Commemorating a Great Man..

Paying my Respect and Homage to Prof. HV Krishnamurthy
It was sad news when I heard the demise of our respected teacher.
I was introduced to HVK sir when I was five years old. My mother thought I can sing and she took me to Vijaya School of Music (VCM) in Bangalore. HVK sir asked me to sing a song to see if I had what it takes to be part of VCM.
I sang the only song I knew at that time - Sri Chakra Raja (both my grandma and my mom used to sing this as my lullaby). He then introduced me to one of his students, Mr. K. Ramesh, who then became my music instructor for the next 15 years, up till this very day. That’s how my music journey began.
There are some great things people know about HVK sir, but he was also a very simple and a nice man.
HVK sir used to be either standing at the top of the stairway, or near the gate at VCM. He’d always pat my back every time I went in to the school and asked if I practiced that day.  My mom was (and still is) a busy executive and we had to improvise our music practice time. Most of the time, she will rush in from work, go through the lesson for the day, and will make me practice and sing on our way to VCM.
How?
We had a two wheeler moped. People on the road thought we were crazy. These were during times where the Bluetooth headset was unheard of.
..Yeah. People definitely thought we were insane.
But, neither my mom, nor I, for that matter, cared about what others thought. This is how I got most of my practicing done! The wind blowing used to actually fit the shruthi (pitch). 
After we moved to the US, I have visited VCM every time I have gone to Bangalore. I am sure I will miss the quiet, sincere musician and a great teacher in HVK sir.
Yesterday, all of his students, myself included, from around the world logged on to Skype and had a massive conference call. We connected with some of HVK sir’s family now staying in California, where they were holding a Bhajan session, singing all of the tunes that we grew up with during my times at VCM.
This was the only way we, as students, could have respectfully commemorated this great man. Yesterday: a day that I will never forget.
I sincerely hope his legacy stays on through our continuous singing. This will provide opportunities to up and coming new artists in the music field not just in India, but in every single corner around the world.

Pinching myself!!!! Is this true???

It all started when my mom’s colleague Brinda Rajaram sent an email on Aug 16th informing me about a Talent search competition that will be held on Aug 22^nd. This was a competition being organized by an organization called Tri-Iva Global Inc. based out of NY. They were looking to select a winner who will be given an opportunity to sing in an Indian movie. The music director looking for the talent is named Srikanth Deva. It was too late to enter, but I took a chance by calling the organizers to see if anything can be done. The lady I spoke to, Mrs. Minu Kumar, said that the elimination rounds have been completed and they have selected 26 participants to compete in the finals. I persuaded her to listen to one of my tracks and requested to participate in the competition. The rest is unbelievable!

After I sent in my audition tape, I get an email form Tri-Iva Global at 2.30 the MORNING indicating that I have been selected to be the 27^th participant!

The original plan was for my parents to drive me to Penn State on the 22nd as my school was starting on the 24^th. So, now we changed all the plans, drove to Penn State on the 21^st, dropped off some of my stuff in my apartment and continued to drive to NY.

The fellow contestants were all phenomenally talented and all came with a very high level of pedigree. This is when I realized just what I had gotten myself into… the nervous kicked in full-swing…all thrusters GO.

And how did they pick the singing order, you may wonder. So I asked….

“We’ll go by first names,” Said Minu Kumar.

………………….Why did I open my mouth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So. The letter A and the letter D happened to be the first two letters in my name. I was first…

I sang my favorite “Varagha Nadhi Karai Oram” created by AR Rahman and set the music to my own beat boxing arrangement. The final moment of the announcement came at around 11.30pm and when they called my name as the winner, I was jumping with joy and my parents sitting in the audience was screaming and whistling! J Check out the videos at http://www.youtube.com/vidhyu.

A Short Glimpse...

A blend of multiple interests, ranging from the art of music, to the wonders of automobiles, basically describes the two main passions in my life in a nutshell!

I think it is because of the fact that I come from a home where music is an integral part of the day to day activities. My parents are patrons of music who listen to all kinds of music; ranging from classical-- both western and Indian, Indian movie songs, to R&B and all in between. Semmangudi , MS Subbulakshmi, Zed Zaplin, Madurai Somu, Yanni, John Denver, Kishore Kumar, Balamurali Krishna, AR Rahman and many others are regulars for all of us at home.

I am a nineteen year old settled in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Music is my absolute passion and I have been learning Carnatic music (vocal) since the age of four. I learn through telephone and through the internet-based telephone service named "Skype" from my teacher, K. Ramesh, who lives in Bangalore. Through my music career, I have also had the privelage in competing and winning competitions and special mentions at the Cleveland Thyagaraja festival and the Gayana Samaja in Bangalore.

3. As I grew, my passion for music took me into creating and performing music at various occasions and venues.
Here's a quick intro to my music journey thus far:

• I also have taken Western Classical voice lessons and have been the lead in Musicals. You can check me out at the following links:
• Into the Woods – No More -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV0Fb8ltHaE- This is a small clip of my solo from a musical I did. I can send you some more if required.
• Dreamin’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJwg491z3FU - This is my own composition I did for a scholorship competition.

• This past March, I had the opportunity of singing the American and Indian national anthem at Penn State University's national Raas/Garba competition: "Dandia on Fire." For the Indian National Anthem, what better soundtrack to use than your most recent gem of a creation, the National Anthem soundtrack from "Jan.Gan.Man." If you would like, you can see my performance at the following link:
• http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1039398912979&subj=1473630166

• I have also been a percussionist since the age of 10. In high school, I was the captain of the Marching band's drumline, the lead conductor of the entire Marching band, and was the lead drummer for the jazz band. Please take the time to view my African Conga/percussion performance, along with the Choir, at the following youtube link:

• Freedom Trilogy - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3052598636987040938

So far I have rendered several concerts, been part of musicals and also led our school marching band in my 12^th grade. In the past two years at college I have continued with several subjects in music and am working to improve my theoretical knowledge in music.

Lets end for now...Be sure to come and check back on my latest project...rendering and recording one of my all time favorite songs from the Tamil movie "Sangamam".