For a violinist, playing with artistes from different schools of music is no easy task. One has to grasp various notes on the spot and bring out the melodies at the same time. For Charulatha Ramanujam, music always came naturally. Though an established artiste, she still considers herself to be a student. In an interaction with City Express, Charulatha spoke at length about her journey in the world of classical music and her opinion about contemporary musicians.
Her musical journey started as a violinist at the age of six. Sheer passion towards music drove her towards the world of Carnatic classical music. She was initially trained under the tutelage of her father K Rangaswami, a vocalist. Speaking about her journey she said, “I started learning violin under Vidwan Pudukkottai R Ramanathan in Tirupati and later under the guidance of Vidwan Anoor S Ramakrishna. Currently, I am learning under Dr R K Srikantan. It is due to the guidance of my teachers and support from my family that music which was a hobby became my profession.”
In the beginning, Charulatha found it difficult to follow compositions as an accompanist. “ As an amateur violinist, I had my share of difficulties. I used to listen to the musical notes and try to play them without giving much importance to the lyrics or the different styles of rendition. Primary importance was given only for notes. My teachers said that as an accompanist, one should have the sense of anticipation while playing. For me, it is essential that I understand the composition and then give a thought to the ‘sahitya bhava’,” she added.
In order to master different nuances of violin, she listened to the renditions of classical stalwarts on radio and tried to apply those techniques in her renditions. “Each musician has a unique style (either vocal or instrumental). Thus, the accompanist’s role is to gel with that and make the concert a great experience for all.”
In earlier days, violin maestro Late T Chowdiah experimented with a seven stringed violin. This attracted large number of music lovers and connoisseurs. But there is hardly an endeavour to bring the seven stringed violin into the mainstream. She said, “During those days, there were no mikes for any of the concerts. Thus, the volume in violins did not match with those of the vocalists. So, he experimented with the seven stringed instrument which produced higher levels of volume. However, due to presence of highly sensitive mikes in concerts of present day, different experiments are being tried even now. There are silent violins, double violins which produce great sounds, modified veenas, modified sitars, sarods and others.”
Are young musicians failing to bring out the intensity of Gamakas and emphasising on each note as stalwarts of yesteryears did? “The stalwarts of yesteryears were passionate performers. Their music has a tremendous effect on the successive generations. Though each legendary performer had his/her own unique style, the common thread was just one - passion. In fact, even in those days, some of the legendary performers tried new things which eventually became a huge success. Today, some of the younger musicians are extremely passionate about music. Crowded concerts with younger audiences is a testimony to this.”
However for Charulatha each concert is a learning experience. Recalling one of her most memorable concerts, she said with a smile, “As an amateur artiste, once I had provided violin accompaniment to the main artiste. After the concert, the main artiste felt that I had overplayed my part. I felt that the passion took over me and I just could not stop at a particular point.”
