Chinmaya sisters, and the story of their unique ‘shruti’

CHENNAI:  As kids, Uma and Radhika's mother would sit them down and ensure that they practice. Their melodious voices harmonised perfectly, as it blended into the thaalam, matched with high shruthi. Popularly known as the Chinmaya Sisters, the duo performed in the city recentlly at Navarasam, a thematic concert organised by Rasikapriya Fine Arts Academy. “We did something different this time. We came up with this idea of Navarasam – nine different emotions. We had various compositions that fit each of these emotions,” explained Radhika.

Raised in Mumbai, the sisters often came ti Chennai for concerts. Ardent fans of Madurai TN Seshagopalan, their parents wanted them to train under him. “We initially learnt under the tutelage of Neyveli R Santhanagopalan and then under Madurai TN Seshagopalan sir. We used to then go back home and practice under our mother’s supervision,” recalled Uma. Their family is an ardent follower of Swami Chinmayananda, and Santhanagopalan named them ‘Chinmaya Sisters’.

Popularly known for their sweet and high-pitched voices, the sisters say that they take inspiration from many musicians including MS Subbulakshmi, ML Vasanthakumari and Latha Mangeshkar among others. “We have thin and high-pitched voices. Many rasikas prefer listening to a strong voice. I feel happy singing in our unique shruti – we sing in six shruti. In fact sometimes even our accompanying artists are often surprised with the shruti, but we enjoy doing that,” shared Uma.

Now the sisters teach the younger generation and Radhika takes Skype lessons for students abroad. Through teaching, she tends to discover more aspects about music. Taking their music seriously and working hard towards their goal, the sisters also stress that any art form should be taken seriously. “I have noticed that children are pressurised to perform even before they learn the basics. Not just in Carnatic music, but in general. To learn any art form you need a strong base. Taking it as fun won't fetch you much,” said Radhika.

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“Given a chance we would definitely like to try our hand at Western music. It is very melodious. The entire technicality is different, so you need to study it to do justice to it.” - Uma