Soundaryalahari is proud to present the Bhajanalahari CD set – a collection of Bhajans sung by Srinivas Bala and an all-women chorus, produced by Satish Bhat, music director and vocalist for a light music group in the Boston area called Lahari. The CD set has a total of 16 Bhajans - simple soulful melodies sung by Srinivas Bala, which bring out the devotional fervor in each of us. The best part about the whole thing is that most of the Bhajans are written, composed and sung by Srinivas Bala. Exquisite melodies set to transcendental vibrations, Bhajanalahari is a genuine attempt to awaken and advance the spiritual consciousness lying dormant in each of us.

A passionate music lover, writer and composer of devotional songs, Srinivas Bala first started singing bhajans a couple of years ago basically to introduce his two sons - 10 and 5 years old, who were born in this country, to our religion and our concept of prayers . He and his wife Padmaja Bala are instrumental in creating the Balalahari wing of Soundaryalahari to encourage our kids to learn new things about our culture, our religion, our values and our history. Children are taught Slokas, Bhajans, and Hindu mythological stories. Srinivas Bala’s Bhajans are a regular feature at the weekly Satsangs of Soundaryalahari held every Friday at Sadhu Vaswani Center, Dracut, and at all the community festivals organized by Soundaryalahari. When asked what inspires him, Srinivas Bala humbly states, “I honestly believe in the age-old saying by none other than Lord Vishnu saying “Naahum vasaami VaikunTe, na yogi hridayE ravau, madbhaktaah yatra gaayanti, tatra tishTaami naaradaa!” which means “Hey Narada! I do not reside in the Celestial abode of VaikunTa nor do I reside in the hearts of yogis, but I reside where ever my devotees sing in my praise!” I thought to myself – ‘What better way to worship the Lord, can I think of, to teach my Balalahari kids, than to let them sing in the Lord’s praise!’.If Goddess Mother has given me the so-called gift of being able to sing, perhaps this is one little way this squirrel can contribute to a good cause. Goddess Mother’s divine blessings, Gurukripa and the sincere efforts by all the friends who supported this cause , made this an achievable goal.”

The man who is behind the release of the CD set, the producer, Satish Bhat, his wife Sumana Bhat, and his two kids aged 7 and 3, are very actively involved in singing Bhajans as part of a local Bhajan group in the Boston area. A great music lover who plays multiple musical instruments, Satish is passionate about sound engineering and editing. Over the last few years, Satish has been dabbling around with MIDI and audio recording in his home studio. The songs on the two CD's were recorded in two sessions that spanned several months. For the first session, Satish played all the accompanying instruments himself – the Tabla, keyboard, and the cymbals, and recorded the accompaniment for those songs track by track. The second session was relatively very easy for the group had the benefit of having talented musicians like LeSantha Naidoo, sophomore in Umass Amherst, playing the keyboard, and Rajesh Pai working his magic on the tabla. The accompaniment really came together to support Srinivas Bala's and the accompanying vocalists' richness of voice. When asked to comment on his maiden venture, Satish exuberantly states, “When I heard about Srinivas Bala's powerful and captivating voice and the opportunity to actually be involved in the "production" of this Bhajan CD set, I pounced on that opportunity. I enjoyed every minute of my maiden venture. I am confident you will enjoy these original Bhajan songs created from deep within his soul by Srinivas Bala with a genuine sense of devotion to the Almighty. This signature to his music is what inspired me to take on this project. I sincerely hope these songs will resonate for many years to come in the homes of every inspired devotee and in Satsangs the world over!”

Bhajanalahari CD set is priced at $20 and is available at the Soundaryalahari booth at the Hindu Heritage Day celebrations at Waltham High School this Saturday, May 22, 2004. The CDs could also be ordered by sending an email to sbala11@yahoo.com.

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