My father is a big carnatic music fan. He is probably among the last patrons of All India Radio- he still listens to every instrumental/vocal devotional song they broadcast. My sister and I woke up to the loud sounds of Nadaswaram most of our childhood, often annoyed we didn't wake up to Telugu movie songs instead. Every occasion that our extended family got together, he would make his sisters sing his favorite songs and then turn towards my sister to indicate it is her turn to sing. My sister would try her best to avoid singing at all costs. I think it is his passion for singing that laid the foundation for my sister's musical journey, and, helped her shape into a seasoned singer. Also, it is the impression my father's undying love for carnatic music made in my mind very early on my life that reignited my recent interest in music.
My father never learnt music. His family hired an instructor, for a salary of Rs.5/month, to come to their house and teach music to his sisters. The teacher apparently never brought any notes with him, he just hummed out the tune and wrote it down on paper while teaching. My father was fascinated by the teacher's ability to write out pages and pages of music on the fly. He sat next to his sisters and listened to them practice singing. I think that explains the excellent sense of shruti he has in music, though he is extremely humble about it and often says he is ignorant when it comes to music.
A couple of his favorite songs are Kalaharanamela and Sringaralahari and I have heard his sisters (my attas) sing these songs countless times. These songs are pretty much a standard when my father gets together with his siblings. I have the lyrics of these songs memorized thanks to my attas. I was so excited when my music teacher made us sing Kalaharanamelara in class last week! All my classmates (all kids!) learnt this song before I joined the group. I knew the lyrics but was horribly out of tune so I stopped singing with them and recorded the kids while they sang. I came home and practiced it most of last week. I still struggle with many notes and need to get my teacher to correct my endings. But, I got to a stage where I can sing along with the recording.
Today is my parent's 41st wedding anniversary. I called them at night (morning in India) to wish after my kid went to bed. They were in a rush to go out so I hung up but I did tell my father that I want to sing Kalaharanamelara for him when I call them in the morning (evening for them). This morning, I woke up to India Pakistan cricket match, with India having lost their 3rd wicket while chasing. It was a pretty tense situation and no cricket lover would like to be interrupted, much less my cricket loving father. I took a chance and called my parents, talked to my mom, made my kid talk to her as well and then asked for my dad (though I could hear Harsha Bhogle in the background doing the commentary on TV). He came to the phone, talked to Raaga and was super psyched she wished him in Telugu. Then I grabbed the phone from Raaga and started asking about their day, how the lunch went, etc. He suddenly stopped me and asked, "did you really learn the whole song?". I said I learnt it from a recording and not directly from my teacher. He hesitated for a minute and then asked, "so will you sing?". So I sang. Both of us knew there were plenty of mistakes in my rendering. But I could tell I had just given him a memorable anniversary present. Thanks Smita for making the kids sing this song in class and making my father's day!
The lines of the song:
కాలహరణమేలరా హరే సీతారామ కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
కాలహరణమేల రామా, కాలహరణమేల సుగుణ జాల కరుణాలవాల, కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
చుట్టి చుట్టి పక్షులెల్ల చెట్టు వెదకు రీతి భువిని పుట్టగానె నీ పదముల పట్టుకొన్న నన్ను బ్రోవ
కాలహరణమేలరా హరే సీతారామ కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
దినదినమును తిరిగి తిరిగి దిక్కులేక శరణుజొచ్చి తనువు ధనము నీవె యంటి త్యాగరాజ వినుత రామ
కాలహరణమేలరా హరే సీతారామ కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
My father never learnt music. His family hired an instructor, for a salary of Rs.5/month, to come to their house and teach music to his sisters. The teacher apparently never brought any notes with him, he just hummed out the tune and wrote it down on paper while teaching. My father was fascinated by the teacher's ability to write out pages and pages of music on the fly. He sat next to his sisters and listened to them practice singing. I think that explains the excellent sense of shruti he has in music, though he is extremely humble about it and often says he is ignorant when it comes to music.
A couple of his favorite songs are Kalaharanamela and Sringaralahari and I have heard his sisters (my attas) sing these songs countless times. These songs are pretty much a standard when my father gets together with his siblings. I have the lyrics of these songs memorized thanks to my attas. I was so excited when my music teacher made us sing Kalaharanamelara in class last week! All my classmates (all kids!) learnt this song before I joined the group. I knew the lyrics but was horribly out of tune so I stopped singing with them and recorded the kids while they sang. I came home and practiced it most of last week. I still struggle with many notes and need to get my teacher to correct my endings. But, I got to a stage where I can sing along with the recording.
Today is my parent's 41st wedding anniversary. I called them at night (morning in India) to wish after my kid went to bed. They were in a rush to go out so I hung up but I did tell my father that I want to sing Kalaharanamelara for him when I call them in the morning (evening for them). This morning, I woke up to India Pakistan cricket match, with India having lost their 3rd wicket while chasing. It was a pretty tense situation and no cricket lover would like to be interrupted, much less my cricket loving father. I took a chance and called my parents, talked to my mom, made my kid talk to her as well and then asked for my dad (though I could hear Harsha Bhogle in the background doing the commentary on TV). He came to the phone, talked to Raaga and was super psyched she wished him in Telugu. Then I grabbed the phone from Raaga and started asking about their day, how the lunch went, etc. He suddenly stopped me and asked, "did you really learn the whole song?". I said I learnt it from a recording and not directly from my teacher. He hesitated for a minute and then asked, "so will you sing?". So I sang. Both of us knew there were plenty of mistakes in my rendering. But I could tell I had just given him a memorable anniversary present. Thanks Smita for making the kids sing this song in class and making my father's day!
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| Amma and Nanna |
కాలహరణమేలరా హరే సీతారామ కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
కాలహరణమేల రామా, కాలహరణమేల సుగుణ జాల కరుణాలవాల, కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
చుట్టి చుట్టి పక్షులెల్ల చెట్టు వెదకు రీతి భువిని పుట్టగానె నీ పదముల పట్టుకొన్న నన్ను బ్రోవ
కాలహరణమేలరా హరే సీతారామ కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
దినదినమును తిరిగి తిరిగి దిక్కులేక శరణుజొచ్చి తనువు ధనము నీవె యంటి త్యాగరాజ వినుత రామ
కాలహరణమేలరా హరే సీతారామ కాలహరణమేలరా హరే
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