We are happy to kick off our Fellow Spotlight series with 2015 IndianRaga Fellow Jai Sovani-Garud.
Jai is blessed with a melodious voice and can sing any kind of music ease and confidence. She credits her gurus for helping her develop this ability. When asked about one person who has influenced her music greatly, she quickly talks about her mentor and renowned Hindustani vocalist Arati Ankalikar.
I have been learning music for quite some time now but the major influence on my music I attribute to Arati Tai. She has been a great Margadarshak- I want to stay away from the word teacher. Marga darshan is exactly what this guru does. She lets me wander in the valley of music, lets me make the mistakes and shows me how I can learn more multifaceted-ly by doing just that.
Read below about Jai’s favorite Fellowship productions and why she enjoyed working on them.
“The concept of performing two different styles of Indian Music (Hindustani and Carnatic) while rendering two different raags in two different scales is simply exhilarating. You need to have command on your raag, taal and ability to listen to the co-artist and improvising off of each others thoughts. It is quite challenging. I love challenges. Plus if you have great co-artists who are equally in love with music then it becomes more fun”
“I always wanted to show the world my depiction of this tarana. The story translates exactly as I visualized this tarana when I first learnt it. Mridang helped bring out the Roudra Ras and the Veer rasa. And the Baritone voice of the narration balanced it really well”
“This is a rendition of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s beautiful bandish ‘Nainan mein aan baan’ in raga Multani. This one is close to my heart. Its what I think showcases my real true love- Classical. Having a platform and the freedom to sing what you like, the way you like is very rare and IR has given that to me.”
Do check out Jai’s Facebook Page to see more of her performance videos and make sure to like it to get updates about her concerts!
