Albums

Apart from being, possibly, the most popular Mantra, its album is somewhat historic. The music company Times Music was launched with this album. It went on to create a popularity record of sorts – 750,000 copies soon upon being published! It was also my first recording for a major label. Later, Gayatri went into more researched versions.

पूजा-प्रार्थना यानी साधना एवं समर्पण। यह कहना अतिशयोक्ति न होगी कि टाइम्स म्यूज़िक ने अपनी अधिकतर ओडियो शृंखला भक्ति को समर्पित कर दी है। इस प्रस्तुति का तात्पर्य है कि साधना ही समाधान है। मेरा इससे जुड़ना केवल एक सुखद संयोग है।

The Bhaktamar Stotra is a revered Jain prayer composed by Acharya Manatunga. It consists of 48 Sanskrit verses praising the first Tirthankara, Lord Adinath (Rishabhanatha). It is believed to bestow spiritual and material benefits on its reciters.

This recording for me was a welcome departure from a series of spiritual albums. It’s a brief sketch of the Gandhi philosophy, without having to go through the labour of reading his biography. This album was published as a part of the 150th anniversary archives.

An extraordinary aspect of the Gita is that it is not a set of commands. It is a guide to the art of living that you might consider imbibing. No compulsion, no coercion. This was my approximately fifth outing recording the Gita. Recording with ‘Baluji’ – that was what the humble legend SP Balasubrahmanyam was fondly called – was a…