"If music be the food of life, play on." I make this little alteration of Orsino's famous line from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; music is indeed the food of life.
I grew up in an atmosphere of music and it was but natural for me to take interest in it. My father always said that I started listening to music while I was in my mother's womb. I guess that was true as my life revolved around music. My family still recounts the times when I could go on singing nonstop. I started singing at the age of 2 and a half, I give the credit to the school I went to!
While growing up I participated in numerous inter-school and inter-college music competitions. Later started singing professionally with various Rock bands. I have had the wonderful experience of performing with the best musicians in Kolkata.
Along with singing with the bands I was also actively involved in the marketing of the bands which included getting sponsors, organizing the venue, and managing logistics such as sound and so on.
Apart from singing I also play the Piano and the Electronic Keyboard and am qualified in Classical Music under Trinity College, London, and Royal School of Music, London. I started playing the piano when I was 8. I taught about 200 students how to play the piano and the electronic keyboard, and what was very exciting was that the age group of my students was 4 to 58!
Singing in a choir was always a dream, and that dream came to life in 1996 when I started singing with Funtastiques, a Jazz/Pop Choral Group in Calcutta. Later when I moved to Hyderabad in 2001, I joined Hyderabad Choral Society.
Besides singing and playing I have been on the panel of judges for numerous music competitions. I have been a part of All India Radio, Kolkata as a singer. Worked with All India Radio, Hyderabad as a Casual Compere. Work involved compering programmes live on AIR, scripting, recording and dubbing, and also making features.
Till 5 years ago I firmly believed that if there was no music in my life I wouldn't earn a living. I say till 5 years ago as life took a funny twist and I surprised myself immensely. I was forced to try out another source to survive. Incidentally, the latter option of becoming a communications trainer turned out to be rather lucrative and I guess I lost the ability to struggle to live for what I believed in.
Today, I am a forgotten musician or the piano teacher who I used to be. I was seen at choir concerts, rock concerts, piano recitals, club gigs. But today, all that is history and it hurts. A musical journey that was so thrilling, so fulfilling has ended abruptly and I have nowhere to go...
