90s Kid’s Superstars: Shankar Mahadevan

Rock music and international bands attract lot of 90s kids. These days their concerts are in trend. Lot of international singers and bands are organising concerts in India and 90s kids are responding to them pretty well. Dancing on the tunes international singers and rock music for a night is a good fun. They come, they entertain us for some time, we dance on their tunes, we cherish them for few days but after that they just go away from our life. It’s bollywood music which bring emotions out of a 90s kid. Indian singers touch 90s kids’ soul with their art of singing. Touching our soul is in the blood of some Indian singers. India is a land which produce such singers in every generation. In our generation as well, there are few prominent singers but one singer is BAAP of all of them.

*Tujhe sab hai pataa, hai na maa* This song brought tears in the eyes of every Indian. Yes, I am talking about Shankar Mahadevan. Shankar Mahadevan’s first album was breathless. Title track of that album was sung in a single breath by Shankar Mahadevan. Forget singing, one can’t even read lyrics of that song in one breath. It should have came out with disclaimer like Breathless – Don’t try this at home. Shankar Mahadevan learned classical and carnatic music in his childhood. He started playing veena at the age of five. Soon after breathless, he started composing music. He along with Ehsaan and Loy has composed lot of songs. Their first composition was Hindustani. Even today, that song fill every Indian with pride and patriotism. It is not that Shankar Mahadevan has only sung those songs which he composes himself. He has sung in many A. R. Rahman films.

Shankar Mahadevan possess the art of striking the right emotion through his singing. With ‘Hindustani‘, he makes us feel patriotic and proud of being an Indian. With ‘Maa’, he makes us cry by showing the bond of a child and a mother. With Lakshya‘s title track, he ignites the fire in us to achieve our goals. With Dil Chahta Hai‘s title track, he helps us celebrate friendship. With ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom‘, he makes us dance. With ‘Sau Aasoon‘, he helps us express our heart break. With ‘Breathless’, he shows us how good he is. And like Breathless, this list is endless. All these songs are his solo songs. He has given his voice to N number of songs and have made them a huge hit.

Shankar Mahadevan began his career in 90s and being a 90s kid, I have grown up listening to his songs and music. Thus, the connection is direct. He sings every song as if he owns it. Those who have heard him sing ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ and ‘Mitwa’ in concerts and shows knows that how well he sings them. It feels like he owns these songs, it is just that he has allowed other singers to sing those in the movies. It shows how good he is as a singer. He has won many awards. And those awards proves his excellency in his job. He is one of the most respectable singers in the industry. Every other singer in the industry only praise him. He has earned this praise and respect through his work. In all of his interviews and shows, he has said that his only aim through out his career has been to attain the excellence in what he is doing.

Not only he is a good singer or a good musician, he is a great human being as well. He is one of the most humble and down to earth persons you will ever know. It is very rare to find these qualities together. That is why he is a legend. In 2011, Shankar Mahadevan opened his own academy along with his classmate. His academy offers over 300 courses and it has delivered over 51000 virtual classes. Shankar Mahadevan academy is transforming the way music is taught across the world. He is a software engineer so an online music school is not a big thing for him. He through his work has given the message of focus on what you are doing, regular practice and preservance can do the wonders. As a 90s kid, I salute this truly inspiring superstar.