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The immigrant experience
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In the dream land of techies, a software engineer from Chennai translates his life as an NRI into a music album
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A DESI SOFTIE SINGS Srikanth Devarajan (Inset) Lines from H1B
When software engineer Srikanth Devarajan stepped into Minneapolis in the United States, he was welcomed by 17 inches of snow. And life was as hard as anywhere. Once there, he lived the immigrant experience — by day Srikanth was among the thousands of H1 worker bees buzzing in the land of opportunities. In the evening, he tuned in to his musical side.
Over the years, his twin passions merged. He is now out with an album about the life of H1B visa holders. Titled H1 Bees, the seven numbers in the album (five in Tamil and one each in Hindi and English) talk about everything from the desire to earn in dollars to the interview at the consulate to what life becomes once he and his wife, Jayashree, landed there.
A message too
Srikanth's album seeks to debunk a few notions: That life as an NRI softie is bliss. The album also has a message for Indians. "NRIs are not mere filthy rich people who have ditched India. Life here is something different and also difficult at times. The album expresses the H1B's plight with humour," he says.
Srikanth was into music even as a child. But it was his mentor, music director Mani Sharma, who boosted his interest. "Music directors like A. R. Rahman were another inspiration ... . He opened up the industry to everyone and gave hope to persons like me," says Srikanth, who has also scored music for short films.
He manages to take time off from a demanding job to keep his music alive. "With a day job that drives me nuts at times, music keeps me balanced. Today, I spend at least one hour every day composing or recording something in my state-of-the-art studio," he says, referring to Studio 1234.
Family support matters too.
His wife and daughter Sriya have encouraged him in this venture.
How this team came together is interesting. Srikanth had released an album, Mahaakavi, featuring S.P. Balasubramaniam and other leading singers, and was searching for local talent (U.S.) for his next one when he met Kartikwho sang and played the guitar. "From there, it just happened. He put me on to other people. ... I release singles (songs) on my website (www.srikanthd.com) regularly. Alisha sings for me and she was an automatic add. Other singers were reached using contacts."
Ask him if the album seeks to break the monotony of their lives in the U.S. and he agrees. "Yes. I also wanted to say a few things. That H1Bs are not mere labourers; we do have other talents."
The songs perfectly reflect the journey of an Indian engineering graduate after entering the job market. The first, H1B, talks about an average desi who works 9-9, six days a week and wants to change his life. "He discovers that getting an H1B visa can do that. He goes after it and tells his story. Or, our — mine, Kartik's and Vatsa's (Srivatsa Srinivasan - producer) — story."
Srikanth has also derived inspiration from the famous song of yesteryear: Varavu Ettana, Selavu Pathana from K. Balachander's Bama Vijayam. The song about the body shop and the green card, Dollar Income, is a modern-day take on the original. "I reworked it to match U.S. situations. People back home assume every NRI is rich; actually, it is not true and this song explains the assumption laced with humour. It also talks about our exploitation by the body shoppers."
Once there, the first thing a softie experiences is culture change. Can anything get better than Bharathiyar's Thikku theriyadha kaatil to express this? So, all he did was set it to music to explain the culture change, shock and beauty of this land. The songs fall in a genre that he calls curry rock — a pseudo fusion between Western and Eastern. The team has a bunch of talented players.
Srikanth is an 8th-grade piano player and all vocalists — Kartik, Alisha, Usha, Ramesh and Swathi — are well trained in classical music.
Proud Indian
How long did it take to write and compose this album? "Eight months plus 10 years."
Srikanth is proud of his Indian education (It gave me the survival strength that I am currently putting to good use) but admits that it would have not been possible to own a studio and release albums if he had been in Chennai. "In India, the priorities are totally different."
Despite making a song and an album about the `difficult' life of an H1B, Srikanth is not sure if he will shift to India. "I really have no plans; my daughter, who is now five, is an American citizen; so it is a million dollar question ... I don't want to really propose anything now."
SUBHA J RAO
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