HYDERABAD : Hyderabadi girl, Sruthi Dhulipala, 24, a communications professional is a singer-songwriter and a music fellow at IndianRaga in the US. Trained in Carnatic vocals under Hyderabad Sisters Lalita and Haripriya, Sruthi has completed her level-5 certification in Carnatic vocals with IndianRaga.
She recently released an EDM fusion original, Jataa Kataa on major audio platforms. She is also a part of the duo S&S Project with another singer-lyricist, Shruthi Iyer, and is set to release more originals for the band soon.
A BTech graduate from VNR VJIET, Hyderabad, Sruthi shifted tracks to do her Masters in Public Relations, specialising in Entertainment PR, from Boston University. “I moved to the US three years ago. I built my portfolio and recently interned for CBS Studios, for the TV Shows The Big Bang Theory and The Late Late Show with James Corden,” she says.
Singing has always been a part of her life. Born into a musical family, and as a daughter of Mridanga Vidwan DSR Murthy, Sruthi got the opportunity at an early age to accompany him for concerts and learn by observing stalwarts such as L Subramaniam and Bombay Jayshree. “As a kid, the training began from the age of three!” she shares. “I have self-learnt playing the piano and songwriting,” adds she.
Start of her musical journey
Sruthi performed Carnatic and semi-classical fusion concerts in sabhas and venues, such as at the Telugu University. “I performed katcheris in Thyagaraya Gana Sabha, Ravindra Bharati, and Shilpa Kala Vedika,” informs she.
She co-founded a semi-professional band called ‘Rooh’. “We explored the genres of soft-rock, Carnatic fusion, pop, and soul, and performed at venues such as The Gallery Cafe, Lamakaan, Phoenix Arena, and IIT-Hyderabad,” she recollects. “I won over 30 prizes and awards growing up,” she says excitedly. “We barely had free time, juggling between classes, gearing up for gigs in the night, and spending weekends to rehearse. But, the adrenaline that pumped in when we sang live was worth all the hustle,” she enthuses.
She was also a TEDx performer at the age of 19 at VNR VJIET, where she shared her ‘unshelling’ experiences as a musician and singer.
Current projects
She is a Vocal Fellow at IndianRaga, an MIT based-startup that fosters Indian talent and produces music projects. As part of the Boston fellowship, she has arranged and released two projects - O Jaana, a Hindi version of Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s Senorita, and an English Note Acapella bringing the different nuances of classical and western realms of the Raga Shankarabharanam. “This video garnered 200k views on Youtube,” she says. The latter was well-received for the creative way it blended the Carnatic and Western worlds.
In the pipeline
A folk Carnatic rap with IndianRaga, which is an original tune and rap mixed with famous Tamil folk song Karaioram. This rap song talks about how folk music as it is today, is not given the elite status as Carnatic music is, and how music must not be discriminated into classes or genres. “The rap has a catchy hummable element. I provided Carnatic touches through aalaps and kalpana swaras,” she explains. She also has original songs releasing next month, in Hindi, English and Telugu.
Future plans
How difficult is it to manage both work and her music passion? Answers Sruthi: “I was raised with the mindset that two careers can always be an option. My father inspired me to pursue what my heart wanted.” She adds, “As a publicist who specialises in entertainment, I’ want to delve into taking on clients in music, art, culture, and helping them grow their brand and improve their artist identity. And parallelly plan to emerge as an independent singer-songwriter myself, hoping to get signed by a label in the next few years,” she shares.
— Tamanna S Mehdi tamanna@newindianexpress.com @tamannamehdi