AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SPIRITED REVATHI SHANKARAN

Revathi Shankaran has done it all - fallen in love with almost all the arts; from painting to 'patti manram'(debate), from radio plays to tele-plays, from mehendi to mimicry, from Classical music to Film music, from 'Harikathai' (story telling interspersed with music) to health-care films, from writing to singing jingles, from dancing to composing music, from rangoli to bridal make-up. A linguist fluent in Tamil, English, Bengali, Telugu and Hindi, she is also comfortable in Malayalam, Gujarati and Kannada. Her Tamil language skills have earned her the title of 'Isai Tamil Selvam'. The Mylapore Academy has given her 'The Roll of Honour' Award for 1999, for versatility in the various forms of arts. Shri Bharathalaya, an institution for arts run by Sudharani Ragupathy, has awarded her the title of 'Bharatha Kalavani'. The Innerwheel Club of Cosmos, Chennai, selected her as the 'Outstanding Woman of the Year' for 1999.

I belong to Thiruvaroor village, Deepangudi, Tamil Nadu. I am the only daughter and I have two brothers. Ours is a music loving family. My grandmother was a close friend of M S Subbulakshmi. She suggested that I shift to Madurai where my grandfather was working. So, she brought me up. What I am today is because of her. She taught me about life, about values. While with her, I learnt Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music, Devaram and Thiruvasagam. She was a perfectionist. She would see to it that I measured up to her standards.

Yes, totally. She instilled in me the confidence, to be what I am without having any inhibitions.

I love singing and I sing well, but I did not want to confine myself to one thing. I do things to please myself. I want to enjoy what I am doing, and I like to do many things.

After we (My husband and I) moved to Chennai from Hyderabad, my husband was working as a senior executive in a company. He coaxed me into applying in Doordarshan for the post of a compere. I agreed, but I did not want to appear on screen. I had the confidence in my voice and my Tamil diction, so I applied for compeering, for Out Of Vision (OOV). That's how, I started my career in television. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the programme 'Ula Varum Oli Kadhir' - a show on various religious events in the  temples of South India. While working for television, I got an offer to work for the United Nations - CARE (Co-operative American Relief Everywhere). I helped them produce documentaries on Health, Pregnancy, Motherhood and I also did radio plays and serials on such subjects. I must add that my husband has been very supportive in all my endeavours.

I sing 'Harikatha' for the elderly at 'Vishranti' (an old age home). A friend of mine, Leela Sekhar, suggested that I do the same thing for other elderly people, who are well-off, who are not at such homes. That's how it all started. I dress up in a traditional nine yards saree and traditional jewellery. I love to imitate, it gives me a great high. Right from childhood, I have been a perennial jester. I learnt through the years to bring humour in my Harikathas, like punning on words. When I see my audiences enjoying and laughing I completely go off board.

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Interviews   Revathi Shankaran   Malathi Vaaleswaran   T K Vadivelu