Dulcet Notes

Happy Vishu

2011-04-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Thought would be an appropriate time to revive blog after a year! Am glad blogger doesn't automatically delete inactive blogs. Recently found the karaoke track of a marathi song that I sang on stage last september so decided to record and post it. The song is an Abhang (devotional poetry) by Sant Dyaneshwar set to tune by Hridaynath Mangeshkar and sung by Lata ji. The lyrics can be interpreted in various ways. Being a non-marathi speaker, I relied on this youtube link for trying to understand the meaning of the abhang. It is indeed so beautiful. So here goes my attempt.

Song: Mogara Fulala
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Hridaynath Mangeshkar

Mogara Phulala - Marathi Abhang | Musicians Available
Download here

Wake Up Nandita

2010-04-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

.....It's been so long since I posted something here. Thought it was about time to dust my recording equipment and exercise my vocal chords. Work has been keeping me very busy and lecturing large classes has taken a toll on my voice. Partly my fault as I speak loudly despite having a microphone (go figure). I hope the damage is repairable!

So have been really obsessed with Iktara from Wake up Sid. It's one of those songs that I can hear umpteen number of times in a loop. The only other song I had been this hooked to (excluding the golden oldies) was Beetein Lamhe from The Train. So here goes my attempt at this song. Thankfully the main chorus part was already there in the track. However, the male bits were not there so I kind of tried to fill in with my voice (hope it doesn't sound too awful ha ha).

Song: Iktara
Movie: Wake up Sid
Singer: Kavita Sheth and Amitabh Bhattacharya
Music: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya

Iktara (Wake Up Sid) | Music Codes
Download here

Happy Birthday Lata Ji

2009-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wanted to upload Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan from "Anarkali" on the occasion of Lata ji’s 80th Birthday. It has been my all time Lata ji favourite. Could not find the karaoke so decided to sing it unplugged in one go. Of course the orchestra of crickets outside my window provided some background music….or rather noise(no offense meant to the cricket community).
Song: Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan
Movie: Anarkali
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Music: C. Ramchandra
Cover by : Nandita

Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan(Unplugged) - Happy Birthday Lata Ji | Online recorder

Download here

Zara Zara

2009-08-02T03:54:00.000-07:00

This was the first song that I had attempted to sing with a karaoke. I had lots of fun singing with a track for the first time. Unfortunalely, at that point being quite clueless about the whole mixing process. I just mixed my raw vocals with the track and saved it. I have been wanting to redo this song for a while and finally did so today. So here goes... As always your feedback is welcome.
Disclaimer: Though am slightly better with mixing, am still pretty clueless!

Song: Zara Zara
Movie: Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein (RHTDM)
Music: Harris Jayaraj
Original Singer(s): Bombay Jayashree
Cover by: Nandita

Zara Zara (RHTDM) | Upload Music

Download here

The Magic of Umrao Jaan_II

2009-06-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the musical heartland of India-Chennai!! Having settled down in my new place I had no excuses to delay recording. So here goes...
Since the very first song on this blog was from "Umrao Jaan", I wanted to revive my blog with another song from the same movie. Hope to cover all songs from this movie in my blog someday (including the male solo :)). Just love them!!! Attempting one of my all time favourites Dil Cheez Kya Hai. There were some issues with the track so apologize for the beats sounding odd at some places. As always, your feedback is very welcome.

Song: Dil Cheez Kya Hai
Movie: Umrao Jaan (1981)
Music: Khayyam
Original Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyrics: Shahryar
Cover by: Nandita

Dil Cheez Kya Hai | Music Upload
Download here

Leavin on a Jet Plane...

2009-01-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

...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

Welcome 2009!!!

2009-01-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

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

Mera kuch saaman

2008-12-06T06:15:00.000-08:00

Last two weeks have been busy and quite an emotional roller-coaster for me! Finishing my half-marathon (in 2:29:28) was one of the high points :). Let's not talk about the low points here. Anyways as usual there is a story associated with my song choice...

When I first came to the US for grad school, I remember trying to stuff as many things as possible into my two suitcases. The weight restrictions (thank god it was 70 lbs then!) allowed me to bring only a few audio cassettes and one of them was "Fursat ke raat din", a collection of Gulzar's songs. One of my close friends used to play this often at our hostel in India and I had to buy it (love all the songs). I was quite homesick when I got here and used to get quite emotional (ok I am a sentimental person) listening to this cassette. So here is one of the songs from that cassette which is very close to my heart... Mera kuch saaman from the film "Ijaazat". A beautiful composition by Pancham da and wonderfully wonderfully sung by Asha ji. Hope you listen to it when you find time. As always your feedback is very welcome...

Song: Mera kuch saaman ; Movie: Ijaazat

Download here

Peace

2008-11-16T17:05:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago my nephew participated in Peace Day by singing bhajans. But wasn't peace day in September I thought and "googled" it. I came across this simple website http://www.peaceday.org/ . Although this had nothing to do with my nephew's Peace Day, I was very moved by the fact that this was started by two common people like you and me, who wanted to make a difference. They picked November 17th as a day to promote peace and all they wanted people to do was participate with them by spreading the word around. Do check out their website when you find time. Now that I have my personal space in the world wide web I wanted to make my tiny contribution for Peace Day in the form of music.

The first song is Allah tero naam from "Hum Dono" (thanks a lot Smitha for suggesting this). This song is beautifully sung by Lata ji and has such wonderful lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi.... "Sabko sanmatee de baghavan" . Here is my cover version ......dedicated to change.......

Song: Allah tero naam ; Movie: Hum dono

Download here

The second song which I really really wanted to sing is Imagine by John Lennon. I personally feel this is one of the most idyllic songs written. One of my fav. rock songs ever. This epic song talks about a utopian world with no boundaries...nothing for people to really fight about. Several artists have sung their cover versions of this song and I get deeply moved when I hear every one of them. Here is my version (i wanted it very simple with no effects at all on my vocal track).....dedicated to all the dreamers....

Song: Imagine

Download here

John Lennon on 6Lyrics.com

Bhaagi ri main....

2008-11-03T16:42:00.001-08:00

So I have been running lately. That too quite a bit!! Over the past few months I have transformed from someone who hates running to someone training for a half-marathon. hmmm...quite a contrast isn't it. Am running to generate funds for underprivileged kids in India through an organization called "Asha". Check out my marathon website if you want to know more about my running escapades (or if you or anyone you know is interested in supporting my cause :)). I am training with a really nice team and we run together on Saturdays. I have to confess that during the first month of training the runs seemed very tiring. Not that I have become a pro or anything but lately I enjoy the long runs. This Saturday for the first time in my life I ran 10 miles and was thrilled. It was quite cold but after the first mile I started enjoying the run, especially since the trail was nice. I wish I were poetic enough to describe my feeling. The one song that comes to my mind which describes it best is bhaage re mann from "Chameli". So I had to record it! Sunidhi Chauhan does such a great job of capturing Chameli's emotions. Her voice in this song is so soft and soothing (almost like she is whispering it in your ear). Here is my attempt...this time dedicated to my fellow runners. Please listen when you have the time and please do not hesitate to provide feedback :)

Song: Bhaage re mann ; Movie: Chameli

Download here

Lata ki awaaz

2008-10-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Is there an adjective to describe something "more melodious" than "melodious"? I run out of words to describe Lata ji's voice. Although her singing career started in 1947, her popularity rose in 1949 with songs such as Aayega aanewala, jiya bekarar hai etc. Another beautiful song from 1949 was Uthayeja Unke Sitam composed by Naushad for "Andaaz". I had attempted recording this earlier but received some constructive criticism from my father and decided to improve it. So here is the improved version dedicated to my father :). He also requested me to sing a song composed by Madan Mohan. I am a big fan of Madan Mohan's compositions myself and was recently obssessed by one of his compositions Maaye Ri from "Dastak". This song is not as popular as Baiyyan na dharo but caught my fancy last year when a contestant Abhilasha of "Star Voice of India" sang it (beautifully I must add). I could not get the tune out of my head. Being not that familiar with the song and also not being able to find the song online (knowing the movie name might have helped!) the tune started evolving in my head into "my version" of the song. Thankfully, I soon found the a video of the song on youtube. I was thrilled on finally hearing the whole song and also disappointed a little when I realized how off my version of the song was. Recently found a karaoke track of the song and could not resist recording it. It is a difficult song for me and here is my first attempt. Again dedicating it to my father. With your comments and suggestions I hope to revisit and improve the song later....

Song: Uthaye ja unke sitam; Movie: Andaaz

Download here
Song: Maaye Ri; Movie: Dastak

Download here

The Magic of Umrao Jaan

2008-10-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Rekha's beauty, Khayyam's soulful compositions and Asha's beautiful voice. Is it really possible to disassociate them from one other when you think of Umrao Jaan. The music of Umrao Jaan was really beautiful. I cannot even find words to describe the magic in Asha ji's voice when she sings Dil cheez kya hai, In aankhon ki masti, Yeh kya jagah hai doston or Justju jiski thi. I very recently started singing and recording songs and really wanted to sing something from Umrao Jaan fully aware that I may not even be able to recreate 50% of the Umrao Jaan magic :). The very second song that I recorded was Justju jiski thi (you can hear my first recording on esnips if interested) and I wanted it to be the first one on my blog because I am a huge huge fan of Asha Bhonsle. I want to thank Krishnan Sir and Smitha for the encouraging comments they left on my esnips folder. I also specially want to thank Smitha for introducing me to this world of audio blogging so this posting is dedicated to her. Please listen when you have time and don't hesitate to give your positive/negative feedback.

Download here

Let's start at the very beginning...

2008-10-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

My family has a deep interest in music. My grandmother used to play the veena, my parents have a very good ear for music(my mother sings too) and my sister plays the violin. I began taking lessons in carnatic music at the age of 8 on Vijayadashmi day. I learnt a lot from my teacher Nagarajamani Natarajan about discipline and perfection in singing. Upon her relocation to hyderabad my singing lessons continued with Jayalakshmi Ramachandran who also gave me very valuable lessons. Despite religiously attending my music classes, I was extremely lazy when it came to practising. Such was my laziness that my mother had to enforce rules such as "You cannot meet your friends in the evening unless you sing atleast 3 Keerthanams". Little did I value that during childhood days and stubbornly sang 3 songs with a pointed gaze(one that would give Arjuna a complex) at the clock to show an urgency to leave. I really appreciate her effort now and wish I had valued it more then. After coming to the US my practice started reducing gradually and I blamed it on long hours at work, stressful life of a graduate student etc. etc. Deep within I know these are just excuses. I guess it is never too late to make amends so here is my blog. I have to thank my husband for getting all the recording paraphernalia and encouraging (read pushing) me to do this :).