But I had absolutely no answer to "Oru Aan eppozhudhu azhagaaga irukkiraan" (When is a Man beautiful?)
That was when I realized the magic in a journalist to bring out some things that we subconsciously know but fail to recognize. I totally adore my grandfather, I spent a lot of time with him as a child. But somehow I completely forgot that I could talk about him. And then Mr Kathiresan, a gentleman who first wrote to me as a fan, but is more a family member now. My principal Mr V Venkatachalam in Hindu Senior Secondary School Indira Nagar, one of the most charismatic men I have known. And there were so many more. Somehow she brought it all out of me. And after three hours she had the stuff to write, again, one of the most beautiful articles about me. Several calls to my show on Aahaa FM said they loved the article. And thankfully it came at a time when people were beginning to think I was anti-male. At the end of the talk-talk I was grinning and Thilakavathy wore a triumphant smile. All my meetings with writers have been great. Until now.
One leading English daily in Chennai. She said she wants to do a cover story for the supplement and subsequently came home for the interview and I had a great time talking to her. Around that time, I was getting a lot of suggestions to change my pictures that are being circulated in the press and advised me to get a professional portfolio done. I was told its high time I cared about how my pictures come out in the media. I thought I could use this interview as an excuse and an impetus to get something done, met one of the famous photographers in town, make-up professionals and stylists. The only down-side was that the makeup professional I wanted had his diary full for the next two weeks. The paper obviously had a deadline. The reporter said she was in a predicament and requested us to do the photo session with their photographer. We agreed after some deliberation. Thereafter a date was fixed but the reporter took off from work to attend to something personal and probably completely forgot about the photo session.
The past few weeks for me have been extremely hectic to say the least. I dubbed for two movies at the same time. We did not intend it to happen like that, we thought only one of the projects would get finalized. But then my voice was okayed for both movies and here I was running to the studio as soon as I left Aahaa FM. My song recordings were pushed to after 7, when the dubbing sessions got over. Some days I would have had to do two songs. And by the time I returned home, it would be after 1 in the night. Though its a great experience, dubbing can be physically and emotionally taxing and its quite rare that we agree to dub for a movie. Weekends I was performing somewhere. So the past couple of weeks were going on tight schedules and less than 3 hours of sleep every day. In the whole thing, I have had to miss a couple of weddings in my family.
Yup, I am no actress, no star of the world. But somehow I am lucky enough to have lots of work. Make no mistake, I am not cribbing. I love my life. I am super happy that I am having my hands full, working round the clock, doing the things that I love to do. Its not that I am busy all year round, but there are times when time is cramped. And this interview happened to catch me at one such point in time. And I am entitled to be busy, ain't I? This is the time to sweat it out, struggle and do the needful. I would love 48-hour days. Sadly I have only 24.
Nonetheless, I scheduled for the make up, hair stylist et al to come home and if you want the best in the industry, the bill runs quite high. On the said date the photographer is supposed to come at 1 in the afternoon. My mother called up the reporter to know why they have not turned up, she says the photographer is busy because he has gone on another assignment. Also because there was a communication gap. Since she was held up on personal work, she had asked someone in her office to schedule it with the photographer. They had apparently not done it. And after spending the required two hours to doll myself up (believe me its quite a painful, boring process) I was told to wash it all off. In a way I was happy. I could sleep for 3 hours before I headed out again! And plonked on the bed, dead to the world.
The whole of this week was quite a blur as well. And whoosh its Friday.Coming to why this post - the reporter has apparently had a chat this morning with my mom announcing that the photo shoot was for today, of course there was no prior intimation, since I don't have the time for it until Tuesday, mom conveyed the same to her. She says OK. And then unfortunately for her, she sent an sms "They are doing too much, cannot tolerate the attitude. It seems they do not have the time until next week. Please handle them". This was apparently intended for someone else. And it landed in our Inbox. Unfortunately. When she met us she was extremely sweet, mom took to her immediately.
Things can go wrong, someone might forget to inform the photographer, there might be competition within the organization, or it could have been a plain lapse by themselves. Understandable. We can mess up. I don't expect anyone to own up their mistakes and be a martyr because that is the name given to people these days who own up. But what I did not expect was that it was made to look as if I was the one throwing celeb tantrums. Mom was so upset when she read the message that she broke down. And I was angry.
I read an article in a newspaper. That the Supreme court had passed a verdict saying that Torturing a woman on the basis of her looks and skin colour by her husband will henceforth be a punishable offence. And this was reported to have happened in Delhi. This piqued my interest and I took this piece and threw it open for callers on Aahaa Kaapi Klub. And I made it a point to mention on every link that it was a Supreme Court verdict. The thing is, a Supreme Court Judge called from New Delhi, he was listening to the show on the www.aahaafm.com and said there was no such case and no such verdict. I laughingly requested him not to slap a Contempt of Court or something like that on me and clarified that I read it in the papers. He said he was aware of it and that its becoming increasingly difficult to trust the information given in Newspapers anymore. My question, is what if he hadn't called? No thanks to me, another 1000 people at least would believe that there was a verdict on those lines.
As for this photograph issue, when someone who is even remotely popular has a bad pic taken, or wears the 'wrong' sort of clothes, or has the 'wrong' hairstyle, 'wrong' make up according to someone's opinion which is likewise published somewhere. And of course the "why can't they take care of their appearance?" comment. And by the way this is all about an individual's opinion which gets published just because they are on board some magazine.
We tend to trust a journalist because we believe that their views are unbiased. So what if she had told a few people that I am troublesome? And how in God's name should we trust anyone now? If a pipsqueak of a singer like me has an issue of this sort, I feel sorry for the amount of trouble that the real stars go through. If they want to make themselves unreachable, it seems to make sense now. Someone once told me that I should make myself rare. Not to Blog. Not to take calls. Not to talk to anyone. Not to be all that affable. That makes sense as well. Unreachable is definitely a better term than being called troublesome.
I still remember the time, 5 years back, I was still a new entrant. A girl about my age came from the Economic Times to feature me on ET Madras Plus. It was a 1000+ word article on the first page and to this day the sheer beauty of that article makes me remember her time and again. I have not heard from her since then but she remains in my thoughts. I have made several friends and all of them have taken genuine interest in my growth and have played their part in recording it for posterity.
Another girl, Thilakavathy of Ananda Vikatan. She chased me for quite a number of days for the article on "Azhagaana Aangal". On what I thought of the men I loved. Unfortunately for her I kept insisting that I had no close encounters on a daily basis. For one I had no starting point. The primary influence in anyone's life would be their parents. Ask me to talk about women. I start from my mom. But I have not grown up with my father. So I said, I would not be good enough to to talk about men and asked her to reserve that article for after my marriage. Or when I fall in love. But she was relentless. And when she did come home I said she was wasting her time. I love men. I have had several crushes. But I had absolutely no answer to "Oru Aan eppozhudhu azhagaaga irukkiraan" (When is a Man beautiful?)
That was when I realized the magic in a journalist to bring out some things that we subconsciously know but fail to recognize. I totally adore my grandfather, I spent a lot of time with him as a child. But somehow I completely forgot that I could talk about him. And then Mr Kathiresan, a gentleman who first wrote to me as a fan, but is more a family member now. My principal Mr V Venkatachalam in Hindu Senior Secondary School Indira Nagar, one of the most charismatic men I have known. And there were so many more. Somehow she brought it all out of me. And after three hours she had the stuff to write, again, one of the most beautiful articles about me. Several calls to my show on Aahaa FM said they loved the article. And thankfully it came at a time when people were beginning to think I was anti-male. At the end of the talk-talk I was grinning and Thilakavathy wore a triumphant smile. All my meetings with writers have been great. Until now.
One leading English daily in Chennai. She said she wants to do a cover story for the supplement and subsequently came home for the interview and I had a great time talking to her. Around that time, I was getting a lot of suggestions to change my pictures that are being circulated in the press and advised me to get a professional portfolio done. I was told its high time I cared about how my pictures come out in the media. I thought I could use this interview as an excuse and an impetus to get something done, met one of the famous photographers in town, make-up professionals and stylists. The only down-side was that the makeup professional I wanted had his diary full for the next two weeks. The paper obviously had a deadline. The reporter said she was in a predicament and requested us to do the photo session with their photographer. We agreed after some deliberation. Thereafter a date was fixed but the reporter took off from work to attend to something personal and probably completely forgot about the photo session.
The past few weeks for me have been extremely hectic to say the least. I dubbed for two movies at the same time. We did not intend it to happen like that, we thought only one of the projects would get finalized. But then my voice was okayed for both movies and here I was running to the studio as soon as I left Aahaa FM. My song recordings were pushed to after 7, when the dubbing sessions got over. Some days I would have had to do two songs. And by the time I returned home, it would be after 1 in the night. Though its a great experience, dubbing can be physically and emotionally taxing and its quite rare that we agree to dub for a movie. Weekends I was performing somewhere. So the past couple of weeks were going on tight schedules and less than 3 hours of sleep every day. In the whole thing, I have had to miss a couple of weddings in my family.
Yup, I am no actress, no star of the world. But somehow I am lucky enough to have lots of work. Make no mistake, I am not cribbing. I love my life. I am super happy that I am having my hands full, working round the clock, doing the things that I love to do. Its not that I am busy all year round, but there are times when time is cramped. And this interview happened to catch me at one such point in time. And I am entitled to be busy, ain't I? This is the time to sweat it out, struggle and do the needful. I would love 48-hour days. Sadly I have only 24.
Nonetheless, I scheduled for the make up, hair stylist et al to come home and if you want the best in the industry, the bill runs quite high. On the said date the photographer is supposed to come at 1 in the afternoon. My mother called up the reporter to know why they have not turned up, she says the photographer is busy because he has gone on another assignment. Also because there was a communication gap. Since she was held up on personal work, she had asked someone in her office to schedule it with the photographer. They had apparently not done it. And after spending the required two hours to doll myself up (believe me its quite a painful, boring process) I was told to wash it all off. In a way I was happy. I could sleep for 3 hours before I headed out again! And plonked on the bed, dead to the world.
The whole of this week was quite a blur as well. And whoosh its Friday.Coming to why this post - the reporter has apparently had a chat this morning with my mom announcing that the photo shoot was for today, of course there was no prior intimation, since I don't have the time for it until Tuesday, mom conveyed the same to her. She says OK. And then unfortunately for her, she sent an sms "They are doing too much, cannot tolerate the attitude. It seems they do not have the time until next week. Please handle them". This was apparently intended for someone else. And it landed in our Inbox. Unfortunately. When she met us she was extremely sweet, mom took to her immediately.
Things can go wrong, someone might forget to inform the photographer, there might be competition within the organization, or it could have been a plain lapse by themselves. Understandable. We can mess up. I don't expect anyone to own up their mistakes and be a martyr because that is the name given to people these days who own up. But what I did not expect was that it was made to look as if I was the one throwing celeb tantrums. Mom was so upset when she read the message that she broke down. And I was angry.
I read an article in a newspaper. That the Supreme court had passed a verdict saying that Torturing a woman on the basis of her looks and skin colour by her husband will henceforth be a punishable offence. And this was reported to have happened in Delhi. This piqued my interest and I took this piece and threw it open for callers on Aahaa Kaapi Klub. And I made it a point to mention on every link that it was a Supreme Court verdict. The thing is, a Supreme Court Judge called from New Delhi, he was listening to the show on the www.aahaafm.com and said there was no such case and no such verdict. I laughingly requested him not to slap a Contempt of Court or something like that on me and clarified that I read it in the papers. He said he was aware of it and that its becoming increasingly difficult to trust the information given in Newspapers anymore. My question, is what if he hadn't called? No thanks to me, another 1000 people at least would believe that there was a verdict on those lines.
As for this photograph issue, when someone who is even remotely popular has a bad pic taken, or wears the 'wrong' sort of clothes, or has the 'wrong' hairstyle, 'wrong' make up according to someone's opinion which is likewise published somewhere. And of course the "why can't they take care of their appearance?" comment. And by the way this is all about an individual's opinion which gets published just because they are on board some magazine.
We tend to trust a journalist because we believe that their views are unbiased. So what if she had told a few people that I am troublesome? And how in God's name should we trust anyone now? If a pipsqueak of a singer like me has an issue of this sort, I feel sorry for the amount of trouble that the real stars go through. If they want to make themselves unreachable, it seems to make sense now. Someone once told me that I should make myself rare. Not to Blog. Not to take calls. Not to talk to anyone. Not to be all that affable. That makes sense as well. Unreachable is definitely a better term than being called troublesome.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Upcoming concert - Canada 17th-18th May
I am slated to perform at the Cross Cultural Festival in Toronto on the 17th and 18th of May.
I should be able to post more details once we land in Toronto two weeks from now. If you would like to peep in, do leave a comment.
I am looking forward to this concert for several reasons. Shall keep you posted.
I should be able to post more details once we land in Toronto two weeks from now. If you would like to peep in, do leave a comment.
I am looking forward to this concert for several reasons. Shall keep you posted.
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