From mid-December to mid-January in the Tamil calendar is the month of Margazhi and it’s a festive season for Carnatic music lovers in Chennai. 21-year-old R Arjun Sambasivan and 19-year-old R Narayanan are also quite busy with more than 10 concerts queued up in the coming month.
Narayanan and his brother started learning music 12 years ago under the tutorship of Sahasranamam. But the duo still remembers the moment they realised their passion and calling. “When we were rejected at an audition held by a private academy, we decided that we should practise for at least two hours a day,” says Arjun. But it was only on December 14, 2007 did the duo become truly amazed by the realm of music. On that day, they heard late mandolin maestro, U Srinivas play.
“We couldn’t believe that someone could play so beautifully with a western instrument like the mandolin. That is when we took the decision to change things for the better,” says Narayanan. The duo went on to study under U Srinivas till 2012 and are currently under the guidance of N Ravikiran.
The brothers, who are full-time professional musicians, are part-time students of Chartered Accountancy. Like all other loving siblings, there is a quirky side to their relationship. While their mother attempts to pass it off as petty fights between brothers, they call it their ‘creative process’. “We fight because we have a difference in opinion in our interpretation of music. It’s a creative process we go through to bring out the best in each other during concerts,” says Arjun.
From the time the duo decided to become professional Carnatic musicians playing the keyboard, they have been sincerely practising for more than six hours a day. Completing over 600 concerts till date, the duo have performed in New Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. They have also performed in Malaysia and the United States. Even after completing 600 concerts, they still feel that their career as musicians is just taking off and every concert is a brand new experience.
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