Ticket inspector turns Ghazal singer

KOCHI: Shuttling in trains all around South India hasn’t derailed the course of music deeply ingrained in his heart. Raghuram Krishnan, the railway ticket inspector from Ernakulam, is a busy Ghazal singer in spite of his hectic job schedule. Now settled in Gandhinagar, Kadavanthra, Raghuram chose to differ from the majority who take up music as a window to the world of glitz and glamour.Starting with a small Hindustani portion of a ‘tharaajalam’ song in the movie ‘Minnaminnikkoottam’, Raghuram has some exciting projects in his kitty, including one in Kannada and the soon-to-be released Malayalm flick ‘Hero’.Raghuram, 40, was influenced and guided by his mother K Soubhagyavathi, an artist of  the All-India Radio.  He started learning Carnatic music at the age  of 5 and mrudangam at 7. Raghuram always showed a great aptitude for music and ended up taking part in several competitions throughout his school days. He also won a scholarship for ‘mrudangam’ from the Centre for Cultural Reaserch and Training (CCRT). But the big influence in his singing career came after listening to singer Hariharan’s Ghazal album ‘Reflection’ when he was 13. It infused fresh energy and life into his passion.Till then he was going through a trying phase. Many of the films he had sung for were showing no signs of releasing. He also had an ideological difference with his mother, herself a well-trained singer in classical music who always aspired that her son should be a Carnatic musician. As of today, he has conducted close to 100 programmes, including mehfils. His best critics are his mother and his wife Reshmi who also shares his interest in music. Raghuram, who rates Hariharan above all musicians is an ardent fan of Mehdi Hassan, Gulam Ali and Umbai.  Raghu cherishes the moment when Hariharan personally invited him to Mumbai to be his disciple after being overwhelmed by Raghuram’s live concert in Kochi.