JOIN USLife can get busy and tiring when you sing for a band and hold a corporate job simultaneously — what with all the calls, meetings, gigs and the like. So my idea of a perfect weekend is just sitting at home around the ones I love — my family and food. I seldom get free weekends but when a ‘perfect’ one springs up, out of the blue, I relish my time till it ends.
I look forward to spending my Friday evenings with my daughter Shreya and try to do things that she enjoys. If I get home early from work, I drive her to the ice cream parlour as she loves ice creams. Her pick is usually strawberry ice creams (because she likes the colour pink) with lots of gems. My wife Asha and I spend time talking about her school or reading books to her after we come back. It is difficult to spend time together through the week as we both hold full-time jobs and Shreya is away at school so the weekend is the only time when we try to do things.
Saturday is all about getting up early, heading out to Veena Stores in Malleswaram and savouring ‘idli’, ‘vada’ and ‘khara bath’. It’s like one of those ‘breakfast dates’ with my wife that I try not to miss. Once we come back home, we usually catch a movie. Though we have different tastes in cinema, Asha and I usually reach a compromise in the end and watch a movie together. There are times when I have had to take work back home, so sometimes I catch up on work as well. A weekend can’t be too ‘perfect’ as well! It’s usually an all-day-lie-in till lunch. I try my hand at cooking lunch sometimes but I’m not too great at it. Sometimes we also go to ‘Ente Keralam’ and eat a late lunch. Towards the afternoon, I may also have a few recordings lined up so I go and jam or record with my band. However, I don’t think too much about the band’s next projects or anything administrative during these weekends. I feel at home in the studio too. Being around music and musicians always peps up my day and it is sure to go well. Actually, I can’t imagine a weekend without family, food and music.
In the evening, we usually head out to a Chinese or Mangalurean restaurant. My wife loves Chinese food while I love Mangalurean and we try and alternate on weekends. Asha and I are very different people. She is more of an outdoor person, sportive and fit while I am more of a couch animal. I do try outdoor activities sometimes. Our common trajectory now is Shreya and we are more focussed on doing things that she likes.
We usually wake up late on Sunday mornings and mostly head out to ‘Eat Street’. That’s my favourite place for Sundays. I love the hustle-bustle and the vibe there. It is quite different from what I go through everyday. After that, we head out to the park or play area as Shreya likes spending time there. We also catch up with friends and go for short rides within the city. Towards the evening, we spend time at Phoenix MarketCity or V R Bengaluru Mall in Whitefield. While the rest of Bengaluru thinks that Whitefield is far away from the main city, these 2 malls are quite close to my place. I spend my time only window-shopping at these malls. Sometimes, I do spot a few ‘Agam’ fans who come up to me. They pose with me for pictures, talk to me and ask me about our story but I never get hounded. I’m only occasionally in limelight. The Bengaluru fans are very mellow and sweet and just come up to me sometimes to have a conversation. At times, I feel that the weekend is over too soon and the dreaded Monday already rises before I know it but spending a weekend like this is extremely precious and something I won’t trade for anything else!
(As told to Anushka Sivakumar)