Striking the right notes
ANJANA RAJAN
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Shobha Ramesh has been busy spreading good cheer with her music, now teaching, now performing.
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ALL FOR MERIT Shobha Ramesh
You never know when a childhood passion will turn into your chance to serve society. That approximately describes how Shobha Ramesh feels about her relationship with music. Today as cultural coordinator of the Siddhi Ganesh Cultural Society, a temple organisation in DLF Phase IV, Gurgaon, just outside Delhi, she finds herself providing chances to perform to aspiring young musicians. Shobha understands though, that not everyone becomes a professional, but if they do, it requires hours of practice, and plenty of sincerity.
"Now the trend is the child should perform on TV right away," remarks Shobha, who teaches music from her residence. It has been quite a journey, literally and figuratively, for the youngster who started her music lessons in Mumbai under her mother Janaki Ramachandran, a disciple of Palghat Rama Bhagavatar.
Afterwards she learnt from Palghat T.S. Anantharaman, who runs the Nadabrahman Music School in Mumbai.
It was during those days she entered the All India Radio National Contest and got the second prize in the Carnatic classical section. "It was the first time someone from Bombay had won," recalls Shobha. The cash award and the enthusiasm engendered by the prize made her decide to learn seriously and intensively from a senior guru in Chennai.
That was in 1989, the same year she got married, got her Graduation results and also went to learn from D.K. Jayaraman in Chennai. After marriage, she moved to the U.S. with her husband. Apart from teaching students, there was not much opportunity to develop her music.
But unlike some girls for whom domestic bliss spells the end of any other career, Shobha pursued her interest.
On returning to India they settled in Gurgaon, and here she is glad that at least gets a chance to serve the society through her music, since she has a willing clientele wanting lessons. "I have been performing in Chennai during the season for the past 15 years," she adds, adding candidly, "but it's so politicised there. Here in Delhi they are more professional. They go on merit. In Chennai they are even buying concerts."
Varied platforms
Thus she has had a chance to perform at the Delhi Tamil Sangam, the India Habitat Centre and others venues where it was her CV that was considered rather than who she knows in the field. A graded artiste of AIR, she lately had a recording in which she was accompanied by senior artistes like Narmada Gopalaksrishnan (violin) and K.V. Prasad (mridangam).
This prompted well-wishers to tell her that her career is on the ascendant since she was given such high-calibre accompanists. Shobha is keen to do something about the plight of classical artistes, who after retirement from active performance, often suffer extreme penury.
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