Sudha has a golden touch in her voice which enthralls her listeners from all over the globe. There is tantalizing mystery behind that cherubic smile. Her deep relish for tradition and mystical old-world charm is supremely addictive.


Her foundation in the world of music was laid at a very young age and it was her mother Smt. Choodamani who groomed her, before the onus to nurture her music fell upon Vidwan Sri. B.V. Lakshman.


Sudha initially wanted to become a doctor, but the thought of performing dissections so repelled her that she gave up the idea. “It wasn’t that I was a bad student. My dissections were always neat and my diagrams were perfect, but I always found myself fainting at the sight of blood!”


She proved her prowess both in academics and in music and now, stood at a juncture where two roads diverged - there was ‘something’ that was needed to push her onto the road less traveled by.


Enter Padmavibushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. M.L. Vasanthakumari, hailed by many as a musical genius, a doyen of Carnatic music. In 1977, Sudha won a Central Government scholarship that gave her the opportunity to come under the wings of this master of a great parampara. From this point on; there was no turning back. Sudha had the golden opportunity to provide vocal support to MLV for about a decade.


Of MLV, (as she was affectionately called by all) Sudha often said “Music was only one of the few things she taught me. She taught me how to live life to its fullest.” Sudha, with a touch of nostalgia, vividly recalls how while singing an Ashtapathi in ragamalika, there would come a sangathi in Yaman Kalyani at a higher octave. Spontaneously, MLV would stop and allow Sudha to take over. “She was such a generous person on stage….in some sense it also reflected how she was in life as well.” From 1990, Sudha’s rise was phenomenal, and following her Guru’s demise, she has been considered as MLV’s vaarisu.


Sudha is a top ranking artiste for Prasar Bharati, Chennai and performs at important events of All India Radio and Doordarshan.


Music had now taken centre stage but for Sudha it would not be at the cost of her academics. She holds an M.A. in Economics. Being such a vivacious, versatile and highly talented individual, it’s no surprise that Sudha won the award- Outstanding Student of Ethiraj College, for three years in succession- an achievement which for a long time remained unmatched. She was the Treasurer and later the Vice President of the Students Union and won the prestigious ‘Service to the College’ medal.


Sudha’s rise to prominence has not been an easy task.” Being a recognized musician requires tremendous amount of hard work. One good performance alone is not enough and there is a lot of practice one has to go through. It usually takes an artist around seven to ten years to become well known and the financial returns might be mediocre….one has to be determined enough to stick through it all.”


Sudha carved a niche for herself in the Carnatic School of singing, thanks to her voice that packed 'swara' and 'shakti'. Her distinctly stunning vocal style and effortless singing made her the most sought after artiste for several prestigious concerts. As the brightest singing star on the horizon, her voice mesmerized 'rasikas' across the country and beyond the Indian shores.


Sudha is a top ranking artiste of the All India Radio and the Doordharshan, besides being the artiste in demand by leading recording companies like AVM, INRECO, VANI and AMUTHAM. With her crystal clear and almost divine voice, Sudha reached out to the discerning music lovers across the world, widening musical communications across the cultural borders.


Today, Sudha Ragunathan is known for her beautiful vocal tapestries, soaring solos and unusual timbres. Her creative expression in Carnatic music has no par. And, her music is known to flow straight from the heart, dripping with classical divinity.


Her authentic renditions of 'krithis' and refined elaborations of 'ragas', the élan with which she breezes through the 'kalpana swaras', her command over the octaves and her supremely confident stage presence combined with unstated humility has given her an enviable pre-eminence in the world of Carnatic music. Call it her 'Guru Dakshina' to her mentor, Dr.M.L.Vasantha Kumari.


In the world of voices, can you hear my song? “The enthralling, enchanting voice of Sudha and her entrancing harmonies have graced several 'kutcheries' and celebrations. She was the auspicious voice at the first live broadcast of the National Program Series of concerts hosted at Chennai.


Sudha also has the unique honor of rendering 'Vande Mataram' at the Central Hall of Parliament, New Delhi on 27th January 2000 to mark the completion of 50 years of the free Indian Republic.


Even today, Sudha has to work tremendously hard to keep up the reputation that she has built. And now, with a husband, and two children, there never seems to be enough time. “It’s Stress with a capital ‘S’, she sighs”. “I wouldn’t have come this far if it wasn’t for my family; they’ve co-operated tremendously.”


Music has given Sudha plenty in life and she plans to give back to it some in her own special way. Apart from teaching or starting a music school, Sudha plans to release a series of cassettes and CDs in collaboration with other senior artistes that bring out the therapeutic effect of Carnatic music.


She is also the Managing Trustee of ‘Samudhaaya Foundation”, started in 1999, with a “cause” in mind. To play her role in giving back to society what she has gained – immense love, recognition, appreciation and standing in the hearts of the people who enjoy and appreciate her music and always come back for more!


R.L. Stevenson said “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept were toiling upwards in the night.”
Sudha’s life has been no different and with every mountain that she has scaled, she has always set her sights on higher peaks.





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Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

Sudha off stage is a very congenial person, a loving mother, a doting wife, a wonderful friend and a concerned citizen. She is a person who strongly trusts the power of positive thinking and believes that this attitude has helped her scale every peak that she has encountered. She also is an avid reader with Sidney Sheldon and Danielle Steel among her favourite authors.


Inspite of her extremely busy schedule, she makes a conscious effort to spend time with her family. She loves to play a game of cards or catch a good movie with her husband, Ragunathan and her two children Kaushik and Malavika.


She loves to travel and see places and her concerts around the world give her an opportunity to do this. She feels specially nostalgic about Venice and always imagines having a concert somewhere on the gondolas.


She has a lot of ‘chinna china aasais’ which include collecting idols of Ganeshas ranging from the size of a finger - nail to the size of a new born baby. The count is now at 600 and continues to grow. Dolls from different parts of the world add beauty to her shelves at home.


Samudhaaya Foundation was founded by Sudha as part of her efforts towards the betterment of the society.





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Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

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Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

 

Things happen in hat tricks for me! says Sudha Raghunathan. Three titles this year from three Madras sabha!

Even in college, she says, I got the best student three years in a row.

Talking to her on a typical weekday morning is disruptive. There are half a dozen phone calls and she hardly gets time to speak a few words in between them. "When can we have your Bombay concert?" "I just called to ask how you were." "It is a long time since I saw you, can I drop in?".

And finally she is left to take her phones off the hook to get on with the interview.

 

How has the year been? Did anything out of the way in the last few months?
I travelled a lot. The highpoint was a major tour in June-July to Europe. A concert at the Theatre de la Ville in Paris earlier in January on the 19th was a grand success. Two out of the away events I participated in were the International festival at Helsinki on 'Influence of Indian food and music on the Finns'. There was more music than food that caught the attention though!

In Germany at Rudolstadt was a first time festival called Magic Voices 2000. Then there was the Global Vocal Meeting on July 6 at Lorrach, Germany.

The organisers, Burghof of Lorrach had got together singers from Madagascar, Lorrach, Hungary, Switzerland, Mali and the US, and of course myself from India. This was part of Stimn 2000 which has a wider canvas of theatre, dance etc.

I did not imagine this would be such a big hit! It was like a musical dialogue and a bit of fusion also. There was a fusion workshop that preceded the performance too. And an album is planned. Other singers did not have accompanists, but this was part of a larger tour of mine and Dorai Swaminathan and Palladam Ravi were with me and they also played at the show.

This was so successful that we are going to have a major tour next year and the show is going to be taken to Spain, Hungary and the US too. It is also going to be a regular annual show on July 6.

I also had kutcheris at the UNESCO Hall in Paris for fund-gathering for the Orissa flood victims.

 

 

What new albums did you release during the year?
A very new concept was a Saraswathi Andhadhi by Kambar. I recorded a Virutham for Navarathri for Amudham cassettes - this is a US based label which has only CDs in Carnatic music and my husband and I have taken up the licence for developing a repertoire for cassettes under this label and also marketing them.

I also recorded an album called Dhyanalingam for Isha Foundation of Coimbatore - that was for Vani.

 

 

What special plans do you have for the season? How do you prepare for the season?
I am introducing a ragamalika in 27 ragas - my own composition. That will be a highlight. I have done pallavis with rare talas and dual talas earlier. I have done a 3 raga Pallavi for Mylapore Fine Arts sabha...

 

 

What is your favourite raga?
Oh, I can't specify one. But I think for my voice the pratimadhyama ragas are most suited. You can soar high and the width is larger.

 

 

Do you need to practise, do you keep learning?
About practise, yes I need to practise. But if you ask whether I do, there is no answer for that question! Yes, I do need to learn too. But at present I have no guru. I keep learning from MLV amma's tapes. I don't like saying that since it should not be a bad precedent. You cannot really learn from tapes unless you have already learnt to discriminate between the good and the bad.

 

 

How do you plan for a kutcheri?
Planning is not in our gharana. The idea is to sing spontaneously.

 

 

What about accompanists? Don't they need a bit of advance notice? Practice?
They do feel they are on tenterhooks. If they take the challenge it is good. But if not, it does become a mess! But I have a set of regular accompanists and they know what I will sing....

 

 

Who are your accompanists?
None of the big names!

 

 

Why?
Well, they refuse to play for a woman!

 

 

What? I thought that was something MS, DKP and MLV faced, and that it was over with them!
I am surprised you are surprised. Of course it continues. My Hindustani music counterparts are amazed - they don't even understand the concept. They say, how can this be!

 

 

What reasons do they give?
Oh, outwardly they say that tuning is a problem to suit female voices. Violinists say that their instrument is strained and screeches. Mridangists say that the tension at which they have to set the instrument causes callouses on their fingers....

They also say that women artistes do not pay well. But I can prove that we do pay better.

It is actually a matter of ego. There have been accompanists who grew with me and suddenly said "I don't play for women anymore". I understand that they are being dissuaded from doing so, and they also say that male main artistes don't engage them if they play for women and they don't want to jeopardise their careers...

 

 

What about those who are playing for you now?
Well, I am comfortable with them, and they are very competent. But the concert would be much better if it was a maestro. I would feel challenged and my perfomance would be much better. If my output is 75 % now it would be close to 100 %. I would be able to pick up ideas from them.

 

 

How do you feel about this whole scene?
I used to feel sad about it. But now I am reconciled. They are entitled to their opinions and I respect them for it. So I accept it and am not bothered anymore.

 

 

What is your fondest memory of M L Vasanthakumari, your guru?
My fondest personal memory was the concern she showed when I told her I am getting married. It was the humaneness. She was shaken. And she also frankly told me her concern was that marriage could turn out to be what stops an artiste's growth.

This was in 1982. She asked me to bring my fiance to meet her. This was a difficult situation. My husband is a very macho kind of person and telling him that my Guru asked him to come and see her - and for approving him - was tough! It must have been tough for him.

I was a quiet, non-submissive person too!! And he's mellowed now! She asked him if he was clear about what he was going to do - marry a person who would be a performing artiste. The long hours, the travelling...... I do think he underestimated the stress, but we did cross every hurdle though.

The second time when she showed such concern was when I told her I was going to have a second baby. That was the time when she was very sick and this upset her as she had plans for me to make my presence felt during that season. She told me not to miss any bit of that season for any reason. And I did my best too. I sang till the last concert I had on January 3 and my daughter was born on January 20! That was the 1989 season and she was really sick. She did sing in January 1990 and passed away in that year.

 

 

Why is it that the rare ragas are being allowed to become rarer. They are disappearing. What are you doing to keep them alive?
Well, as a singer you have to popularise the rare ragas, I agree. But the conservative heads also have to nod during a kutcheri. They feel you are going out of focus if you sing other ragas. In fact there is a mental fatigue that sets in if you sing the same set of ragas repeatedly.....

I will be singing Gamanasmarana this season.

 

 

What are you doing under Samudaaya - your Trust? And why a Trust for the society - why not for music...
I thought that society is what makes us what we are and we must do something for society. That is why Samudaaya was set up. The major activity we had under it last year was the fund raiser for Orissa flood victims. I am still building the corpus up - it is not big now. Then I will launch programmes carefully. They will be handpicked and will be something deserving.

 

 

What are your hobbies?
I love life. I do everything. I love reading, I read anything under the sun. Fiction, inspirational books.

 

 

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Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

Sudha Raghunathan, a leading exponent of Carnatic music, was the disciple of the illustrious Padma Vibhushan (Late) Dr. M. L. Vasanthakumari. She had the opportunity to provide vocal support to Dr. M.L.V. for over a decade. Sudha has performed in many major cities in India and has also undertaken concert tours all over the world. A number of awards and titles have been conferred on her. The most recent being an award for propagating Tamil music, given to her by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi.

Amidst attending to incessant phone calls and doorbell rings, she talks about her guru, her music and her future.

My childhood was lots of fun. I was really not cut out to be a professional singer. Music was fairly low profile. My mother, Sreemati Choodamani was a singer but she could not bloom as a professional singer in those days. So she encouraged me to sing. In a way, she made her dreams come true by bringing me into the professional arena.

Every day was memorable. She was not just a musician who would deliver her goods. She was a total personality. She was a large hearted human being. She took care to shape her disciples not only in the field of music, but also in other aspects of life. After attending college, whatever time I had, I would spend with her. She taught us to accept and face challenges, come what may. The excellent grounding that I got from her has stood me in good stead, both personally and professionally.

The so-called 'MLV' style is a very cheerful style. To describe it very simply, it makes people sit and forget where they are. It has technical excellence, spontaneity, and lots of creativity. The creative aspect of Carnatic music comes to the forefront in her style.
Do you plan your concerts?

No, I go by the pulse of the audience. An experienced artiste can judge by the way the audience reacts; like the nod of the head, the expression on the face, or by the applause. If I am singing for the same banner repeatedly, then I plan the songs. If I have to sing in a temple then naturally, I sing songs pertaining to the deity of that temple or if I am asked to sing at a wedding, then I see the music background of the family and accordingly sing. But otherwise I don't plan my concerts. That is the advantage of the MLV style. My songs are spontaneous.

There are two aspects to it - positive and negative. The positive aspect is that these sabhas give opportunities to upcoming musicians. They have opened up vistas for the whole music fraternity. The negative aspect is that there is enormous pressure both mental and physical on the established artistes to perform in these sabhas. Specially, during the season, like the coming December festival. At times, it becomes very stressful for the performing artiste.

I was being selective, but later found that the organisers get upset when I oblige one and don't oblige the other. I feel that the December music season is a time when people from different parts of the world come to watch different styles of music by different artistes. Overexposure of top artistes should be avoided because, after a while, the audience also gets bored.

Yes, I think it is slowly gaining popularity. Carnatic musicians are breaking the barrier by expressing their views through the media, by making the bureaucracy understand through a panel of senior musicians that equal representation should be given to both Carnatic and Hindustani styles of music in foreign festivals.

An artiste should have a reasonably good voice, with good resonance and energy. There should be discipline. By discipline I mean the artiste should keep in mind the meaning of the lyrics, the grammar, the sruti (the key) and the laya (the rhythm) while performing on stage.

The trust, called 'Samudaaya Foundations' was started on July 20th, 1999. It is a social welfare organisation that covers a wide spectrum of activities from music to education and also charitable causes. The foundation donated Rs.5 lakh to the Kargil Defence personnel relief fund. We donated Rs 1 lakh to the cyclone victims of Orissa in December 1999. We are trying to build a good corpus and are making a good headway.

I want to pass on my art to the next generation and the best way to do it would be to start a school. The school would be a representation of my style of music. I want to publish books on Purandaradasa kritis that MLV was famous for. I also want to do research on what music can do in the field of medicine.

To me, the ragas I choose to sing at a particular concert are my favourite ragas for that particular day. Each raga has its own swings and moods. Some reflect pathos, some joy, and some sorrow.

____________
Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

____________
Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

____________
Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

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Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic. (Jean Sibelius)

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"Without music, life is a journey through a desert. - Pat Conroy"

"There is no delight in owning anything unshared." Seneca [Roman philosopher]

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"I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.

Special Correspondent

They were conferred with the title of "Padma Sadhana"

— Photo: S. Thanthoni

RECOGNITION: K.P. Sivasubramaniam, former judge, Madras High Court, conferring the "Padma Sadhana" title on Sudha Raghunathan and Urmila Sathyanarayanan at the fifth Music and Dance festival of the Padma Sarangapani Cultural Academy in Chennai on Saturday. S. Varadan, chairman of the Academy, looks on.

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"I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.

 — Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam

Sudha Raghunathan.

TIRUCHI: Chennai’s music season has the credential of an enduring custom despite changes. Amid the very few customary popular singers, Sudha Ragunathan seemed to have held the position for an enviable period of two decades. And not surprisingly, the sabhas, where the different school of music congregate for a set audience, are not tired of vying with each other to engulf the audience with the charming persona and lilting voice of the celebrated disciple of legendary M.L. Vasanthakumari.

 

While the ‘people’s choice’ has busied herself with the eventful musical month, she has managed to get her hands into a bit of academics too. Her research on music therapy, though at nascent stage, is expected to pull in a new horizon of music’s therapeutic magic.

 

“Music can cast spell on any listener. And the therapy is no new thing here. It has been known for centuries. It’s just back tagging on a new scientific dimension to it,” says Ms. Ragunathan.

 

The researches, despite being far and few in between, have picked up in a big way in the country. Western influence might be a reason for it, Ms. Sudha says.

 

Her part of research seeks to produce the before and after effects of music in any particular field of medicine. The divine power of music might be in its teeming rhythms and lilting rhymes but the healing touch lies in the energy level of quality songs.

 

They assuage physical pain and intensify the endurance. Her research would identify people with different ailments and musical compositions.

 

“Everyone knows music is a great stress buster. My research aims to go a bit further to prove could have positive effect on diseases related to gastroenterology, carcinogenic and a lot more.”

 

The therapy, she clarifies, doesn’t mean a medicinal substitute altogether. “I’m initially researching on the complementary benefits of music. Perhaps, it could be tried out as a focal treatment in later stage.”

 

The therapeutic effects of soulful renditions have been much talked about but needs a scientific attestation. “Raagas like Kalyani influences ambience a certain way, which may altogether different from the influence of Amirthavarshini. Each raga is unique. The research will bring the science involved in it to the fore."

 

Her paper will contain 80 per cent of Carnatic music and a little dosage of other schools too depending on listeners’ choice.

 

Her research will fuse the effect of instrumental music on the listener, alongside that of her mellifluous voice. She finds the effect of instrumental music to be stronger than vocal in certain cases. “When you have lyrics, you concentrate on it and your mind begins to picture the situation reflexively. Instrumental music brings in a meditative mood. It elates you without any participation of your brain. That gives you an unperturbed tranquillity.”

 

Sudha’s voice has become ubiquitous so much so that one get to hear her little too often even in films too. Even as she was working on her album ‘Tirupugazh,’ ‘Satham Podadhe’ in Yuvanshankar Raja’s symphony was released with a song to her credit.

 

But the eternal debate on carnatic singers wielding headsets to voice duets doesn’t seem to faze her. “Film music reaches a wider audience. People who know me through krithis identify my voice in a different platform. Music can’t be simplified beyond a point and film industry pretty well knows that. I’m not being choosy. Music directors are aware of the songs that suit my voice and I’m only getting those.”

 

You could hear her more in the to-be-released albums of flicks ‘Uliyin Osai’ and ‘Varanam Ayiram.’

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"I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.

Thank you for the wonderful articles.. I love her voice and when it comes to carnatic she is my favorite after MS.. I am privileged to be learning music from one of her gurus.. 

Sudha considers learning to be a life long process and strives to improve her knowledge and repertoire. She is a quick learner and is research oriented which is very evident in her lecture-demonstrations, very popular among her fans.

Sudha has performed concerts in all the major cities in India. Besides, she has undertaken concert tours all over the world at the invitation of prestigious institutions abroad. She is regarded highly by other reputed musicians from the Carnatic and the Hindustani music circles.

Sudha is a Top Ranking artiste of the All India Radio, Chennai and performs regularly on AIR and Doordharshan. She has also performed on various other TV networks.For the Radio Sangeeth Sammelan series of concerts conducted by the AIR,Sudha performed at Hassan,Karnataka on October 10,1992.

Sudha has to her credit commercial cassettes and compact discs of Classical and Devotional music released by many leading recording companies .The banners include, Amutham Inc.(New York);AVM Audio; MusicToday;Vani Recording Co.;HMV; INRECO;T-Series;Geethanjali, Amutham Music Pvt Ltd. chennai.etc.

Academically,Sudha is a Post Graduate in Economics,and has the distinction of being awarded the Most Outstanding Student of the Ethiraj College,Madras for three years in sucession .Besides music,Sudha has at college level acclaimed credit in other fields such as debates,quiz,dramatics and essay writing. She was treasurer and later the Vice President of the Students Union and won the service to college prestigious medal.

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"I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.