Sound of Silence

Everything is set for the first day of the Rama Navami celebrations at Karnataka’s Bidaram Krishnappa Rama Mandira, with Rajkumar Bharathi’s concert getting the top billing. Rajkumar begins with the traditional Hamsadwani. Soon, rasikas are immersed in the melody of the enchanting voice, the perfect combination of swaras, ragas and the bhakti of the lyrics.

But on the dais, Rajkumar is uneasy. His voice is getting ‘chopped’ on and off, and he is unable to raise the pitch. He even feels like stopping the concert midway. But braves on and contains the damage quickly, without the audience or accompanying artists getting an inkling of his trouble. Or, so he thinks!

He steps down from the dais to a standing ovation. All seems well until a middle-aged man asks him, “Sir, why did your voice change?” Rajkumar feels utterly exposed.

Then begins a long, arduous struggle for one of the most revered singers of the times.

How did Rajkumar brave the difficult times? How did the music world react to it? How did he retune himself to become a maker of music?

Asha Krishnakumar addresses these questions in Sound of Silence, after interviewing nearly hundred close associates of the legend.