Introduction
Our esteemed peer Preethivijayshan of Laxmipreethimusic and her never-ending support and taste for great music is greatly acknowledged here. Her endorsements brought the best talents from Tamil to our pages. (Preethi is busy with her studies at the moment and is away from Smule and its related responsibilities). Nevertheless, we can not forget members of our support group from great talented peers and highlight their previous blog articles. Read about Preethi here.
We are extremely proud to present this week’s featured artist Janaki Baala. She has an illustrious past where she sang thousands of songs alongside famous playback artists like S. P. Balasubramaniam, Vani Jayaram, and P. Susheelamma. Her ability to sing some of South India’s most difficult compositions that are sung by none other than P. Susheela and classical-based film music with great conviction make this singer outstanding from many other profiles on Smule. Her highly seasoned singing style is a pleasure to present. We can not thank her enough for her enthusiasm and moreover her hard work behind this feature writing. She is a true artist of excellence, it is our privilege to have her on our esteemed featured artist list, on the Smule India Blog site. Without further delay here is the full interview with her that gives a better understanding of her long years of singing on stage live shows and the formation of a golden voice.
Her social media links here
On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiCiw0r9nf8uKeahYZN9dug
On FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/janakibaala
On Instagram https://instagram.com/janakibaala?igshid=knhfuya5glia
Please briefly introduce yourself
Janaki Baala, that is my name. I have more than twenty years of experience singing live on stage shows. I have already sung for more than fifty devotional albums and performed on many TV channels like Kalaignar TV, Pudhu Yugam, Jaya TV, etc. I am a self-starter. I enjoy practicing different types of songs to improve my skill and talent in music. My self-interest and my father’s motivation helped me to start a career in singing at the age of 18. I also got opportunities to sing for many devotional albums during those days.
Briefly describe your music, growing up, why music became a part of your life / All details how your family, friends, teachers help or understand your musical talent
In my younger days, I mainly listened to whatever songs were played by my parents from Tamil films. In my school, I still remember I sang on stage when I was eight years old. My music teacher taught me the song “Thamizhukkum amudhendru per” to perform in front of the chief guest “Mr. Mannar Mannan” Son of Puratchi Kavignar Bharathidasan. At the end of my singing, the chief guest specially mentioned my name and appreciated my singing performance. Since then, my friends, and teachers have motivated me to participate in school events and sing many songs in front of a large audience. My close friend Rajashree’s father was a big motivation for me. He is the one person who motivated me to sing in many competitions conducted across the state.
In my younger days, when we watched songs on television, my father used to turn off the audio and ask me to sing the song. Though it was fun in my family, it has inspired me to sing playback. Once I turned a teen, I can say music almost became my life.
What is music to you? or what does it mean to you?
“Music is one of the most important and powerful things in my life. Music helps us to clean all of the dust from our minds and soul. The dust of stress, pain, worries, and tension everything is washed away with the gentle stream of music.”
Are you classically trained? if not what are your thoughts on the importance of it
Yes, I have learned the basics of classical music when I was young. I have learned Carnatic music from my Guru Mrs. Meera Shankar. I am presently learning Carnatic music and Voice Culture from one of the best voxologist and voice trainers, Dr. Shyamala Vinod, who helped me a lot in improving my voice quality.
Classical music is important for every musician and learning is a continuous process in life. It improves our skills, and intelligence and creates a unique talent in music. Classical music set’s framework for musicians. A talented classical musician has the power and skill to play any other type of music around the world. I feel very proud to get trained by my Gurus who have turned my music journey in a very positive way.
What is your take on lyrics in the music? Your thoughts expand with examples.
Janaki an ardent lover of music lyrics
If we know the meaning of the song, we can enjoy the emotions, thoughts, and feelings completely. It is true that one can find answers in lyrics for many situations in life. In many songs, we can see how a poet uses the lyrics to express the beauty of the language. Some good examples are in the Tamil film songs.
In “Ilayanila pozhigirathu” song Kavignar Vairamuthu his lyrics express reference to an event that happens naturally in a figurative way to human relations.
Mughilinangal alaigiradhey mugavarigal tholaindhanavo?
Mugavarigal tavirayadhal aludhidhumo adhu malaayo
Neela vanile velli odaigal ooduginradhey enna jadhaigalo
Vinvivaliyil vidhaithadhuyaar navamanigal
“The clouds are going in all directions..have they lost their addresses?
Having lost the address,will they cry, and is it the rain??
There are a lot of silver streams in the blue sky. What do they depict?
Who sowed the 9 stones in the sky” ( Reference for a translation is from the following link http://itsallsrujana.blogspot.com/2008/12/rajas-miracleilayanila-thirst-that.html)
In “Vasantha kaala nathigalilae” song Kavignar Kannadasan arranged a game over lyrics based on the situation where the last word of a line is the beginning word of the next line
Vasantha kaala nathigalilae Vairamani neeralaigal
Neeralaigal meethinilae Nenjirendin ninaivalaigal.
Ninaivalaigal thodarndhu vanthaal Neramellaam kanavalaigal
Kanavalaigal valarvatharku Kaamanavan malarkanaigal
In some other songs, Swaraksharam in Carnatic music is used as lyrics. For example, “Enna Samayalo” song,
“Kari Kari Kari Kari Karikaaikalum Ingae”….
“Saa|tha|maaha Thamathamaa”…..
“Gama Gama Gama Gama Vaasam Varuthae”….
Like this we have many songs in Tamil: “Kurangil irunthu piranthavan manithan”, “Neeye unakku endrum”, “Vendriduven Nadhathaal”
There are many songs in the Philosophy of life that is very well expressed in lyrics.
“Intha boomiyae poovanam Ungal pookkalai thedungal
Intha vaazhkaiyae seethanam Ungal thevaiyai kelungal”
Vaazha Ninaithal Song Lyrics
“Paarka Therindhaal paadhai Theriyum
paarthu Nadandhaal payanam thodarum
Payanam Thodarndhaal kadhavu Thirakum
kadhavu Thirandhaal kaatchi kidaikum
Kaatchi Kidaithaal kavalai Theerum
kavalai Theerndhaal vaazhalam”
Good lyrics will always express the feel, emotions, Philosophy of life, and grammar of the language to us.
Growing up in Tamil Nadu how does the music of the state influence your music?
Yes, I am a proud Tamilian and I grew up in Tamil Nadu. Carnatic music (also known as Pannisai, which is a classical music form of Southern India ); is sung abundantly everywhere in the state, such as in temples, festivals, weddings, etc. December is our music season month, everyone can listen to a variety of music in Chennai, from upcoming singers to skilled talented, and popular singers. This has greatly influenced my music and knowledge as well as my interest in music.
If a music director finds you online and asks you to come on a video call for an interview what will be your reaction?
It will surely be a blessing moment in my life. I will share my inspiration for the music director’s compositions. I will try to understand what kind of singing skills the music director expects from a good singer. I will present a song by the music director and give my best performance.
What are your career ambitions with music?
My career ambition with music is to become an aspiring singer, share my music knowledge with others, collaborate and learn a new style or genre in music, and explore improvisation
In five years from now, where do you see yourself and your music should be?
I would like to improve my skills in teaching music. I want to teach both classical and film music. I also wish to hear my playback singing around the world. My voice in music should give at least five hit songs in the next five years.
List all your music interests, like genres, male-female singers in both Hindi and regional languages, director
Most of the music I sing is classical and film music melodies.
I listen to tamil songs of artists like Dr. S P Balasubrahmanyam, Dr. K J Yesudas, Smt. P. Susheela, Smt. Shreya Ghoshal
Your thoughts on ARR
A great musician, Mozart of Madras. He integrated world music with traditional music arrangements and used the latest technology in his compositions. He is also an awesome singer with a unique and amazing vocal range.
Who is your favorite Carnatic musician and why?
Shri.M.Balamuralikrishna is my favorite Carnatic singer because of his soft crooning voice along with his unique creativity in musical phrases. He used his great knowledge of voice culture in all of his songs.
List all your favorite singers, and music directors and describe why or what are the things you like about them in detail.
My favorite music directors are Shri. M.S.Viswanathan, Isaignani Ilayaraja, and Shri. D. Imman.
Most of their compositions are always unique. We can learn a lot from their difficult compositions. They always fully utilize the techniques and skills of a singer which is very evident from every successful song. People remember many of the hit songs of these music directors, but may not even remember the name of the film. Their music compositions and songs made many films successful.
My favorite singers:
Dr. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Dr. K. J. Yesudas, Smt. P. Susheela, Smt. Shreya Ghoshal
Every singer is always unique, no doubt. I like these singers because of their god gifted voices. These singers have deep knowledge and a basic feel for the aesthetics of film music. Their respect for the art of singing is incomparable. The pronunciation, emotion & feel of lyrics in any language is always a great inspiration for any singer.
Janaki’s recognitions
I have participated in many inter-school, college, and Television music programs and won prizes. As I said earlier I had the pleasure to participate in many classical bhajans held at various famous temples and sabhas along with my colleagues.
In recent years, I got introduced to singing in Ganesh Kirupa’s Orchestra which is one of the best in Chennai. This paved the way to me to get many opportunities to sing along with Dr. S P Balasubrahmanyam, Smt. Vani Jairam, Smt. P. Susheela, Smt. L R Eshwari, Shri. Mano, Shri. Shankar Ganesh and Smt. Anuradha Sriram. Shri. Ganesh Kirupa offered a chance to sing with Dr. S. P. B. a song called “Illakkanam Marudho” which was the most appreciated performance of mine.
I am singing in many shows conducted by famous veteran actor Shri. Yogee Mahendra. Also, playback singer Shri. Ananthu has been giving me many opportunities to sing in his mega shows.
In 2017, I was honored with the “Lifetime Achiever award” by Tamil Magazine.
In 2019, I was honored with the “Best Female Stage Singer” award which I am proud to say was received from the hands of Dr. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Smt. Vani Jairam. This was a golden moment in my life.
I am continuously singing in many TV shows conducted by Raj TV, Jaya TV, Kalaignar TV, Pudhu Yugam, and DD Podhigai.
“I am thankful to all other musicians, friends, family, and many young friends who supported me to come up in my singing career. Without their support achieving this level for me is impossible. “
Here are a few of her excellent singing hand-selected for this feature and sung and prepared specifically for the purpose of the feature. We can not stop praising Janaki’s professionalism; when she is given a task to present herself as a musician she works so hard to get there. A great quality that will definitely make her a playback-ready musician. Listen to her songs.
END WORDS
When talking about Janaki Baala as a singer, and artist we want to use the utmost relative terms of praise. She is one of the finest artists Tamil stage shows have produced in current times. Her ability to sing the toughest songs made in Tamil film music and perform them live is true evidence of the greatness of this singer. It is with no doubt we all have witnessed her excellent voice and singing on this page itself. Another important aspect of Janaki is her never-ending enthusiasm for good music. Be it any genre or any modern song, she takes so much effort to sing it out as professionally as possible. We had been working on her song presentation and it was a very tedious process. Yet, she made such awesome careful efforts to record her songs before sending them. Janaki’s work ethic as a professional singer is superlative. We never had seen such high-quality professionalism in any singer we worked with so far except very few.
JANAKI BAALA LIVE JAM – 10/04/2020- 9.00 pm IST
We wish her all the best for a bright and successful future and she will be coming on a Live Jam session through KKJlive My Favorite co-singers next weekend, on Sunday 4th of October IST at 9.00 pm. Singers who wish to join her Live Jam for a pre-arranged session we call Talent Showcase Live Jams, please send in requests to Janaki on her Smule profile. Once again a big thanks to all our peers who stand hand in hand from the Smule India community, A big thanks from the heart.
