Middlesex

It's been a few months since I've written. I think it's time to get back in the saddle. A lot of good things have been happening and I am happy and excited to once again be in Chennai.

The biggest news is that KMMC is finally officially affiliated with Middlesex University in London! I returned to Chennai at the end of June and immediately had to attend Middlesex meetings. Presentations were given by the Middlesex staff to try and create structure at KM. Everything that the foreign faculty at KM had been trying to do for the past two years (promote structure, organization, proper protocol, rules and regulations etc.) was summed up very succinctly by Middlesex in one week. It was delightful. One of the biggest aspects of building structure, is obviously building a hierarchy and system so that each person is held accountable for their actions. No one in the administration has ever been held accountable for their actions. Up until this point, whenever someone is questioned, they point at the other guy in response - "she did it, not me." I am thrilled that a system is finally in place - the question now is, who is going to monitor quality control? That brings me to my next little bit of news.

I have been promoted to an administrative position: Programme Leader. In the past month, I have been breaking my back writing writing writing rules and regulations, the student handbook, and protocol which basically puts me in charge of well, everything. It's a lot of work, but totally fulfilling. I like this position. I feel like I can manage people well. I feel like I have a good idea of what works and what doesn't. I think through problems thoroughly and from all angles before coming to a conclusion. But the position was appointed to me by Middlesex, and my sudden authority has left people feeling inadequate, annoyed and rather suspicious. My decisions are constantly questioned. But it is a challenge and I am enjoying it. (The photo is of Rahman's London assistant Anne-Marie and me in KM. She came with the Middlesex people and sat in on all the meetings.)

I spent a month slogging over the student handbook and as a reward to myself, I went and stayed at Fisherman's Cove for two nights with my friend Ayesha. Fisherman's Cove is a 5-star luxury Taj resort located halfway between Chennai and Mahabalipuram. Without traffic it only takes a half an hour to get there. I don't usually take 5-star vacations without the parents, but in this case, I felt like I was entitled (the new raise and all). It was amazing. The pool looked so inviting (especially the bar IN the pool, ha!), I decided to spend most of my time in it. Lounging around in your bathing suit in a city that doesn't allow you to wear shorts is a thrill that I can't even explain. I had a beautiful lobster dinner and even got a massage at the spa. It was wonderful. And the bathroom had a tub! I miss bathtubs...


On another happy note, my student last year, Mugdha Hasabnis is going to be on television on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa! She has been singing one of the pieces that I taught her to the judges and apparently they love it! They call her the "opera singer". Haha. It's an amazing feeling and I'm so proud of her. If you guys watch the show, cross your fingers!

My Crazy Life

You know, just when things are starting to settle down and life begins to have some semblance of normalcy, something comes at me that is totally unexpected and exhilarating. First semester finished with a bang... I had the Delhi gig, the Venice gig, I had gone to Paris for one of my good friend's weddings, I had brought my vocal students up to a level that I was happy with, and for the first time in my life, I had found the courage to stand up in front of hundreds of people and speak at the TEDx Chennai conference.

Second semester began and I picked up where I left off - I had to get 20 new students up to par while planning and executing a staged opera/musical theatre scenes concert (with very little money, very few resources, and no performance space) which consumed my life till February 27. In between all of that, my colleague George and I flew to Delhi to see the opera which we had trained a few of our students for (The Neemrana Foundation puts on fully staged professional level operas every season and this year a few of KM's best vocalists were invited to join them. George and I trained them for 3 months before they left to rehearse with the others. The opera, "Si j'etais roi" was performed by a melange of French professionals, Indian locals, and Sri Lankans.) Then, immediately after the scenes concerts, I left for Delhi where I experienced my first Holi Festival! That experience requires a completely separate entry, it was so crazy. [from the right: Andrew, me, and Ayesha, whose family we stayed with in Delhi]

After that however, life just came to a standstill. Getting completely soaked and having to run around in wet clothes and synthetic color during Holi was fun at the time, but gave me the worst flu I think I've ever had in my life. (Those of you who know me well, know that I always.... ALWAYS get sick either right before a concert or right after a concert. My body doesn't take mental stress well...) I was out for 2 weeks. And I mean OUT. I eventually picked myself up and returned to work to continue the semester and finish off the year with a bang. But nothing... out of the ordinary... or truly exciting had happened... for about a month. And I was starting to get antsy.

Which is when I realized: Achievement is a drug..... and for the first time, I realized it's MY drug of choice. All of this... my work, teaching, recording, training, conducting, the publicity, the recognition, the praise is so addictive, that when it's not there, I feel loss, I feel cravings, I feel like something is missing. It makes me not want to sit still. It makes me go nuts and I fall into a bizarre quasi-depression where I don't know what to do with myself anymore.

Just when I had given up and thought to myself "That's it.. life is over... back to reality" (I know I'm being a tad dramatic, but it's more fun that way), I got a call to do two recordings at AM studios that ended up being really fun and challenging.

The first one was for the music director Joshua Sridhar who asked me to sing some background operatic ooos and ahhhhs in one of the songs in his upcoming Kannada film "Thunta Thunti". It was one of those experiences that just leaves you feeling bewildered, but in a good way. I went in... he played me what he wanted me to sing... he wanted lyrics so I called Viviane and came up with French lyrics on the spot....I sang it... we finished within half an hour and I left with cash in hand. Bada bing bada boom.

The second recording was the next day, and it was for the directors Bala and S. David. I had met David during the planning of the Michael Jackson Tribute concert in September. I happened to run into him at a restaurant a couple weeks ago and he asked me if I'd be interested in singing a Tamil song. My response was.. "Uh... I don't sing Tamil, I don't sing Indian music.. but if you're willing to try me out, I want to try!" Turns out that the song was in Tamil, but they wanted me to sing it in a western operatic style anyway. I went in and had a blast trying to pronounce the Tamil. It was hilarious and challenging, but I managed to do it and I walked out of there, again, with cash in hand and feeling like I had truly accomplished something.
Me? Tamil????? Ha!

So long story short, life is back to normal and full of excitement. In addition to the recordings, I have just agreed to write an article for the magazine "The Brew" which is a new mag centered around cinema, music, art and fashion. The editor of the mag is Sameer Ram who I met a while back. He approached me and asked if I'd write a piece about classical music in India. He also wants to do an interview.

Yay!

Interview published in 'Espresso'

Hey guys, sorry it's been a while since my last post. Life has been crazy as usual here in Madras, but I also got the flu from hell and was out for about 2 weeks hugging my blanket and coughing up a lung. Anyhow, this is the second interview that was published about me after the TEDx event. ON A HIGH NOTE

Bel Canto - Kavita Baliga may not be a native of the city, but with her magical voice, she is currently a part of A.R. Rahman's musical conservatory.  A survivor by all means, the immensely talented opera singer opens up to Divya Nair on her journey over the years.

On her interest in opera singing

My Hindustani teacher suggested that I join my high school choir to get an idea of both styles of music; East and West.  I absolutely adored my choir teacher, and after starting private voice lessons, I eventually applied to university for vocal performance.  My inspiration when I was really young was probably Julie Andrews (which sounds totally cheesy) but The Sound of Music was my favourite film till I was in my teens.  Then when I saw Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyed Webber in San Francisco, I was totally hooked.

On battling cancer at an early age

The experience of going through cancer treatment was ironically the most inspiring and motivating factor in my life.  It made me realize the true incredible capacity of human beings.  Treatment really motivated me to live each day as if it were my last and it really encouraged me to LIVE.  I tried to do things that were outside the box - things that would have made me feel uncomfortable before treatment, like acting in UCI's production of The Vagina Monologues which ended up being an unforgettable experience.

The experience of working in Rahman's Music Conservatory

It's been the most fulfilling and exciting experience of my life.  My favourite experience working with AR thus far was on Shekhar Kapur's short film Passage.  I sung the aria from that film at the premiere in Venice, Italy, during the Venice Film Festival.  The whole experience was overwhelming and to be honest, completely terrifying.  I loved every minute of it!  Since I've been in Chennai, I've done a lot of background work for AR's film scores and if you ever hear an ethereal operatic voice in the background of any of his Hindi or Tamil songs, that's probably me.

On opera singing in Chennai

Although for the most part it's quite a foreign genre for people in India, the audience for western classical music is definitely developing as we speak.  Also, I was shocked at how quickly some of my students have picked up the operatic style of singing.  Students have such a fantastic ear to pick up new styles and genres.  Once people are more exposed to western classical music, fantastic things are going to happen not only in the western classical world, but also with the possibility of fusion music and collaborations.

Future Plans

I definitely believe in taking one day at a time.  I will stay in the same place as long as my criteria are being fulfilled which are:  

A. Am I benefiting others?  

B.  Am I learning from the experience and benefiting from it myself? 

C.  Is my career progressing?  

If the answer is yes to all of the above, I'll stay.  If at some point it starts to shift, I'll leave. Right now, it's a happy and firm YES.