HYDERABAD: Singer Sri Soumya Varanasi recently performed live at Moonshine Projects. CE delves into her performance, the concert somaphia and learning more about her journey in the musical world
Can you tell us something about Somaphia?
I perform Indian classical music in a contemporary version. My main motto was to take Indian music to the next generation. Usually, when we say classical music—Carnatic or Hindustani, it is thought of as a boring and outdated space for youngsters. I wanted to make it interesting without taking away the soul of the composition. My focus is on story-based concerts, like the story of a woman in her late 40s who looks back at every facet of her life and revisits each with the same emotion. There is a composition apt for each of these phases encompassing a Carnatic-contemporary fusion and some originals. My moral line for this story is, “There will be noise around you. It could be a judgment, an opinion, a comment; it is your choice to switch off that noise and listen to what you want to do.”
How do you approach the process of selecting songs for contemporary concerts?
I love doing thematic concerts. Even if I am doing a private one, I try to understand the clients. I try to weave their interests and compositions accordingly.
What is your perspective on the future of Indian classical music?
I definitely think it will sustain itself, but in its own way. It will take multiple forms, and blend into other forms of music, having its own aura while being performed. There are already many Carnatic musicians, travelling abroad and performing Carnatic with Western instruments. I think it will blend with others and have its own space as well.
How do you adapt to changes when you sing for films?
I started singing at a very young age. Music was never divided into sections in my head. Fortunately, I had gurus who encouraged me to sing all kinds of music. When I’m in that flow, it’s easy for me to adapt to anything. I started singing in movies at a young age. It was at this point that I started learning Hindustani music as well. I learned Western vocals for a couple of months, and I have been exposed to all these things as a journey. Now, mentally, it is easy for me to adapt to these circumstances. When I am called to a movie song, my mind knows automatically, and of course, I have to practice for it. I have to spend some time. Otherwise, mentally, I don’t see much of a gap in myself.
Can you shed some light on your musical journey?
My mother put me in music training when I was five years old. I have been learning music from several gurus. I learned the basics from Rama Krishna and then Rama Chari for a very long time. Then Neetha Chanshekhar taught me Carnatic music. I learned briefly from the Mallari brothers and V Raghava Chari; they are stalwarts in Carnatic music. Right now, I am getting trained by Bombay Jay Sri. I did my engineering, and my masters in Carnatic music. I have my own music school. With the concept of Dhruvam, I’m working on a lot of aspects related to Indian culture.
A memorable experience from your journey?
I have only one motto: when I get on stage, there could be 10 people or 100 or 1000. If I connect to even one person in the audience and if there is a good impact, I feel I have been successful. Whenever I get compliments from an audience, I feel extremely related, because that’s the sole purpose of why I am doing all of this. I have been fortunate to have such moments after my concert. I really treasure them.
How do you balance traditional aspects of music while also incorporating your style?
It is a very tricky thing; it’s like walking on a fine rope. When you pick up a traditional composition, the composer must have had some emotion when he composed it. I go on a long journey with the composition. What is it telling me? Or what am I trying to deliver? I should feel something, and it’s not something that I can define and say; this is what I do, or these are the steps I take to protect the composition.
I think every artiste has this due to their space of operations. For me, if I picked something and then worked on it, I chose a journey. I listen to it. I listen to many versions of it, and then I start reworking how I want to present it. If it is original, it is no less than giving birth to a child.
What advice would you offer to aspiring classical singers?
Listen to every kind of music with the same love and respect. You never know which music will trigger what in you. You never know which part you will take out of your journey. Carnatic is one of the aspects of many. Please learn to practice and understand because the theory that Carnatic or Indian music gives is enormous, keeping it as an element that gives you confidence, drawing a line, and not disrespecting any other form of music, is very important.