Musicians From India

"Dipa Karmakar You are an inspiration. Keep working hard, keep making us proud. It's hard being an athlete in India, yet you did it all."

"I take that as a compliment but I’m nowhere close to Shreya Ghoshal."

"Shreya is one of the most beautiful things to have happened to Music."

"Sorry sad to hear abt Bhupen Hazarika Ji. Another legend lost. His voice and songs will be alive in our hearts forever. Rest in peace."

"She is lovely as always."

"The best quality about her is that the expressions come perfectly along with mannerisms. If there'll be best all-time singers, Shreya will surely be included in that. She is very special to me"."

"She is one of the most versatile and accomplished singers of the past decade and the current Bollywood scene."

"Zindagi kaisi hai paheli, Puchho na kaise, ek chatur naar, aao twist karein, aaja sanam madhur.. Such versatility and command over all genres. Rest in peace Manna Dey saab.. You and your voice are immortal.. Your songs will continue to inspire millions forever."

"I still get heartbreak fan mail. I think fans who send them are in denial. They are unable to accept that I am married now. And, yes, I enjoy it (laughs)."

"Shreya Ghoshal has such a stunning voice."

"Shreya Ghoshal is an asset to the music industry."

"I believe without a struggle there is no fun. If everything comes easily to you then there is no sense of satisfaction at having achieved something."

"Today kids are more advanced, smarter. When we came in reality show we were untrained in terms of facing television. That time TV was just starting out. We were nervous and shy. Today`s kids have seen it all."

"It's not a new thing but maybe people have started noticing me more now. It's a good change for me and everyone else. I have always enjoyed dressing up but I don't do it as often as I would want to, because it's time consuming. But now, especially when I have to go for fancy promotional visits, I try to enjoy the process of letting the make-up and hair people do their job."

"I have always wanted to get married since I was 20. I am a very romantic person and have fallen in love plenty of times. I adore people and get smitten by some people and have made my mistakes. I like men who have their own voice, are opinionated but are not rude. I don't like very serious people as I believe that there must be a fun element to life."

"With her "Issshhhhhh..." in 'Bairi Piya' song from Devdas, Shreya Ghoshal, the Bengali beauty became the singing sensation of India."

"I am not the kind of person who fights. You will not see me fighting with anyone. It's like if I like someone and the other two judges don't agree with my judgement, I may cry, but I won't walk away from the sets or anything like that."

"I do not like sweets. But if I have to choose one, it has to be rasmalai."

"I don't believe in pretending to be someone else. I'm what I actually am in real life. For instance, like any normal girl, I fight with my mother. I mean, it is just fine. In fact, I fight daily with my mother."

"Reading the newspaper or watching the news in the morning. I don’t like starting my day on a bad note."

"I am an easy going person. I don't sing for money or fame. I was brought up in an environment where I was taught to love and respect music, not consider it a business."

"When people address me as Shreyaji, I tell them, ek G Ghoshal ka to banta hai, lekin (G for Ghoshal is alright, but) please don’t call me Shreyaji!."

"She doesn’t like corrections. She would rather do it again than leave it to the machine."

"I believe, entertainment has its pros and cons. It is important, but too much involvement of kids can deter them from achieving their key goals."

"Music is not a way to reach god. Music is god."

"Every single man,woman and child on the planet must, to the best of their capacity, become activists for the environment if we are to reverse our royal collective march to oblivion"

"What you abuse, you lose."

"Nature is our mother. She is not a resource for human consumption."

"Western Science, in its present form, is toxic. It must be infused with love and humility, and an ethical code of honor to renounce any experiment or procedure that causes harm to the environment."

"What you don't use, you lose."

"I have performed with British musicians. I have sung Rabindra Sangeet and French numbers too. Most often I include local flavour in my concerts to connect with people.]]"

"Style. It varies from person to person. Without it music will be monotonous."

"We are getting carried away by the on-the-move musicians. Most of the Carnatic concerts abroad are being organised by NRIs. The defining moment is when an artist is invited to a foreign land and applauded by the foreign nationals. They should forge artistic alliances and find new audiences by introducing people of other nationalities to our arts."

"Classical music is a perennially flowing river and nothing can affect its flow. No one needs to worry about Indian music. It is forever."

"I will render whatever Lord Siva makes me render. I never plan for my concerts. I render what comes."

"With all awards and accolades at the international level and his outstanding contribution to classical music, his appeal was not restricted to purists or the elite connoisseur. He endeared himself to the public at large by his tasteful rendering of light music and film songs."

"I would like to learn Carnatic music under his tutelage and become such a great singer that my Guru will say `sabhash after hearing me sing. She conferred the title of `Gandharva Gana Samrat" on him at the function organised by "Vipanchee.""

"It is only rigorous training and in depth study that make music mature into the realm of the classical."

"Our arts, particularly music, are more livelier than any sport. I play with my `raagas.' And there is no defeat here. Only victory for everyone - singers, listeners and the music itself."

"I have the honour to inform you that the Minister of Culture and Communication, Renaud Donnedieu De Vabres, has conferred on you the award of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters). This award honours those who have distinguished themselves in the field of art and have contributed to spread of culture in France and throughout the world."

"Balamuralikrishna had made the country proud with his artistic imagery and outstanding performances of high order in Carnatic music. He enthralled classical music lovers and earned international laurels to motherland [India]."

"He [Guru Parupalli Ramakrishna Pantulu gaaru] would take care of me. He focussed only on teaching me and never on performances. He never cared about popularity and wealth. However, I am not like that. I perform and give my listeners a tough time. They think this fellow is not good. He does not follow tradition. I provide them with food for talk and thought."

"He was one of the earliest South Indian Classical w:MusiciansMusicians to perform abroad. He has acted in films, sung for films and even scored the music for films. Apart from his own compositions numbering more than two hundred, he has breathed life into compositions of other composers whose original tunes were lost in the sands of time like w:Narayana TeerthaNarayana Theertha, Annammaachaarya, Purandara Daasa, Kaiwara Amara Nareyana, Kaiwara Amara Nareyana, Sadasiva Brahmendra, Bhadraachala Raamadaas and Maharajah Sri Swathi Thirunal."

"An enduring legacy of Balamuralikrishna is the wider accessibility of classical kirtanas to the public. Many of his contemporaries tend to treat classical and popular music as watertight compartments."

"I like to take things easy. I don't constantly think about music. I never plan concerts, practise or even hum. When I go up on the stage, music courses through me. My family members attend my concerts because they do not hear me sing at home. I have entrusted you [Prince Rama Varma] with the task of popularising my style of singing among others, especially in foreign countries. I have heard some of your foreign students sing my compositions and was surprised. They sound better than many Indian students. I want to be known more as a composer than as a musician. You are now making this happen."

"Everything I did was deprecated by the media and others. I think I derived my strength from it. There was brouhaha over my singing my own compositions. I wondered why I cannot choose words to express myself. That’s what Tyagaraja did. He described Rama the way he saw him. Ironically many of my works are now being used by musicians and dancers. It’s heartening though. I never expected to reach where I am today. I learned music without knowing it will one day become my calling."

"The real issue underlying these controversies appears to have been a challenge to his philosophy of music; nay, that of the Trinity. Balamuralikrishna has long held that Carnatic music today is an entity outside the strictly religious domain. He remarked once that those who believed that concert singing denigrated the essence of Carnatic music should confine their singing to puja rooms."

"There isn't one specific way of teaching. It varies with each student and his/her ability to grasp what is being imparted. Every student has a different purpose for learning. Some think they will get a chance to perform if they learn from a senior musician. Some even ask me to recommend them to sabhas. But I don't. I firmly believe that opportunities should come on their own. But rarely do we get students who are only interested in learning and expect nothing else. One should be passionate about the art if one is to scale heights."

"As a mere fourteen-year-old child he composed songs in all the 72 Melakartha Raagas, which form the very backbone of the South Indian System of Raaga Music."

"Gangubai Hangal's primary guru in music was Sawai Gandharva. She has also acknowledged the inspiration and influence of her mother Ambabai and Zohrabai Agrewali on her musical development. Her singing embodies an extraordinary grasp of the essence of raga, keen sensitivity of swara, and an acute feeling for aesthetic design."