Even today, in India, from where I hail, one can come across the occasional singer, a singing bard with his ektara (the one-stringed musical instrument) and his begging bowl, singing across the far flung areas of different states. In my case, the begging bowl, my dear friends, is my heart for you!

From the beginning till today, the pure-bred minstrels belonging to this once-thriving-now-dying tribe have passed down thousands of immaculate lyrical pieces of music – yielding to their emotions, sensibilities and devotion. Apart from the droning instrument, ektara, other commonly used musical instruments included: small cymbals called kartal, bansure or a dugi drum.

Now coming to the part of: Why I want to sing without the mike… I think, it is more suitable to say: in the present tense, I want to be in a position of those singing minstrels who set off for their performances without the access of any music systems or mikes. Sharing this idea, itself, offers me a sort of detachment, then swirls me into a mood of a flowing tranquil river. No matter how much a music system can do; no matter how well the mike has found its way – in my wisdom or folly, I find a perfect equilibrium in freeing myself from such apparatuses.

The same is true using up the merits of a selective audience used to matching similarities of ‘natural’ sound and space. And the answer to the question of how I perform – I am always trying to improve my programme. To get the correct response, I make sure that my audience (Indian/International) understands what I am trying to tell them from my heart.