Introduction
This week we are going back to Kerala where we have always found an abundance of talents. Bringing Ambika’s Smule profile to our esteemed line of talented featured artists is a happy and well deserved. In a few upcoming weeks we are running towards the finish line of this incredible journey. The top ~150 singers that we presented here are the reason we made a commitment to do this week after week. We are proud to say it was a lot of friends from the Indian community and mainland USA that week after week stood for a great cause and not only they all told their stories they supported their friends who understood the value of nurturing others talents as well. A big thanks to Rahul Mars for this particular feature.
It is with such great pleasure we are presenting Ambika Menon as our this week’s featured artist. Ambika used to have a profile where she had been singing for years on Smule, which had to be deleted and here is a link to her current profile.
Please introduce yourself briefly with special references to your music.
My name is Ambika Menon. Born and raised in Calicut and Cochin, I moved to Bangalore a decade ago. I am a Chartered Accountant by profession and work for an IT services company. My parents are IELTS instructors, based in Cochin. I have an elder sister, Anasuya, who is a journalist. Husband, Arun is a Partner with a Big 4 consulting firm, and we have a 7 year old who is in Second grade.
Ambika’s early music
I am trained in Carnatic music and Hindustani Classical music. Most of my formal training was in Carnatic music, for almost twelve years, and later I also took two years of Hindustani classical.
My talent in music is inherited from my father and his family. Most of my cousins are brilliant singers, a few of them are also on Smule. My father and sister are also singers and our family functions are filled with music performances.
Your earliest memories of your interactions with music as a child, all the small things made you start singing.
My foray into music happened without planning for it! I was keen on listening to what my sister was learning, and I just joined along one day! When we were kids, we used to get together with the entire family in Nilambur, (our ancestral home) and every day was a music fest. There was someone or the other singing or discussing the new music directors and trends in music. There was not a day at home, where music was not played on the tape recorder. Thanks to all this, my sister and I are well versed with most of the old songs and even know all the lyrics byheart! So there was always a lot of music in my family itself. Achan, (dad) is an amazing singer and he is a baburaj fan and wrote a book and worked at All India Radio for some projects. But it was my mother who initiated my learning along with my sister.
At schools I have participated in youth festivals and guruvayoor chembai festivals. In fact at that stage i was more inclined to learn south indian classical dancing Bharatanatyam. Have won a bunch of prizes in that category as well. By then I had fancied learning hindustani; that ended up me joiningMusic director Ramesh Narayan disciple Sree. Mohan Kumar to learn Hindustani. At school levels I have won prizes at state level school festivals and then as always my academics came in the way of my music. Later when i moved onto Bangalore also my Chartered Account (CA) studies was more of a focus. Until i found Smule music was halted for a while
My husband Arun has influenced and supported me and also introduced me to a lot of western music like rock and other stuff to red hot chilli peppers, porcupine. I do listen to a lot of different genres of music.
I am a big fan of Malayalam music director Sharareth sir. Dream would be to sing under his music direction.
Who influenced you the most as a child as far as your music interests and talents?
(An impressive training in music from some of the best teachers formed Ambika’s music).
All credit to my parents. When my father introduced me to different kinds of music, my mother found time to take me to music classes and competitions and kept that encouragement and support and pushed me to keep pursuing music always.
Ambika menon
A singer grew up to love Baburaj music and Ghazals
“A girl who heard and loved Baburaj music, from her dad, dreamed of singing songs that represented her taste. That is what makes Ambika a unique artist. Influences of Hindustani ragas and ghazals formed her mature tastes to reinvent her music. Ambika who says she wants to try her skills in Hindustani to sing more ghazals and at the same time says that she is open to progressive rock. Aunique singer that we have not represented any time before”
Describe all your Classical music expertise and detailed descriptions of your Gurus etc.
I started my formal music education with Carnatic music, when I was around 3 or 4 years old from Haripad K.P.N Pillai Sir. My sister started training first, and I used to hang around to see what they are up to. Pillai sir asked me to come sit, and it all began there. After a few years of learning from him, I also got the opportunity to tutor under late Sree Nedumangad Sasidharan Sir, for a couple of years. After moving to Cochin, I also trained in Hindustani classical music for a few years under Mohan Kumar Sir, who is the disciple of Pandit Ramesh Narayan.
Any memorable moment in your music life
There is not one incident that I can recall, but all stage performances are dear memories.
What exactly does your music mean to you? Have you thought about it?
My days start and end with music. It is the best way I can express my emotions. Actually, I need music for every activity I do. Music is my escape and something that makes my soul happy!
Your views about the general landscape of India’s classical music?
It is sad to note that nowadays, takers for Indian classical or folk music are less. All youngsters choose to watch a movie rather than go to a classical concert. They prefer popular music, which is easy to listen to. Change in times, the future is yet to be seen.I am hopeful yet with lots of new
Your thoughts about popular music or film music or generally about Malayalam regional music?
Our generation is the most blessed, when it comes to music. If I have to take Malayalam Industry alone, we grew up listening to the best of the bests! From amazing music directors like Dakshnamoorthy Swamy and M.S Baburaj, then to Ravindran Mash and Vidyasagar, the quality of music produced by our industry has always been top notch. If we look at the singers, from K.J Yesudas to K.S Chitra, M.G Sreekumar, we had the best artists in our times. When we thought it was hard to fill the void created by some of the artists, we saw new talents coming in and creating beautiful new styles, over the years. Overall, the quality of music that is created in our industry is original and rich, one of the best in the country.
World music and other language music of India. You told me you like Jazz music, tell us more about it. Are you aware of the Recent trends of Jazz and India’s Hindustani music?
I grew up listening to Malayalam and Tamil songs. So, my love for music began there. Thanks to MTV and Channel V, (those who grew up in the 90s will remember these music channels!) I was introduced to international music. From Indie rock, to metal, jazz, pop, hard rock, we heard them all! My husband introduced me to Progressive and Alternative rock, and some of the bands I love are Red Hot Chilli Peppers, A Perfect Circle and Porcupine Tree. I closely follow their new albums. My exposure to other Indian languages is limited to Kannada and Telugu. I do not think I actively track new trends in any genre, unless someone asks me ,’hey, have you heard this new song? ‘
Social responsibility for an Artist, what do you think about it?
This is a very debatable subject. There are conflicting views about this. There are many who choose art just for the love of it – they may not like to be burdened with social responsibilities. But we have also seen many artists who have eventually turned to politics and used their popularity for a larger cause. This is very subjective and an individual decision that each artist needs to take, depending on what suits them and what their goals are.
If you are a socially responsible artist will you take a stand if you can influence the decisions taken at political or other levels?
Absolutely. I am the kind who believes, with great power (or popularity, in the case of an artist), comes great responsibility. Not many have the capability to influence the masses like artists. I would personally take a stand, but as I said, not every artist will choose to do so. I would stand for causes that I believe in.
Do you pay attention to the lyrics and meaning of songs? Do you think they are important for music? If yes, then why?
Absolutely yes. To emote, you need to know and appreciate the lyrics. Through a song, you need to be able to convey the emotion. It would be incomplete if you do not get the meaning of the song. When I sing a song that is not in Malayalam or English, I try to do some research on the lyrics and see what it is about.
What career ambitions you have in music. Then how are you planning to achieve it? You said that you are not ‘very career oriented as far as your music ambitions. But that is perfectly ok, but what do you think you want to achieve from your singing experience?
All we do must have a purpose, I must say I agree that all we do have a purpose. As I said earlier, music is my only escape. It is something I do if I am stressed. However, lately I am thinking about exploring more genres. The general feedback I get is that I restrict myself to the 90s or early 2000s songs and do not explore the latest numbers. I am usually very picky in the songs that I choose to attempt on Smule. I intend to explore more languages and more genres, thereby broadening my understanding of all the lovely music we have out there and appreciate music more.
Where do you see yourself in five years from now in your music? Will you learn more music if you have not done so far?
At some point, I intend to start from where I left off – Hindustani classical. I had to stop my training owing to my academic commitments. I plan to start training in Hindustani classical soon.
Now it is time to list all your favorite musicians
Carnatic male female: M. Balamurali Krishna, Sharreth, Pandit Ramesh Narayan, M.S.Subbulakshmi, Sudha Ragunathan
Play back -all languages you like or sing hindi any other: K.J Yesudas, Hariharan, M. G. Sreekumar, Chitra, Shreya Ghosal
Music directors Sharreth, Vidyasagar, Raveendran Mash, A.R Rahman, the list is endless…
Genre of music Ghazals, Classical and Progressive rock
Do you do any sports? If so which one? if not what other hobbies you have?
Apart from music, I am a huge fan of dancing. I am trained in Bharatanatyam and have participated in events all through school and college. Apart from this, I am also pursuing a degree in Psychology. I only watch sports, too lazy to be part of any
ENDNOTES
Ambika’s music started quite early in her childhood. A girl who heard and loved Baburaj music, from her dad, dreamed of singing songs that represented her taste. That is what makes Ambika a unique artist. Influences of Hindustani ragas and ghazals formed her mature tastes to reinvent her music. Ambika who says she wants to try her skills in Hindustani to sing more ghazals and at the same time very open to progressive rock is a unique singer that we have not represented any time before. Ambika does not do many videos saying she wants people to recognize through her singing. She made quite a few friends on Smule whom she respect a lot. Ambika when asked to sing she picked her favorite Baburaj song Thaliritta Kinakal and from Hindi she chose Abhi na jao, both beautiful songs. It told volumes about Ambika and her music.
It is our pleasure to have Ambika joined us in this journey and shared her music with all of us. Please visit her profile and encourage her singing. Here are some songs Ambika specially made to go with her feature.
Song links
Abhi na jao:
Enna solla:
Kannalane unplugged
Neelakurinjikal:
Thaliritta kinakkal:
Shalabhamayi:
Bhavalokada:
Moh moh ke:
Nila mazha:
