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NRI Tabla Girl
First NRI (South Asian) to bag a contract with Hollywood Records


Tina Sugandh.

Tabla Girl, Tina Sugandh. A Biology major from Rutgers, she is the first South Asian to bag a contract with Hollywood Records. The Bombay-born belle is now settled in the US.


Growing up in New Jersey (her parents moved from Bombay when she was five months old), NRI, Tina Sugandh was immersed in music. Naturally gifted with an enchanting voice, Geeta, the matriarch of her close-knit family sang on the radio and at various functions (when she wasn't carrying out her responsibilities as a marketing professional); while the patriarch, Kanaiya, was a charismatic and charming master of ceremony, singer, and comedian (when he wasn't teaching at his University). Together, they were an enthralling couple, entertaining friends at gatherings and parties. Tina and her sister, Seema, traveled with

NRI, Tina Sugandh began playing the tabla when she was eight years old. "I loved dictating rhythms, and the freedom that you can convey through your fingertips." Tina performed extensively with her parents at desi events all over the US, working on both her artistry with the tabla and her stage presence.

These qualities landed her a meeting with Warner/Chappell Music. While she played the guitar they smiled politely and said she was great. It was when she pulled out her tablas and started playing a taal that they were hooked. A publishing deal with Warner/Chappell followed, and then a meeting with Hollywood Records chairman, Bob Cavallo. Again she sang some of her songs she'd written on the guitar. And then she sang Mast Kalandar while playing the tabla, and Bob Cavallo said, "I have never seen anything like it. We want you."

Her proficiency earned her a nickname: TablaGirl. As a 15-year-old Tina was discovered Sean Harris, a screenwriter and creative mentor who would help shape Tina’s talents. Sean eventually convinced Tina that she should pursue music as a career and, to that end, spent time working on a demo. Between her studies as a biology major at Rutgers University (where she eventually graduated on the Dean’s List), and weekend performances with the Sugandh Family, Tina would drive to Washington DC to work with Sean, who arranged photo shoots and studio time for her, and most importantly, encouraged her to write her own music. “I was never one of those girls who wrote poetry, so when I began songwriting, I approached it from a scientific perspective,” she says. “I listened to pop music, studied the structure and devised a formula. And eventually, the science experiment became a creative process.” The first song she wrote was “I Spit Fire,” which appears on her debut album. Once Tina completed the creation of her meticulous demo and promo package, Tina approached her future scientifically. “Every morning I’d send out a few demos, make about 30 calls to labels, and keep very detailed notes on each conversation,” she laughs. “I’d write down every time I followed up. It was studious and dorky, but when I want something to work, I create a plan and persistently follow through until I get what I want.

NRI, Tina Sugandh Sugandh sits with her back to an exposed brick wall, her stilettos pointed at an almost arrogant rakish angle. The designer fade on her black jeans tapers off into the pristine white of a kurta that's threatening to slip off her left shoulder. Her hair and hat are set just right to expose an angular face with impossibly beautiful eyes.

But Tina is nowhere near your traditional tabla player. She's sexy, sophisticated and bona fide cover girl material. We knew it would be a bit of a grind merging teased eyebrows and traditional taals. "Well I wasn't actually playing the tabla in the picture. And I do perform barefoot. I respect the tabla more than anything. I want to get this instrument out into mainstream America. I want people who have never seen the tabla before to recognize its beauty. Of course you hope to never offend anyone but there are always a few people who have things to say and that's ok," Tina said in one long, single breath.

With her love for Bollywood, surely she must consider recording a song for a Bollywood flick, or even act in a movie? She gushes, "Oh my God... I have done it my whole life. When I was five I was singing songs from Namak Halaal. I was running around my house like a silly girl, pretending I was Shabana Azmi and Parveen Babi and all those beautiful women, and hoping to someday be like them. I would actually love to do that more than anything."

Fusing pop, rock and a little bit of Bollywood, the young singer has a lot to share with the world about her varied influences. "That's my goal-to introduce mainstream America to some new sounds," she muses. "I think it's time for our beats to shine."

TablaGirl," due out in early 2005, the artist appeals to average pop-loving American youth, but she'll admit her rather mainstream-sounding pop debut album is just a launching pad for her to move more heavily toward Indian sounds with future albums.

The first album slowly will expose Sugandh to American youth, many of whom she admits probably don't even know what Bollywood is.

"I shouldn't say this, but I'm a businesswoman at heart," Sugandh said. "I definitely put a lot of thought into what I was doing. I want your average (MTV television program) 'TRL' viewer to appreciate this album. But as I progress … (with) album No. 2, there's always room for a little bit more."

Even for a girl who has performed in over 500 shows with her musical family since she was five years old, a record deal for Sugandh seemed like a long shot, considering that there never has been an Indian American pop music star. If she makes it, she'll be the first.

"I didn't know I had a chance to make (music) a career until recently," she said.

For Sugandh – who graduated from Rutgers University on the dean's list with a degree in biology, grew up in New Jersey to everything from Sade to Pantera to Duran Duran, and learned to play the tabla (Indian tuned hand drums) – the goal simply is to bring the magic of Bollywood to Americans.

"I want to do everything in the future," she said. "I'm meeting with TV stations and movie companies, and I want to go into acting, as well … (and) perhaps (develop) an Indian clothing line. Anywhere I can add that fusion would be great."

 

 

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NRI TablaGirl
First NRI (South Asian), Tina Sugandh.to bag a contract with Hollywood Records