‘Wish to perform at global level’
Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam
Sudha Raghunathan.
Sudha Ragunathan, who performed recently at the Tamil Music Festivalorganised by the Tamil Isai Sangam at Raja Muthaiah Mandram in Madurai, answered a few questions put across by Rajalakshmi Padmanabhan at the end of the concert. E
xcerpts:
Do you think that you sing exactly in the same style as your guru M. L.Vasanthakumari, or have you evolved a style of your own?
Sudha: What do you think? (Your singing has changed a little) Yes, it has.
But this is what my guru always wanted, because each voice is different.
And over the years, I have taken little things that I liked in others, but followed the parampara of my guru, whichis arduous, for it requires a powerful voice to maintain the pace and vibrant brigas that abound in her style.
You lost your guru very early in your career. So, who was around to guide you?
Yes. I lost my guru when I needed her the most. Actually, in a way, she had prepared us for that. She never gave us one to one lessons. She would tell us, ”Just listen carefully when I sing and then sing on your own.” After she passed away, for a year or two, I just listened to her cassettes repeatedly and I have to thank technology for making her music available to me.
So, you did not have any other teacher to guide you?
No, there was no one who could fill that void, none to equal her in style or stature. I respected a lot of people, but I had been in awe of MLV and there was no one around who could replace her.
About the language of her choice...
Once you get to sing in concerts it is not what you want but what the audience wants, that’s important. Sometimes when I sing in Karnataka, I sing only Kannada songs, just as I sang only Tamil songs today. It is not easy to sing like that. But if I were to wonder whether I could give a balanced performance without singing Tyagaraja kritis or if it is possible to sing only Dikshitar kritis, I would be starting with a negative attitude. I should be positive about it and aim to get the right balance, and over the years I have gained the maturity to handle these challenges.
What course do you think your career is likely to take?
Right now, I would like to do more concerts and then I would like to perform some demos for students and teach children. I would also like to serve as a representative of Carnatic music in the global scene.
I have sung to international audiences several times, but the meeting of artistes from a variety of cultures is one of my favourite projects. I’d love to share the stage with them. Even now there are a few projects that are under discussion.
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