Earth song

No matter how successful you become,household chores never leave you, says Bhardwaj,who takes her home as seriously as her songs. And even though she admits shes managing only 2.5 hours of riyaaz when she should be doing four hours,she doesnt regret playing wife and mother. I love to cook. Vishal says that when I cook,he doesnt fall ill, she says. But when shes recording,she switches off from the world.
Bhardwajs songs may have only recently become popular but her tryst with music began when she was a child. My father was very keen that my sister and I learn classical music. We didnt cut cakes on birthdays,we used to have baithaks where we were encouraged to sing thumris,ghazals or bandish, she says.

At the age of 12,she enrolled at the Gandharva Mahavidyala and studied under the tutelage of Pandit Amar Nath who advised her to eat well for you need strength for your voice to come out. Later,she graduated in music from Delhis Hindu College. The learning is still on. In fact,shes looking forward for a trip to Delhi so that she could spend five days in learning from the seniormost disciple of her deceased guru,Amarjeet Kaur.

She also inspired her husband to pursue music seriously. Vishal had a film background as his father was a lyricist but he wasnt serious about his music and was hell-bent on becoming a cricketer. He used to write ghazals whereas I was the star of the college, she says. A comment by her on his ghazal writing skills was conveyed to him by a common friend at college,motivating him to learn about music. He decided to learn music so that he could impress me, she says.

It was now Vishals turn to inspire his wife to sing professionally. On her husbands insistence and Gulzars encouragement,Bhardwaj released her Sufi-inspired album,Ishqa Ishqa in 2004. Though it got critical acclaim,Bhardwaj didnt get a single call for work. I think people had this misconception that I will only sing for my husband, she says. Music director Shamir Tandon was one of the first ones to offer her a song for the film,Red Swastik. Vishal,of course,had used her voice in films like Jahan Tum Le Chalo,Maqbool and Chachi 420.
But the big hit was still elusive. Vishal would say that itll all change the day he comes up with a melancholic,soulful song. That was Namak. And the rest is history. Bhardwaj though had almost backed out from singing it. Vishals pressure and the variations in the composition scared me. I backed out. Vishal played the recording of the rehearsal to me. That gave me confidence, she recalls.

That confidence is now reaping more hits. Her songs have earned her a cult following. She tells us of a man in Delhi whos so enamoured by Genda phool that he has started a business of distributing marigold seeds. He wants me to come to Delhi to inaugurate it. Its like a Genda phool movement, she says.

She attributes her current fan following to Rahman,whom she admires so much that she couldnt sleep the night before I met him and even bought a new kurta for the meeting. I found that so strange about myself but then its Rahman,she says.
Though she loves music,shes not too comfortable with playback singing. It was never my dream to sing for films. My ultimate aim is to learn classical music, she says.