Rooted to croon

"BAMMA GARITO matuku Telugu, intlo migita andharito English," says this true blue Telugu Senorita. As if to prove that she's no greenhorn when it comes to `gongura' and `godhuli vela', she switches to a Thyagaraja keertana with elan, `Nannu brovamani intha tamasama...'

The voice sets sailing and soars like a `pari'. It has to for she is the `pari' girl, Suneeta Rao. "I wish my father was here today. He's unwell and couldn't join me," she says, sadness in her voice. "It was his dream to see me perform at Vijayawada which is close to his home town, Bapatla," she explains. Suneeta Rao is slated to perform in the business capital of Andhra Pradesh this week.

"I'm really excited. It's just a few hours drive from here," she tells the men from the Seagrams stable who organised the 13-city tour of hers along with Punjabi singer, Jasbir Jassi, of `Dil le gayee kuri Gujarat di...' fame. "I can't explain the kind of warmth I experience on stepping foot in Telugu land. My roots are here," she says. Proficient in Carnatic music - "that's my real foundation" - and pop music - "it's my identity", Suneeta Rao says. The amalgamation of both makes her singing talent. What does she love the most, Carnatic or her Indipop? "It's like asking whether I love my father or sister the most," she complains. "My sole passion is music. I listen to M.S. Subbulakshmi and also Billy Joel," says the uptown girl born in Germany and settled in Mumbai.

Indipop, she insists, is here to stay. "As long as there are people, popular music will survive. There's a lot of unexploited singing talent in the country and some of it is showing up slowly now," she says. What about forays into Telugu songs? "I've been trying to bring out one album," says Suneeta, who has lent her voice for several Telugu jingles not to forget Bollywood and a Tamil movie, `May Madham,' to tunes composed by A.R. Rehman. There haven't been any `concrete offers' from Telugu filmmakers though whose penchant for non-Telugu singers was never so dominant as it is today. But, Suneeta is a Telugu girl, ain't it?

For now, she is bracing up for a fitting finale to the Royal Stag nationwide tour at Vijayawada to realise her father's dream!

By K.V.S. Madhav

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