Sukanya Ramgopal’s home breathes laya emanating from the musical clay pot, ghatam. The living room, dining room and bedrooms of her apartment have tall metal shelves lined with ghatams of different srutis . “I have about 82 of them,” the ghatam exponent says of her collection, each of which is of the sturdy, Manamadurai variety. As she proudly stands beside what she treasures the most, I’m reminded of Ramgopal’s early years, when she had to fight to be allowed to learn the ghatam. At that time, she would have never imagined her home would be filled with the musical instruments as an adult.
A pioneer
Ramgopal is the first woman to play the ghatam in the history of Carnatic music, upturning the idea that the field of percussion is meant for men. She has since walked the long and difficult path. Her journey, and that of the instrument, are summed up in the book Sunaadam: The Vikku Bani of Ghatam Playing authored by Ramgopal. The book, which was released a few days ago in Bengaluru, is the first ever to be written on the ghatam.
“It was the golden period of my life,” recalls Ramgopal talking about her training days. “Vikku Vinayakram sir refused to take me as his student because I was a girl, and left to teach at Berkeley. However, his father, Harihara Sharma, not only agreed to teach me, but told Vikku sir, ‘when you come back, you will be surprised by her artistry’. On his return, Vikku sir was indeed amazed at the intense training that his father had subjected me to. By then, perhaps, being at Berkeley had also made him understand that it was not such a bad idea to teach women. He was brimming with ideas, but didn’t have the language to communicate it.”
The musician recalls how excited she felt as a student. “Since then, it had been my dream to showcase and propagate his bani . It is a style rich with ideas, but made simple for the learner. I want the younger generation to appreciate the thought that has gone into it, and also preserve it for posterity,” she says.
Much of the book, says Ramgopal, is modelled on Harihara Sharma’s book The Art of the Mridangam . But how was she able to translate the musical ideas that are spontaneous in nature into words? “It is very difficult, which is what has delayed the completion of this book. For instance, to produce the ‘ dom ’ sound, there are three ways. It is something to be demonstrated and not written. Also, it differs from student to student. Teaching is customised according to the need of each student. The book will have all these limitations, but as Vikku sir writes in his foreword, the book, which also contains basic lessons, is only a tool and cannot replace a guru.”
Against all odds
She hopes that the book will enthuse more women to learn the ghatam. There is no other woman playing this instrument professionally in India. She has just one female student.
“So many women have learnt the mridangam. But have you seen any main artiste taking them as accompanists? Or sabhas ? Ghatam occupies the third place in the hierarchy of percussion. If women mridangam vidwans don’t find a place, you think we will? Nothing has changed in all these years. Even if they call us, they give microphones with such poor output,” she says.
The reason could be more complex, acknowledges Ramgopal. In a tani avartanam , the ghatam player is supposed to give a befitting reply to the mridangam artist. This calls for a lot of hard work and preparation. “If you outshine the mridangam player, you may incur his wrath and that of many others,” she says.
She has taken up such challenges. “In fact I started the ghatam tarang to put the instrument on centre stage,” she says, narrating many instances when she was rejected and humiliated by sabhas , vocal artistes, and fellow percussionists.
“Just last month,” says Ramgopal, “a prominent music sabha in Bengaluru cancelled me as accompanist at the last minute because the mridangam artiste didn’t want to play with a woman.”
From the time the ghatam caught her imagination, Ramgopal has faced opposition. “I had to face a ‘no’ at every stage. But that ‘no’ inspired me to achieve my dream; it didn’t discourage me. I would not have achieved anything if my guru Harihara Sharma, and later Vikku sir, had not encouraged me. My stubborn father changed his mind because of the support my mother extended to me. I cannot thank my husband enough. He took voluntary retirement rather early and allowed me to pursue my goal while he took care of the family,” she says.
