In conversation with Kavita Krishnamurty -Governance Now

In conversation with Kavita Krishnamurty

Yoshika Sangal | January 20, 2016

Kavita Krishnamurty Subramaniam is a renowned playback singer credited for singing some of the very popular Bollywood songs. Born in Delhi in a Tamil Iyer family, Kavita began her vocal training under Sri Balram Puri (in the Hindustani music) at a very young age. She began her recording career in 1971. At a very young age, she got the opportunity to record a song with Lata Mangeshkar and music composer Hemant Kumar. Since then, she has given voice to several actresses and worked with many music composers including RD Burman and AR Rehman. She has won four Filmfare awards in the best female playback singer category, including three consecutive times from 1994 to 1996. She also received the Padma Shri in 2005. Kavita is married to violinist L Subramaniam.

Thing that brought me closer to music: Being a south Indian and having a Bengali upbringing, I think it was in my genes

Happiness to me is: Being around my family members

My favourite song: Pyaar hua chupke se from the movie, 1942: A Love Story, for which I got my first Filmfare award

My low point in life: The day my father passed away, when I was just 21-year-old. He was my icon and I think after that the world ended for me for some time

My favourite pastime: Spending time with my four-year-old granddaughter. I love reading stories to her

The person who inspired me: Protima Bhattacharya, my Bengali aunt who brought me up. She was the one who dreamt of me being a singer and who brought me to Mumbai.

If not a singer: I would be a veterinarian. I love animals, especially dogs. I can spend a whole day with animals without missing human beings

I take care of my health by: Taking a lot of medicines for my bronchitis

My greatest achievement: When I received my Padma Shri from president Abdul Kalam

My idea of comfort food: Bengali kheer made with Bengali gud. All my problems are solved with it

My dream: To travel to rare places like Iceland and Alaska. I’m hoping to go closest to the northern point of the world

Singing reality shows are: Fantastic. The senior generation of our country love sitting at home and listening to youngsters singing. It is
generating a lot of employment as a lot of these children are coming from poor families and this is an excellent platform for them to showcase their talent

My advice to aspiring singers: Never lose hope

I want to be remembered as: Honestly, it would be very egoistic for me to say that I want to be remembered. Apart of being a singer I just want to be a good wife, good mother and a good person

My life mantra: As a musician you should never relax. Your ears and the windows of your mind should always be open

As told to Yoshika Sangal

(The interview appears in the January 1-15, 2016 issue)

Comments

Other News

“Green steel is now viable and scalable"

Emphasising the strategic role of green steel in India`s industrial and environmental future, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, Prahlad Joshi, Friday underlined that the strategic shift is not just an economic objective but a national imperative. “Green steel is now

Bihar SIR: Disability inclusion should not be an afterthought

The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar is an extensive exercise to update voter lists through verification of existing voter information, removal of deceased or ineligible voters, and correcting errors. Several concerns have been raised about SIR regarding wrongful deletio

The silent toxin undermining India’s fight against anemia

In a village in Bihar, a mother brings her pale, lethargic child to a government health camp. A hemoglobin test confirms anemia. She leaves with iron tablets and dietary advice. Months later, the child remains unwell. What if the problem was never iron deficiency, but lead poisoning, silently damaging the

Economic inequality and the psychopathology of the parasite

Why the Poor Don’t Kill Us: The Psychology of Indians By Manu Joseph Aleph Books, 280 pages, Rs 599

New GST rates: Should medicines be recalled for relabeling MRP?

With days to go for the new GST rates to come into effect, the finance ministry on Tuesday issues an FAQ to guide users about possible problem areas. Here are some of the questions and answers. Q: Is it required to recall and re-label MRP on medicines already in the supply chain befo

NITI Aayog deploys AI to navigate the way to Viksit Bharat

NITI Aayog on Monday launched two transformative initiatives, AI for Viksit Bharat Roadmap: Opportunity for Accelerated Economic Growth and NITI Frontier Tech Repository under its Frontier Tech Hub. The Roadmap was launched by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, electronics & IT minister Ashwini Vaish