THRISSUR: On personal notes, it is very rare to find female tabla players, particularly in South India where Carnatic music enjoys an upper hand over Hindustani. Vaikombased Ratnashree, an emerging female tabla artiste in South India, is slowly finding a place among the tabla maestros of India.
A soloist and a versatile accompanist with top Indian classical music, Ratnashree's name is popular in Central and Northern India, thanks to her tonal balance, clarity, pinpoint precision in rhythm, repertoire spiced with spontaneous creativity and dedication to the art.
Ratnashree was in Thrissur the other day to perform tabla for a music programme. She spoke to Express about the art and her dreams. "It didn't happen in a day. I came to the world of musical instruments when I was 13. At first, I started learning vocal music. My elder brother used to learn tabla. In those days, I used to identify the rhythm of a particular composition. Then my father said that I seemed to be rhythmically inclined towards tabla or have an extra sense for the instrument. Hence I decided to try a hand at tabla. After nine years of rigorous training and practice, I started performing on stage. People stare at me seeing a woman with tabla on stage, but leave the programme only after congratulating me, which makes me feel happy," says Ratnashree.
A postgraduate in MSc Chemistry from MG University and born into a family of artistes, Ratnashree feels the mix of science and art at home has fired her own artistic explorations. These have led her into theoretical realms as well, and she now dreams of research in tabla in the near future. "I always wanted to study the art more than performing it. I believe the process of learning keeps an artiste close to the art," she says.
Ratnashree knows that the world of tabla is ruled by men. "I have no idea why it is so. May be because we, South Indians, are more attached to Carnatic music and tabla is seen here as a common musical instrument in ganamelas and bhajans," she says.
And her dream? Comes the readymade answer "To become a solo artiste like Anuradha Pal, the 'Queen of Tabla'. Also, I want to make a space in the music world with sound knowledge in the subject. I plan to teach music to as many people as I can," she says with determination.
Due recognitions are yet to come her way though she has won numerous awards. "I am just 29 and have enough time to think of recognition in the form of awards. I believe that people will rate me based on my performance," says Ratnashree. Ratnashree's first solo CD will be released in December. She has played three taals Vilambit taal, Dhrut taal and Jhap taal in the onehour CD.
