My folks were even more thrilled than I was: Anupama NA on winning the Aryabhatta International Award

Of the many contestants, Anupama NA was declared the winner from Bengaluru while from Devanagari, Manju M Doddamani was the lucky one. The reward of course was Puneeth Rajkumar crooning the lyrics! Anupama is no stranger to the music scene or for that matter to the Sandalwood film fraternity. Being the only one in the family with an ear for music, she says her talent is ‘God’s gift’. “I started singing at a very young age and by the time I was in high school, I was already doing playback singing for a few movies. I have sung for over 25 movies so far” says the proud singer who has a flair for art and craft as well. If she isn’t singing, you would find her busy sketching or indulging in some intricate needle work at home.

Coming back to her lyrical journey that lead her to meeting her icon, Puneeth Rajkumar she recalls, “I was on my way back home when I heard the melody of the track on air on a local radio channel. The contest was about writing lyrics for the tune. The first words that came to my mind were ‘Erra dirri’ (which means fast in Kannada). The melody literally compelled me to write the lyrics. So I visualised the song. I pictured the hero on the ‘Anna Bond’ bike, zipping through MG Road, where there are so many rules and the words just started flowing.”

Manju and Anupama’s lyrics were combined and thus was formed the song called Pipi. “My folks were even more thrilled than I was. They wanted to come for the recording to meet Puneeth sir,” she gushes in a single breath.

So what did Puneeth have to say about the song? “He was all praise for us and said that the lyrics were really good,” states the singer who once in a while likes picking up the hand trowel and donning the gardener’s hat too. “I find gardening very therapeutic and calming. I am contemplating taking a course in bonsai soon.

Meanwhile, as far as what is in the pipeline is concerned, Anupama will soon be releasing her debut album, Manmohana for which she has sung, composed and written the lyrics. “There are about eight songs in Kannada, English, Hindi and Sanskrit. The sound and feel of the album will be very different and we have decided to call the genre indi-melodies. Currently two songs are already up on Youtube, while the rest will follow suit,” says the singer who has sung in over 15 different languages till now.