Songs of the Soul

Eight million (and counting) is the number of hits her song Tumhi Ho Bandhu from the film Cocktail, has got on YouTube. Not long ago, the soft melodious number, Iktara, from Wake Up Sid, had everyone tuning in for more. So did Mora Piya from the film Raajneeti. The songs have a voice that pulls at the strings of the heart and soul and penetrates deep within. That's Kavita Seth's voice. As she stops by town to talk about her latest album Ek Din, the singer opens up about life, its challenges, the sudden death of her husband nine months ago and how music has been her saviour and healer.

"Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a singer and that dream was given wings when music director OP Nayyar heard me at a college function in Bareilly," says Kavita, laughing at memories of how her parents dismissed Nayyar's offer for her to go to Mumbai. "My mother said 'get married and then do whatever your husband says,"' says Kavita.

She was 20 when she tied with knot with KK Seth, and "he said yes after he heard me sing". "That was the turning point of my life, for my husband did everything he could to help me in my music career. He would take me to concerts, festivals, shows, look after the kids and handle a lot of responsibility," says Kavita, her voice trailing off.

"After a short while in Assam, we moved to Delhi and then Mumbai. It was after marriage that I pursued MA in Hindi literature and music, all because of the Seth family," says Kavita, whose first playback was for Satish Kaushik's film Waada. Initially, Kavita was nervous, especially with the "ugly rumours about the big bad industry". "My music is my prayer. I stay away from double meaning item songs. For me, music is Sufism, spiritualism, and I choose songs that have poetry in them, that are penned with certain degree of depth and sensibility," she says.

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