Zara Si Aahat

A Lataji classic from the movie Haqueekat. I have tried to adapt it to my own style and not strictly stick to the original.

This cover was recently featured in a local radio show "Shankar Mahadevan Academy's - Gaata Rahe Mera Dil".

Song: Zara si aahat
Movie :Haqueeqat
Original singer : Lata Mangeshkar
Music Director: Madan Mohan
Lyricist:Kaifi Azmi
Cover version: Kavitha Nagarajan

Please listen and leave me your thoughts. Thanks.

Zara si Aahat | Musicians Available

Pazham Neeyappa - Live Show Recording

Posting a song from live recording of our band’s (Thillana) show from a couple of years ago.

Exceptionally rendered by the inimitable K.B.Sundarambal, this rendition doesn’t even come close to the original. I love this song on multiple fronts – movie being one (can never get bored of Dharumi’s antics…:-), of course most of the songs in this movie are brilliant as well), KBS is another – above all, the sheer divine energy of the lyrics, composition and rendition….

Since it was a live show, opening virutham had to be cut short to the Kambhoji piece alone. Though it was undesirable to cut in the middle of a sentence, we had to make this choice to make it crisp. Being a live performance , it comes with its share of “Coulda, woulda, shoulda….”s :-(. I know for sure, I am never ever going to be able to find a k-track for this song and record it properly :-). So, with all its flaws, here goes……

Song : Pazham Neeyappa
Original Singer: K. B. Sundarambal
Music: Kannadasan
Movie: Thiruvilayadal
Live Performance: Kavitha Nagarajan & Thillana Band

Old is Gold - Pazham Neeyappa (Tamil) -Live Show Recording | Upload Music

Mission Suhani

Nautanki is a famous folk theater and operatic drama form of northern India and is marked by lively dancing, pulsating drumbeats, and full-throated singing. Before the advent of Bollywood, used the be the only source of entertainment for the village folk. Like many other traditional art forms , it slowly is losing its popularity. :-(

Last year, I had an opportunity to get introduced to this art form through, Dev Sharma, son and disciple of a renowned Nautanki guru Pundit Ram Dayal Sharma. I was part of his production "Mission Suhani" that was performed as a part of "Performing Diaspora " festival hosted by Counterpulse of San Francisco.

"Mission Suhani" is a contemporary Nautanki - a creation of Pundit Ram Dayal Sharma and Dev Sharma -an attempt to revive the art form as well as use it for a good social cause.It follows a confident young Indian bride, and her Non-Resident Indian groom, who marries her, takes her dowry and leaves her in India. Against familial and social pressures, Suhani travels to the U.S. to find her husband and recover the dowry…

Thought provoking and entertaining at the same time, I had loads of fun participating in this piece. We had unique challenges, while traditional Nautankis are almost always in Hindi or similar dialects, we were performing to an international audience. So, we decided to make it bilingual - Hindi and English. Not to mention, singing style was completely alien to me.

It was an enriching experience to say the least. Attached are a few snippets from our show at the Counterpulse.

Yeh Hai Reshmi

After a long hiatus, got some respite to record . So here goes.

Asha ji is one of my favorite singers and this song epitomizes her style.I got introduced to it fairly recently and fell instantly in love with it. I would say this is my own version of it and most definitely not an attempt to be like the original, which I am pretty sure I can never match in a million years...:-)

Though this song isn't my cup of tea w.r.t to scale and range, this again is an experiment. :-)

Song : Yeh Hai Reshmi
Original Singer: Asha Bhosle
Music: O.P. Nayyar
Movie: Mere Sanam
Cover version: Kavitha Nagarajan


Yeh Hai Reshmi | Musicians Available

ராசாவே உன்ன நம்பி....

This rustic melody - A brilliant song by Vairamuthu for a brilliant movie by Bharathiraja set to a brilliant tune by Maestro.There is nothing much more for me to write about it- the composition just speaks for itself.

I have a fairly bassy voice.Every so often I attempt a S.Janaki amma's song or a P.Susheela amma's song and always end up with the feeling," God, Can I please borrow one of their sweet voices ?" :-(.This is one such attempt where I literally had to stretch my vocal chord thin :-) and as expected ended up with the same feeling. However, it definitely was a good vocal exercise.

I so loved the opening bit that I decided to keep the original.

Lessons learnt from my previous recording: I have upgraded to a slightly better mic, although not a great one. This one at least is meant for singing.

Please leave me your thoughts on this attempt.Thanks.

Song : Rasaave Unna Nambi
Original Singer: S.Janaki
Music: Illayaraaja
Lyrics: Vairamuthu
Movie: Mudhal Mariyaadhai
Cover version: Kavitha Nagarajan

Raasave Unna Nambi | Music Upload

काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ.......

A haunting song in Subha Mudgal's powerful voice that tears me up every single time I listen.It is from a brilliant movie "Raincoat" by "Chokher Bali" fame Rituparno Ghosh. The story is loosely based on O.Henry's "The Gift of the Magi". For all the movie-lovers out there, this movie is a must-see. It is impossible to not fall in love with this song when the movie opens. Besides the powerful voice and a simple arrangement, it succinctly weaves the whole story into these simple lyrics.


सुबह सुबह क्या ख्याल आज?
वापस गोकुल चल मथुरा राज
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
मनोहर बेश छोड़ नंदराज
सर से उतार्के सुन्दर ताज
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
राज धंध छोड़ भूमि पर वाज
और काहे बाँसुरी बजाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

कौन सा अनोखा गीत गाहे पी ककूल?
राजपाठ जैसे आज भाई धूल
कौन सा अनोखा गीत गाहे पी ककूल?
बिरहन लागी फिर हृदय फूल
राज-काज मन ना लगा
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

पुर-नारी सारी व्याकुल नयन
कुसुम सजा लगे कंटक शयन
पुर-नारी सारी व्याकुल नयन
रात भर माधव जगत बेचैन
काहे आधी रात सारथी बुलाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

धीरे धीरे पहुँचत जमुना के तीर
सुनसान पनघट, मृदुल समीर
धीरे धीरे पहुँचत जमुना के तीर
खन खन माधव बिरह मदीर
उसे काहे भूल न पाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

अपनी पिरिया अब पूरी घर-वाली
दूध नवन घिवू दिन भर खाली
बिरह के आँसू कब के पोंछ डाली
फिर काहे दर्द जगाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
Disclaimer: I haven't written anything in Hindi in a very long time. If there are any spell-errors, please do let me know.

I attempted to translate word-to-word, but felt that wouldn't even come close to justifying the song.Here is a summary:
It talks about Krishna leaving Mathura, where he is the King, to go back to Gokul, in order to meet his beloved, Radha. It describes the pangs of love that so suddenly encompass Krishna that he renounces his regalia and kingly duties and feels the need to head to Gokul in the middle of the night, while his people watch in dismay. Radha on the other hand is a house-wife now, engrossed in her daily chores. She has long wiped off the tears of separation.
Poet asks Krishna repeatedly : Oh lord of Mathura!Why do u wish to go to Gokul now?Why do you want to bring back those painful memories once again?.......

And here is my version of it(This song sees the light of the day after many software crashes. And having an extremely bad quality mic didn't help my cause either:-( Please bear with a very-far-from-perfect recording quality)

Song:Mathura Nagarpathi
Music: Debajyoti Mishra
Movie: Raincoat
Lyrics: Rituparno Ghosh
Original Singer: Subha Mudgal
Unplugged version : Kavitha Nagarajan
Disclaimer: I am not a native hindi-speaker. Please provide feedback on any diction issues.Thanks.


Mathura Nagarpathi..... | Upload Music

Simplicity Rules....

My first post is a tribute to one of the greatest musicians that we have had the privilege of sharing time and space with - The legend, M.S. Subbulakshmi amma.

"Simplicity" not only sums up the lyrical and melodic beauty of this song , but M.S amma herself. We are yet to see another artiste with such perfection and divinity.

Thanks amma, for giving us mulitude of songs to cherish and be elated in such divine Love.

We miss you......

Song: Kaatrinile Varum Geetham
Movie: Meera
Singer: M S Subbulakshmi


Kaatrinile Varum Geetham Upload Music