I know that every time I update my blog I pretty much say
the same things: “The past few
months have been insane!” or “I am so inspired by this project and the people
around me” or “I’m doing new and different things that are invigorating and
fulfilling!” But when I sat down
to write this post, the same sentences ran through my head. There’s no denying it: I love my job.
In the past few months, I have done so many things that are
outside my comfort zone; things that I never thought I would be doing. But I had no other choice but to dive
right in and see what happens.
It’s scary at first to do something you’ve never done but at the same
time, accomplishing the task makes you feel proud and capable. I think that’s what drove me these past
few months – the sense of pride that follows an especially arduous or
uncomfortable task; the feeling that no matter what situation life throws at
you, you can succeed. What a
wonderful feeling!
My life in 2012 so far…
1.
Classic
Incantations tour – It has been so long since I’ve performed on stage
(about 4 years). I was
terrified! Performing is something
you have to do continuously; otherwise you become rusty and nervous. The things that happen on stage that
are out of your control sometimes screw up the whole performance because you
can’t think of anything else! For
example, in Delhi, the stage was too small to hold a whole orchestra and the
soloists. So the crew assembled a
very wobbly platform at the front of the stage and I had to walk through the
orchestra pit to get there. I was
wearing 3 ½ inch heels and almost fell over more than once walking up and down
that thing. On top of that, the
crew left the backstage doors open and it was extremely cold. I was shivering the whole time and felt
miserable after the performance.
But picked myself back up and felt much better in Kolkata. These things happen and you have to be
prepared for anything.
2.
The Oprah
Party – Yes. My friends. I met Oprah at a party at the Godrej residence in Bombay! She was coming to India to meet ARR and
wanted to hear some of the talent from KMMC. I conducted the choir while they sang a gospel piece (taught
by a fellow teacher named Roshni).
The party was incredible and glamorous and the who’s who of Bollywood were
all present. I wish I could
actually talk about what happened, but let’s say it was not fun, and it was not
pleasant. It’s not fun to be
treated like a performing circus monkey.
That’s all I will say. BUT
I did get to meet Oprah. That made
up for everything!
3.
Recording
for the Oscars – I had the most amazing opportunity to conduct the KMMC
Chamber Choir at Yash Raj studios.
They sang a very beautiful ambient version of ‘What a Wonderful World’
for the ‘In Memoriam’ part of the Oscars that shows video clips of actors who
passed away that year. I was super
excited to work with sound engineer Alan Meyerson and standing there in the
large orchestra recording room, wearing headphones, and waving my little pencil
around was surreal and utterly thrilling.
The students were filmed singing. What a wonderful experience!
4.
Writing
film synopsis’ – ARR has been bouncing around a few film ideas and needed
someone to write the synopsis which includes the basics: logline, high concept
pitch, settings, locations, characters, and plot. I was thrilled to get this project because I haven’t written
anything significant in a long time.
(I was one of those crazy people in high school and college who loved
writing papers). But I was
simultaneously unsure about the whole thing. First of all, I had no idea what all of those terms were or
how they should be written. It
took some time asking friends who are in the business and doing research online
to understand what exactly was needed from me. On top of that, the subject matter of the film was so
bizarre and out of my realm of knowledge and experience, I had to do a lot of
research to execute the project.
But I did it and the first one was approved! He liked my writing style and although many versions and
edits had to be written (by many, I mean MANY), I learned so much from the
whole experience and it left me feeling confident and invigorated. The first film was approved and is on
its way to production at the moment.
Who would’ve thought? I
have now been assigned to two more films!
5. Current project – I can’t talk about it
yet, but I had to basically compose, arrange, program, hold auditions, sing and
train others by myself in a genre that is completely outside my comfort
zone. As a learned Western
Classical musician, this was a task that was extremely daunting but we started
about a month ago and I’ve been in the recording studio non-stop for the past
two weeks and day-by-day the process is getting easier. I’ve had to stop and start over many
many times because it wasn’t quite what ARR was looking for (There were almost
10 prototypes before this current one).
But it has definitely been an adventure and I’ve learned so much in the
past few weeks!
I know that this is just the beginning. More projects are going to be thrown my
way and they’re most likely going to be difficult and frustrating. But how wonderful it feels to know
you’ve succeeded! The feeling of
accomplishment, the pride, the happiness: it’s really the best feeling in the
world. I sometimes forget how
lucky I am.
Knock on wood, let’s hope for an even more adventurous 2nd
half of 2012!
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