Down the Memory Lane with Music..

Which was the first song/composition/music bit I first heard in my life?

Which song showed the most impact on my early childhood?

Which Background score made me feel Music can heal a dull state of mind?

What is so powerful about the presence of Music in my life?

These are some of the most difficult questions which I can answer in a single sentence! But the worth of these questions are so much valued that it is difficult to explain in words! But as I am in a nostalgic state of mind which is making me track back my own influences and inspirations which led me to Music, here is a small attempt to walk down the memory lane!

Though this post doesn’t speak about my performance or preparation for the same, this tracking back of the point where all this started is still an enthralling idea which I felt worth to be posted in Swara!

Thanks to my family who were my first teachers and who are highly enthusiastic when anything about Music or Movies is concerned, this sure had a tremendous influence on me in the early days. The vague memory which comes in my mind is coming home from school (Kindergarten Days..Evergreen days!) around 12:30 PM and there was some song or the other playing either in the JVC Tape Recorder or the VCR which was playing the songs from the recorded programmes. Some of the songs I vaguely remember and which for sure had a breathtaking impact on me in the later days ( Which I am realizing now!) are

1. Ninnu Kori- Gharshana (Agni Nakshatram- But the film was so popular that there are many audiences in AP who think it’s a straight film!)

2. ALL the songs in Swarna Kamalam ( This cassette still exists and works 1000 times better than the Audio CD which got ripped off after some really rough usage!)

3. Geethanjali ( The songs were going on almost 24/7 after we watched this film, though I hardly remember watching this film in theatre!) and Anjali

4. Vegam Vegam- from Anjali remains to be the most unforgettable experience right from the childhood as it not only inculcated the interest in Astronomy but also made me curious about the Solar System and so on, which later prodded me to read Stephen Hawking’s books in Graduation days.

How powerful Music can influence a person for good- I must be one of the profound examples!

Coming to Hindi, it was Chaal Baaz songs which were booming all over the house during those days,  along with Chandini film which earned so much of craze for the ideal love story image it offered and the locales of Switzerland which were shown great in the film!

Boney M and ABBA were one of the first English Pop songs I ever heard and felt inclined to!

While these were the early days of the Music introduction in my life, the next and yet best stage was to enter next! That being early 90s, I was exposed to English songs thanks to my brother this time! One of the songs which I strikingly remember is “Another Day in the Paradise” – by Phil Collins. My brother used to write down the lyrics and make me sing along with him so that he gets vocal support from behind! Little he must have known that this song would have created so much of influence unknowingly in the future attitude/ ideals towards Music as well as towards life for me!

As my schooldays were going on Musically and months flew to years,  I was getting into Pop (Dr.Alban- It’s My life, Michael Jackson, Ace of Base), Trance,Rock and for that matter even Tamizh songs! I entirely admit that I absolutely had no idea about which genre is what but the only thing I knew, and know even now is that I was deeply influenced by these songs and also started unknowingly believing that “If Music can influence me so much for good, it sure can influence a generation of thought”

There is a small story behind the Tamizh songs introduction. Those were the days where things were imrpoving in the Cable TV era and Sun TV was one of the earliest channels in Tamizh which used to air non-stop fantastic songs during the midnight which had the cream of Tamizh Film Music.  The cream ranged from Ilaiyaraaja to the then emerging sensation A.R.Rahman, M.S.V to T.M.Soundararajan songs and the list is endless! Thanks to my Mom’s passionate interest in recording songs, I was intorduced to “Aagaya Vennilave” – Arangetra Velai when I was aged less than 10 years!

The other most memorable song which I remember (Thanks to the video as well!) was Margazhi Poove- May Maadham.   Listening/Watching to this song on a late night with low volume was something like a memory to cherish in life time!

Hence the Music influence was propping from various dimensions for me which always helped me understand a composition and the nuances in it quickly and effectively in later stages of life!

90s went like a flow of river thanks to so many artists around the world namely Ilaiyaraaja, A.R.Rahman, Keeravani( His Bhadhara Giri Ramayya from Seetha Ramayyagari Manavaralu intorduced me to the eternal krithi “Saadinchene” composed in Arabhi),  Phil Collins, Engima, Michael Jackson (His Black or White video still remains to be a favourite!)  and the list is endless. I was even unaware of these names when I was getting so much influenced with their work but still the effect is tremendous- worth of a lifetime!

I specially thank these Musicians for making my school days not only stress free but also the most memorable days of my life and let me live life like the way I choose to, and also helped me understand things better than reading a hundred books or consult a bunch of people about anything!

As 90s were coming to an end, there were some hundreds of influences ranging from the unimaginable extremes which shaped up my personality and attitude towards life, but these above mentioned songs, and influence remains special as ever!

Let the influence and the energy of Music prevail always and  everywhere!