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If music be the food of love…

While listening to Firoz Khan describe a day in his life — which includes going to sleep at 4 am and spending the rest of his waking hours practising his music — one cannot help but think that whoever first compared singers to nightingales, did their research well.

Like the bird, professional singers enjoy flexing their vocal chords at odd times in the night. Some love doing so 24/7. Such is their love for music.

Born and brought up in Delhi, 
India, Firoz gave up his studies after Grade 8 to pursue music. “I studied music from my dadaji (paternal grandfather). My parents were very supportive of my decision to continue singing, for this talent is something that comes from the soul.”

At Holiday Inn’s (Barsha) Gharana restaurant, Firoz entertains diners from 7:30pm to 11:30pm and sometimes midnight. “This has nothing to do with money,” Khan insists. “I do get many offers for other programmes, but I prefer to sing where I am happy.” The 27-year-old singer prefers to sing ghazals over new songs. “Old is gold,” he smiles. “You listen to a new song, you may forget it in three months. But we remember the old songs even today. Though diners do request for all kinds of songs, we get a lot of requests for old songs and ghazals.”

A restaurant singer’s success lies in catching the ‘ears’ of diners who are focused on the food — and enhancing the entire eating experience. The music should complement the food and the ambience, yet have its own soul. That’s exactly what husband and wife duo, Santosh and Jyotsna Mishra, who sing at Aangan in Dhow Palace Hotel, have mastered. “We have diners of all nationalities and they appreciate our music,” says Santosh. The pair first came to Dubai in 1986 — a time when indoor entertainment in hotels was still relatively unheard of. “We were the first couple to start the trend of singing in restaurants in Dubai,” says Santosh. “Back then, we got an offer to start singing at the Thanjavur restaurant (now, Mughal Room restaurant) and within a week’s time, we became popular.”

Born in Bihar, Santosh left home at the age of 21 to pursue his love for music. “My dad was a chartered accountant. I used to come home late at least twice or thrice a week after shows. My father used to get angry,” recalls Santosh. His wife, on the other hand, had it relatively easy. Her father, who worked for the Ministry of Defence, was a lover of music and her family was filled with promising singers. The couple met while doing stage shows and decided to tie the knot in 1976. Apart from singing at the restaurant, Santosh enjoys composing music. In fact, the two have many albums to their credit.

Didn’t the golden world of Bollywood ever beckon him? “Well, I was married by then and I didn’t want to go to Mumbai and struggle. Today’s established stars all struggled at one point. You have to meet many music directors before you can sing a song in a movie. Alka Yagnik (a popular Bollywood singer) started out by singing a song that was supposed to be sung by Lata Mangeshkar, who was not in town.” Probe him about his source of information and he says, “I have contacts in the music industry,” with a twinkle in his eye.

Santosh and Jyotsna lead a very nocturnal life. After their show, they reach home by 2am. Santosh wakes up by 9am while Jyotsna wakes up by 11am. The rest of the day is spent watching TV, cooking, practising and going through their notebooks that have the 
lyrics of almost 10,000 songs. This, they explain, never affected their parental duties while bringing their children up. “I used to sleep only at 6am when the kids were in school,” says Jyotsna. And 
even if they do squabble, it’s usually over music. “But we never carry a 
quarrel to the restaurant,” she smiles. “As soon as we start singing here, we forget everything.”

“Restaurant singing is very difficult. For instance, in one family you might have a grandfather who might want to listen to an old ghazal, his son might want to listen to Mohammed 
Rafi’s song and his grandson might want to listen to All is Well from 3 Idiots!” laughs Santosh.

Cajetan akka CAJY, who now sings at Casa Goa, Palm Beach Hotel, was brought up on a staple diet of ABBA and John Denver’s music. A self-taught guitarist, Cajetan dabbled in sales 
before deciding to focus on singing. “Here, I usually sing jazz, pop, reggae and so on. I sing according to the pulse of the audience.”

“The one thing that I miss is having a social life. Weekends are a busy 
time. So, there is no party time for me,” he laughs. “I spend my weekends entertaining others.”

Among many other distinctions, Mehboob Ali, who sings at Rasoi in Coral Deira Hotel, was a Sa Re Ga Ma mega finalist in the year 1996. Today, he is also the director of the Mohd Sajjad Ali Memorial Academy, which he established in Kanpur in the year 2006 in the memory of his deceased brother (who was a Sa Re Ga Ma co-finalist with him, but is now no more. The school rears budding musicians. “There is a lot of talent here in Dubai but there are no good opportunities here for them. I was offered to sing in a club, but I did not pick it up as I feel that a singer will not get the actual respect that he deserves in a nightclub. At the restaurant, people should enjoy the food with the music — not just the music or just the food.”

Farha Warsi and Rukkam Thapa aka ‘Rocky’ sing at Qureshi’s Kebab and Kurry restaurant at The Country Club Hotel. Originally from Uttar Pradesh, Farhan tried her luck in Bollywood. “I was promised songs by music directors Jatin-Lalit. But because of a family emergency, I had to go back home.”

“During stage programmes, costume, makeup, the dance troupe are given more importance — in fact, even more than the song,” explains Rocky, originally from Dehradun. “Here, you don’t have to go anywhere, while if performing for stage shows, you have to wake up early and go from one place to another for practise,” points out Farha.

Recalling some of their goof-ups while performing, Rocky and Farha burst out laughing. “There have been many times when I have forgotten my lines. When a diner speaks loudly or enters the restaurant my attention might get diverted,” smiles Rocky. “And then I start singing instead of him,” grins Farha.

anu@khaleejtimes.com