Kavita Krishnamurti recalls why she gave up her original name 'Sharada'

New Delhi [India], January 31 : Playback and classical singer Kavita Krishnamurti, who is credited as the voice behind 50,000 plus songs, has like several celebrities worldwide, changed her name from the one she was given at birth.
While a slew of actors and singers- be it the legendary Dilip Kumar or the country's first superstar Rajesh Khanna or Akshay Khanna -chose to either tweak their spellings or go with an entirely new name, the 66-year-old singer in an interview with ANI revealed she did so at the bidding of the late singer music composer and producer, Hemant Kumar and for an entirely pragmatic reason.
In an interview with ANI, the 'Bole Chudiyan' hitmaker said, "Actually, I am Sharada. My college friends still call me Sharada. It is just that this could have been 1972 when I was singing... I very clearly remember I was singing in an auditorium called Birla Auditorium in Bombay... when my name was announced, I went up on stage and the audience started shouting, 'Titli Udi, Titli Udi, Titli Udi' which is sung by the other Sharada ji..."
The namesake Kavita referred to was playback singer Sharda, best known for her song 'Titli Udi' from the 1966 film 'Suraj'.
"I was a college girl, but then my whole demeanour was like a school girl. I was one of those real darpoks (scared). I'd go up on stage and say, aap jo Sharada samjh rhe hai mai vo Shrda nhi hu mai ek nayi singer hu aur mai aapko Lata ji ke kuch gaane suna rhi hu ( I am not that Sharada who you all are assuming) and then I would start singing," recalled Kavita.
This did not sit well with 'Hemant da', who Kavita recalled told her 'cholbe na cholbe na naam badlo pehelo' (It won't work, change your name first).
After this she said her Bengali Mamani ( maternal aunt), whom she credits for her musical career went ahead and christened her Kavita.
"So she came home and that night she told me, my didi in Delhi, who's my Mamani's daughter is Nandita... and aaj te thui Kavita (From today you're Kavita). And then we went to the legal place and got my name from Sharada to Kavita," she said.
Although she initially uncomfortable with being called by her "very common" new name, she soon grew used to it and believes that it brought her luck.
"I was a little very uncomfortable because honestly, I like Sharada. I thought Kavita was a very common name. You know what I mean very very common Sharda was like, Sharada has a bit of a personality but I must say that Kavita really brought me luck," the veteran singer said.
In a career spanning over four decades, Kavita Krishnamurti has enthralled audience with several memorable songs. Debuted in the industry with 'Aayega aanewala' (Kadambari; 1976 -- a rendition of the popular Lata Mangeshkar number from Mahal ) she has notched up several hits like 'Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyaan', 'Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast', 'Hawa Hawai' and 'Kay Sera Sera' among others.