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Bombay Jayashri: Goddess of Lullabies
Aruna HarjaniOscar nominee Bombay Jayashri walks down the semi-winding staircase in a neatly tucked blue sari
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Aruna Harjani
Oscar nominee Bombay Jayashri walks down the semi-winding staircase in a neatly tucked blue sari. Being introduced as the singer of the song in the movie Life of Pi, her big eyes, enhanced by a red tilk between them, widens at the introduction.
One could hardly guess that Bombay Jayashri, a soft-spoken woman, was nominated for the best song at the Oscar's award in 2013.
Jayashri did not have to go to a music school like her Western counterparts would have had to do in her place.
'I grew up in a family where everybody loved music,' she said.
Jayashri's parents were music teachers who allowed music lovers to walk in and out of the house from morning until evening. Music was the language spoken in Jayashri's home. 'There was hardly any conversation in our house. There was more music.'
Jayashri recalled her earlier days at home listening to discussions about great composers and compositions and an exchange of ideas on music.
She acquired her knowledge of music by listening to it every day from various musicians right inside her own home.
She attended school just like every girl in India.
'My mother had this dream that I should sing but not necessarily professionally but just for the sake of learning, so she pushed me into singing in small religious events.'
Jayashri added that in India there were many opportunities to sing in festivals, which gave her first hand experiences.
'In India, the culture is different. You don't have to go to a music school to become a musician, unlike in Western countries where you need to study before becoming one. It is cultural heritage in India, where music is a way of life.'
Jayashri did not plan to become a singer when she was young.
'I just learned to sing, enjoy and feel music,' she said, adding that her mother, who noticed her talent, sent her to different music gurus to learn. 'I was told to study music with great musicians so I could learn good values.'
When it was time to go to college, Jayashri, a Tamil, enrolled like every student in India although she was not rigid in her pursuance of a degree.
'I was busy with many small performances so I didn't take the exams that were required. I was very fortunate to be encouraged by the college to do whatever I wanted.'
After college she studied with Lalgudi Jayaraman, a renowned violinist in India, for three years.
'One day he told me to take my singing seriously and make it my life. He didn't even say to take it as my career. He asked me to do it like worship, like a puja [prayer],' she recalled.
Jayaraman told Jayashri to focus all of her energy on her singing. 'Lalgudi was the teacher who made me completely believe in myself,' she said.
Jayashri heeded her master's advice. She continued singing in events and recorded songs and lullabies that were uploaded to YouTube, which led to her 'discovery'.
When the movie Life of Pi was in production, the musical director, Mychael Danna, went on a search for someone, particularly from India, to sing a particular song for the movie.
The main character in the movie is a Tamil boy named Pi and Danna came across Jayashri's lullabies on the Internet. Together with a team, she helped create a lullaby and wrote the lyrics of the song while Danna composed the tune.
When the song received its nomination in 2013, Jayashri attended the Oscar Awards ceremony. She was nervous and excited to see so many stars climb on to the stage.
'I didn't know what was happening. Everyone was looking at me just because I sang out of sheer joy.'
Jayashri together with Ronu Majumdar, a well known flutist, was recently invited by the India Club in collaboration with the Sahabat India Festival to perform at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Jakarta.
On stage, Jayashri turned into a captivating Carnatic musician who conquered the audience and kept them glued to their seats for two hours.
The Carnatic classical music of India is a mixture of a musical pitch (sruti), the sound of a single note (swara), melodic mode (raga) and rhythmic cycles (tala)
Jayashri uses her talent not only for entertainment purposes but also for charitable projects. In 2013, she organized a project for autistic children, believing that music could help soothe autistic children through the repetition of words.
'At one point in my life I had the hope of learning to become a good classical singer. Today, that same hope embeds my desire to help heal autistic children through my voice.'
