An innovative music and dance concert extolling Hindu Goddess ‘Sharada’
Venkat Raman
Auckland, April 12, 2020
The fact that younger members of our communities are rich with innovative ideas, promoting simultaneously our cultural and traditional values was demonstrated last week by two pairs of two siblings from the safety of their homes in East Auckland.
Anuradha (Anusha) Suresh, a multi-talented young woman conceptualised a quartet to present the octet of ‘Sharada Bhujangam,’ a composition of Adi Shankaracharya in praise of Goddess Sharada in Sringeri (one of the four main centres established by him).
The Slokam is set in Ragamalika, Adi Talam.
In conjunction with her sister Vindhyavasini Suresh on the Veena, she enlisted the proficiency of family friend Seyorn Arunagirinathan on the Violin, while his sister Arudshii Arunagirinathan agreed to illustrate the Slokam in Bharata Natyam format.
Vasantha Navarathri Festival
The original plan was to render one verse on each of first eight nights of ‘Vasantha Navarathri,’ (a Spring-event, also called, ‘Chaitra Festival), extolling the virtues and qualifies of Goddess Shakti (Durga) and invoking Her Blessings) from March 25, 2020 and release the final, combined version on April 2, 2020.
But the government declared Alert 4 effective from 1159 pm on March 25, 2020, locking down New Zealanders and their families in their own bubbles for four weeks.
Not to be outdone, Anusha guided the team, which included her younger sister Vindhyavasini Suresh to handle videography and editing, to work independently in their respective homes.
And the result is now reverberating the corridors of homes (and perhaps at workplaces rendering essential services) throughout the world.
Interludes and challenges
As well as directing the renditions, editing and coordinating the synchronisation of vocal, instrumental and dance aspects of the production, Anusha composed interludes to the original score of R K Shriramkumar (of the Rudrapatna family in Karnataka), an accomplished Violinist who has accompanied many renowned singers including M S Subbulakshmi.
The young artistes had their own challenges- minor and major meltdowns as they called them- synchronisation of individual music tracks, overlaying the video, hard drive crashing, and Vindhya losing all her University work.
But as it is often said, in ventures, troubles add spice to efforts, making results sweeter.
Says Bavani CT Suresh, Anusha’s mother: “The music is set to a five beat rhythmic cycle and the children had to be careful with the eduppus (starting points), a difficult job even if all were performing simultaneously but when single tracks have to be put together, it was mammoth task. Some verses started a single beat before, and the pedantic percussionist was very alert to this. Mixing of tracks had to be done so that one did not overpower the other.”
“The beauty of endeavour is that the project was done successfully during lockdown, in two separate homes harnessing the strength and versatility of the internet, a single laptop, a single mic, and some non commercial music software. The four young adults used valuable lockdown time very effectively. They came together, virtually, to produce a powerful piece at a time when the world needs healing,” she added.
Anuradha (Anusha) Suresh
The Star of the ‘Sharada Bhujangam’ of the lockdown season in Auckland is Anuradha Suresh, popularly known as Anusha. She is at once a Carnatic Musician, Bharata Natyam Dancer and a qualified Pharmacist and as we know now, a Producer, Director, Editor and Coordinator.
Anusha was introduced to music by Niranjani Kulaveerasingam (Kuala Lumpur), and continued at the Temple of Fine Arts under Usha Ramachandran and Vijayalakshmi Arumugam. Upon migrating to New Zealand, she came under the tutelage of Yamini Ramesh, a disciple of Madirimangalam Ramachandran and Lalgudi G Jayaraman.
Anusha has completed her Diploma in Carnatic Vocal Music from the University of Madras and earned the title of ‘Gana Visharad’ from New Zealand Carnatic Music Society.
Currently, she is undergoing advanced training under Lalgudi Padmavathi Ananthagopalan.
Anusha is also a trained Bharatha Natyam dancer. She presented her Arangetram under the aegis of the Temple of Fine Arts, Malaysia and was awarded the title of Nrithyanjali in 2011. She performs regularly in community events and has been the lead dancer in many dance productions.
Blessed with a mellifluous voice, Anusha also performs at Carnatic Music converts and Bharatha Natyam performances held New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.
She was invited to perform at the Chinna Melam Dance Festival in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu in 2019.
A Pharmacist by profession, Anusha conducts Carnatic Vocal Music and Bharatha Natyam classes on behalf of the Temple of Fine Arts, Malaysia.
Vindhyavasini Suresh
Vindhyavasini Suresh was introduced to the Veena by her mother Bavani CT Suresh and then came under the tutelage of Vijayalakshmi Arumugam, a disciple of Lalgudi Ananthagopalan at the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur. She is now on advanced training under Lalgudi Padmavathi Ananthagopalan.
Vindhya has completed her Diploma in Carnatic Music (Veena) from the University of Madras and the New Zealand Carnatic Music Society. She carries the mantle of Temple of Fine Arts by assisting her mother in conducting Veena classes.
She is at present a freelance Vainika, a volunteer swim coach for Special Olympics and is studying to be an Occupational Therapist.
Arudshii Arunagirinathan
With a strong proclivity towards Hindu culture and Tamil language, Arudshii Arunagirinathan began her journey in Bharatha Natyam when she was five years of age, under the tutelage of Renuka Ketheesan (Director & Principal of Sai Natyalaya in Auckland) and continued in Abu Dhabi under the tutelage of Lakshmi Viswanath (Director & Principal of Laasyapriya Academy of Natyam) for 11 years. She is currently under the guidance of Anuradha Ramkumar (Director & Principal of Nrithyabhinaya in Auckland).
Arudshii is also a talented vocalist and started learning Carnatic Music when she was seven years old from Sita Raghu (also an accomplished Violinist) in Abu Dhabi and from Dr Usha Prasad (former Principal, Bharadwaj School of Music of Bengaluru, now living in Chennai).
Arudshii has performed in various solo and group renditions in the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and New Zealand and has won in the Sangeet Samrat Competition, UAE. She is qualified in Piano (Grade 8) from the Associate Board of The Royal Schools of Music (UK) and is adept at swimming, tennis and netball.
In her late teens, Arudshii is pursuing her second year for qualify for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at University of Auckland.
Seyorn Arunagirinathan
Seyorn began his musical journey in Carnatic Violin at the age of eight under the guidance of Sita Raghu from Abu Dhabi. He honed his skills under the direct guidance of A Kanyakumari and Embar S Kannan. He currently receives advanced training from VV Ravi.
An accompanist and a soloist, he has performed in several countries including the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
He was awarded the title of ‘Sangeet Samrat’ for junior and senior categories at competitions organised in the United Arab Emirates.
Seyorn has also completed ABRSM Western Piano Grade 7 and Diploma in Western flute with distinction, making him an Associate of the Royal Schools of Music in London. He has performed many solos on piano and flute and is a member of his school orchestra.
Apart from concert platforms, Seyorn, who is in Year 12 at Botany Downs Secondary College in Auckland, is an avid sportsman. He is a member of the first XI football team at his college and plays football for the under 17 Fencibles Conference team and badminton for the College Rifles Badminton club.
Website: https://www.anushasuresh.com
