Sing Along

NEXT100 Winner 2017 Aniruddha Mehta, Head – Quality Informatics, Alembic Pharmaceuticals shares his intense passion for singing. Besides, he also takes a keen interest in photography (landscapes).

“Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can’t.” ― Johnny Depp

“Music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” ― Billy Joel

My fascination and love for music started as a kid with the LP discs and player, which my father had and I still possess. This introduced me to some amazing genres, such as Jazz, Western Classical, Indian Classical and OSTs. Moreover, this gave me an insight into singing styles and an introduction to various musical instruments. I became so obsessed that my day started with music and ended with music.
I grew up listening to legendary singers like Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi and Yanni and Pandit Jasraj. Kishore-da’s amazing composition of ‘Koi Humdum Na Raha’ and Mohammad Rafi’s ‘Azaan’ stands out for me. Also, I fondly remember Pandit Yasraj singing “Govind Damodar Madhaveti” live in a school in Gujarat as well as Yanni’s famous concert at the Taj Mahal in Agra, which was nothing short of magic. Yanni’s ethereal keyboard work backed by an orchestra, vocalists, a choir, and various world instruments including didgeridoo, duduk, charango, and bamboo saxophone still reverberate in my ears.
This inspired me to learn Indian classical music and at the age of 7, I was blessed to receive my first music lesson from the Late Gainyji (Father of music director, Uttam Singh). I not only learnt to play the keyboard but also the harmonium, table, bongo and violin. I made maximum usage of these instruments during my participation in intercollegiate competitions and events.
I also listen to noted singers like A R Rahman, Madan Mohan, Madonna, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Amit Trivedi, Anouska Shankar, Arijit Singh, Sonu Nigam, Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali, Enya, Eric Clapton, Hans Zimmer, Lionel Richie, Bach, Beethoven and Richard Clayderman. I’ve tried to not only play their songs in-house but also publicly. Even the musical instruments they play, I’ve tried to replicate them in my shows too.
So music for me is a combination of “Lay” (Tempo), “Sur” (Notes) and “Taal” (Rythm). It is not only an art but also science and the optimum combination of the above three tends to give you a sonorous melody. Like Mozart said, “Music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” It actually hasn’t changed much except maybe the way it has been delivered. For instance, the way Rahul Sharma has taken Indian classical music to a completely different zone and created some beautiful collaboration with likes of Kenny G and Richard Clayderman.
In future, too, I want to remain inundated in music and keep up with my singing. I also hope we will continue to keep coming up with beautiful lyrics and tunes, which will create the magical and soulful song which we all crave for.
After all, what is a life if there is no music! It defines everything from happiness to sorrows to peace to joy. So keep listening, keep singing!

As told to Dipanjan Mitra, Team ITNEXT