Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The music gene

I am always in awe of anyone who can sing,by that I mean sing well! I come from a family of singers, my maternal grandmother was a well known singer in her hey days singing for All India Radio and even today at 87, can pop out a "right on key" tune in her soft sweet voice! My mother then got her fair share of lessons and I remember her singing at various functions when we were little. Then bringing up 2 kids and looking after a household got in the way and she had no time to stay in touch. And then there was me....I wouldn't go as far as to say there is not a single musical bone on my body, I can sing OK, but nothing like my mom or grandmom. I never got any musical training, academics sort of took over. My son inherited a bit of this musical gene and used to sing in an a Capella group in college. 
But in recent years, the family member making waves-literally-with her fabulous voice is my husband's cousin Meera, who lives in San Jose and sings for a musical group called "Thillana". Meera is not just an accomplished singer, she is a marathoner (you can read about her marathon experience here)...another thing I envy (I can walk a 1000 miles and do endless sun salutations, but running...not my thing), and is also very creative and design oriented. You can also join her Facebook music page here
This is what she says about herself "I am a Tamilian originally from Palakkad, Kerala, living in the Bay area, CA for the last 10 years.I have been singing for as long as I can remember. Am trained in South Indian classical music, and totally adore instruments but then can’t play one thing!! I am part of a Bay Area light music band called Thillana for the last 10 years. I have dabbled in music here and there singing for a movie, Blogswara, a couple of stage plays locally and of course my audio blog. Music has been a passion and a staple in my life for a long long time now, and still is....."
But enough gabbing...let me share with you a few of her renderings, both in Hindi as well as Tamil!







11 comments:

GB said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GB said...

Sorry Kamini, my bad! I thought the lyrics were Gulzar's, but had a niggling doubt...turns out they weren't!


Meera's voice is so sweet and melodious!

My Dream Canvas said...

Kamini, Meera's voice is divine. I know and love all the three Hindi songs. She is very talented. Lovely post! Please compliment her from my side and if her group ever performs in Seattle, pease let me know.

Unknown said...

Hi,

Well,my first time here...i love your photography...have added yours to my aggregator...Do stop my mine when you find time..

Dr.Sameena@

www.lovelypriyanka.blogspot.com
www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

PreeOccupied said...

I told you talents gets me going. And thanks for sharing with us Meera's voice. Its beautiful. I was listening to some rock music, stopped that and cued this on...its soul soothing.

Kamini said...

Thanks all! I'll pass on your comments to Meera. If you go to muziboo.com and do a search for Meera Manohar, you can hear more songs.

Anonymous said...

Gosh... I love that song.. Raina beethi.. and she sings it beautifully.. Bless this girl... and hope all her dreams come true!! I admire people who can sing so so well..

I'm still in awe of the singing thing at home the other day... Kamini... these guys played non electrical instruments... so the music was absolutely in pure form...

While I type this.. Meera is still singing in the back groud... Gosh she is talented.. I'm off to check the site...

Anonymous said...

Kamini.. check out Meeras blog.. http://swarasthaanam.blogspot.com/ There is a song on there... that touches every chord of my heart... (but I dont understand the language!!) :-)

brinda nilesh said...

wow!!i have always loved your blog...and this post is simply amazing!!lovely voice!

Meera Manohar said...

Thanks Kamini for featuring me on your blog, so very sweet of you :)

And thanks to all of you for the encouragement and support!!! Really appreciate it :)

rk said...

This is my first time delurking :) You have a beautiful blog and awesome pics. Your relative Meera has a beautiful, melodious voice. I am a singer trained in Carnatic classical but I also sing/love light music. Her rendering of old Hindi favs are fantastic, particularly since it's not easy for someone to sing Hindi songs when they are used to singing with "gamakas" in Carnatic. Meera's music has inspired me to continue my own practice even though I am not as talented as her! Thanks for featuring her, I am off to check out her blog! My very best wishes for her success! I will inform my family in CA to check out her concerts/music group.