Friday, September 22, 2006
A GOLDEN VOICE...
Most of us spend a lifetime searching for a vocation, which gives us joy, contentment and fulfillment, and blessed are the few who find it. Yet fewer muster up the courage or whatever else it takes to pursue such an ideal and a handful truly manage to take these vocations to fruition of any kind. And in today’s world , more than any other time, the sagely Paul Getty with “Success is what we achieve, when we don’t find something noble to fail at” sounds precariously close to the Truth.
Earlier this month, Sona ( nee Mohapatra ) released her eponymous album amidst unexpected media coverage and fanfare ( Unexpected, for me , that is !). She featured prominently on music channels and most of them plug the title track titled “Bolo na” which sounds like a New Gen track with a simple storyline.
She went to the same B-school as I did and I am pleased as punch for her. Her heart was always in singing and she basically ensured that in all Inter-school competitions the Oh-so-precious Trump Card was for her musical prowess and not for her vaunted Literary/Business/Case Study talents. Happily enough I don’t recall an instance of either party not winning ! She always found time for Marketing- her specialization and managed to finish a very creditable third in a very decent batch. More than her academic achievements, I found her extremely passionate about Marketing and easily among the most committed persons that I have ever come across. Her eloquence and confidence ensured that we never managed a single point of agreement but I always respected her point of view ( She saw to that, I guess !)
My sister and I were arguing over that as she felt that a career in music after all these years somehow negated the assiduous efforts put in to master Business Management while I averred that while anybody can become Brand Manager of India’s Best Known Haircare Brand, which Sona was when she quit a corporate career, it may require something special in a field as dangerously competitive as singing. I am undecided but my experience of matinee idols making a meal of their two-bit “phoren” scrap, models yodeling about non-existent sporting prowess and damsels squealing about their banking and consulting careers emboldens me into thinking that hers is an achievement to cherish, no matter how many CDs or tapes are sold .
