CHENNAI: There’s always a second look when a woman does something inimitable and intrepid.
March is the month of celebrating womanhood and here is a woman, who picked up the saxophone, an instrument that's considered hard to play and not just learnt it, but mastered it as well. MS Lavanya, who once faced only dissuasion for her attempts, has now emerged as a name to reckon with, for her relatives and competitors, while gaining appreciation from the public. Aspiring to do something different and adventurous, Lavanya picked up the western instrument at the age of 15, to etch her name in the history of Indian saxophone players, as one of the only two women saxophonists in India, the other being her younger sister MS Subbulaxmi.
Born to musicians, Sainath and MS Girija Sainath, Lavanya used to accompany her father to popular saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath’s concerts. Learning Carnatic vocals since the age of 6 and due to family pressure, Lavanya decided to learn the saxophone.
And saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath was more than happy to teach her despite growing opposition from her relatives. “They all thought it was joke and laughed at me but I was stubborn to continue learning the saxophone,” she recalls and laughs as we sit for a chat at the Big FM studio. Her stubbornness and willpower to learn the instrument and perform like her guru brought her to Chennai from Mangalore. “Coming to Chennai was like coming to America. People here welcome you with open arms and appreciate whatever you do,” she says.
Staying in a women’s hostel, Lavanya’s only time for practice was in the afternoon for two hours, under the burning sun. “I always see to it that I practice whatever the lessons my guru taught to perfection, before I go for the next class,” says Lavanya. The voracious practitioner, Lavanya taught her sister Subbulaxmi to play the sax. And their first concert at Mysore, back in 1999 took many by surprise with the perfection and panache they performed.
Today, Lavanya, both individually and as a duo has performed more than 500 concerts all over the world.
But performing at Carnatic concerts is not all; Lavanya is also into fusion music.
“I always wanted to be a versatile performer and not just stick to Carnatic music,” says Lavanya, who now wants to learn Western music and is searching for a teacher.
She is also performing at many fusion concerts and despite many solo Carnatic albums, she is now trying to fulfill her dream of launching her solo fusion album.
“I am working with Sri Palaghat Sriram and will be releasing the album in a couple of months” she informs, adding that her only other dream is perform with popular western saxophonist Kenny G.
Continuing her coaching on Carnatic vocals, Lavanya really can’t relate herself with performing Carnatic vocal concerts for she feels vocals just help her fine tune her performance with saxophone.
Perfecting herself at playing the instrument with regular pranayama practice, winning innumerable accolades, Lavanya is more than happy to have made the right decision to come to the city and is now here to stay. “Those who thought I was making a fool of myself by attempting something different are all now jealous of my progress,” says Lavanya, and signs off by adding that women are not any different from men and are capable of achieving their dreams and goals.
tejonmayam@epmltd.com