Russian singer Sati Kazanova, sings her popular songs during the Holi Festival of Colors at Luzhniki park in Moscow. Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesThiruvananthapuram: She could be passed on as another Russian tourist on the most famous beach in Kerala. However, Sataney Setgalievna Kazanova is on a lofty mission in Kovalam.
Top on the bucket list of the pop singer, better known as Sati Kazanova, is a visit to the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
The singer and TV personality who once embodied Russian urban culture had vowed none other than Indian prime minister Narendra Modi when he visited Moscow in December 2015.
“Sati Kazanova is a Russian citizen but I am told that she was born in a Muslim family. Russian citizen, pop singer, Muslim family and performing Vedic mantras! And she told me she wants to build a Hindu temple in Russia. I congratulate her,” Modi said at a ‘Friends of India’ event in the Russian capital.
Sati Kazanova caught Modi unawares when she recited the Ganesha Vandana in flawless Sanskrit. The singer had shifted the focus of her work several years earlier. Inspired by Indian music and culture, she practices Yoga and acts as some sort of a cultural ambassador.
She has visited India several times but this is her first trip to Kerala. A few moments with the singer, who is undergoing the Panchakarma treatment at the Somatheeram Ayurvedic Resort, revealed her popular appeal. The Russians at the resort drop by to say hello.
Sataney became Sati on the advice of her Indian guru. She chose the name because it means “energizing”, she says.
Hailing from a Muslim family from a remote hilly village in Russia, Sati says she was lost when she went to Moscow. Her youth was far from being memorable.
She spoke energetically about her youth spent in the dark alleys of European life and the change brought about by the Indian culture.
Early fame came with a price. Sati was famous for her songs at the age of 20. She says she led a wayward life in search of happiness until she met her “guruji”. The words inscribed at the Shirdi Sai Ashram in Chennai changed the course of her life: “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”
Sati says she is at peace when she is in India. She is busy getting a certificate proving that she is a Vaishnavite before she could fulfill a long-cherished wish: a visit to the Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple. She has already visited the Thiruvattar Temple.
The singer will leave for London on January 26 on a tour named Sati Ethnica. Then she has concerts lined up in the United States.
Sati has a piece of advice to Indian youngsters. “Please don’t scramble after the Western culture. You are gifted with your culture and tradition. Those are your treasures. You cannot proceed by losing them. You will only fail. The culture in Western cities may thrill you for some time. Let me tell you as someone who has realized the flip side of it: nothing can excel Indian culture.”
