On my pinboard: Kalavathy Avadhoot

Kalavathy Avadhoot is a well-known Bengaluru-based Carnatic singer who hails from a family of musicians. As the daughter of the music couple Bangalore K Venkatram and G R Jaya, Kalavathy is known for her works in art movies like ‘Madhwacharya’, ‘Ramanujacharya’, and ‘Bhagavadgeetha’.

She has also released several CDs and cassettes of devotional songs and thematic compositions like ‘Sri Datta Guru Guna Gayana’, ‘Paahi Maam Annapoorne’, ‘Amba Vani’ and more. Kalavathy has many awards to her credit including the ones from Gayana Samaja, ‘Gana Kala Shree’ by Karnataka Gana Kala Parishath, ‘Sathyashree’ by Vani School of Music and many more.

Music
M L Vasanthakumari

“Though I am a Carnatic vocalist, I enjoy all genres of music. When it comes to Carnatic music, M L Vasanthakumari is my favourite. The way she elaborates the raga and her on-spot creativity is beyond words. In fact, I have taken elements from many senior Carnatic vocalists and implemented it in my music. Talking about film songs, P Susheela, S Janaki, Vani Jayaram are my favourites. S Janaki’s ‘Panchamaveda’ and ‘Omme Ninnanu Kanthumba’ are classics.”

Film
Taare Zameen Par

“I wouldn’t call myself a film buff but I do like watching films. I used to watch a lot of movies as a kid. Dr Rajkumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Ananth Nag are some of my favourite actors. Amitabh’s ‘Deewar’ and Aamir’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’ are films I can watch over and over again. In Kannada, Dr Raj’s mythological films are my favourite. I think nobody else could do it better. His ‘Bhakta Prahlada’ and ‘Mayura’ are great. Be it the costumes, the dialogue delivery or the majestic looks, everything about these films is priceless.”

Travel
Kuravapura

“Though I like travelling, I am not very fond of it. I have travelled mostly for my concerts and out of those I liked Washington and North Carolina the most. I liked the places for their green cover. As a family, we mostly visit pilgrimage spots. Ganagapura, Wadi, and Kuravapura are some of the places we frequent; Kuravapura near Raichur, is an island known for its eye-catching scenery.”

Inspiration
Anoor S Ramakrishna

“My guru Anoor S Ramakrishna and my father Bangalore Venkataram are the two people I have looked up to as a kid. I am usually inspired by creative and positive-minded people and the way both of them embraced their lives inspires me even today; I have inculcated values from both their characters. The ultimate thing that keeps me motivated is their punctuality and commitment to work.”

Books
Yandamuri Veerendranath

“I have read a lot of books as a kid; Enid Blyton was my favourite. But once I switched to Kannada, I started reading a lot of Yandamuri Veerendranath, S L Bhyrappa, T R Subba Rao, Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay. ‘Durgastahamana’ by T R Subba Rao is my favourite. I also connect with Tarashandhar Bandyopadhyay’s book ‘Kavi’’; the book throws light on the deep emotions of love and selflessness.”

Food
Anna-saaru

“I am okay with anything that is vegetarian, be it South Indian, North Indian, Chinese or Thai. My go-to food will always be rasam and rice with a vegetable curry to go with it.”