Divaine renditions

Easily one of themost difficult singers to emulate, Sarathy carried the highs through the lows of Houston8217;s beautiful number from the film Bodyguard like an expert born to the tune. And all this, without classical training of any kind. quot;I come from a family of music. My mother used to play the classical piano, and I just sang a lot. But I could never sit down and learn music,quot; she says.

Starting at the age of four, she sang her way through school and college, making money on lending her voice to jingles, at school concerts, college shows, the Indian Institute of Technology IIT Mardi Gras. And got noticed everywhere. quot;I8217;ve done a lot of roadshows in Bangalore, Vizag and Hyderabad. And while I was doing it in school and college, it was fun. But I knew, even then, that music was what I wanted to make a career in,quot; she says.

And not just music, but very specifically, English music. quot;There was never any doubt about that. I was part of the choir, and I always swayed towards rhythm and blues, pop and rock. I don8217;t knowa word of Hindi, so that is out anyway. And any other language, I just cannot sing with that kind of feeling and emotion,quot; she asserts.

That was when disappointment began rearing it8217;s ugly head. Record companies are great when it comes to listening to stuff from the beaten track, but talk about English singing, and they smile politely and promise to call you back, Sarathy discovered. Only, there were no RSVPs waiting for her. And offers, which were aplenty, were never to sing in English. There was no chance that she was going to lose sight of her goal anyway, thought Sarathy, so she decided to take things as they came.

quot;After college, then, I did a course in airline ticketing and worked for a good three years, before I said enough,quot; she says, remembering the brouhaha that erupted back home8217;. quot;Like most other conservative parents, even mine thought I was on the way to becoming a freak. Those who sing are freaks and crazy8217;, they felt. It took some convincing, and them meeting everyone I interacted with.After that, the opposition slowly began to subside.quot;

And after a point, Sarathy found support coming her way from home. Then, there wasn8217;t a single speedbreaker in sight. quot;We do a whole lot of composing and music back home 8212; there are a lot of people there who are totally into this. And currently, we work at helping people make demo tapes for voiceovers and things like that,quot; she explains. Her own performances and voiceovers, of course, go on.

Back home8217; is a constant refrain. And everything Sarathy wants to do is back home8217;. quot;This is my first time in Mumbai, and though I8217;ve been very comfortable here, home is home,quot; she shrugs matter-of-factly. But what about the stardom that accompanies winning a contest against 1,500-odd participants? Can that be had back home8217;? quot;I don8217;t see why not. Considering that we have better infrastructure and tons of talent there,quot; she quips.

But her own plans are still in formative phases. And deals have to be dealt with across the table, which will be done after theinitial euphoria dies down. quot;What we8217;re doing is taking one step at a time,quot; she says, wisely.

Being a one-night star, as she was when she swept the audiences away at the contest at Three Flights up, is not her scene. quot;Let talent speak, for once,quot; she says. Sarathy also has plans of establishing herself as a serious singer in English. quot;I8217;ve always wanted to cut my own album,quot; she says.

It8217;s not a new dream. And let8217;s hope it realises into the fairy-tale as well.