Wednesday
Saturday
At Chennailivenews.com Function
There was a lot of food for thought at the Deepavali recipe contest prize distribution ceremony of chennailivenews.com that took place at the elegant Accord Metropolitan hotel in T Nagar, Chennai, on November 18, 2010.Since it was a prize distribution ceremony of a recipe contest, it was decided to invite celebrity musician Chinmayi, a self-confessed ‘discerning’ foodie, and her mother T Padmhasini, who has done major research on Indian herbs.
Mother and daughter complemented each other very well by talking on diverse aspects of food: Padmhasini, who was requested to speak on Indian ingredients being herbs, delved deep into the strengths of Indian cooking and Indian ingredients like dry ginger (sukku), pepper (melagu) and castor oil; Chinmayi, whom we had wanted to speak on being a foodie and the foods she likes, gave a humorous account of life with a mother who used to feed her with all kinds of kashayams and her own budding interest in baking – mind you, eggless!
Padmhasini, an Indologist and a musicologist gave useful and magical health tips. She stressed the need to have chukku kashayam in the morning on an empty stomach as it cleanses the stomach. She felt the joint family system, which is no longer in vogue, was ideally suited for families. Padmhasini also elaborated on vegetarianism and declared that she and her daughter were votaries of vegetarianism.
Chinmayi, who enthralls the world with her ‘Kilimanjaro’ song in the blockbuster ‘Endhiran’, but sporting a girl-next-door look, stressed the need to be a vegetarian and how she used to take adathoda kashayam as her mother was particular that she drank it without hesitation. She hilariously narrated how her mother give her juice of leaves that even ‘aadu’ – goats - will never touch.
In her usual style, peppered with humour, Chinmayi said her mother has given her all sorts of concoctions to improve immunity and help her voice be what it is today. Her voice has become so conditioned that she could bite an ice cube, eat ice cream and immediately sing without any problem.
Chinmayi recalled her Italian sojourn with maestro Ilayaraja – another strict vegetarian - and how she had to sustain only on yoghurt and apples for a gruelling 10 days.
Regarding the prize winners, though there were several entries for the Deepavali recipe contest, the judges picked three winners and a consolation prize winner.
We had also simultaneously held a contest for a memorable Deepavali and the prize for that went to an 84-year-old woman who celebrated her Thalai Deepavali before Independence. She had come in person to collect the prize which was heartening.
The prizes, sponsored by Sri Andal Stores, Madurantakam, and A Ganapathy of Balasubramaniam Enterprises, Nanganallur, were given away by Chinmayi and Padmhasini to Sripriya Venkatraman (surakkai halwa), Lalitha Mahadevan (rosagulla) Chandra Vasudevan (porivilangai urundai) and Prathima Giri (chakkali).
Sangita Sridhar’s prayer song drew an appreciative nod from Padmhasini who imparts voice training which has benefited many students of Hindustani music, not to mention Chinmayi herself.
Nanganallur B Sridhar gave a brief acceptance speech on behalf of the prize winners.
Usha Raja, chairperson of Newsreel Media Services Pvt Ltd, welcomed the gathering.
Friday
November Fest 2010 in Hyderabad
The line-up for Hyderabad's festival: (clockwise, left to right) Shweta, Aruna Sairam, Yodhaka, Srinivas, Chinmayi, Haricharan and Tina Sani.
The Friday Review November Fest 2010 opens with a four-day feast in Hyderabad between 10 and 14 November. A look at what the festival has to offer.
November 10: Aruna Sairam -in praise of vitthala - abhangs
When Aruna Sairam sings, myriad emotions reverberate through the concert hall. There’s bhakti, there’s gyaana, and, most of all, an exuberance and abandon that strikes a chord with every listener.
The singer, known for her rich, deep timbre, makes it a point to sing an abhang or two at every concert. The fondness for this form of devotional poetry, sung in praise of Vitthala, has roots in her growing-up years in Bombay. At the Friday Review November Fest in 2006, she came up with a theme concert woven entirely around abhangs. She delves deep into that genre yet again, to come up with creations that promise to lift the soul.
Aruna has collaborated with acclaimed international artistes such as Dominique Vellard, the French master of Gregorian chant, and Christian Bollmann of Germany. In India, she has collaborated with Shankar Mahadevan, U Shrinivas and several North Indian musicians, among others.
She has performed throughout the world, including at Carnegie Hall in New York, Le Theatre de la Ville in Paris, and the Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco.
Among the many national and international honours that have come her way are the Padma Shri, the Kalaimamani and the prestigious U.S. Congress Proclamation of Excellence.
ARUNA SAIRAM
Raghavendra Rao - Violin
J. Vaidyanathan - Mridangam
S. Karthick - Ghatam
Niranjan Lele - Harmonium
Sai Bankar - Tabla
Prakash Shejwal - Pakhavaj
Pratap Rath -Additional Percussion
November 11: Yodhakaa - sholka cool-contemporary Indian
Yodhakaa is an experimental music set-up that evolved from the idea of finding a bridge between the traditional and the contemporary. Sanskrit shlokas and emotions come together to create a unique sound that traverses far and wide, searching for that inner meaning which defines the atma
Yodhakaa strives to do exactly that — by breaking free and finding support and inspiration in this grand old language that is so rooted in our heritage. And, it layers the slokas with musical influences, not just from India, but from all around the world — from jazz and blues to traditional Carnatic music, Nigerian street drumming to the Algerian rai, Cuban son to the Bahian samba-cancsao, South-American Merengue to Senegal’s wolof, and more.
The team consists of five radical young musicians from different cultural and musical backgrounds — ‘Darbuka’ Siva, Pradeep, Subhiksha, Donan Murray and Divyan Ahimaz — who’ve come together to create a distinctively textured sound.
‘Darbuka’ Siva - drums and percussions
Pradeep - Vocals and Slideguitar
Subhiksha - Vocals and percussion
Donan Murray - Guitar
Divyan Ahimaz - Bass
November 13: Tina Sani -Hope and healing, Sufi
Tina Sani sang before she started speaking. And, destiny took care of the rest — she made her debut, which became a runaway hit, on Pakistan Television in 1980. She learnt classical music from Ustad Nizamuddin Khan Sahib, son of Ustad Ramzan Khan of the Delhi Gharana, but music was never really a career plan.
She moved on and dabbled in many things, including teaching art, but the magical pull of music was too great to ignore. She started off with popular music before she got to give shape to her love for ghazals. Little surprise, for she lives in a land of ghazal singers such as Mehdi Hasan, Ghulam Ali and Farida Khanum. And then, she got to sing a Nazm (free verse) of Faiz Ahmad Faiz for composer Arshad Mehmud. The year was 1985, and Tina had found her niche.
She now sings verses of hope. Verses that lead her to speak up and to rise against injustice. Poetry with a cause.
Tina Sani
Abid Hussain - Tabla
Akhtar Hussain - Sarangi
Aslam - percussionist, dholak
Iqbal Hussain and Wazir Sultan - Harmonium
November 14: Hindi Retro -Travel back in time to an era when melody ruled in Hindi cinema.
Srinivas, Chinmayi, Haricharan and Shweta Mohan come together for some retro magic in this show, featuring hits down the ages till the 1980s.
The show will start off with Srinivas’ favourite K.L. Saigal, before moving on to ditties from the 1950s and 1960s. What will dominate will be the energy and vivacity of the swinging Seventies, featuring songs
by Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi. And, of course, hits from the Kishore Kumar-RD Burman combination.
Get prepared to immerse yourself in the compositions of R.D. Burman, S.D. Burman, Madan Mohan, Naushad and Salil Chowdury. A 15-member orchestra hand-picked from Chennai and Kerala, will
accompany the singers.
Among the retro gems, which will include a lot of duets, you’ll get to listen to ‘Main Kya Jaanoon’, ‘Tere Mere Sapne’, ‘Oh Sajna’, ‘Madhuban Mein Radhika’, ‘Yeh Kya Hua’, ‘Musafir Hoon Yaaron’, ‘Hawa Ke Saath Saath’, ‘Deewana Tha Badal’ and ‘Tere Mere Milan’.
Srinivas
Chinmayi
Haricharan
Shweta Mohan
Chinmayi -Translation
Looks like Kilimanjaro singer Chinmayi's fan base is expanding by the day.Chinmayi, who also runs a translation services firm, was pleasantly surprised when a translator from Brazil wrote to her, expressing how much she enjoyed listening to Mayya mayya... from Guru.
An excited Chinmayi says, "I was looking for a linguist who could translate content into Portuguese when a lady from Brazil mailed me. She'd written, 'I can't believe it! You are the one who sang Mayya Mayya... in Guru, which I had translated from English to Portuguese! I loved the film and the song.
And I'm delighted writing to you.' I was totally excited. She sounded absolutely thrilled. That's the reach Mani Ratnam sir's films have. Now, I want to watch Guru in Portuguese; especially Mayya Mayya."
CHINMAYI'S KILIMANJARO (Dream come true)
Singing 'Kilimanjaro' is a dream come true - Chinmayi
Popular playback singer Chinmayi Sripada, who sang the foot-tapping chartbuster 'Kilimanjaro, Malai Kanimanjaro' in the multi-crore Rajinikanth starrer 'Endhiran', says it was a dream come true for her to sing a second time in a movie featuring the Tamil superstar.
The music has been composed by double Oscar winner A R Rahman.
Chinmayi,who sang the duet along with Javed Ali, said she was initially apprehensive as she did not know if her voice would be retained "as it was such a huge film. "I wonder if anyone has it like SPB (S P Balasubramaniam) sir to sing in every one of his films. But to me I have always wished to be singing in Superstar's film and to get my dream come true the second time was a true blessing."
"And a song like Kilimanjaro which is such a fun, entertaining track... singing the song was an amazing experience. It being retained in my voice was a blessing”, said the 25-year-old singer.
The peppy number was picturised on a debonair Rajini and an alluring Aishwaraya Rai, shot at Peru's Machu Picchu.
Earlier, she had sung 'Sahana' in the Rajini starrer 'Shivaji', again with Rahman being the music composer.
Chinmayi,who sang under Rahman's baton the first time-'Oru Deviam Thande Poove'-- in 'Kannanthil Muthamittal' some years ago, said she is forever indebted to Rahman for making her the singer she is today and for reviving her from total obscurity that she once stood at the threshold of.
"When almost no one gave me songs, he was the only one who would. Yes I did become slightly emotional (while watching Endhiran) and sent a silent thanks to God and a telepathic thanks to Rahman sir for making it happen."
Asked about critics saying the movie soundtrack lacks the Rahman magic, she said:"How can someone even define the word magic? To me,not just as a singer who has had the good fortune to sing his creations, as a fan and a rasika it is difficult to define the word magic, no matter what Oxford Dictionary says, leave alone his magic or the legend that is Rahman. Indians take great pleasure in celebrating a genius and then go into mindless criticism once the celebrity starts doing well."
The problem with critics, or maybe a lot of them is they themselves are not clear about what they are looking for or what they want, she said. "A lot of the critics are on this hullabaloo about Rahman sir post his Oscars because he has achieved the impossible..."
Besides Kilimanjaro, her favorite track in the film is 'Arima Arima'. "I was highly hooked to Kaadhal Anukkal as it was the first track to be released. And then Arima. And now its the Chitti Dance Showcase," she said.
Asked about the 'controversy' about Aabhas Joshi replacing her as host in the Star plus-Saibaba telefilm Chhote Ustaad show, Chinmayi said she wondered if people even noticed her there to make it a controversy.
She said only South Indians were very proud that a girl from Chennai went on a Hindi channel. It was a big thing for people from here. To people there it hardly mattered. "There were a lot of things going on with Chote Ustaad which I think was also all over the media. It was not the be-all and end-all of my life. I was very apprehensive when asked to do it. Then I decided to take it up to give it a fair shot. Also, there is a way I like to lead my life, which would adhere to certain norms. Anything that goes beyond that is not my purview."
She said she saw Aabhas doing a Tapori act and several other acts which would have been impossible for her to do."Almost as if a lot of acting is involved.In the Sholay special, even children were acting more and singing less. It is a good thing I am not on the show. Nonetheless I am thankful to Saibaba Telefilms.. It's not always that a girl from Chennai is given an opportunity like that."
It has been quite a rewarding two years for Chinmayi. She won the Tamil Nadu state award for the 'Sahana' number last year, Filmfare award for 'Vaarayo' (Aadhavan-Haris Jairaj music composer), chartbusters in 'Anbil Avan...' in Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya and now Kilimanjaro (all this year).
Asked if 'Maiyya Yashoda' number with Javed Ali in 'Jhootha hi Sahi', again under Rahman, which is due for release would also be a chartbuster, she said it was drawing good reviews. "Depends on what the Almighty has decided for me. I had a very popular number in Lamhaa called Madhno/Saajna composed by Mithoon which released some time in June and at the half-yearly mark, it found a place in the top ten romantic numbers of 2010 and was highly spoken of. Yes God has been kind and it has been a good year so far."
Asked how different was Haris Jairaj's music from Rahman's, she said she was not sure if she had the capacity or talent to compare or even comment on a composer's creation. "To me Varayo is a special song not just because it has given me seven awards so far, but the experience of singing with Unnikrishnan ji. Even as a listener I loved the melody.. This song has given me such widespread appreciation...”
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