Music plays an important part in the lives of most Indians. But what drives a person to pursue a life in music? What is the difference between a musician and a performer? What is the music world like? These and more such questions are explained and explored as the author pulls you into his musical world.
In On That Note: Memories of a Life in Music, we learn about the author’s gurus and his family’s passion for music. Imagine being told his name is not really Sanjay but Subrahmanyan! It made me grin, as it is something peculiar to Tamils. Most are named after grandparents, but parents refuse to call us by our name as it might seem disrespectful to do so in front of their parents. So, most get called by nicknames, and that eventually sticks, and the real name becomes our middle name.
Although trained to be a violinist, his guru insisted the students should also know how to sing and this eventually led to Subrahmanyan becoming a singer. Growing up, his two passions included cricket and Carnatic music, which later expanded to all types of sports, music, and literature. His love and respect for his entire family shines throughout the book, especially for his wife, Aarthi
Like most musician memoirs, there is the overcoming of stage fear as a child, the first competition, the first concert, musical meetings with friends, etc. It is inevitable that we see a parade of famous singers on the pages apart from music composers like Sean Roldan, who was his student. In addition, he mentions how Unnikrishnan, a Carnatic singer’s shift to film music, made many change their minds.
Another feature of this memoir is that he never fails to mention each and every one who helped him in almost every concert. This generosity of spirit is evident as you read. No contribution by anyone is considered too small and they will find their names mentioned in the book. His special appreciation is reserved for his accompanists, Venkatesh and Varadarajan. His camaraderie with those who play instruments and how they challenge each other is something one needs to read or hear to understand.
This is the story of a violinist who became a conservative Carnatic musician, went on to become a music teacher, and later became a star performer and ended up getting the highest honour, the Sangita Kalanidhi award, from Madras Music Academy. The musical journey is continuing, though he quit his job as a chartered accountant 25 years ago. It was amusing to learn that what he hates most about himself is his voice, and he does voice exercises now to improve it with the help of Anjana Rajagopalan.
Krupa Ge’s writing skills have to be applauded here as the reader never feels that the author is not Subrahmanyan. In fact, it is hard to believe Krupa did the writing, as the reader doesn’t hear her but feels Sanjay Subrahmanyan is narrating the story. The writing is crisp, engaging, and insightful.
This book can be a little distracting. You will end up listening to music, as some of the songs or music projects mentioned are ones you might not have heard. I ended up listening to more songs in a span of two weeks than I thought was possible. As I was getting to the end of the book, I had Subrahmanyan on YouTube singing the song. Paadavendume, Endrum, Engum Paadavendume (I want to sing, always, everywhere; I want to sing). It is a must-read for all music lovers.