Sithara Krishnakumar entered the league of prominent playback singers in Mollywood after making a mark in music shows and reality programmes. Music is an integral part of Sithara's life and she is also passionate about travelling. Like rendering a beautiful melody, Sithara loves to visit new places and sink in their mesmerizing charm. The singer, who has many hit songs to her credit, is sharing with Onmanorama the trips she loves the most.
Sithara keeps music and travel on the same plank as they are equally important for her. The singer, who has visited many countries to be part of many shows, believes that she was able to travel extensively because of god's grace and blessing. The music shows and programs have taken Sithara to many exotic places and she was fortunate enough to get a ringside view of the cultures of those destinations.
Though the singer loves to travel a lot, it is not possible to plan a trip every year. But music-related journeys are always there. "It is great fun to visit places that we have seen only in videos and photos. Each travel is a revelation that teaches a lot of lessons and knowledge is not something that is confined to academic books. Knowledge, like music, is an ocean," says Sithara. Each journey is dear to Sithara and the singer utilizes the free time after shows to visit as many places as possible.
Reliving the trips
The COVID-19-triggered lockdown has given an opportunity to the highly-acclaimed singer to relive the journeys undertaken earlier. Sithara is also quite relaxed as she is confined to her home due to the travel restrictions. The singer utilized the lockdown period to revisit her travel photos posted on social media and relived the cherished moments with the family members.
"When the work is hectic, I don’t get much time to recollect the travel memories. After a trip ends, I have to again pack my bags to hit the road, but the corona days have given the space to deviate from the beaten path. There were many short and long journeys in my life and now I am realizing the importance of such trips," she adds.
Great passion for travel
Sithara is into any genre of travel; be it a wild trip, adventure trip, and rides, among others. The singer is always geared up for any type of journey and would hit the road with family members, friends, or all alone. Each sojourn brings a new experience and solo trip has a thrill of its own.
Places close to the heart
As part of her studies and on the work front, Sithara had spent most of her time in Chennai and Kolkata. The singer lived close to 3.6 years to complete her post-graduation in Kolkata, which she found very attractive. Kolkata is a rich confluence of world’s culture, art and music, and the music shows in the capital city of West Bengal were absolutely remarkable, says Sithara.
Rajasthan is also equally good as this north Indian state is steeped in the history of Indian culture. Rajasthan may be synonymous with desert but the state has alluring lakes and mountain ranges along with majestic regal forts that touch the sky. The highpoints of the trip to Rajasthan were the visits to Jaisalmer and Jaipur cities.
Stay in the world of music
The Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh stands out in the visit to North-east India. Music festivals become an addiction because of two reasons, and when travel and music blend beautifully, a festival is on. The journey, the fun and frolic, music and above all the Ziro Festival, which is conducted at Ziro valley in September/October, is always etched in mind, says Sithara.
The valley is a paradise for music lovers as singing and dancing will continue throughout the night during the outdoor music festival. The four-day fest, which was started by a group of musicians in 2012, will reverberate with rock, pop and folk music. Currently, the Ziro Festival of Music is one of the best music festivals in the world.
Corona casts a shadow on travel plans
Sithara had planned to go on a journey with her daughter during school vacation but the spread of coronavirus has poured cold water over her travel plans. A US trip, along with her band, was also on the cards. The government announced a complete lockdown a week after the visas were processed, notes Sithara. As the COVID-19 cases were spiralling in the US, both the American and Canadian trips were cancelled. Apart from that visits to Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE were also dropped.
Sithara's dream
Work took the singer to various foreign places including London, Ireland, Wales, and many European countries. She has also been to Malaysia, Thailand, African countries and West Asia. Though Sithara has travelled a lot, one place that’s on the bucket list of the singer is the Himalayas.
"My dream is to go to the Himalayas as it provides once-in-a-lifetime trekking and tent life experience besides some amazing landscape," she concludes.
