SaReGaMaPa Finale

The last few weeks have not been very encouraging for me. I fell ill with a sore throat. Though I recovered not long after, but the hoarseness lingered and continues until today. It did not make it easy for me. I had to completely cut down on my practice. With three songs to prepare (not to mention the group song), I strongly felt that I could not practice much if at all.

Fortunately my voice did not break during my semi-final performance like I had apprehended. I could see my music teacher Shuchita from the stage and the satisfied expression on her face made me feel good while delivering my performance. Also there were a few other girls from my music class who were sitting in the audience and who I respect as good singers. Their gestures during my performance and their comments later were very encouraging as well. Also I am happy I could sustain this whole episode-I had almost lost my voice a few days back. Talk about timing or rather mistiming!

Nevertheless, this experience was amazing. I loved practicing my songs whenever I could and discovering the subtle renditions every time I sang. I loved getting the hang of the song Mere Dholna from Bhool Bhulaiyaa. I had first heard Anwesha perform this song in the Chote Ustad Finale. I wish I could have sung this one in the finals. I believe I could have done justice to the song.

Some of the results of the contest were expected but I have to admit that there were a few surprises as well! Although all in all, it was a very humbling as well as an inspiring experience to hear so many good performances out there. Each participant had his/her unique nuances. This contest reinforced my thoughts on my own musical strengths while at the same time being an eye opener for me on areas that I need to work on. I am very happy that I was given an opportunity to prepare for and participate in this event. The Finale is finally over but this is not the end, it's just the beginning and I am so looking forward to it! :-)

Through to the semi-finals

Not long back back, I got an email from the SaReGaMaPa committee confirming my selection into the semi finals. I was feeling very happy not so much for cracking it but more so for getting an opportunity to prepare and compete against talented vocalists. I have been a fan of shows like SRGMP, VOI and Chotte Ustad. And it has always been my wish to compete on a similar platform although when I was in India, they did not have a whole lot of those shows.

Today after my music class (the last one for this semester), I had to hang around in Waltham for almost two hours because we were going to have our first group practice for the SRGMP finale on June 26th. It did not make sense to come home and drive back to Waltham again. So I ate a late lunch at Kabab and Tandoor, an Indian restaurant right next to LearnQuest. Then I snoozed off inside my car in the parking lot. Next the sound of thunder woke me up, just in time. It was raining cats and dogs. So I decided to go back to the venue before it got worse.

I met other semifinalists for the first time. There were other instrumentalists accompanying us. It was fun singing with the group. The song was Rang De from the movie My Name is Khan. And it sounded quite well. I also met one of the committee members who pointed out that I am one of the few semifinalists who hasn't responded with my song selection. For the finale, we are supposed to prepare three songs, one for the semi final round, and two for the final event. Only 5 of the 20 semi finalists will be singing in the evening event. Unfortunately, two of the songs I had in mind were already taken by another participant. So I picked some other songs (that I am not too familiar with but that I like). Now that my song selection is finalized officially, it is about time that I start looking for the karaoke tracks and start practicing.