No language barrier here

Chong Chiu Sen can’t speak a word in Telugu and Tamil.  But he sure can sing beautifully in them

Ask Chong to say something in Telugu or Tamil  and he won’t be able to do so, ask him to sing in a Carnatic song Telugu and Tamil and he can’t stop. Chong’s arrival to India from Malaysia 12 years years ago was as a follower of Sai Baba. “I used to listen to bhajans and that’s what pulled me here. Later, I started learning Bharatanatyam, but my dance teacher felt that I would do better as a music student, so I learnt to play the veena as well,” says Chong.

However, at 19, Chong soon became disheartened. “People started charging a lot of money to teach me music. I was so tired that I decided to either find a good teacher or leave India,” he says. But Chong’s fate took a turn in the form of a telephone directory. “I was running my fingers through the pages when I stopped at the famous singer D.K. Pattammal’s name. I called her and soon, she started teaching me,” he says.

Now, 12 years after his first Carnatic music lessons, Chong delivers at least 20 performances a year. Initially he  worked as an HR and a sales trainer, but had to choose between his job and music; and he chose the latter and since 2012, he has been performing across the world. So how does he manage to sing in the languages he has no idea about? “My guru first taught me how to pronounce each word, then she explained its meaning and only then would I learn the song,” he says.

Ask him what his favourite songs are and he replies in impeccable pronunciation, “Rama Nee Pai Tanaku in Telugu and Shanthi Nilavu Vendum in Tamil.