Venkat Raman –
More than 30 years ago, His Holiness the late Chandrashekara Sarawathi, Shankaracharya of Kamakoti Peetam used to say that the world needs youngsters who can recite Vedic hymns and render Carnatic songs ‘with the correct pronunciation.’
The wisdom of the great sage, who we revere as ‘Poojya Paramachari Periyaval’ (The Prime Guru and Elder, worthy of Worship) was manifest in the fact that almost all great singers of that time were ageing with no new singers in sight.
“But our Vedas and Music have always stood the test of time. You will see new artistes in the new Millennium,” he said.
The world has since seen many Carnatic Music performers who have enhanced the fine art and taken it further to the world stage. Indians from India, who have settled in various countries across the Continents, have been practicing the various forms of music and dance, brining pride and honour to their own selves, their families and our communities.
New Series
There are then organisations such as Rasikas NZ Limited and Sangeetha Bharathi School of Music in Auckland that organise programmes to promote local artistes and allow music buffs to enjoy the prowess of world-renowned professional artistes.
In that spirit, the two entities have once again come together to present a series of concerts by ‘emerging singers’ from the younger generation.
The first in this series would be with Ramakrishnan Murthy with concerts scheduled to be held in Hamilton (August 14), Auckland (August 15) and Wellington (August 16).
Priya Srinivasan of Rasikas NZ said that the plan is to organise the special series from time to time with emerging Indian artistes from India and other parts of the world.
“We are happy that ‘Raaga Hamilton’ and the New Zealand Indian Fine Arts Society in Wellington are partnering with us on this initiative. With the continued support of music lovers, we are confident that such projects will register success as we get to know the ‘Dynamic Vidwans of the Future,” she said,
Seizing opportunities
Ramakrishnan has had a career that is impressive and inspiring. Born and raised in Irvin, near Los Angles in America, he evinced early interest in Carnatic Music. With a strong view that commitment to this great art should be definite and well-rooted and not tentative or meandering, he migrated to Chennai to pursue his goal and become a professional vocalist.
He speaks in fluent Tamil and the non-slippery American English when I meet him at his grandparents’ aesthetically done-up home. The young vocalist wears his ‘South Indian’ origin by donning a white dhoti and T-shirt.
Famous mentors
In a recent interview published in The Hindu, he said that among his mentors have been Delhi Sunderrajan, Chengleput Ranganathan, Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan and Vaikom Jayachandran.
“It is a great opportunity to learn under one guru directly. Since I lived abroad, I had no option but to utilise every opportunity I got to meet these artists to learn from them. I was also advised to listen to the recordings of great masters and improve my knowledge. I have had good guides and well-wishers who showed me the right artistic path,” he said.
