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A woman of many talents
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`For me, veena recitals and dance performances are complementary. It's a kind of synergy that cannot be explained'
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Suparna Ravishankar. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Dance performances and veena recitals are her means of creative expression, Suparna Ravishankar tells Raghava M.
She is an accomplished veena player and an equally talented Bharatnatyam dancer.
Suparna Ravishankar began learning to play the veena at the age of 10 at her home in Shimoga. Her father was a professional Carnatic vocalist and music was in her genes. Being the eldest of three daughters, her father wanted her to continue the family tradition of music. She opted for the veena as a medium of musical expression and also started taking dance lessons.
After passing SSLC and PUC, she wanted to study music. She did her Masters in music and is now doing her doctoral research on "veena techniques."
Learning to play the veena was not easy.
"I began with a medium sized instrument. Manipulating the strings became fairly easy, as I had an ear for music," Ms. Ravishankar said. The practice sessions were supervised by her guru, Krishnamurthy, who regularly came home to teach her.
She then took lessons from R.K. Suryanarayana, a renowned veena vidwan.
While in college, Ms. Ravishankar participated in a "Pancha veena" concert along with Mr. Suryananarayana.
She was praised for her outstanding performance at the concert.
Ms. Ravishankar's family moved to Bangalore in 1984, and she continued to learn both dance and veena. Hectic practice sessions in both became part of her daily routine.
Money was a problem, and making that initial debut on stage was postponed. In the classical music and dance circles, a formal Ranga Pravesha is considered a must. It is a sort of sampling session for senior musicians and critics to measure the potential an upcoming artiste.
She recalled her Ranga Pravesha, not as a child, but as a young married woman.
"I felt I was ready to face the audience," she said.
She was encouraged by her husband, Ravishankar, a music enthusiast and brother of singer Manjula Gururaj.
As a veena player, she used to accompany other musicians and had also begun giving solo performances.
Her major break came after marriage, when she began giving more concerts. Invitations from several cultural organisations started coming her way.
Ms. Ravishankar has released two albums of her veena performances. One is purely classical and the other is of the "Dasara Padagalu" genre.
"For me, veena recitals and dance performances are complementary. Knowing musical nuances influences my depiction of "bhava" as a dancer. It's a kind of synergy that cannot be explained," she said.
Ms. Ravishankar recently started playing for film orchestras, thanks to her association with Manjula Gururaj.
She is now busy grooming her 10-year-old daughter, Megha, who has started learning dance and play the veena.
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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