Alexander Babu’s love affair with music started four decades ago in a small village in Ramanathapuram district, where he grew up listening to songs on All India Radio and Ceylon Radio. “Though my father didn’t understand the nuances in the songs, he would say, ‘See how Seergazhi Govindarajan’s voice stirs the soul’,” says Alexander Babu , recalling even the shape of the radio petti at his house.
Every time there was a festival in the village, classical and film songs would rent the air. A young Alexander would soak it in, delighted.
It’s the musical ambience he grew up in that the popular stand-up comedian has always drawn inspiration from, including for his latest initiative, ‘Veetu Videos’, which seeks to re-introduce audiences to the classics of the 70s and 80s. The first episode of this YouTube series had Alex interpreting Ilaiyaraaja ’s 1979 song, ‘Mayile Mayile’ ( Kadavul Amaitha Medai ) in his distinct comic style. The song was followed by a video titled ‘Mamas, Mayile and Malargale’.
The series blends his twin passions, music and comedy, which was evident also in his superhit , ‘Alex in Wonderland’ stand-up performances (now available on Amazon Prime).
“My idea of stand-up comedy is to perform something close to my heart in a funny way; it’s something I want my children to watch. The applause I get when I am on stage is because the presentation has been polished over shows. In ‘Veetu Videos’, such audience interaction isn’t possible. Not addressing a big audience blocks a lot of punches,” he says.
But he has still managed to land a few. Every ‘Veetu Video’ takes about three weeks of ideation, execution and shooting for a 30-minute presentation. “I choose a song, talk about it and the people who created it. The song’s popularity doesn’t matter; what’s important is that it should be close to my heart,” says Alex.
Exploring the details
In the accompanying video for the Ilaiyaraja song, ‘Mayile’, he spoke about the song structure, its visualisation, and the singers’ contribution (SPB and Jency); ‘Mamas...’ explored Hamsadhwani, the raga on which the song is based.
Alex honed his musical sensibilities when he was studying at Guindy Engineering College, where he made friends with a lot of musicians and began jamming with them. In the process, he realised he had a long way to go. “Back in the village, I used to win music competitions but in Chennai things were different. One of the earliest songs I heard and couldn’t replicate was M.S. Subbulakshmi’s ‘Kurai Ondrum Illai’. I couldn’t understand why.”
Another musician-friend played a classical-based number from the film Mahanadhi and Alex could not sing that either. He then realised how he had missed exploring the world of classical music. “I used to play the tabla then, but still couldn’t play the interlude in ‘Poove Sempoove’. It was then that I decided to learn classical music.”
When he went to the U.S. to do his Masters, he took his tabla along. “When you are abroad, you start longing for your roots. In the U.S., I went to a Hindustani music concert without knowing anything about the genre. Watching a tabla player in action re-ignited the musical fire in him, and Alex enrolled in tabla exponent Swapan Chaudhari’s class. “It was a 70 km one way drive, but I really wanted to learn.”
Around the same time he met young Carnatic vocalist Raghavan Manian and was impressed by his rendition of ‘Athisaya Raagam’ ( Apoorva Raagangal ). “I thought if there is so much depth in the rhythm, there must be so much more to its melody,” recalls Alex, who subsequently trained for five years under eminent Carnatic vocalist and guru Suguna Purushothaman.
During the lockdown last year, he also learnt Hindustani music from Monali Sanyal Balasubramaniam. It helped him put together an episode that focusses on Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Alex is of the opinion that everyone should undergo some sort of musical training, vocal or instrumental, irrespective of whether they take it up professionally or not.“When you hear a song, you immediately get transported to that emotion, as opposed to any other art form. The process of learning music will keep your brain active,” says the 45-year-old, who is also a yoga instructor.
