Mother's side of the family is musical. All daughters of the house were given lessons in Carnatic Classical music. Amma was also trained in playing the Veena, considered to be one of the hardest instruments to master. Amma would often quote her guru saying that it was "kabbiNada kaDale". She reminisced how thatha (her father) loved to sit on the veene peTTige (box used to keep the Veena when not in use) when she took lessons or practiced. I know what you are thinking: 'sit on the box'!? Yes it is a very sturdy box made of teak wood, not like the flimsy ones we get these days made of plywood. When I got a Veena for my home here a few years ago, I was thankful that the veena reached home in one piece, given how the lid of the box was misaligned and the nuts and bolts already off, but then it had to be something lighter to bring on the plane anyways. I digress . . . the point is that we grew up listening to Amma's everyday songs. I remember Appaji enjoyed listening to his sisters-in-law sing. He even had a few favorites like "shubha nuDiye shakunada hakki", and "nityotsava". Although there was little scope for Amma to continue her music in her married life, the bug had been successfully passed on to the next generation.
We children came in quick succession and it took a few years for Amma and Appaji to make the move to a town from the village happen. Grateful for Amma's persistence to move to Shimoga for the sake of children's education. It was actually right after the move that I was born, the last one of four. Being born and to grow in a town that is culturally that rich was a blessing. I was enrolled for classes in light music around age 7 or 8, started off with "gaNapati neeDalu abhayaa, kaaryagaLella vijaya" followed by many other bhaktigeetes, bhavageetes, desha bhakti geetes and jaanapada geetes in the next few years. I tried my hand at playing the Veena for four years, training under Guru. Prabhakar in Shimoga.
Almost every summer was spent with cousins. Mother's younger sister's residence in Mysore became summer home of sorts. Chikkamma and chikkappaji are both connoisseurs of the arts. Chikkappaji is a huge proponent of Hindustani Classical music. Naturally their son was training in tabla and daughter(almost the same age as me) in vocals. I used to enjoy sitting through their lessons whenever I was there. "Eri ali piya bina" in raag Yaman still brings back gushing memories. I remember asking my cousin one time, if I could be her saathi during her concerts when we were all grown up, only to be disappointed to learn that you need to be trained to do that too. I realize now what a privilege it was to bring coffee, tea and snacks from chikkamma's kitchen to the large living room, to the many legendary artists during the whole night concerts that were arranged at their house.
Fast forward a few years . . . if you read Part 1 already, you can fill in what happened in those few years. M was 6 and S was 4.5 years old, when I brought them to Smt. Kumkum Sanyal for music lessons. Strict disciplinarian that she is, Kumkum-ji agreed to take them, on one condition! They would be on a probation, especially S because she was so little. She said she would continue only if she found that S can sit through the class, hold the attention and respond in a favorable way. S was by then used to sitting through and watching M's hour long dance classes, and she did that with intent, so I was confident. She went on to become one of Kumkum-ji's favorite and affectionate students. She couldn't read yet, but she could sing. Every time she sang, Sa, Ve (yes, that is how she pronounced it at the time), Ga, Ma in perfect tune, I felt a lump in my throat and my lips automatically stretched to a smile. That is how the Tuesday evening commute to Marlboro began. It went on for the next 4-5 years as the girls practiced and explored Raags Bhupali, Yaman, Alahiya Bilawal, Khamaj etc . . Thanks to organizations like NEKK, VSNE, and local temples, they had plenty of opportunities to perform and showcase their learning and get performance experience.
In 2011, life brought Surmani. Sri Dattatreya Velankar in our path and 'commute-less' music lessons via Skype was what was in store. One of the most generous and spirited souls I have met, he takes interest in the overall upbringing of the children in addition to teaching them music. This past summer was an incredible time for the girls filled with dance and music. Thanks to him, they had a unique opportunity of recording a CD of sixteen vachanas, Kannada verses by notable 12th century Shiva Sharanas. We were able to give back to the family what we had received from them. The same vachanas we had listened to in our elder's voices were now on the CD in my children's voices. Chikkappaji also arranged for a small concert, with their guru accompanying them on the harmonium. So grateful that the girls got to sing in front of chikkappaji, chikkamma, akka's family, friends and music lovers and most of all, nirODy couple! Truly blessed!
We children came in quick succession and it took a few years for Amma and Appaji to make the move to a town from the village happen. Grateful for Amma's persistence to move to Shimoga for the sake of children's education. It was actually right after the move that I was born, the last one of four. Being born and to grow in a town that is culturally that rich was a blessing. I was enrolled for classes in light music around age 7 or 8, started off with "gaNapati neeDalu abhayaa, kaaryagaLella vijaya" followed by many other bhaktigeetes, bhavageetes, desha bhakti geetes and jaanapada geetes in the next few years. I tried my hand at playing the Veena for four years, training under Guru. Prabhakar in Shimoga.
Almost every summer was spent with cousins. Mother's younger sister's residence in Mysore became summer home of sorts. Chikkamma and chikkappaji are both connoisseurs of the arts. Chikkappaji is a huge proponent of Hindustani Classical music. Naturally their son was training in tabla and daughter(almost the same age as me) in vocals. I used to enjoy sitting through their lessons whenever I was there. "Eri ali piya bina" in raag Yaman still brings back gushing memories. I remember asking my cousin one time, if I could be her saathi during her concerts when we were all grown up, only to be disappointed to learn that you need to be trained to do that too. I realize now what a privilege it was to bring coffee, tea and snacks from chikkamma's kitchen to the large living room, to the many legendary artists during the whole night concerts that were arranged at their house.
Fast forward a few years . . . if you read Part 1 already, you can fill in what happened in those few years. M was 6 and S was 4.5 years old, when I brought them to Smt. Kumkum Sanyal for music lessons. Strict disciplinarian that she is, Kumkum-ji agreed to take them, on one condition! They would be on a probation, especially S because she was so little. She said she would continue only if she found that S can sit through the class, hold the attention and respond in a favorable way. S was by then used to sitting through and watching M's hour long dance classes, and she did that with intent, so I was confident. She went on to become one of Kumkum-ji's favorite and affectionate students. She couldn't read yet, but she could sing. Every time she sang, Sa, Ve (yes, that is how she pronounced it at the time), Ga, Ma in perfect tune, I felt a lump in my throat and my lips automatically stretched to a smile. That is how the Tuesday evening commute to Marlboro began. It went on for the next 4-5 years as the girls practiced and explored Raags Bhupali, Yaman, Alahiya Bilawal, Khamaj etc . . Thanks to organizations like NEKK, VSNE, and local temples, they had plenty of opportunities to perform and showcase their learning and get performance experience.
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| Early learning days, Boston, 2005 |
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| Concert in Mysore, INDIA, 2014 |
