Scaling musical heights

Carnatic music is a branch which focuses mainly on vocal music. It requires so much dedication and concentration to do a concert. The 111-day-long Soorya Festival, this year, culminates with a special performance by Sajna Vinish, a music teacher at Women’s College, Thiruvananthapuram. What makes the performance special is that she is attempting a 36-hour-long nonstop Carnatic vocal marathon.

 “I would say I’m attempting as I’m not sure whether I’ll succeed in doing it,” says Sajna. She had done a 12-hour concert two and a half years back, which she considers as a preparatory performance for this one. “I had contacted Limca Book of Records officials then. So, they sent me a set of guidelines for the preparatory performance. Currently, the record is held by Vizag Sisters for their 36-hour-long non-stop performance,” adds Sajna. She has the whole-hearted support of Soorya family, who have been working round the clock for her concert. “I used to do emceeing for Soorya festivals. It was Soorya Krishnamoorthy sir who encouraged me to do the 12-hour concert. Everyone became confident after that and then, sir told me to push my limits.”

 For her, the performance is not about getting into the record books or publicity gain. “Usually, we all do a concert of about 2-3 hours duration. As I said, I’m still unsure of the outcome, but this performance will be a way of pushing my limits and challenging myself. This requires my effort and hard work only. This performance is all about learning more about my subject and becoming a better musician. One of my friends actually suggested me to try a vocal marathon, which may turn out as a unique achievement in my career.” She will sing around 250-300 compositions for the concert.

 She affirms that there is a lot of risk involved in the performance as there are chances of disorientation, blackout etc. She has been preparing physically and mentally well for the concert. “My food pattern and timings have changed. I’m also doing yoga and exercises to make by body prepared for such a long performance. One of the regular things I do is to sit cross-legged on the floor for hours. There are also exercises to avoid cramps.” Her performance will also be a tribute to violinist Balabhaskar. “He was the one who encouraged me first to sing on a stage. I was a school student then, and that incident really had a great impact on me. He and Lakshmi chechi were so encouraging and supportive in my career. He will always be an inspiration to me. My teachers and Balabhaskar chettan have immense influence in my career.”

 Sajna started training for classical dance at the age of five and gradually shifted to music. She’s trained under Prof. Dr K. Omanakutty, Prof. Venkataraman and Prof. Balammal. Her cover version of Maruvarthai, which she did for Karikku, was a hit on Facebook. She has also composed two singles, Orma Pookkal and Kana Kana Vaazhgiren for Muzik247. “Syed Muhammed Zameer of Muzik247 was instrumental in releasing  the singles and music director Rahul Raj was the one who launched Orma Pookkal,”she says.

 The concert will be held at Ganesham, Thycaud. The performance will begin at 3 am on Monday and conclude by 7.30 pm on Tuesday.