School students S. Adityanarayanan, S. Anjani and S. Shri Sainath can feel secure about the future — they have already carved out careers in music. The three Chennai kids have been nominated for this year’s Pogo Amazing Kids Awards (PAKA) for sterling achievements as singer and musicians respectively. PAKA, a televised kids award programme on Pogo, introduces viewers to precocious children who have made a mark in creative fields, including sports, arts, music and dance.
When first given a football, Sainath did not dribble it with his feet. He drummed it with his fingers. As this effort yielded pleasing sounds, the mother took the six-year-old to T.H. Vikku Vinayakram. The master decided the boy would make a great ghatam player. Now 13, Sainath has an impressive bio-data – a performance with Sivamani at the Art Aratti Festival 2008, numerous stage performances with Vikku and his son V. Umashankar, and appearances on Vijay TV, Mega TV and Jaya TV. Now that he has mastered the ghatam, Sainath puts the football to its intended use. “I am a football player,” beams the teenager.
When a neighbour presented her with a veena, Anjani’s immediate question was ‘who’ll teach me to play the veena?’ The teacher turned out to be someone taking singing lessons from Anjani’s mother. “She taught me the basics,” says Anjani, now 13. In a short time, she scaled various levels in veena playing.
A known face
With about 250 performances behind her, she now needs no introduction in Carnatic music circles. Two Rotaract Clubs have named her a child prodigy. She has bagged a Reliance scholarship worth Rs. 36,000, in a contest on Big FM.
Adityanarayanan can’t figure out how or when he was initiated into music. “As I grew up surrounded by singing and music, I simply started singing,” says the 12-year-old, whose achievements include winning a contest that required him to sing srutis composed by the Trinity of Carnatic music (Sri Thyagaraja Swamigal, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri) and bagging a prime-slot at Bala Bramham, an event that allows a string of singers to exhibit their vocal skills.
Abaswaram Ramji has played a mammoth role in the evolution of their musical talent. They have been playing in his kids’ band – ‘Isai Mazhai’. And, he must be keeping his fingers crossed, just as these three kids are.
