Page 28 - The score

SHREYA BOSE

The passing

of a quiet

goddess.

Jayashree Singh

(From always till forever)

On a winter evening ( I do not remember the date) I was secret identities and unspoken history. At her time, she
sitting at a restaurant somewhere in South Kolkata was a woman fronting two rock bands with inimitable
when in walked Amyt Datta and Jivraj Singh. They sounds. She was the very definition of a woman who was
were accompanied by a woman with an elegant coif writing her own story.
of silvery hair to whose presence I was unaware. I had
just discovered Singh and Datta through their album Her sentimentality was without any flamboyance, but
“Ambience de Danse”, reviewed it and chalked myself up you could never mistake her for someone who held
to a superfan of the duo. anything back. I watched her live at Sienna Cafe : her
way of being was just that of great conviction. She sat
The friend I was sitting with and giggling to about the back and sang her piece with unconcerned enigma on
two men at the table beside us rolled his eyes at me. He her face. Watching her, I had the feeling that she knew
was personally offended that my schoolgirl-ardour did exactly how incredible she was to the rest of us, and
not extend to their dinner companion. “That’s Jayashree didn’t really care.
Singh. From PINKNOISE. Skinny Alley?” I had no clue
what these words meant. In particular, it was Skinny Alley’s debut album “Escape
The Roar” that gave us the image of the quintessential
“Who let you write about music, man?” He asked, the female rocker. Outside of Usha Uthup, I hadn’t heard
very image of exasperation. any Indian female vocalists in India doing a rock n roll
croon and then shooting straight up into bass-heavy
I came back home, found PINKNOISE on Bandcamp and confrontation. She kept pace with those unpredictable
realised why he was annoyed with me. Jayashree Singh’s guitars and drums, and eventually ended up giving them
voice was a protean thing, a changeling that shifted direction.
skin and character like that. She went from seductive
to fearsome to sardonic to challenging to zen in seconds. What always charmed me was that despite her
The music itself was so unashamedly experimental, musicmanship, what defined her was her kindness.
something I had not yet started to expect from Kolkata. Jayashree Singh was known for being a beacon and
mentor to musicians in Kolkata. So many of the artists
I’ve been listening to both PINKNOISE and Skinny Alley’s I have spoken have told me how generous she was
existing repertoire endlessly ever since. Even though with advice, affection and encouragement. Everyone
there isn’t too much material, you couldn’t get bored. gravitated to her easy kindness and her expansive
These pleasantly mad scientists of sound kept things artistry, both personally and musically.
ceaselessly fun, and were flagshipped by Jayashreedi.
In an era of cover bands, her voice was one of those that Her passing is an irrevocable loss. No one can pretend
gave identity to original rock music in this country. otherwise. We’ve lost much of what created that Calcutta
post-colonial phonetic magic. We’ve lost a voice that
She had been trained in Carnatic music, but found her
avatar when she found her mentor, the original diva made nights come to life and filled them with one heady
rush after another. But make no mistake, the stars are
of Calcutta - Pam Crain. Her voice conveyed a sense of
rushing for front-row seats to her great gigs in the sky.

26 The Score Magazine
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