Did you know that Ohio State in the US observes
8 FEBRUARY 9, 2011
The dulcet voice
that enchants
S hreya Ghoshal has a reputation for re-
cording songs in a jiffy—even in an unfamiliar
language. But it could take months of waiting
to get the busy Bollywood playback singer to
a recording studio down south.
And it would be worth the wait: Shreya is
not only a captivating singer but near-perfect
in diction whether the song is in Tamil, Telugu
or Malayalam.
This singing sensation is well on her way
to achieving something her illustrious prede-
cessors failed to do—reign the charts across
regions and languages.
A huge hit in Tamil where she sang under
the baton of maestro A R Rahman in the film
“Sillinnoru Kadhal”, Shreya is currently the
rage in Kerala with her latest songs in “An-
war” scored by Gopi Sundar.
Though she was introduced by Alphonse
in the film “Big B” and won State Award for
“Benares” “Chantu thottille...”), it is “Qalbi-
lethee….” of “Anwar” that has taken her to the
top of the charts.
Rarely do talent, fame and recognition sit
together. But in Shreya’s case they seem in-
separable. In a dream career, she has already
bagged four National Awards and three State
Awards. Her fame has also crossed the shores
with the US State of Ohio even declaring June
26 as “Shreya Ghoshal Day” to honour her
contributions to the music industry.
In an ecstatic response Shreya tweeted:
“It’s an honour which has been given to
personalities, artists n litterateurs since many
years. I was informed that Tagore, Swami
Vivekananda were the recipients...My name
went into the same archives. Unimaginable!!”
A Bengali brought up in Rajasthan, Shreya
TEASERS>
Where did that rupee go?
1. Eight men meet. Each man shakes hands with each of the
others. How many handshakes in all?
2. Prepare your answer as you read on. Retracing your steps
is not allowed:
A bus starts with no passengers aboard. At the first
stop, ten passengers get in. When the bus stopped next,
five got out and twelve got in. At the third stop, three got
in and five got out. When it stopped again, nine got in and
seven got out. At the next stop, nine more got in and one
got out.
Ready with your fig-
ures? The question is:
How many times did
the bus stop?
3. There are three boxes,
all covered up. One
contains gold coins,
another silver coins,
and the third both gold
and silver coins. There
are three labels too,
“Gold”, “Silver” and
June 26 as Shreya Ghoshal Day?
FIRST TAKE>
Jyothi Varma
moved to Mumbai to try her luck as a singer.
It was filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali who
first noticed her talent on a show and prompt-
ly commissioned her for his “Devadas” project
as the voice of “Paro” in the tragic love story.
Shreya later remarked that to bring pain,
pathos and innocence into her modulation she
imagined herself to be Paro.
Shreya attaches great importance to voice
modulation—to suit not the actor but the
character. This is best illustrated by the au-
thentic feel she imparts to the characters in
“Devadas” and “Guru”.
Malayalam music director Veetrag, who has
assigned Shreya for a song in the upcoming
Kamal film “Gaddama”, finds her quick on
the uptake: “Shreya deals out a near-perfect
Malayalam diction and a magical feel. Her
grasping power is unbelievable and her sing-
ing style unique.”
Shreya can not only adapt to situations on
the screen but is highly receptive to audi-
ences during stage shows. One recalls a stage
show hosted in Chennai a couple of years ago
in honour of music maestro Ilayaraja where
Shreya, who was yet become established,
sang along with the likes of Hariharan, S P
Balasubrahmaniam and Ilayaraja himself.
As she rendered the song “Naan thedum
jamanthi poovithu…” she quickly realised from
the audience reactions that she had made a
Shreya Ghoshal
minor mistake and immediately sang the cor-
rect version.
Later, Ilayaraja came up to the microphone
and complimented her: “She realised her
mistake and was quick to correct it the next
time. The quality any singer should have.”
n
Answers
1. Twenty-eight times.
2. Five.
3. Pick up a coin from the box
marked “Mixed”, which,
being wrongly labelled, is
sure to contain either gold
(only) or silver (only) coins.
If you picked a gold coin,
“Mixed”. The catch is, each of these labels is stuck on the then of course it is the real
wrong box. “Gold” box. If so, the box
Now, you are allowed to pick up, eyes shut, just one labelled “Silver” is actually
coin from any of the boxes. From the coin you have thus the “Mixed” one, and the one
picked up, you must tell which box contains what. How marked “Gold” is all silver. In
can you do this? case you picked silver, you
4. When does “year” indicate distance? can work out the boxes simi-
5. Is it legal for a man to marry his widow’s sister? larly.
6. What occurs once in a year, twice in a week and never in 4. When preceded by “light”—in
an hour? “light year”.
7. It comes once every summer, twice every autumn, never 5. A dead man cannot marry!
in spring or winter. What is it? 6. The letter “e”.
light year measures distance
8. Hasan, staying in a hotel, paid Rs 15 for a coffee. When 7. The letter “u”.
the cashier discovered that he had overcharged by Rs 5, 8. To add the room-boy’s Rs 2 to
he sent the room-boy to Hasan’s room with five one-rupee the Rs 12 Hasan paid for his
notes. The dishonest room-boy gave three to Hasan, room is meaningless. Hasan
keeping two for himself. Hasan has now paid Rs 12. The has spent Rs 12, (of which
the cashier has Rs 10 and the
room-boy has acquired Rs 2. This accounts for Rs 14.
room-boy Rs 2). Hasan got
Where is the missing rupee? back Rs 3 – that accounts for
9. What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left? the full amount of Rs 15.
10. How many birthdays does a typical woman have? 9. The left elbow.
n 10. One birthday, of course.