24 minute read
‘As long as I can continue to sing for a few more years I’ll be happy’
by SEEMA
Indian classical and playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy
The ever-modest Kavita Krishnamurthy describes her amazing life
ABHIJIT MASIH
Having sung almost 50,000 songs in 50 different languages, Kavita Krishnamurhy is a legend in both Indian classical singing and Hindi film playback music. Some of her chart-topping numbers have been from films like “Mr. India,” “1942: A Love Story,” “Devdas” and “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.” Her Unforgettable songs include “Hawa Hawaii,” “Pyar Hua Chupke Se,” “Dola Re Dola” and “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.”
She took out time to speak to SEEMA from her busy schedule while touring the U.S. with her husband, the legendary Dr. L. Subramaniam. The tour was to celebrate 75th year of India’s independence through the musical piece written by Dr. L. Subramaniam called Mahatmas Symphony performed in association with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Krishnamurthy shared her journey, which started in Delhi and which was built on the shoulders of two women – her mother and her Mamuni – who held her hand during the initial struggles in Mumbai (then Bombay).
Krishnamurthy described working with the great singers and music directors of the 70s and 80s, including Lata Mageshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Laxmikant Pyarelal, R. D. Burman, Ismail Durbar and A.R. Rahman. She talked with awe of their musical genius and inspiring humility. She also revealed the special bond she shares with Hema Malini and the impact the actor had on her life.
Krishnamurthy sang her first song in 1971 but the Filmfare award, the only industry prize in India at the
Kavita Krishnamurthy performs with her husband, Dr. L. Subramaniam, a violinist, composer and conductor
time, eluded her. Finally, she received it in 1994 for her work in “1942: A Love Story.” At the award function, Lata Mangeshkar, who was being conferred the Lifetime Achievement award, started her acceptance speech thanking Filmfare for finally recognizing the talent of Kavita Krishnamurthy.
Krishnamurthy chatted with us in a virtual interview (with a little technical help from Subramaniam), who helped her adjust the camera and the frame.
We all know your incredible repertoire, but we want to start at the very beginning and find out about your musical journey and your growing years. How did it begin?
For me, being a music professional is quite unexpected. I was born and brought up in a South Indian family in Delhi because my father was in government service. We were a joint family – [living there] along with a Bengali family. We were two families living together in the same house.
South Indian and Bengali families always encourage their children to learn either music or dance. I naturally had an inclination for music, and so did my brother. So we started learning music. And the very first [lessons were] in Tagore music – Rabindra Sangeet as they call it. We sang for competitions and won some prizes. Then we got a masterji who taught us Hindustani music. My mother felt that, being in Delhi, Hindustani teaching would be better, [since it would be hard] to find a Carnatic music teacher. My brother and I sang for competitions and at All India Radio.
I wanted to have an exotic life. So I thought of joining the Indian Foreign Service and go to different countries. But my Bengali aunt, who was very close to the mother of Hema Malini, who had become the Dream Girl of Indian cinema, thought of taking me to Bombay as she saw playback singing as a future for me. I never thought anything [for myself]. I was probably one of those real obedient middle-class girls. I joined St. Xavier’s College. In the process many doors opened for me to sing.
The very first jingle that I did was with Geetaji [Geeta Dutt] for Amul Spray. Then cut to singing in college day function where Hemant Kumar is the chief guest. He invited me to sing on stage with him. There began my journey singing on stage.
He had to record a Bengali song with Lataji and asked me to come to the recording studio. I learned four lines of a Bengali song for a film called “Shriman Prithviraj.” That was in 1971. Once I finished rehearsing, I saw the door opens and Lataji walked in. That was the start of my career. I always feel it was with Lataji’s blessings that I started. By the time I finished graduation, I was busy with work, singing here and there. So somehow, my destiny was shown to me by God, and I think I just continued on this path for so many years now. It’s been 52 years now in music.
Kavita Krishnamurthy with singer Asha Bhosle
Kavita Krishnamurthy and her husband, Dr. L. Subramaniam with Lata Mangeshkar
You’ve had such a long and illustrious career, tell us about some of your most memorable songs, your favorites, and favorite musical collaborations.
One of the greatest people I have sung with is Kishore Da (Kishore Kumar). I sang about seven or eight duets with him. All these people of that generation – Lataji, Ashaji [Bhosle] [Mohammed] Rafi saab – I really learned one thing about all of them: They had already sung numerous number of songs, but [it was wonderful] still to see them coming to the sets and treating that particular song as almost a first song. They were so dedicated in the way to say the words with a beautiful akaar. There were so many things to learn from that generation. They were perfectionists dedicated to their work, and all of them were very humble. I was a nonentity, but when I sang with them, not one of them treated me like a junior singer. This is what I learned that there was no shortcut to hard work, no shortcut to success; you have to be sincere and true to what you do. That was a great learning lesson for me.
Do you have any favorite and meaningful song of yours?
“Hawa Hawaii” was one of the most memorable songs – which I sang in 1986. It’s an item song or a fun song. But, believe me, it’s a song I can sing every day and still enjoy it. It is one of the nicest songs ever, and I have very good memories of the recording.
It wasn’t originally supposed to be my song, because it was a huge film of Sreedevi. I thought Ashaji would sing it but they actually kept it in my voice. I was absolutely so grateful for Lakshmikantji when he told me that everybody likes the song and they want to keep the version I had sung. I told him that I had made a mistake in the song, but the way Srideviji enacted it, every word looked as it [were intended]. This song has lasted for so many years along with that one word I said wrong in that song.
Mothers play such a huge role in shaping our lives and our value systems. I believe it was the same for you. Tell us a little bit about her and how she shaped your life and your musical career.
In my life I’ve had two sets of parents – two fathers and two mothers. A Bengali mother and the mother who gave birth to me – a South Indian. She had learned Carnatic music but she got married when she was 14, and she dreamed that I should sing. She wanted to make sure that I learned music very well. So musically, she used to help me a lot.
My Bengali mother, who I call Mamuni, with whom I’ve had absolutely great bonding, she was not as musically sharp as my mother. But she had good sense. She’s the one who dreamed of taking me to Bombay and making a career. Mamuni took my hand and was a great strength for me in Bombay. She would go to the market, cook the food come all the way to Xavier’s [College]
From left to right: Singer Manhar Udhas, actor Hema Malini with her mother, and Kavita Krishnamurthy
Kavita Krishnamurthy performs the Mahatma Symphony 2022.
and then take me home. Sometimes she would take me to the studios straight from college for my recordings. She was such a support system for me, she was there for every song, and she was there for my first Filmfare award feeling so proud. So these two women never left me alone and they played a very big role in what I am. I have to say that Indian women are the best. That generation, they never asked for anything for themselves. Every time they were praying for the family. They were praying for my welfare.
You mentioned Hema Malini earlier and that you share a very close relationship with her. She even calls you Papa (baby in Tamil). Tell us a little bit about that special relationship and what she means to you.
We grew up together. Nandita – my Mamuni’s daughter who speaks fluent Tamil – and Hemaji were best friends. They went for dance lessons. As a kid, sometimes I used to be dragged along for these dance lessons. They learned to dance together. One day Hemaji left Delhi to become the ‘Dream Girl’ of Bombay.
When I was based in Bombay she and her mother used to be very helpful. She was the one who took me to Laxmikant Pyarelal and told them that this girl was Hema’s cousin and you have to give her a break someday. One of the first songs of mine was for Hemaji and I sang for so many of her ballets. She has been like an elder sister. She has her fame as a top-notch actress [but] it made no difference to her relationship with me. She still treated me with the same affection in those early days in Bombay. I could walk into her house any time and she and her mother would never let us go without food. They have been such a great family, and HemaI herself has been so affectionate, I’m grateful to God that I have people like her in my life.
You’ve worked with so many legendary musical directors from different eras, who do you think brought out the best in you as a playback singer? And who did you like working with the most?
My gurus are definitely Laxmikant and Pyarelal – and R. D. Burman after that. They absolutely are my gurus, and have a special place in my heart. I learned a lot about how to sing in front of the mike from them.
In the next generation [of music directors], I think one of the finest music directors I’ve ever sang for is Ismail Durbar. In “Devdas” and “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,” he gave me fantastic songs. Another phenomenal music director, who is one of the nicest people in the industry with whom I’ve had the great honor of working for, is A.R. Rahman. He is such a nice person and he has given me such good songs. His approach is so gentle. I would say that he has brought out the best in some of the songs that I have sung for him.
As an accomplished musician, performing artists, what advice do you have young women who wonder how to get there like you did?
First, I would say that to be a playback singer, you have to concentrate on your voice quality. You have to. You’re singing songs that’s not classical music. You’re singing the words, therefore, akaar has to be very good. The pronunciation of words have to be very good, very clear on the mic. My advice to children is, please don’t depend on a pitch corrector; make sure you strengthen your pitch. Finally, pick up a lot of different kinds of songs. It’s very important to emote a song well. Any singer should be able to sing a song with genuine emotion.
You’ve been touring the US with your husband and legendary musician Dr. L. Subramaniam. Tell us about the tour and its historic significance.
This is pretty exciting for me because we wanted to do something special for the 75th year of India’s independence. My husband had started writing a piece called Mahatmas Symphony and we got the offer to do this with the Houston Symphony Orchestra in Houston. There are three movements. The first movement is totally orchestral, and starts with Gandhiji, seeing the turbulence in South Africa, being thrown off the train and then how he moves to India. The second movement is essentially the national agenda. And the third movement starts with a little bit of the turbulence of the civil disobedience movement and the final interpretation of independence having been attained, the happy moments and the salute to motherland. It’s not the traditional tune but has been modernized to match the Western orchestra Symphony Orchestra plus the choir.
Dr. L. Subramaniam is such a legend, not just in India but globally. Tell us a little about him.
I’m very happy that I have somebody like my husband in my life, because he is a pioneer in whatever he’s done. If you’ve seen the past, the very first North-South jugalbandi that ever happened – in the early to mid 80s – was in New York with Ali Akbar Khan sahab. He played the sarod and [my husband] played the violin. As a classical Carnatic musician, he was one of the pioneering people to do fusion music. Then [he did] the orchestral writing where he didn’t ask a Western composer to write the Western parts. He writes every note of the orchestra for every symphony… because he’s a master invested in music. He has actually shown a new path to the new generation of artists in India. He has shown what all we can do to take Indian music to the world stage. He’s been a pioneer in this field.
For me to work with somebody like him is wonderful because he never lets me stop. Finally, as musicians we have to remember, fame, money. Those are important things, I suppose, in life, but you have to do music for yourself. That’s what I learned from him. As a woman, to have a support system like that from a man at my stage of life is very important. You can’t do without it if you want to go ahead.
What are current and future musical projects you are working on?
After the U.S., we go to Europe. I’m doing Mahatma Symphony concerts in Madrid, Milan and Bolognia. Then, of course, there are a lot of songs in the offing. I did a couple of songs where I composed Meera bhajans. I put those up on YouTube and Facebook. I’m also looking forward to going back and composing my own songs, which my husband helps me orchestrate. For the Meera bhajans I did it with symphony musicians in Prague. Two of them have been released. I look forward to different things. As long as I can continue to sing for a few more years I’ll be happy.
Kavita Krishnamurthy with her husband Dr. L. Subramaniam and children
UNICORN IN OUR MIDST
With Stax, her subscription-based payment platform, Suneera Madhani has broken into an exclusive club
ABHIJIT MASIH
PHOTOGRAPHER: ORLANDO BRAND PHOTOGRAPHER BY THE BRANDED BOSS LADY
It was one of those rare but intense snowstorms that sweep across Texas that did it.
Stuck in Dallas, and unable to return to Orlando, Suneera Madhani decided to spend time rerouting her subscriptions so she could continue to enjoy them when she finally got back. That’s when she had the a-ha moment for a subscription-based payment platform, the idea for her payment startup, Stax.
Madhani is the co-founder and CEO of the company, which attained a $1 billion valuation earlier this year.
The daughter of Pakistani immigrants shared with SEEMA how she grew up in the U.S., overcoming hurdles and
achieving a lot nonetheless. Just in her 30s, Madhani helps other women find their voice and their place in the exclusive unicorn club.
Harking back to the day she had her great idea Madhani recalled, “I was actually visiting my nanima in Dallas and was trying to reroute my subscription based boxes. This is pre-subscription economy. That’s when the light bulb went off: Why isn’t there a subscription based credit card processor? So quickly I changed my flight to Houston, to pitch this idea to my bosses.”
At that point she had no intention to become an entrepreneur. She just passed on the idea to the fintech company she worked for but was not taken seriously.
“I was just trying to do what’s right by my company,” Madhani said. “I was excited about this idea. I thought this would really work in our industry – and for my company. I pitched the idea to an all-male team... and I got laughed out of the room. I was told that it would never work and that I didn’t have the experience to run it. I just left really disappointed.”
The men in Madhani’s family – her father and brother – thankfully were different from those in the boardroom. That very night, she discussed the matter with her family at dinner, where she decided that she didn’t want to work for a company that didn’t believe in her. Her brother, who was then working for a startup in California, was part of the discussion.
She remembered, “We were all together as a family. We were all around the family dinner table, and my dad goes, ‘Sonny, why don’t you just go do it.’” Madhani has that line emblazoned on office wall, a constant reminder for her to tell the world to bring it on.
“It was their push. And I said, I’m gonna go do it,” she added with pride.
Now, the entrepreneurial genes run in the family.
Madhani credits her parents for providing an in-house MBA at home for her brother and herself. Like many South Asian immigrants, her parents had little choice but to start a small businesses. Madhani learned all about running a business from them.
“I’m an entrepreneur today because my parents were entrepreneurs,” she said. “Today, being an
Suneera with Faisal - Best friend, proud and supportive life partner
Suneera admits that the greatest title that she can wear is that of being a mother to her two daughters
entrepreneur is sexy, it’s exciting and the whole world wants to talk about entrepreneurship and startups. They were entrepreneurs out of necessity, because they weren’t educated. They worked hard to provide my brother and me with an education.
My parents owned convenience stores, gas stations and a pizza shop. And at one point, my father had a marketing company. It was this endless endeavor of businesses. My brother and
I were always involved in the family business and had responsibilities.”
Under Madhani’s leadership, Stax has become one of America’s fastest-growing fintech companies, managing integrated payments and payment processing for small, large business and
SaaS companies. She admits that her success owes much to her family’s work ethic and the values.
“What I learned from my family was that hard work is the shortcut,” she said. “There is no other way around it. The second thing I would say is that there’s no big or small job; you have to do it with a smile on your face. Those are some of the values that were just natural around us. Now, as a leader of 300 people, these are the things that I try to instill in my team.”
The first in her family to graduate from college, Madhani grew up within a strong ethnic culture. She even lived in Karachi for four years between the ages of 8 to 12. She speaks of the importance of retaining one’s culture and how it’s working for her in the running of her company.
“Pakistani culture, values and heritage was something that I definitely grew up around and is a huge part of who I am today,” she said. “It was a really important part of my growing up years. I got to firsthand experience the culture, experience the language, learn how to speak, read, and write Urdu and just really immerse myself in the culture.”
Madhani graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in finance and marketing. She began working for Fortune50 companies and was steadily climbing the corporate ladder, despite being the rare woman in fintech.
“I was always wanting to challenge the status quo and ask why things are the way that they are today,” she said. “In a company as large as a Fortune50, when you’re just a serial number on a laptop, your ideas are never taken seriously. Especially as a young woman, especially when you are barely out of college and don’t have the experience. I just wasn’t
Suneera Madhani sharing her experience and expertise
WHAT IS STAX?
A payment technology company that does credit card processing, for small business, large business, and for SaaS companies for integrated payments. A platform to help small businesses accept payments in any which way the customers want to pay – in person, online invoices or recurring billing. One of the first platforms that tied all the ways a customer wants to pay into a single platform. The secret sauce is the technology that builds everything together and makes it seamless and simple. The best part is that it’s a flat subscription and you only pay a monthly flat fee and get unlimited processing based on your threshold based on your volume. Stax serves 30,000 customers on their platform and has over 1000 that get on boarded every month. Stax also does integrated payments for software companies.
The boss lady of Stax sending out a strong message
Suneera Madhani holding her own at a panel discussion
ever given that platform for anyone to take my ideas and go run with them.”
In an attempt to find the right fit, she took up various corporate positions. She was fascinated by the credit card processing industry while working at a payments company. This was in 2008, when the world was just recovering from a recession and becoming an increasingly cashless society. Madhani braced herself for looming disruptions in financial institutions and the credit card processing industry.
Quitting a comfortable job and diving into the unknown is not for the fainthearted. Even though Madhani had the support of her family, including brother Salman, with whom she co-founded her company, She wasn’t prepared for the challenge of being a brown woman seeking funding for her company.
“It’s hard not to be intimidated,” she said. “Less than 3% of venture capital ever goes to femalefounded companies, no matter your skin color. Half of the gender is not getting funded. That’s still a huge issue today. The system is designed for women to fail. So you’re up against a giant hurdle already, whether you are a South Asian or not. Less than 1% of capital goes to minorities in America. So there’s definitely a huge disparity in the way that male – white male – startups are treated.”
There were internal demons to vanquish, too. She had to wrestle with her own apprehensions, self-doubt and the impostor syndrome. Even with family support, she was still unsure about starting something on her own.
“My first challenge was myself,” Madhani said. “The biggest hurdle to get over was my own fear. Once I let go of it and thought, what’s the worst that’s going to happen? I’m going to fail and being okay with failure and accepting failure. To say, it’s actually not failure, I’m going to gain experience. I think that was a big mindset shift that I had to make. That was like the first lesson.”
Being in Orlando, far from Silicon Valley, was another challenge for a nascent company trying to raise capital. And then Madhani was recently
ADVICE FOR SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN TRYING TO MAKE IT TO THE 2% CLUB (FEMALE FOUNDERS BREAKING $1M REVENUE MARK)
• You don’t need a seat at the table, you don’t need any fancy degrees, you don’t need to be the smartest person in the room. • What you can do is get about what you know - your product. • Focus on what makes you unique, your product unique. • Cultivate and find people around you that really complement the things that you don’t have. • Build an amazing team around that supports you and your vision in areas that you are not great in. • Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Raise your hand, ask for help and own your story. • As a woman, you’re constantly going to be told that you can’t do something. You have to believe harder than anyone, that you can. • So shut out the noise, stay focused and go get it.
married, with her first child on the way, and working between her first two rounds of funding.
“I was just experiencing it firsthand. So me being a woman out of Orlando, a Pakistani, and raising capital. When I look back, it was all stacked against you,” she recalled.
The young Madhani took refuge in her father’s mantra and confidence of her own business idea. The biggest lesson she learned was that men got investments based on their potential, and women for what they had already done.
“Lucky for them, I had done incredible things and our business was growing in leaps and bounds,” she said. :Our demand was high, our technology was wonderful, we were doing an excellent job and were outpacing the industry.”
Business is personal for Madhani. She treats her company like her first-born and takes care of it like she does her two daughters. Her passion for her company is so intense that she refused a lucrative acquisition offer in the early stages that even her board was really excited about. After all, the offer was for more than the value of the raised capital at that time.
“It was the best decision that we ever made,” said Madhani. “Our value went from that amount, which I believe was 17 million at the time, to over $1 billion. So it was the right call.”
Madhani encourages others like her through her podcast, “CEO School.” One of the top 100 podcasts in the U.S., it focuses on female entrepreneurs. The only male guest featured so far is Faisal Madhani, her husband, who is also an entrepreneur.
They met in college and have been together ever since. Though he plays no formal role in Stax or “CEO School,” he has been a rock for her, Madhani said.
“He is my best friend, my life partner and the world’s greatest dad,” she said. “Somebody who loves my family, probably just as much if not more than I do. He’s the one that always encourages me to keep shooting for the moon. He is also a very confident man. It’s hard to stand next to a woman who is always in the spotlight.”
Under Madhani’s leadership, Stax now boasts more than 270 employees and earns $100 million+ in recurring software revenues. But there’s more to her than just business.
“I’m a mother. I’m a wife. I’m a daughter, I’m a sister, I’m a philanthropist. I’m an author. I’m a podcast host, I’m a CEO,” she said. Admittedly, being a mother tops the priority list.
“I know that God made me a girl-mom for a reason,” Madhani said. “I have two little ones. My eldest just started first grade. They’re growing so fast. Being a mother is like probably the greatest title I wear.”
