our favorite next? However, I am currently captivated by raaga
Kamboji and never get bored of performing it like forever.
I also love Subhapanthuvarali for its spiritual quality.
Ranjani:Carnatic music is such a beautiful system
where we have ample number of raagas and scales to
perform. That is the reason why we love performing a
rare aesthetic raga like Chakravakam or the crowd’s
favourite Kalyani with the same ease and dedication.
There has been a great admiration about your
diction when you render kritis of musical trinity
which are predominantly in Telugu language which
is not your native. What is the effort you put in there
to get such paramount bhaava and intensity?
Gayatri: The great Tamil poet Bharatiyar himself praised
Telugu language as “Sundara Telugu” (beautiful language)
. The subtlety and poetic feel of Telugu is so evident in the
compositions of musical trinity. We hold utmost respect
for the language and at the same time, we do not dwell
much into the literary depths of it. We make a point to
understand the kriti, the situation and what the composer
is trying to convey through the language and our analysis
ends there. I personally prefer to focus on a balance of
musical , literary and aesthetic aspects of a composition.
Ranjani: The trap of being too literarily scholar type is
something we keep away from. A composition needs to
have an artful balance of raaga richness, the jeeva swara
rendition and of course highlighting the lyrical beauty of it.
All these aspects needs to be balanced in a rightful manner
and bring out a majestic output. It is the responsibility of
the carnatic vocalist to balance these tight rope elements
of the composition and bring out a soulful performance.
What are those defining qualities which bring you
a unique approach towards classical music?
Gayatri: We were born in Mumbai where we had the
chance to equally admire Carnatic as well as Hindustani
music. It is the utmost respect for classical music which
drives us to perform consistently. We firmly believe
that emotional aspect of music is paramount.
Ranjani: We understand the aesthetics of classical music
in Hindustani and in Carnatic,it is more structured
and the musical complexity which is so unique.
Which raagas are your preference-
Sampoorna Raagas or Janya Raagas?
Gayatri: Nothing of that sort because every raaga is dear
and close to me. It is like a mother who never shows
favouritism towards her children, all raagas are beautiful.
What is the advice you would love to give for
aspiring musicians who want to become singers?
Gayatri: The advice can be in professional and personal
front. Professionally, we often ignore the sound aspect
of Carnatic music and get carried away by the technical
complexities. That is one thing which we keep talking about.
Unless the music is pleasant, melodious and appealing, the
crowd outside the elite will not be able to appreciate it.
Ranjani: The voice should be as clear as a glass which can
be like a see-through. I couldn’t stress much about akaara
saadhana once again to attain it. On professional front, keeping
an open mind to learn is one thing which is important too.
What do you think are the challenges for a singer
who would want to come full-time into music?
Ranjani: While times are optimistic with more youngsters
coming into full time as musicians, it is indeed challenging
for coming into art field. One needs to develop tremendous
toughness to withstand themselves in this field because
there is no guarantee about the sureshot success here.
There is no assurance about getting concerts. One
should be a bit crazy to become a performing artist!
Gayatri: By crazy, she means that one needs to have a
mad passion towards the art so much that everything else
becomes unimportant. Such level of madness only can bring
out great inner strength to get going in this profession.
Who are your influences in music?
Ranjani: We have grown up listening to Shanmukha
Srinivas Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, M.S.Subbulakshmi
and their influence is incomparable. Their style of
rendition always gives us an exemplary path to follow.
Gayatri: I remember listening to Semmangudi ,
K.V.Narayana Swami’s live performances and
admire them greatly. I particularly admire N.Rajam’s
violin and being a violinist initially, I still love
the way she emotes through the instrument.
Picture Credit: Indumoili Vuyyuru
The
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