26th November

The events of 26^th November and the days of terror that followed can never be forgotten by the people of Mumbai. The city was held to ransom by a group of just 10 terrorists who spread death and destruction across the city and especially the two most prominent luxury hotels in South Bombay.

For a Mumbaikar like me, the Taj used to be a second home in the seventies. I sang in the “Blow Up” the discothèque at the Taj for many months after which I started a year long contract at the Rendezvous, the fancy night club which was situated on the top floor of the New Taj.   The smiling faces of the Taj staff, the excellent décor, the fantastic food and the fascinating camaraderie that we shared as a young Rock band were just some of the countless memories that I share with this historic hotel. It was with sheer horror that I watched this beautiful structure being systematically brought to the ground right in front of my eyes by these fiends.

This carnage can however have a happy ending if we can all get together and bring about the changes required in the political system. After all, if the unity of just 10 people can paralyze the working of the financial capital of India, why can’t the teamwork of even a million of us change the entire fortune of our beloved city? So get up and stand up for your rights. And for God’s sake, don’t ever forget this atrocity! Jai Hind

 

Jazz Utsav 2008

It was the year 1978 when the first Jazz Yatra saw the light of day. For the first time in Indian history, an international Jazz festival was to be staged in Rang Bhavan, Mumbai with world class artistes performing over a period of a week. What more, it was proposed to be held every 2 years so that Indians could get the opportunity to experience the greatest Jazz musicians of all times right in their own backyard! “Too good to be true” was the instant reaction of this young Rock singer who had just embarked on a career of music in a land where such a move would have been frowned upon. Within a few days I was exposed to the likes of Sonny Rollins, Joe Williams & Clark Terry, the legends of American Jazz. Sadao Watanabe, the Japanese Saxophone maestro, was present too and the last day saw the first show of the All Star Jazz Yatra ’78 Big Band which included some Indian musicians along with the American & European greats. This festival also gave us music aficionados the opportunity to hear a world class sound system as the German giants, Dynacord, were sponsoring the event. They had brought with them their best system along with their star engineers. This ensured that the sound was the best that we had ever heard.

It’s great to know that the festival continues 30 years later, although in the guise of another name and in another venue. Jazz Utsav 2008 will be staged on 28^th to 30^th November 20, 2008 at the Bandra Amphitheatre, Mumbai and we shall have the opportunity to hear 10 bands from all over the world. You can be certain that that you will find me there!

Stage Fright

I recently came across an article written by the American Public Speaking guru Sandra Zimmer where she describes a technique to get rid of stage fright. “It's all in how you look at the audience -- literally how you look at them. If you tense up to protect yourself from attack, you unconsciously invite them to attack you. You are looking at them as dangerous, and they will sense that. But if you look at them through the eyes of love and acceptance, they will sense that and give supportive attention back to you. You literally create a supportive audience by being there to support them.”

She recommends the use of soft eyes. That is, look softly at your audience members. The similarity to the technique I teach of the use of the soft spoken voice is uncanny! The importance of your body language and voice tone to be in sync with each other is crucial for effective communication and it will help you achieve an all round winning advantage in your professional life.

The first

Its taken a long while for me to get started on the blogging trip but now that I am finally here, it seems like I have been doing it for years. My articles and monthly newsletters used to satisfy my writing urges but this is just great! With a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline, life is going to be much more of roller coaster ride than it already is. My new band is all set and InSync Studios, my audio music & voice production house is on full swing. Hopefully, my feature film will take of the ground by next year and my daughter has plans to publish her first book soon.
There are many great film ideas swirling in my head and I am hoping to get them down on paper soon.