Singer Kavita Krishnamurthy has always managed to mesmerise us with her soulful voice for more than four decades. The Bole Chudiyan singer has lent her voice to some melodious tracks in Bollywood and has been performing live with her husband, L Subramaniam, and children, Ambi Subramaniam and Bindu Subramaniam, in different countries around the world.

Not many people are aware that my first recorded song was in Bengali with the legendary Lata Mangeshkar under the tutelage of music director Hemanth Kumar. This was in 1971, and I believe, since then Lata didi has been blessing me. I have told her that she is my lucky mascot and it was her blessings and love that has made my journey possible. I have been in the industry for 45 years and I am in no rat race. I have sung some really great songs and want to continue doing so. But I don’t want to be a part of projects that have seven singers singing one song, and then only one getting picked. My journey is about improving myself and not being competitive.

I still get anxious before going on stage and for me every programme is like an exam. You know, a legend like Lataji also shared that she, too, gets nervous before a performance. I remember, my husband once told me, ‘Just say your Ganpati Shloka before you start. Ganpati is your best friend in life, think of him and start’. Trust me, this has been my strength, ever since.

My husband is the main artistic director, but we all pitch in during concerts. I have a Bollywood background, my daughter, Bindu is an English songwriter and son, Ambi is a violinist. My grandaughter, Mahati, has also accompanied us at the concerts. When we meet at the dinner table, we do have our arguments and creative differences. There are some artistes my kids like and my husband doesn’t. However, music is our unifying factor, it binds us all. My husband provides me with a lot of strength and his favourite song of mine is Nimbooda, he says that it is a very difficult song and is proud of me.