Gautam Chikermane recalled the time spent with KK at Kirori Mal College.
The shocking death of the legendary singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, has left the entire country in agony. Tributes poured in from the Bollywood fraternity as it expressed grief on the singer's demise. However, the most heart-warming one came from KK's college friend Gautam Chikermane.
Gautam Chikermane, a writer and vice-president at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), studied in the same college alongside KK, and was part of the music band named 'Horizon' with "Julius, Franz, Tom, Sandeep", where KK was the lead singer and drummer.
He recalled their time together at Kirori Mal College from where KK did his graduation. He recollected the wonderful moments they lived together while travelling and performing in different college festivals.
"We would go to all the college festivals and win prizes (mostly first, or second) for our music. IIT Kanpur and Delhi, SRCC and Hindu, we even played professionally at the Siri Fort Auditorium. We earned Rs 5,000 for the night and felt like we were kings!," said Gautam Chikermane.
He also said that it was only KK and his friend Julius had the grit to follow their dreams. While other members of the band took day jobs, KK chose to become a professional singer.
"Full of enthusiasm and creativity, KK was the energy of our band. Exceptionally talented, with a voice range unmatched, he was a natural singer," added Gautam while praising his close friend.
He also highlighted the range of KK's singing, as he mostly used to sing English songs in college, but in Mumbai he shifted to Hindi effortlessly.
In one of his tweets, he talks about the actor, saying, "A few years later, I was in Mumbai and he came to see me. We walked all night on Marine Drive, reminiscing our days of youth, our journeys, our lives, wives, children, careers, hopes, dreams--and our music, old music, new music, future music the unsung songs, the unplayed notes."
Mr Chikermane also talked about the time when the singer was forced to sell typewriters for a living.
"His soul couldn't take it, his swadharma lay in a parallel universe--in chords and beats; melodies and lyrics; lights, sounds, and performances," Mr Chikermane said expressing how much KK had to face in order to reach where he is today.
"After this, KK left his job and started performing in hotels. He didn't see this as a great experience to perform while the people eat and drink. In order to gain some motivation, they would perform for themselves without thinking about others. He told me about his struggles and successes, challenges and victories. He told me stories about musicians and breaks, voice modulations and practice sessions," he revealed.
"We stood at the end of Marine Drive and he said, you know I came here and stood exactly here on this spot and looked at these lights and wondered if Bombay would give me space," his tweet read.
Singer and composer Krishnakumar Kunnath, known by his stage name KK, passed away on May 31 at the age of 53. He was gifted with a boisterous yet smooth voice which will be remembered by his fans for many decades to come.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)