Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: An Indian playback singer who was raised and completed her schooling in the Sultanate will return to Oman to perform at a special function organised by the Indian Social Club to commemorate India’s Republic Day.
Manjari Rajendran, who has established herself as a successful playback singer across South Indian cinema, and is often invited to perform across the country, will be performing on 26 January, 2019, to mark India’s 70th Republic Day.
Having completed her schooling in Al Wadi Al Kabir, Manjari moved back home to realise her dream of making it big as a renowned playback singer. Speaking to Times of Oman, she said that chasing wealth and riches was not what motivated the best singers.
“If you want to become a singer to make money, I understand it and that is fine,” she said. “But that is not what motivates me, because I have always believed that music has a lot of soul. When you sing, you are essentially sharing a part of your soul with your audience. If you focus on getting better and better, then the money and the success will automatically follow.
“There are of course sacrifices that you have to make if you want to get to the top,” added Manjari. “A lot of people like fizzy drinks and ice cream, but you have to limit that because you can’t afford to hurt your throat if you are a playback singer. A lot of people are into fitness these days, and you must realise that the throat is just another muscle. You have to maintain it and exercise it properly if you want it to work well and get the best out of it.”
Manjari has now made it a habit to practice her singing and vocalising exercises for at least four hours every day.
Her performance in Oman will see her reproduce ghazals from several legendary poets, including Kaifi Azmi and Daag Dehlvi, as well as several Bollywood songs that will dovetail with the theme of her ghazals. Since leaving Oman, Manjari has returned on many occasions, including Oman’s National Day, where she has performed at several special functions.
“I now have many ghazals in my repertoire because I have been singing for many years now, and the Bollywood music that will be on show will tie in with the ghazals,” she said. “The Bollywood music is not there for the sake of just being there, but because it will have a connection with the ghazals that I will sing. I have been back to perform in Oman many times, and every time I come back, it is the love for Muscat and the rest of the country that I remember.”
Manjari has been honoured twice by the government of Kerala for her playback singing. She has had multiple hits in all South India languages to her credit. A high watermark in her career is presenting an ongoing Ghazal show entitled Khayal - e – Ghazal, whose popularity ensured its continuous run.
In 2016 she won the prestigious Sahir and Adeeb International Award for her contribution to Urdu and the genre of ghazals, past recipients of which were Gulzaar, Kaifi Azmi, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar. This will be commence at 6.30pm and is open to the general public on invitation. Those interested may collect the invitations from the Indian Social Club reception (24701347). Invitations are on first come first served basis.
