BENGALURU: Vid Chandana Bala Kalyani, a singer devoted to Carnatic music, was given an odd assignment by her master. Her guru HS Sudhindra asked her to translate 800 and odd Ugabhogas (or a series of graded lessons) into Kannada.
She could not grasp the depth of meaning in this text and sought the help of Khagavara Vittala Daasaru, an eminent scholar, and her friend. This exercise ignited in her an interest in varied compositions such as that of Meera Bai, Kabir, Jayadeva, Vachana Kaaras, Dasas of Karnataka and Annamacharya, and poetry of Namdev and Tukaram. She learnt that all had one message to give -- of peace and oneness with God.
She wanted to convey this through her music and composed Sufi-style songs, to reach a larger audience. “Ghalib and Purandaradasa say the same thing, of contemplating God passionately. In one of Kabir’s compositions, he states that the the body has been given as a blanket to cover our souls and that we have to take care of the body before returning it to Nature. In one of Kanakadasa’s compositions, he asks us to stop grooming the body because it will leave us one day. Instead, he says, nurture devotion towards Lord Hari or the ultimate truth,” says Chandana.
Chandana has composed literature into songs, in an album titled ‘Madhura Bhakti and Tatva’. The compositions have classical, qawali, ghazal, bhajan and folk influences and styles of singing and instrumentation is more contemporary and experimental. Her upcoming projects include ‘Madhura Bhakti’, with Akkamahadevi’s compositions, and the project has taken off in a small scale in Mumbai.
Finding music
Born into a family of musicians, Chandana’s father Vid S Nataraja Murthy was her first guru and was a of great influence in her life. Her grandfather Sistla Rajashekaram was a lyricist, an orator and a vocalist and mother Damayanthi sang Telugu movie songs and light music. Chandana easily picked up her music lessons at the age of four. But the “magic of music” was revealed to her when she wasnine years old. “There was a music programme by Vid Mandolin Srinivas at Rama Seva Mandali and I was lost listening to his music. I went into a trance. My father had to shake me out of it,” says Chandana.
She continued with her music classes, and says that her present teacher HS Sudhindra has had a great influence on her, like her father did. At 18, she started doing stage shows and Chandana is thankful to Vid Vaijayanthi Kashi, who took her to many programmes.A graded artist from AIR for Classical and Devotional Music, Chandana has lent her voice for film music too. Tamil movies such as Five Star’ and ‘Villain’ are two of the movies to mention.
Fusion, jazz & rap
Chandana is also part of a few bands such as Sanjay Divecha and Secrets, who focus on western fusion music. She has performed few Meera Bhajans and introduced the concept of Thillanas into the band. She is also a part of Rajiv Raja Combine, a band greatly influenced by jazz. Vivek Rajagopalan (Mridangam player) and Collective is a rhythm-oriented band who rap in Hindi and Marathi language. “I have sung Kannada songs along with them… Recently I joined Indiva, an all women’s band that focuses on soft music. Band members Sanjay Divecha and Sankarshan Kini have taught me a lot as a band member,” says Chandana, who also performs for dance ballets.