CHENNAI: It’s a trend among playback singers, both upcoming and established, to carve a niche for themselves by releasing their single and covers on YouTube. Joining the bandwagon is Chennai-based carnatic singer and musician Kuldeep Pai, who has been performing in the sabhas for years now. He recently released a video of a devotional song (part of a series called Vande Guru Paramparam), in which, Sooryagayathri, a nine-year-old singer from Kerala, is the lead singer.
On May 29, a trailer of the video of the child singing Ganesha Pancharatnam, with Kuldeep assisting her, was released on Facebook, gathering over four lakh views. Other songs released online by the duo have also gained rave reviews over the month.
When asked if he was planning to make an album or bring out CDs later, he said that the only channels in which the videos could be viewed were his Facebook page and his website.
“I don’t wish to make any monetary profit from these video series, so they won’t be released as CDs. I just want people to appreciate Sooryagayathri’s talent, and want other children to get inspired by her. I am delighted at the responses I have been getting so far. Some of them see her as a prodigy and some, as goddess Saraswathi herself,” he explained.
Sooryagayathri had come down to the city recently to perform at the Bhakthi Sangeet programme organised by Carnatica.com.
Speaking to City Express at the performance, her father P V Anilkumar, who is also a percussionist, spoke about his daughter’s talent, and what brought her the fame she was enjoying today. “My daughter has been singing carnatic music ever since she was around five years old. One day, we found that she could sing devotional songs well and decided to let that talent grow. When Kuldeep came to know about it, he gave her a chance, and the rest is history,” said Anilkumar who also performed along with his daughter at the event. He added that Sooryagayathri had a new song in the pipeline.