Classically Light :)

They keep saying, "The GenNext has close to no interest in Indian Classical Music. How will the rich Indian musical heritage survive? What will it take to inculcate the love for such Music among the young guns?" Surely a cause of major concern, but somehow, it has never bothered me too much. Mainly because from its very inception, classical Music was never meant for the masses. Even in the eras gone by, the soulful classical renditions belonged to elitist spaces like the ruling king's court etc. The common folk, on the other hand, always resorted to folk music for leisure and entertainment. The Thumris, Taans and Aalaps, were, therefore, never catered to the masses' sensibilities. As rightly put by a young Indian Classical Musician, Classical Music is like Sushi... one simply cannot expect the whole wide world out there to like it, one needs to develop a taste for it. But once the aforesaid taste is developed, there is nothing that can stop one from loving it more and more everyday.

My talent as a singer was fortunately recognized at a very early stage. Consequently, my parents got me trained under the best classical musicians wherever we were. Nobody forced the love for this branch of music upon me. It was that awesome feeling, when you suddenly discover what you're born for, the very purpose of your life. At the tender age of 7, I knew that this was what I wanted my life to consist of. What do they call it? Epiphany, I guess :) The little me grew up, went on learning good music under different teachers, and everything was steering in the right direction. When I moved to Mumbai along with my family, I got widely exposed to light music. At first, I only knew a handful of Hindi film songs (sung by my Goddess Asha Bhosle), which were enough for me to win a couple of competitions. After that, various stage show organizers picked me up and I began performing old Hindi film numbers professionally. One thing led to another and light music also became an important part of my life. Not like I didn't enjoy it. I certainly did, immensely that too, just that nothing compares to the beauty of classical music. Life kept happening, and at the age of 16, I participated in the much talked about Indian Idol (season 4). I went on to reach the top 6 and was lucky enough to be remembered as one of the best contestants in that season.

Now that naturally meant a lot of large-scale stage shows post Idol. And yes, that very much happened. Those moments of glory were magnanimous in every sense, and still are. Luxury stays, mammoth like stages, thousands of people in the audience, never before seen glamor and all of that. But somewhere, there is this little glitch that remains. The love and respect for one's music is lesser on such platforms. People enjoy, have a gala time, make a lot of noise, and go back home elated, which is a very very good thing. But in a classical mehfil, there is soberness. Every artistic harkat is appreciated, just as every mistake is anything but spared. In the 'glam brigade', it matters little if you're going off-pitch every once in a while. As long as you're able to make the people groove incessantly, other things don't count. Today, as I was doing my Riyaaz with Guruji, Pt. Prabhakar Karekar, I realized, that nothing can grant me the kind of peace and contentment that an hour, or more, of my favourite Raag does. But why am I still so hooked to the light Music scenario. One, I do enjoy it, despite having said all that I have, I thoroughly enjoy myself on all such outings. Two, the bigger reason, the money it gets you. Oh yes, never before Idol could I imagine handsome payments for rendering as little as 4-5 songs in a show. It is insane, especially for a young soul like me. The excitement is just too much to control, moreso in the initial phases.

So today, I got thinking. If only classical music offered that kind of money, life would be even more amazing. I am just one of those people who want to be very rich, very fast. I don't know if so many ambitions come with being a Scorpion, but that's just the way I am. Not like I have compromised upon classical music, which is, the very point of this post. I still do my Riyaaz religiously every single day. It becomes hard to strike a balance sometimes. Sometimes, the monetary benefits in the light music field also lure one into believing that maybe sticking so tight to classical music is not the best idea. But in the next instance, I know that those are just passing thoughts that I am not supposed to pay much attention to. My life is full of both the forms of Music and I love them both a lot. There is too much practice involved in one, and too much competition in the other. One is for the classes, and one, for the masses. As a singer, I only feel too happy to work on my versatility and be able to cater to both the sections of society. Some day, I wish I could be an icon in the field of Indian Music by being a 'popular classical musician'. That would definitely be an arena not too well explored. I always wondered, what different I could do with my music so that I would have an edge over the others around me. Maybe, I have found the answer today. Everyday from now will be a lot of hard work and perseverance. Oh and by the way, for once in life, the grass is green on both sides of the fence ;)

Cheers