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‘I have my own style of rendering’
There is nothing wrong with classical musicians associating themselves with films so long as it has to do with music.
Photo: S. Mahinsha
Perumbavoor G. Ravindranath
Perumbavoor G. Ravindranath has carved a niche for himself as a Carnatic vocalist, music director and teacher. His music in ‘Innale’ won him the best music director award. His early introduction to different schools of music by his teachers helped him develop a style of his own. Ravindranath talks about his initiation into the world of music, his music, his love for teaching music et al. Excerpts.
Initiation
Every one in my family used to sing. I used to listen to my brother Ramachandra Menon learning his lessons. That’s when I decided to learn music . Initially, I was under the tutelage of Ganabhushanam V. K Sankara Pillai, disciple of the late Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. We would practise the main ragas thoroughly. After a couple of months, I was able to identify the ragas. Then, gradually we moved to varnams. No one had the guts to ask him to teach kirtans straightaway as is the practice these days. I began my advanced level training under Perumbavoor Balakrishna Iyer, a disciple of G.M. Balasubramonia Iyer. He introduced me to the different styles, that of GNB, Chembai, Alathoor Brothers, Ariyakudi and some others. I studied under him for 10 years.I did my pre-University at Christ College, Irinjalakuda,, and later moved to Sankara College, Perumbavoor for higher studies. Playback singer P. Jayachandran was my classmate in Christ College. Although I graduated in Chemistry, my passion for classical music continued unabated.
On AIR
In 1976, I joined Tharanganisari School of Music as professor of music. I was there for a year before joining All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1977 as music composer. My association with AIR dates back to the Seventies when I passed the audition for classical music from the Calicut station. When I joined AIR, I was quite lucky to have as my colleagues more than 30 greats in classical music as staff artistes. They included B. Sasikumar, K. S. Gopalakrishnan, R. Venkitaraman, Mavellikkara Krishnankutty Nair, R. Krishnaswamy, Doraiswami, M. G. Radhakrishnan, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, S. A. Swamy, K. P. Udayabhanu and S. R. Raju to name a few. It was a great experience working with them. We used to share our thoughts and ideas on music. But, now, things have changed. With the induction of casual artistes, you hardly get time to interact with anyone.
Film music vs. classical music
There is nothing wrong with classical musicians associating themselves with films so long as it has to do with music.
In film music, what matters is the accent and sweetness of the voice which must be sustained for three to four minutes. But in classical music, you need to have knowledge and sweetness. I have composed music for more than ten movies like ‘Innale,’ ‘Thuvanathumbikal,’ ‘Sneham,’ ‘Aksharam’ and ‘Chitrasalabhangal.’ And I got the best music director award for the songs in ‘Innale’ (1990).
Reality show
I am not averse to reality shows. Many people are getting exposure. That is good. There is competition too… That is how playback singers like Venugopal, K. S. Chitra, Vidhu Pratap had their beginning. That was the case with Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, K. S. Gopalakrishnan and B. Sasikumar too. Although it was not referred to as reality shows those days, it was still competition and all of them took part in it. What I differ with is the way in which it is conducted. You should know how to sing. You need not perform (dance) on stage.
Of course, there are discrepancies in the judgment. It is because some may look for melody, others for the prayogas, yet others for overall performance. But, it is a good training. I do take classes for these shows. I teach them voice modulation and how to maintain the pitch.
In a teacher’s role
I have been teaching since 1973,first at Perumbavoor, and later from 1976 at Thiruvananthapuram. But now, I teach only the intermediate level students – those who have the basic knowledge in music. I try to develop their swara jnanam. I teach them the akaras and make them sing the swaras. The drilling goes on for two to three weeks. Only after that do we move on to geetam, varnam and kritis.
I have my own style of rendering. It is different from my guru’s. I give importance to the gamaka prayogas. I like fast-paced kirtans but I cannot do the high speed ones. I listen to all kutcheries. If I am not here, I make it a point to see that I get recorded versions of it. I insist that my students listen to as many concerts as possible. I started giving concerts since the age of 14. One concert that touched me was the one I gave at the Navaratri Mandapam in 1993. The temple ambience overwhelms you.
G. JAYAKUMAR
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