It was important for me, a trained performing artiste to keep up with academics and a theoretical knowledge of the genre of music, says vocalist Dr. Subashini Parthasarathy, who did her bachelor’s in music at Queen Mary’s College, Masters from the University of Madras and a PhD in Music thereafter.
A senior disciple of P N Raghava Rao and vocal maestro T M Thyagarajan, she says, ‘When I look back upon those days, I marvel at the interrelation between theory and practice, which is lost in modern day Carnatic music’. She has a great understanding of padams and javalis, learnt from T.Brinda who belonged to the legendary Veena Dhanammal family, and was respected for a refined and distinct style and impeccable purity. Excerpts from a conversation with her:
Q. What do you have to say on synchronized correlation of application between theoretical expertise and practical presentation?
A thematic concert presented by me, focusing on Thyagaraja, was a runaway success, covering 225 rare Thyagaraja krithis in all the ragas handled by Thyagaraja, and requiring a thorough application of theoretical knowledge. It took my mother and I nearly 9 months to work on this concept. Certainly it was one of the most enjoyable periods of my music career.
Q. Which was the most memorable concert for you?
Till date one of my most memorable performances has been the Navagraha thematic concerts that I presented along with my mother. It was a set of nine concerts comprising a set of 22 krithis each, a manoranjani concert with krithis depicting sringararasam, divyaprabhandam, meera bhajans, padavarnam and javalis.
Q. How did you excel in the field?
Listening at concerts has been an integral part of my learning. Even today I am able to recollect many concerts performed by veteran stalwarts - not only the ones by Brindamma and Ramnad Krishnan - my mother’s gurus, but also concerts by Semmangudi Mama, Chembai, M.L.Vasanthakumari and so on. Their music presentation and body language are inscribed in my memory. Their inspirational presentation will remain in my memory for ever.
Q. Your family and music?
Carnatic music has been my underlying core, an abiding passion. My mother Nirmala Sundararajan is an accomplished singer and a performing artiste. I inherited her passion for music at a very early age. My involvement grew gradually from playing to taking notes to performing concerts.
Q. What are your plans for the future?
Even today I keep abreast of this beautiful art form and enjoy giving lectures and demonstrations apart from presentation of concerts revolving around specific themes.
Q. What was one of your unforgettable experiences involving the legends of the art?
When I was 7 years old, I attended a vocal concert of vocal maestro Ramnad Krishnan. The memory of his compassion towards me, specifically when he announced that he would sing mayama in raga Ahiri, acceding to my request, is unforgettable. Imagine a musician of his stature heeding to the request of a seven year old.
Q. What are your ideals today?
I am a stickler for patantara suddha. I am grateful to my gurus for teaching me - it has paid me rich dividends. A musician must know the meaning of kirtanas and the intentions and mood of vaggeyakaras when they compose songs. Also important is the clear articulation of words. As a honest musician I want to convey the message of the vaggeyakaras by doing justice to sahithya. I am exceedingly fortunate in having them as my gurus.
Q. What is your advice to youngsters?
They are no doubt anxious to learn many songs and give performances but they should have the stamp of excellence in their rendition.
Q. Your ambition?
My greatest ambition is education, preservation, propagation and research in the music arena. I would like to remain uncompromising in my values and shrewd in my judgment of genuine worth to render music, marked by
sincerity.
(The writer is a well known music critic who has won awards both in India and abroad for propagation of classical arts and music)
