Andhra Pradesh girl gets global recognition for Carnatic music
VISAKHAPATNAM: This 15-year-old girl has won the Global Child Prodigy Award-2022 for the all-time classic Carnatic song, Shodasa Kalanidhiki.Sharanya Mudundi was conferred the award in the field of art and culture (Vocal Carnatic Music) at Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf in Dubai by Sir Richard J Roberts, a Nobel Laureate.
The Global Child Prodigy Awards is the world’s first-ever child prodigies initiative that recognises, appreciates and rewards the top 100 child prodigies across the globe annually and celebrates young talents in various categories such as art and culture, scholastic, sports, innovation. Born and brought up in Visakhapatnam, Sharanya is a class 10 student of Visakha Valley School.
In a conversation with TNIE, Sharanya and her mother expressed their happiness over winning the award. “We are very proud of her accomplishments. To the world, she has won an award for her talent, but as her family, we know how much she trains and gives her full efforts, equally balancing the academics,” Sharanya’s mother Swathi said.
Sharanya has been learning Carnatic music since she was eight years old. The girl is currently learning Adi tala varnams and Ata tala varnams of the level-two carnatic music at KP Lipika Reddy’s institute. Her mother applied for the award online and out of thousands of applications from as many as 68 countries, she was one of the top hundred to be shortlisted. After a rigorous review process and thorough evaluation by a committee, Sharanya was awarded the Global Child Prodigy Award.
“I practise at least an hour daily. My journey with carnatic music helped me channelise my emotions and improve my concentration levels. I believe music made it easiaer for me to balance my academics and extracurricular activities,” she added.
Her father, Mudundi Suryanarayana Raju, is additional general manager at Ashoka Buildcon Ltd and her mother, Swathi, is vice-president of the Inner Wheel Club of Waltair, International Women’s Service Organisation. “Although my parents are busy with their work, they always spare time for me,” she said.
“I’m aiming to pursue my career in music but not sure in what capacity,” she expressed. The Global Child Prodigy Award isn’t the first award she has won. Earlier, Sharanya won the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Puraskar in 2020 (Art and Culture), Global Kids Achievers (2021), International India Achievements Award (2021), India Book of Records(2021), International Book of Records for Multiple Talents (2021), Gold and Solve medalist in NSKI Karate Championship (2017-2022), Gold and Silver Medalist in Olympiad(2015-2022), International Children Festival(2017-2019). Sharanya is also a brand ambassador of Inner Wheel Club of Waltair.