Despite never having lived in Chennai, violinist Charulatha Ramanujam has made a distinct name for herself among noted Carnatic musicians. Says senior vocalist S. Sowmya , “Exemplary musicianship apart, Charulatha is also soft-spoken and cheerful. I would have had to entirely forget about presenting Ghanta on stage at The Music Academy had she said she could not play.”
Well-known vocalist N. Vijay Siva says, “With her complete involvement with the music on stage, she helps the main artiste deliver with natural ease, sending a positive signal ‘I am with you.’
From the late maestro Sripada Pinakapani to today’s finest, Charulatha has accompanied a galaxy of musicians.
Charulatha grew up in Tirupati in a large joint family where music was ever present. At home, her grandmother would routinely sing with Charulatha’s aunt accompanying her on the violin. Charulatha’s father K. Rangaswamy was a self-taught singer in a style reminiscent of Dr. S. Ramanathan. “Appa had gleaned a lot on the music and kutcheri paddhathi by attending live concerts,” says Charulatha.
Rigorous practice
Charulatha began learning the violin at the age of seven from Pudukottai Ramanathan, a student of Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai, and was under his tutelage for 12 years. She would wake up at 3 a.m. daily and practice for 3-4 hours. She did her B.A. in English Literature, was married soon after, and moved to Bengaluru. There, she took lessons from her husband’s teacher, Anoor S. Ramakrishna.
Charulatha had hardly been to any live concerts until she began performing herself. In Bengaluru, she got access to a large collection of yesteryear recordings. She began playing alongside those for practice, the home becoming her concert hall. She learned a lot both in terms of musicality and accompaniment. “When someone sings well, I enjoy soaking in that music and being in that moment for just a little while longer.”
A year later, the couple moved to Hubli. Charulatha began playing at the local sabha for artistes visiting from Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kerala, including Rajkumar Bharathi, T.R. Subramaniam, Rudrapatnam Brothers and Hyderabad Sisters. Many of these artistes then started calling her for concerts in Chennai and other cities. Hubli being more attuned to Hindustani music, she began learning its rudiments from Shripati Padigar, a direct disciple of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. She provides sangat for some local artistes. “It made me more aware of sruti suddham and sowkhyam .”
After Anoor Ramakrishna’s passing, Charulatha came under the tutelage of veteran R.K. Srikantan. “His was impeccable patantaram . His notation had every minute facet within it.” As she did not have a violin guide after Pudukottai Ramanathan, she also worked on adapting her playing technique for the various styles of music she heard. “I experimented with each finger to see what produced the best possible effect.”
She ponders over the meaning of every kriti, taking pains to find the meaning of unknown words. “I think the sahitya helps in our own upliftment. To me, it is a prayer.” Guru Neela Ramgopal, who guides Charulatha currently, says, “Charulatha’s knowledge of Telugu, Sanskrit and Kannada helps her play faithfully to the lyrics. I consult her on the Telugu script.”
Charulatha has given vocal performances too — not formally trained, it was an organic extension. Bangalore S. Shankar, whom she has accompanied for years, says, “Being a good vocalist herself, she knows the requirements of a vocalist. She does not overdo or overshadow the main artiste or demand to raise the volume of the microphone.”
Unobstrusive accompanist
Charulatha’s accompanying etiquette includes patience at the start of an alapana. “Many ragas have similar phrases. I prefer to wait a bit, perhaps on the shadjam, to allow the artiste to collect his/ her thoughts.” Neela Ramgopal says, “Many violinists complete the vocalist’s phrases, Charulatha will not. She is an unobtrusive accompanist.”
Charulatha had played for the late Suguna Purushothaman on many occasions. In 2007, Suguna asked Charulatha to accompany her at The Music Academy for a Pallavi in the 128 aksharam simhanandana talam. Asked about her preparation, Charulatha says, “She gave me a CD. With nobody to give talam during practice, I realised that by being attentive to the words, their melody, the spacing and the number of aksharams per word, I could play it.” She has since accompanied other singers for several challenging pallavis.
Charulatha teaches vocal music and the violin but looks at herself as a perennial student.
