It is the voice many of us have tried to imitate, sing along with, and miserably failed. K.S. Chithra can put a nightingale to shame with her singing, and has been a favourite with cinema goers be it Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu or Kannada.
In Bengaluru, in a rare public appearance after she lost her daughter in a tragic mishap in 2011, Chithra speaks to MetroPlus on the sidelines of a workshop and concert in the city. Excerpts:
The “high pitched” voice, like say yours or Lata Mangeshkar’s, has for long been the epitome of the female singer in our cinema. Today, there is a far wider range. Why has that mentality changed?
The influence of western music is a lot more now than in our times, I feel. So everybody is getting opportunities. Each music director wants to create something new, using new talent and creating new opportunities. They are not very particular that they want the old style of melody and high pitch – they don’t need it now. Everything has changed — just like our clothes and food have changed, so has our music. Everybody has their own style, and fixed range… maybe limitations — I’m not sure that’s the right word. But every voice has a dharma . They can do only that much. They have to choose a song which suits them and their range of voice. That is the brilliance.
One believes that the human voice ages. But yours seems ageless. How?
Practice! Nothing more than that. In music you have to keep on practising. If you give a gap in your singing and restart, you will know you are not at your best. You don’t have that flow. Age is not a factor. Practice is the important point in singing. But when you get old, your range may come down and your singing might get affected. Maybe, after some time I’ll know …I don’t know. ( laughs ).
Singing now is also about a visual performance, especially with live acts. But singers like you barely move your lips! Is performance essential to singing?
Youngsters who come for live shows love to dance. To energise them, singers also dance. I can’t do all that. When kids do something, there is a freshness to it. When elderly people sing, if they dance, I think there is an awkwardness to it.
What goes on in your mind when you sing? Do you perform the song in your mind?
Whatever song I’m singing, I want to maintain my pitch correctly. Whatever expressions I want to give, if the audience is responsive and encouraging, I may improvise sometimes. Otherwise I just want to do justice to my job.
In times when people are in a rush to perform in front of an audience, how important is it to train in classical music?
Music is 100 per cent true. Only a dedicated and talented person can last. For a competition, especially for classical music, even for 10 minutes, you’ll need to learn a little aalapana, niraval, keertanam and swaram. For that you have to prepare. For 10 minutes, you can’t expect people to improvise. They have to fix something. You have to prepare to get the essence. But to sustain, you have to learn some form of music — whether Carnatic, Hindustani or Western. Whatever it is, your foundation should be strong.
Apart from your playback singing, you have several musical initiatives. Tell us about them.
We have an audio label called Audiotracs for my works. We have also given opportunities to young music directors and new singers. We do classical music, keertanas, ghazals, ashtapadi, devotional songs. Our Snehanandana Charitable Trust is in my daughter’s name. We help sick and senior musicians above 60. We give them a lifetime pension of Rs. 4,000 per month. There are more than 22 beneficiaries already.
How has music helped you deal with the tragic loss of your daughter?
Music has definitely helped me, otherwise …I don’t know ( she tears up ). But there are people behind me, who brought me back. I was counselled for almost two months. I got motivation from several people. My family was a big support, my husband especially. Everybody brought me back.
Your best memories of singing for Kannada cinema and coming to Bangalore for recordings…
Nowadays I don’t come often. Initially I used to come and stay for three or four days, sing a lot of songs and go back.
Several music directors would book studios continuously for three days and I would come to sing for all of them. Once we finish one music director’s song, I would sing for the next director — all in one schedule. Most of the songs I’ve sung are for Hamsalekha sir, though I’ve sung for everybody
