‘Carols and I have been inseparable’

Chennai

Carols and you go back a long way. How did it start?   

I have my singing roots in gospel music. Being associated with carol singing from a very young age, I was a mascot for the choir groups my mom, a classical pianist, was associated with. I used to accompany them with the collection box in my hand because I was too small to be part of the group.

Tell us a little about your rendition of ‘O Holy Night’?  

I added a little prelude to the carol. It goes like ‘There is love that we share around Christmas…’ It was nice to see that it was picked up and posted on the Twitter page, where other versions by artistes like Mariah Carey and Celine Dion are shared. The other one straight off the board is ‘Have Yourself a Very Merry Little Christmas’.

What has this Christmas  been like?

Christmas is always special and given the floods this year, most of us have chosen charity as a form of celebration. It is also nice to see non-Christians attending the midnight mass in the city.  Till about five years ago, I performed at a charity concert during the festival. It was a regular programme for eight years. I had to stop it due to unforeseen problems.