‘Happy to sing on trains’

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I was born and brought up by poor parents who couldn’t provide me and my other siblings’ proper education, clothes and daily meals. My father has two wives, but there are no hard feelings in the family. I adore my stepmother and her children because we all live together. I have one brother and two half-siblings. Singing happened out of desperate situation.

My brothers and I decided to fend for the family; they work as junior artistes in films and I sing in local trains. I know how the entire railway profession in terms as begging, singing and vending operates. We have to pay hafta to the cops. If we don’t, they confiscate our belongings. They will keep my dafli (tambourine) and won’t release it till I give them the weekly money. They charge us anything between Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000. For people like us who survive hand to mouth it’s difficult to raise that kind of money.
My family has lived on railway platforms for years. The cops would ask us to move from one platform to another in the middle of the night. They would ask us to pay them for sleeping on the platforms and cooking on the roads. Earlier, we use to live at Dombivali station but now we have moved to the slums in the suburbs.
Boys aren’t troubled much by the commuters in the trains but girls have to face a lot of problem. For a long time, I didn’t know why men would scribble their phone numbers and addresses and give them to me. It was around last year when my brother explained it to me. Now I stay away from people. I just stick to my singing. I’m wary of making any conversation with people I meet on the train.
I use to get many compliments when I’d sing in the trains. A lot of people from the industry, such as assistant musicians and unit members travel in trains daily and would tell me that I have a good voice. But no one offered work. Most people would just give Rs 2 to Rs 10 maximum because they thought I was a good singer. My daily income would be approximately Rs 100. But a chance meeting with Sneha Khanwalkar gave my life a new dimension.
I have no idea why she chose me for the song in Gangs Of Wasseypur. For a long time I didn’t even know that the song that I had sung for Sneha in a studio was for a film. I hadn’t seen a recording studio in my life. Yes, I felt awkward and intimidated. I’m not pretty like the girls in the glamour world; I don’t have the clothes like them and above all, being of Andhra origin I can’t talk Hindi or English.
I understand Hindi but I can’t speak the language fluently. So, communication is a big problem. I’m told that Dil Chi Chaa Leather is a big hit. I don’t know how to react to it. I just smile. They ask me about Anurag Kashyap, lekin wo kaun hai? Mere ko nahi maalum (I don’t know who he is). A lot of people sympathise with me. They ask me if I want to go to school and get a proper education. Honestly, I have no intention of going to school or studying.
I’m happy the way I am. Yes, I want good clothes and shoes but that I can buy from the money I’ll make if I do well in life. I’m confident about my singing and I’m sure that it’s Saraswati maa who’ll help me live a stable life. It’s too late to go to school.
I’ve been signed by a music agency called Phat Phish. They have promised to provide me formal training in singing and help me release an album. I do feel blessed. I was fortunate to meet the right people at the right time. All this sounds good but at he end of the day when I go back home, it’s a one kholi where seven people live together. Vegetables and pulses are so expensive, I can’t get enough food for my family So I have to continue singing in local trains.
That’s where I get my bread and butter. Like me, even my parents are uneducated and don’t have a decent job. My brothers pay the rent of the kholi and I take care of grocery. There are days when there isn’t much food but no one complains. We are used to living like this. God sent Sneha didi in my life, I’ve got some recognition but I still have to struggle to make ends meet. I still worry about what tomorrow has in store for us. I’m told that in this industry one hit song can take you to golden heights. But no music director or singer has sent me a note of appreciation or offered me any work. No, I’ve never heard of A.R Rahman, Lata Mangeshkar or Sunidhi Chauhan. I know a few actors by their faces. But I don’t have any favourites because I’ve never watched a film. I can’t afford to buy a ticket to watch a film. But I do hope that like them even I’ll be successful someday.
But, I’m in no hurry; I rehearse in the trains to achieve perfection. I know someday someone will give me the big platform and I’ll become a big name. I want my father and both my mothers to live a comfortable life and to that end, I will work tirelessly.