FACE-TO-FACE WITH SUDHA RAGHUNATHAN

Sudha Raghunathan, a leading exponent of Carnatic music, was the disciple of the illustrious Padma Vibhushan (Late) Dr. M. L. Vasanthakumari. She had the opportunity to provide vocal support to Dr. M.L.V. for over a decade. Sudha has performed in many major cities in India and has also undertaken concert tours all over the world. A number of awards and titles have been conferred on her. The most recent being an award for propagating Tamil music, given to her by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi.

Amidst attending to incessant phone calls and doorbell rings, she talks about her guru, her music and her future.

My childhood was lots of fun. I was really not cut out to be a professional singer. Music was fairly low profile. My mother, Sreemati Choodamani was a singer but she could not bloom as a professional singer in those days. So she encouraged me to sing. In a way, she made her dreams come true by bringing me into the professional arena.

Every day was memorable. She was not just a musician who would deliver her goods. She was a total personality. She was a large hearted human being. She took care to shape her disciples not only in the field of music, but also in other aspects of life. After attending college, whatever time I had, I would spend with her. She taught us to accept and face challenges, come what may. The excellent grounding that I got from her has stood me in good stead, both personally and professionally.

The so-called 'MLV' style is a very cheerful style. To describe it very simply, it makes people sit and forget where they are. It has technical excellence, spontaneity, and lots of creativity. The creative aspect of Carnatic music comes to the forefront in her style.
Do you plan your concerts?

No, I go by the pulse of the audience. An experienced artiste can judge by the way the audience reacts; like the nod of the head, the expression on the face, or by the applause. If I am singing for the same banner repeatedly, then I plan the songs. If I have to sing in a temple then naturally, I sing songs pertaining to the deity of that temple or if I am asked to sing at a wedding, then I see the music background of the family and accordingly sing. But otherwise I don't plan my concerts. That is the advantage of the MLV style. My songs are spontaneous.

There are two aspects to it - positive and negative. The positive aspect is that these sabhas give opportunities to upcoming musicians. They have opened up vistas for the whole music fraternity. The negative aspect is that there is enormous pressure both mental and physical on the established artistes to perform in these sabhas. Specially, during the season, like the coming December festival. At times, it becomes very stressful for the performing artiste.

I was being selective, but later found that the organisers get upset when I oblige one and don't oblige the other. I feel that the December music season is a time when people from different parts of the world come to watch different styles of music by different artistes. Overexposure of top artistes should be avoided because, after a while, the audience also gets bored.

Yes, I think it is slowly gaining popularity. Carnatic musicians are breaking the barrier by expressing their views through the media, by making the bureaucracy understand through a panel of senior musicians that equal representation should be given to both Carnatic and Hindustani styles of music in foreign festivals.

An artiste should have a reasonably good voice, with good resonance and energy. There should be discipline. By discipline I mean the artiste should keep in mind the meaning of the lyrics, the grammar, the sruti (the key) and the laya (the rhythm) while performing on stage.

The trust, called 'Samudaaya Foundations' was started on July 20th, 1999. It is a social welfare organisation that covers a wide spectrum of activities from music to education and also charitable causes. The foundation donated Rs.5 lakh to the Kargil Defence personnel relief fund. We donated Rs 1 lakh to the cyclone victims of Orissa in December 1999. We are trying to build a good corpus and are making a good headway.

I want to pass on my art to the next generation and the best way to do it would be to start a school. The school would be a representation of my style of music. I want to publish books on Purandaradasa kritis that MLV was famous for. I also want to do research on what music can do in the field of medicine.

To me, the ragas I choose to sing at a particular concert are my favourite ragas for that particular day. Each raga has its own swings and moods. Some reflect pathos, some joy, and some sorrow.

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