Of Ability, Music and Following the heart

Been a hectic week. Last Saturday attended the Ability Awards, organized by the Ability Foundation, Chennai. An evening of light, music and dance, that culminated in a felicitation of a select few achievers. Achievers would be an understatement, considering these people had done things you and I couldn’t, and had done them despite being differently abled.

My association with the Ability Foundation goes back to 2005, when they conducted this competition called “60 seconds to fame”, as part of Ability Fest ‘05. This was a one minute short film contest, the topic being “An Inclusive Society”, the jury comprising Maniratnam, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Nandita Das, Revathy and other people from the film fraternity. My film “Credits” was among the top 50 films, screened at the Ability Fest, at Anand Theatre. It was great to be part of another of the foundation’s initiatives, the Ability Awards ‘10.

Srinivas sir had been approached to perform for this event. He graciously decided to compose a new song for the cause, and when good intentions and music combine, nothing short of magic is created. We recorded the song in two days, and had super fun doing it! Singers included Ajesh, Ravi, Prasanna, Santosh, Ragini, Ranjani, Renu, Divya, Sharanya and myself. Others who contributed to the song were Navneeth, Aalap Raju and Keba. We also performed this song at the award ceremony.

Was at the MRF racing event to sing along with Pop Shalini. Apparently actor Ajith had been the main attraction, so when we performed a couple of Surya songs, the crowd got unruly and spilled onto the racing track in a bid to get the dj to play ‘thala’ songs. They wouldn’t submit unless ‘thala’ himself came. And come he did. He pleaded to his fans to stay put in their seats, and if not give him a good name, at least spare him disgrace. The fans obliged. Now that’s star power I say! We had to cut the concert short by then as it was time for the next racing session to begin.

Al jarreau started my week, and jazz is elevating to say the least. And humbling, as Srini sir says. Often I get the feeling we begin to concentrate more on the technical aspects of music as we learn more, and this leads to approaching a song very mechanically while composing or listening. In doing so, we miss out on the aesthetics of the song, and the very underlying purpose of music: happiness. Music is and should be from the heart, and not the mind. Typically, the kind of horripilation an untrained ear would experience listening to a Rahman song, would not be so pronounced in someone who bents on dissecting the song for chords, basslines and leads! Of course, from a musician point of view, such technical aspects are necessary for learning, but ultimately, I feel it is imperative to keep in mind, that the heart is the ruler!
Jazz does precisely this to me. It is profound, yet there is so much expression and emotion and happiness in it, that all you feel like doing is sit back, relax, forget the world and enjoy the music! Even if the guy next to you in the bus is a little too big for his seat and cramps you up!

Looking forward to an exciting week ahead musically :-) More news as events happen!