Murali Sangeeth V., the young singer from Thrissur, who shares The Hindu Sa Re Ga Ma M.S. Subbulakshmi Award (2017) for young Carnatic vocalists with Shruthi Shankar Kumar from Chennai has all the reasons to feel on top of the world. Because it is no mean task to be a topper among nearly 80 brilliant young singers from across the country. And it’s no small attainment for a young student of music from Kerala to be singing before a distinguished audience at the Music Academy, Chennai.
Any wonder then that the 23-year-old is excited and has resolved to make music his calling. He has just joined the M.Phil course at Sree Sankaracharya University, Kalady, after doing a post-graduation in music from the same University.
He hails from a family with no background in music and based in Marathakkara village near Ollur. Murali showed an affinity to music from an early age. His postmaster-father V. Muralidharan recalls how he would quietly sit in a corner and keep singing. So his parents decided to put him in a music class when he was eight years old. “My first guru was Sumathi Teacher at Palakkal. My father would take me on his bicycle for the class.”
Taking music seriously
However, it was only when he began learning from Komattil Santhakumari, disciple of the legendary G.N. Balasubramanian that Murali began to take his music seriously. After his Plus Two, he chose to graduate in music rather than joining any professional course for a safe career. Fortunately, his parents did not exert any pressure and allowed him to follow his heart.
Murali says, Preethi K., Head of Music Department, SSUS, Kalady, deeply influenced him and guided him through his graduation and post-graduation years. For the past four or five years, he has been learning under V.R. Dileep Kumar and violinist Edappally Ajithkumar.
For two consecutive years, he won prizes at the South Zone and National level of the All-India Inter University Youth Festival.
This was the second time he participated in The Hindu Sa Re Ga Ma M S Subbalakshmi Award. Last year, he could reach only the semi finals. This year, of course, he won it. Both the semi-finals and finals were held in Chennai.
The participants were asked to submit three lists containing their choices for a session of 25-minute duration and they were given one of these lists just before the competition.
Murali’s list started with Vinutha palini…, a rare composition by his favourite singer, GNB in raga Sivashakti, created by GNB himself. The main piece of the concert was Swara Raga Sudha in Sankarabharanam. The last one was the popular Surdas bhajan sung by M.S. Subbulaakshmi Madhuban tum kyun rahat Hare .
Singing in Chennai for the first time, Murali is quick to note the difference in the approach of the audience. “In Chennai, the auditorium was packed. The audience had come to listen to some totally unknown young singers,” he points out. He rues the lack of awareness about music in Kerala, which, he feels is the biggest challenge faced by emerging Carnatic musicians in the state. “There are many excellent singers who practice for hours, perfecting their talent. But they never get the attention they deserve. Introducing classical music to children from a young age would go a long . SPIC MACAY is doing a lot of work in organising music concerts in schools and colleges, but children should also be taught classical music especially because of the discipline it can instill.”
Besides GNB, Murali is an ardent fan of Ramnad Krishnan, Palakkad K.V. Narayanaswamy and the Brinda-Mukta duo. He also listens to a lot of Hindustani music.
“Students of Carnatic music can develop the voice through rigorous riyaaz which is followed meticulously by Hindustani music students.”
Murali has no confusions about his future plans. “I want nothing but a career in music,” he says.
