A singer par excellence

A merican country music singer-song writer Loretta Lynn’s words:”I don’t know what it’s like for a book writer or a doctor or a teacher as they work to get established in their jobs. But for a singer, you’ve got to continue to grow or else you’re just like last night’s cornbread - stale and dry,” might sound familiar to all singers.

And especially to the ‘Voice of Mysore’ Anjali V Bhat, who has been singing from the age four.

Among her many accomplishments, this student of All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) has been selected to participate in the state-level light music competition ‘Kalapratibhotsava’ to be held in Bangalore.

Furthermore, having been awarded the ‘Voice of Mysore’ during Yuva Dasara competitions last year, the IInd B Sc student at AIISH caught the attention of judges during her performance in ‘Voice of Karnataka’ programme aired by a private television channel. Apart from being among the top eight contestants, Anjali received an offer to record for a song in a yet to released Kannada movie.

Reminiscing about her experiences, Anjali remarked, “My participation  in a contest conducted by TV channel was a fluke. I didn’t have classes for the day and my aunt said ‘Why don’t you give it a try?’”. Standing in long queues with the chances of being selected to the show standing at 1:300, Anjali says modestly, “There were so many participants and I wasn’t really sure if I would get a chance to participate.” Armed with talent, Anjali excelled and went through one month of rigorous training before hitting the stage for the programme. She recalls that the first few episodes weren’t her best performances as she was getting adjusted to being in front the camera.

However, once she got in tune with the camera, there was no stopping the singing sensation. She enthralled audiences at the recently held state-level cultural festival ‘Parivartan’ organised by Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) and won the first prize in solo singing and second in group singing.

Sweeping awards has become a habit for this 19-year-old, who happens to have just passed with a first class in the Carnatic Classical Senior Level Examination. Having started with classical music and then moving on to light music, Anjali says that she loves singing both. However, she wouldn’t shy away from play back singing as well.

Asked about her experience singing playback for the movie, Anjali says, “It’s a whole new experience for me at the studio. You get a chance to listen to your melodies and make adjustments and make yourself better as a musician.”

But which does she prefer, playback or live performances? “Live performances, of course! It’s tougher,” she says without hesitation. Anjali is all praise for her music teacher Sunitha Chandrakumar, from whom she draws a lot of inspiration.

Anjali’s parting shot for fellow singers is that everybody wants to win. However, “continuous improvements are essential to succeed,” she adds.