Sudha Ragunathan, one of the leading lights among contemporary Carnatic vocalists, performs today (October 5) at the Navarathri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram for the first time. The Padma Bhushan recipient, who has comfortably made her mark as a playback singer and on world music platforms, talks about how the universe of Carnatic music has evolved for the better and how each musician finds his/her niche in the creative space. Edited excepts from an interview over phone…
How do you feel about your first-ever recital at the Navarathri Mandapam?
It is an exciting prospect and I thank the Almighty for that. It is a dream come true because we hear about it so much and my grand-guru [GN Balasubramaniam] has sung there. I don’t think my guru [ML Vasanthakumari] has, because at that point of time women were not allowed to sing [in the Mandapam]. And I am glad that they are welcoming women artistes at the Mandapam now. It shows the organiser’s broad perspective and outlook on how we should be celebrating music.
Any special preparations for the concert, since only kritis by Swathi Thirunal are sung at the Mandapam?
Yes. For the last two days, I have been concentrating on learning new kritis since, although I do know Swathi kritis, they are the common ones. However, I do want to create a special repertoire for this concert as each one (singer) is assigned a particular Navarathri kriti for that day. So I have to structure the rest of the concert around that.
Particular choices?
All the kritis are special because you sing them with your heart and then it becomes special, any kriti for that matter (laughs). So I have taken some familiar ones and a few not-so-commonly heard ones. This is my first concert there and I need to get my feet on the ground.
Until a few years ago, women artistes were not welcomed at many venues or to accompany leading vocalists?
Well, I am glad that we are tiding over that phase. Discrimination was definitely happening in certain places and there were a lot of, I would call, imbalances in the way accompanying artistes would refuse to play for women. But then, we are slowly overcoming all that. I think the reason why opportunities are opening up is because you can’t deny excellence. Women artistes are grooming themselves well and the music presented is also exhilarating. So there is no reason for any organiser or organisation to not include women artistes to perform during the season or in the concert schedule. It is a welcome change and I think we are also rising to the expectation of what the organisers want us to do. I am sure women artistes always had a fantastic repertoire and charm for the audience in their own way. Every artiste has certain dynamics. Women were always good and I would say they were even better earlier because my guru and the artistes during her time were excellent. But for some reason, some had this funny, I still find it strange, reason for being away from women artistes. However, instead of talking about the past, let us talk about the positive aspects that are happening now.
Social media may have had a role in bringing about this change...
Certainly. When social media is used in the right proportion and in the right way for putting across messages, music and all that, it definitely has a positive effect on this. And I am glad that it makes the world connected immediately. I was singing in Vellore recently and messages were pouring in from Sweden and Canada. For two minutes, they went live on the Internet and so people were listening in from all over the world. I presume it must have been early morning in Canada and late night in Sweden and still people were listening to that two-minute live streaming of the concert.
Even today, there is a section of musicians who have reservations about Carnatic musicians singing playback. They are, sometimes, seen as not being serious about their music. Do you think there should be such watertight compartments in music?
No, music is beyond all these small things. Each artiste has his or her own space to figure out how they lead their lives. If an artiste, a playback singer, decides to give a Carnatic music concert after proper learning and grooming, I think we should welcome it. And in the same way, if a Carnatic musician happens to perform for films, that also should be welcomed because it is like exploring new horizons. But, there should not be any dilution. For instance, if musicians are singing Carnatic music in whatever way they want, then they should rethink about that. To perform Carnatic music, one does require learning and grooming. If done the correct way and with proper practice, I don’t think anyone has any right to say anything about what someone else does. But then, at any point of time, one can never please the entire world. So long as we are clear in our minds that we have done it right, I don’t see any reason to get worried about all this.
And do you think it is important to stick to the padhathi of a concert, like starting with a varnam, moving to the main kriti, concluding with a thillana and so on…
Sudha Raghunathan and TM Krishna at a concert at The Music Academy, Chennai
Personally, I do that. The padhathi is something that has been handed over like an Olympic torch or a baton that is passed from one generation to the other. My guru did it and her guru did it. It was kind of structured; it is not written down that it has to be this way, it has been a fluid process that has been carried over generations, and somewhere, it makes sense to begin with a varnam and to build up to a climax, then go into the ragam, thanam, pallavi and then finish off with more devotionally-flavoured songs. There is a certain appeal to it and people also have accustomed their minds to that. We are left with a feeling that it is a complete concert, when we start with a varnam and finish with a thillana. It also gives the artiste the time and space to develop the concert to a point that we call the crescendo. The voice also gets ready for that moment. So, I approve of that and adhere to it. But, of course, as we speak in the general sense, artistes are artistes and the artistry that is required for presenting a concert is entirely their own space. I would not call it an innovation but an approach, you move away from what is normally presented.
