What musicians are passionate about besides music

Their chock-a-block schedules keep them on their toes. But these musicians make sure that they take time out to pursue their other passions and hobbies. While Shankar Mahadevan cannot stay away from the kitchen even for a day, Sonu Nigam says that he loves collecting books, although he doesn’t get the time to read. TOI reaches out to Shankar, Sonu, Shekhar Ravjiani, Guru Randhawa, Kailash Kher and Akriti Kakar to find out what other than

music

excites them the most.

Sonu Nigam
Passion: Collecting books and driving
I love collecting books. I’ve been doing that since childhood. I have thousands of books at home. Honestly, I haven’t read even five per cent of them, but I feel even
if you make an effort to like a book and buy it, the book starts living within you. I also like to travel and drive myself. If I was not a singer, I would have loved to be a driver, taking people to exotic places. I love driving. It’s healing and meditative.

Shankar Mahadevan
Passion: Cooking
I wouldn’t say that cooking is a hobby, because hobby is something that you pursue when you have free time and want a break from your regular activities. For me, cooking is a passion. Be it just making omelette or tea, or cooking a four-course meal — I cook almost every day. Cooking is important because it destresses me. Feeding my family calms me and gives a lot of internal happiness. Cooking is like creating music. While the vegetables, spices, oil or meat are the raw ingredients for making a dish, the seven notes, lyrics, rhythm, etc. are the raw ingredients for creating music. One needs to have the right balance of the raw ingredients to make a good dish or song. Another common factor between cooking and music is that you cannot achieve the final product if you don’t do it with a lot of love.

Akriti KakarPassion: Trying and cooking different cuisines
The only thing that comes close to my love for music is my fondness for food. I love to experiment with cuisines across the globe and even within India as I fortunately get to travel a lot for shows. I keep an eye out for new places that open and always try them out. I secretly try to replicate some of those at home too. I’m quite particular about what’s on my plate. Bad food can destroy even a post-good-concert feeling for me. Butter chicken, laccha parathas, butter garlic prawns, Thai curry, Tom Kha Gai, pastas and gnocchi are my favourite things to cook.

Kailash KherPassion: Farming
Farming is my passion. I often go to my farmhouse in Lonavala and my holiday home in Almora, near Nainital, Uttrakhand, and indulge in farming. I even do farming at my Juhu bungalow. I like to spend time with nature. When I travel to Lonavala and Almora, I spend time with the villagers and we indulge in farming together. All the wheat, rice and crops we eat at home come from our farm in Ghaziabad. I feel closer to God when I do farming.

Shekhar Ravjiani
Passion: Collecting antique artefacts and old lithographs
I’ve always felt drawn towards anything with a vintage value. The elegance that objects from the past exude is something else. I love collecting old lithographs, handwritten parchment letters and vintage prints and try to source these out from little antique stores in different parts of the world whenever I travel. I also have an appreciation for old architecture. The sheer love with which homes were built in the past amazes me. I believe each one of them deserves to be preserved. My latest passion, however, is horses. I have always had a fascination for them and now am finding myself taking a keen interest in the finer details of horse care and hope to own one soon.

Guru Randhawa
Passion: Travelling
I love travelling. Visiting new places is refreshing. The more I travel, I learn about various languages and cultures. It helps me think of my songs in a broader perspective. Whenever I visit a new place for work, I often extend the trip to explore the place more.