Singing to Vajpayee’s tune

AURANGABAD, December 13: An audio cassette containing eight songs written by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will soon be available in the market. However, the songs composed and sung by famous vocalist Padmaja Phennaniy Joglekar in her melodious voice have nothing to do with the forthcoming elections, the singer said, adding she could not say whether the cassettes would be released before the elections. Talking to newsmen, Joglekar, who is here to perform at the Ellora Festival 1997 today said, "I sincerely consider Mr Vajpayee a great poet. I like composing music for his poems and then sing them."

On how it all started, she said she once happened to meet Vajpayee at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde where she sang one of his poems. Vajpayee appreciated her style of singing and permitted her to sing and record his poetry.

The cassettes will contain eight songs including Apne Hi Manse Kuch Bole, Kya Khoya Kya Paya and Jung Na Hone Denge Hum.Joglekar was born into a family of renowned artistes. She began training from a very early age under the guidance of renowned vocalist Pandit Jasraj. She is equally at ease with classical and light classical music, singing khayal, thumri and tappa as well as bhajans, geet and ghazals. She has received several awards for her accomplishments including the Miya Tansen award (1988) and the prestigious Bharat Nirman award (1988). She has performed in over 50 light and classical music concerts held in the UK and Canada.