Songs from the soul…

Did you stop accepting offers, or did they stop coming? And is that why you shifted your focus to the South?
Till date, I have never said I will not sing in Hindi. If an offer to sing something challenging and meaningful comes I will take it. But I couldn’t be bothered with the frivolous. I was already an established singer in the South before coming to sing in Hindi, so there is no question of me seeking refuge there because things didn’t work out here. Perhaps they would have… if I’d played by the rules here. But it would crush my spirit to compromise on my principles only for a few singing assignments.

Are you saying you have no regrets about losing out on the pan-Indian appeal?
Of course, it hurts. Mind you I’m not hurt about my so-called loss as I am about the system’s way of functioning. We have to accept that Hindi is the national language, and that it over-shadows all other regional tongues. Even if you are the greatest of greats in your own region, the country largely does not even know you exist unless you perform in Hindi. I remember being asked by a media person how I felt on getting a National Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Gori tera gaon for Chitchor. How was I to tell her that I had already been honoured similarly five times before for my renditions in Malayalam? I feel good music can be appreciated even without knowing the language, and it’s petty to start thinking in terms of language and regions Hindustani or Carnatic when it comes to good music.

Compared to you, other South Indian male singers like S P Balasubramanium, and more recently Hariharan and Shankar Mahadevan, have had more successful innings in Hindi.
I think the North-South divide which was more pronounced in the 70s and early 80s has been blurred due to TV. While much is made by the media about the monopolising of the profession in female playback singing, nobody considers that this is true about male singers too. Rarely did people think beyond Rafi and Kishore, and even artistes like Mahendra Kapoor and Shailendra Singh got sidelined. I wasn’t very good at the “contacts†thing, and paid dearly for my naivete. Both Hariharan and Mahadevan have cosmopolitan backgrounds unlike me and SP. That makes a big difference. And perhaps the most important thing is packaging, which both these later artistes seem very good at. They deserve praise for that.

Why did you once say that Lata Mangeshkar should stop singing now?
Oh my God! Not that please… I think this needless controversy will go with me to my grave. Let me once and for all put on record that I NEVER said anything like that. I have always been a great fan of her voice and think of her as my elder sister. I remember being fascinated even as a kid with songs like Chaand phir nikla… All that I said was that even if she stopped singing, people would never forget her. But the words were twisted to make it look like I was suggesting she sing no more. As if this weren’t enough, a few months after a daily carried the story and I was put to great pains explaining my position, it was repeated again on page one since they didn’t have anything soft to counterbalance the election news. And the misunderstandings were rekindled. How can I keep sending rejoinders and clarifications everytime they run the piece.

Most of your music is devotional (mostly kritis and bhajans in praise of Lord Ayappa, Mukhambika Devi and Gurvayurswamy) and has a huge fan-following internationally. But this has got you into trouble with your own Church and the Gurvayoor temple.
(Laughs with a sad look)… What do I say? My devotion to my God transcends his so-called mortal guardians. I was refused entry because I was born a Christian. Those are their rules for those precincts. But the Lord knows his bhakta, and cannot be confined so. As far as the trouble with my Church goes, it is true, but it doesn’t unduly bother me.

But you are an ardent devotee of Lord Ayappa and even undertake the annual pilgrimage.
The Ayappa sect is very different from all other schools of thought I’ve about in Hinduism. Here you are welcome even if you belong to a different caste, creed, religion or nationality. Their concept of advaita interests me particularly. Once the pilgrimage is complete you are also called Ayappa no difference between God and you.

Like most Indian musicians settled abroad, are you planning to cut any fusion or World Music albums?
I have never felt any particular attraction in either. Though I have nothing against people who listen to and play or sing such music I feel that such mix and match kills both kinds of music. The canvass of Carnatic music itself is so huge and interesting that I feel like I barely know the basics. There is so much more ground to cover…

Finally, tell us, did you know that the thumri you rendered for Swami,Ka karoo sajni… was rendered by the late Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb?
(Laughs)… Yes I know how it was. To stop getting too worked up about it, I merely heard it once.