‘Music is a way of life’

What makes several generations of one family to pursue music, to surrender themselves to it? How do they look at this journey and how do they build on their audience ensuring that the legacy of their art lives on amongst the listeners? Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh, one of the foremost veena players of the Lalgudi family, and violin maestro R Kumaresh, tell us how they look at their art. They will be performing along with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain at the ninth edition of Citi-NCPA Aadi Anant: From Here to Eternity. The festival has been organised by Citi India and National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in the city at Susie Sorabji Auditorium on February 15. 

All in THe family
Jayanthi started learning veena from her mother Lalgudi Rajalakshmi when she was three and later took intensive training under her maternal aunt, Padmavathy Ananthagopalan. Similarly, Kumaresh started learning violin from his father and by the age of five, he had his first concert. When asked how it feels to carry forward the legacy and the responsibilities that come along, Jayanthi replies, “Every concert is like your first concert, because you have to mentally prepare for it. We come from the family of musicians and every artist is a legend. Sometimes I tell myself that we shouldn’t pressurise ourselves. Whatever god chooses us to do will happen. I think it’s best you surrender to the supreme and let it manifest through the instrument. Do your ‘sadhana’ and learn from your guru.” 

When you have musicians in the family, gravitating towards music is obvious, but there must have been some defining moments in their journey, when they knew that this was their calling. Jayanthi says, “My defining moment was when I went to stay with my guru, Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, in Chennai. I stayed with her for 20 years.” 

Kumaresh who grew up with the sounds of violin says that he never experienced that one moment. “I have been performing from a very young age and grew up to the sounds of violin and later married into the family where there was music of veena.” 

An inward journey 
An artist develops his music from the teachings of his guru and based on his own perception and understanding. A fact that all musicians stress on is that artists should be open to various forms and genres stemming from different gharanas. 

“There are four gharanas in the Carnatic classical music — Mysore, Tamil Nadu Thanjavur gharana, Kerala and Andhra gharana. At one point, while I was researching, I realised every gharana had so many beautiful aspects. It gave me an opportunity to appreciate what other styles had to offer. I also hear music of my gurus and Dr Sundaram Balachander sir. I have imbibed a lot from the artists I have collaborated with. My style is still growing,” says Jayanthi. 

Kumaresh believes that music is limitless and the possibilities therefore, are immense. “I strongly feel that by following one style or gharana we are limiting ourselves as an artist. Music is limitless and the possibilities are immense. It’s the mind that divides the seven notes into Carnatic, Hindustani or Bollywood. Our traditions say that music is a spiritual journey called Nada upasana. In our quest for it, we refine not only the music that comes through us, but also our personalities. Music is as much inward journey as it is an outward journey.” 

“The beauty of Indian tradition is that our music is as much in the present as it was in the past. It’s living and continues to grow. People are collaborating, new ideas are emerging. It brings a new dimension to music,” he adds. 

Playing together 
How do violin and veena complement each other and what it means for the husband-wife musician to play together?

Jayanthi explains, “When you are playing with another artist, it’s important to understand their psyche, their pluses and minuses, and how their mind works. That works very well when you are a husband and wife combination. In this case, you are not competing against each other but complementing each other.” 

Talking about the two instruments, she says that veena is a plucked instrument and violin is a board instrument. “The sonic experiences of both the instruments are different and when you combine the two, you get an entire plethora of sound. Veena is one octave lower than the violin and thus you get two octaves, which creates a good instrumental experience.” 

Moving on to audiences and training of the young, the artists say they are their first audience. Kumaresh says, “Firstly, it’s not good to presuppose the audience. They come to forget their stress and go back in a peaceful and happy frame of mind. For us, we are our first audience, we should like and enjoy what we play. Only then it’ll connect with the audience.” 

Apart from music, what feeds their creative energies? Pat comes the reply from Kumaresh, “Music is an art and a way of life. Life is musical and that’s how we like to keep it.” Jayanthi adds, “We spend our time teaching students, composing something. Kumareshji has come up with a new syllabus to make music more relevant to the kids. He has started a series called ‘Fun with music’. I am doing a web series called Cup-o-Carnatic to pass on this art to future generations.”
 
ST Reader Service 
Citi-NCPA Aadi Anant: From Here to Eternity  will be held at Susie Sorabji Auditorium, Dr Annie Besant Road, Agarkar Nagar on February 15 from 6.30 pm onwards. Tickets available on www.bookmyshow.com