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 Having
a soothing voice is, without doubt is God’s gift. Jananiy,
an eleven-year-old prodigy from Cuddalore has that
mellifluous voice which melts even the coldest of hearts.
Jananiy’s was introduced to music at the tender age of three and
there has been no turning back since then. She was amazingly talented,
able to pick up the nuances of music quite easily. Can you believe
– she is proficient in more than 250 kritis in many of the
leading Indian languages Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati,
Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada and Urdu.
Jananiy’s singing style and facial ‘Bhavam’ is amazing and
definitely on par with any leading musician. “She has that in-born
genius in her”, says her engineer mother, beaming with pride.
She adds, “Even at three, … when most kids tried to play truant
to school under the pretext of ill health, Jananiy would flawlessly
render a whole song with dedication to the task. She had not started
attending classes then, casual listening was enough to set her
singing”.
She recalls an incident in the year 1996. A carnatic vocal competition
was to be held at music academy for the under-eights. Jananiy
was only 5 then. Her eager parents convinced the reluctant authorities
to give Jananiy a chance. And that was Jananiy’s arangetram
too. She got a standing ovation for her performance par excellence.
There was no stopping her after that. She has given more than
150 programmes till date.
Jananiy has not stopped with Carnatic classical, but has
moved on to Hindustani Ghazals, Bajans and cine songs
too. In a competition at Cuddalore, she got a prize from the
veteran play back singer Jamuna Rani for her sweet rendering
of the song “kannodu kanbathellam…”. All India Radio
honoured Jananiy by allotting a 30 minutes solo performance in
its ‘pesum porchitram’ programme which is usually a group
performance.
And then offers came pouring in, TV programmes, sabha concerts
and temple festivals. In one such temple festival, she presented
a commendable performance; melted the audience with her honey-dripping
voice and the temple trustees gave her a ‘poorna kumbh’
honour and bestowed on her the title ‘Sangeetha Kuyil’.
A moment that she deeply cherishes.
Though her parents Subramaniam and Shanthi are employed and busy, they make it a point to use their spare time for Jananiy. They have very high hopes on her and really work hard to realize those hopes. And Jananiy responds to them with her amazing learning abilities.
Apart from music, she is drawn to acting and sports. She tops whichever field she enters.
“That’s her super specialty”, says her proud father.
Yet another feather to her cap -- she is a self-taught keyboard player. Music holds her enchanted and it is no wonder that she grasps everything easily and holds the audience spellbound.
Accomplishments
The Vice President Shri.Krishan Kant honoured her with a ‘National Award’
for her exceptional achievement in the field of classical music in the year 2001.
Thiruvaiyaru Tamil Isai Mandram bestowed on her the title “Pannisai Selvi”.
Jananiy also participated in the Children’s day 2002 function at New Delhi. The President of India
Sri. Abdul Kalam asked her to render Saint Thyagaraja’s kriti ‘Entharo Mahanubavalu…’ He was deeply moved by her rendering of the song and his blessing then, is something she cherishes.
Cine music director Adithyan is all praises for her voice.
Many stalwarts in the Tamil cine field praise and compare her prowess in music to Sachin’s to cricket.
Jananiy is a proven example to the fact that practice makes a person perfect and the basics learnt thoroughly lends charisma to your personality. This little nightingale has released albums too.
Music director Deva in the presence of cine director K.S. Ravikumar released her first album ‘Natha Oli’ in the year 1999. She was barely 7 years old then. Yet, she had sung the nine songs in the album… all by herself.
A phenomenal achievement for a kid from a small town like Cuddalore.
Last year i.e. year 2002 witnessed the launch of Jananiy’s Tamil pop album ‘Poongatru’ with 8 sweet melodies of exceptional quality. Doyens of Tamil film music world
Dr. SPB and ‘Kaviperarasu’ Vairamuthu willingly played significant roles in highlighting the talents of
‘Kutti kuyil’ Jananiy. Singing parallel to Dr.SPB was definitely a dream come true for Jananiy. It was a wonderful experience for her to be associated with them and learn from the tips they willingly gave her; no doubt her confidence level had a booster after this.
As Jananiy sings for various albums, jingles, rhymes and devotional … she hardly finds time for her other interests. She has two more blockbuster albums in the offing.
Over to Jananiy…
How did you get interested in classical music?
My maternal grandpa was a musical genius; a living legend in Sri Lanka and my parents told me he used to donate all the earnings he acquired through concerts to temples.
May be music is in my genes. So, I gained a natural interest in it. I would like to dedicate every thing I earned through music to my grandpa.
What’s special about your music?
I never see or use notes to render a raga or varnam; keen hearing at the time of learning is what I have been following and practicing at the concerts.
Apart from that, I tried out a new raga ‘beshak’ by combining ‘sankarabaranam’ and ‘kalyani’; this is very well received by the audience.
Growing appreciation from the audience motivates me to think about various combinations of ragas. I am sure that I will come out with varieties in the future.
My ambition is to hold the crowd enchanted with my music.
Like to give it a try in ‘play back singing’…
Certainly! Top music directors like A.R. Rahman Sir and Deva Sir have assured me opportunities in their cine projects. Hoping to grab the chances with both my hands.
Any hobbies…
Eat music, Drink music, Sleep music. All work
and no play make me dull. So, I play some cricket too, in between.
About your TV appearances…
Luck has played a vital part in my success story, I think. Not all the talented lot get this much coverage as I have got all these years. For that, I must thank my stars.
I appeared in all the TV channels.
In Sun TV: ‘Sathanai Nayagi’, ‘Malarum Mottum’, ‘Santhippoma’ and ‘Isai Ulagam’.
In Jaya TV: ‘Kid News’, ‘Yugi Sethu’s Darbar’ and ‘Ari-Giri Assembly’.
I have been giving concerts for many of the channels during festivals and have fans all over the world.
AIR, Sri Lanka Radio and KL Radio are the regular broadcasters of my songs from the album ‘Poongatru’
I have also appeared in all the magazines, literally.
The Sabhas and popular NEWS magazines have accorded Jananiy with several titles, like
‘Deiva kulanthai’, ‘Kutty kuyil’, ‘Sangeetha vithagi’ ‘Pattarasi’
and Tamilnadu Government has honored her with ‘Kalai Ilamani’…the list is huge.
Of all the titles, what she valued most is the wholehearted appreciation and blessings she warmly received from the President of India Shri. APJ. Abdul Kalam.
Jananiy has been appreciated and blessed by various Religious Heads, Musical experts, Singers, Music Directors, Scholars, Government officials, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, Political Leaders, District Collectors, Top rated Cine people…
this list is also an endless one.
Let us wish this musical typhoon a wonderful welcome across the globe.
You can mail your wishes to her at jananiysj@yahoo.com.
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