Thursday, January 29, 2009

Leavin on a Jet Plane...

...don't know when I'll be back again. I leave for India tomorrow. Have been looking forward to this day for a while now! Countless wonderful memories associated with my stay in the US. Maybe I should dedicate a blog just for them :).

I have been wanting to sing Kesariya Balma from "Lekin" for a while now but never had the confidence to post it here! And honestly, the recording sounded quite awful when I first tried singing it. Then I discovered that hearing a super pitchy song of yourself can work wonders on the frequency and duration of your practice sessions ha ha. So I kept singing this song, so much so that even my husband could sort of sing the alaap in the first antara just listening to me sing it over and over and over. I don't even want to think how irritated my neighbors are with me (good thing we are leaving). Coming to the song. It is in Maand based on the Rajasthani folk song Kesariya Balma, padharo mharo des. The lyrics for the song in "Lekin" are written by Gulzar and the music is by Hridayanath Mangeshkar. He is a wonderful composer and thanks to my friends I have been introduced to his beautiful compositions in Marathi. And of course who else but Lata ji could sing something so complicated with so much ease. Her voice just flows in this song. Here is my first attempt at singing this beautiful song (in the public domain that is). Do listen when you have time and do not hesitate to provide constructive criticism (that too works wonders on the practice sessions ha ha). This blog may not be very active in the next month or two, but I will definitely resume practising, singing and listening once I am all settled. Thanks for all the support :).

Song: Kesariya Balma ; Movie: Lekin

Kesariya Balma (Lekin) | Upload MusicDownload here

Friday, January 9, 2009

Welcome 2009!!!

Wish you all a very happy new year !! Hope all your dreams and wishes get fulfilled. Thought this would be an appropriate time for happy and fast songs. Also, my mother wanted me to sing a fast song in my blog since I was only singing slow songs. So here are two fast songs for you amma :).

The first one is Mujhe Rang de from "Thakshak" sung by Asha Bhosle and composed by A. R. Rahman. He is such a gifted composer and so down to earth. Have a little story to share. During my M.Sc. days a few of us friends had gone to VT (now CST) to watch a movie and do general time pass. As always I had to visit Rhythm House, which was the only store at that time with a huge collection of music CDs and cassettes. And am I glad we went there coz ARR was also there buying music (this was in '99 around the start of his career)!! We were so thrilled and also had no idea how to react. He was so down to earth and was patiently talking (rather listening) to another fan in the store who refused to stop talking to him! My friend (also a huge fan of ARR) and myself spent a lot of time thinking of how to approach ARR and talk to him but finally shied away. A great opportunity lost :(. Anyways here is my attempt at singing Mujhe Rang de dedicated to my mother. Please give it a listen when you find time and as always would appreciate any feedback.

Song: Mujhe Rang De; Movie: Thakshak


Download here

The second song is Yeh Ishq Hai from "Jab we Met" sung by Shreya Ghoshal. She is one of favorite singers of recent times. Have loved her voice ever since I heard her in sa re ga ma. The song is composed by Pritam and parts of it are inspired from the french song Être Une Femme by Anggun (Source: itwofs). Here is my attempt of Yeh Ishq Hai again dedicated to my mother. The track only had some of the chorus bits (dekho na dekho na and pucho na pucho na parts). I did the rest myself. Please listen when you find time and any feedback is welcome :).

Song: Yeh Ishq Hai; Movie: Jab We Met


Download here