It’s not every day in this city that one witnesses the old and the young alike queuing up for a classical concert. But when Padma Shri Aruna Sairam takes the stage, the metrics change. “I saw young mothers bring in their one or two-year-olds, adolescents, and even teenagers when I last performed in Delhi, a couple of years ago,” recalls the Carnatic vocalist, who is returning to the Capital for a concert this Sunday.
The pitter-patter of sporadic rain lends a rhythm to her voice as she speaks to us from Chennai and mentions how she will evoke raga Amritavarshini at her upcoming recital. “This is the raga created in the early nineteenth century, by Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776–1835), which is supposed to bring rain,” she shares, adding excitedly, “It’s also the 250th year of this great composer, and to pay tribute to him I will sing one more epic composition by him, Rangapura Vihara, which describes the grandness of the sanctum sanctorum and the vastness of the courtyards of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tamil Nadu... I will also sing compositions in Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi (Abhang), Hindi (by Kabir), and Telugu as the concert progresses.”
Born in a home where music was treated as a way of life, she has devoted her skill to the art form like an offering to the divine. “I started singing at a very young age and started performing publicly in my teens. Now, after more than 60 years, I feel that if I can communicate the joy, the feelings, the emotion of whatever I am singing, go past me and reach the audience deeply, then I have been able to play my part... As a young artiste, one tries to exhibit one’s skill set and perform to perfection. But, during my journey, one thing I learnt is that, once you are on the stage, you don’t have to be correct, clean, or perfect. When people come to listen to you or experience something, they want to know how much of yourself you are forgetting in your performance, and how you are making yourself a tool/instrument for your art form to flow through you so that you can communicate something to them.”
{{/usCountry}}Born in a home where music was treated as a way of life, she has devoted her skill to the art form like an offering to the divine. “I started singing at a very young age and started performing publicly in my teens. Now, after more than 60 years, I feel that if I can communicate the joy, the feelings, the emotion of whatever I am singing, go past me and reach the audience deeply, then I have been able to play my part... As a young artiste, one tries to exhibit one’s skill set and perform to perfection. But, during my journey, one thing I learnt is that, once you are on the stage, you don’t have to be correct, clean, or perfect. When people come to listen to you or experience something, they want to know how much of yourself you are forgetting in your performance, and how you are making yourself a tool/instrument for your art form to flow through you so that you can communicate something to them.”
{{/usCountry}}A conduit of her art, for the rasiks, Sairam says she feels elated when “people including the next generation” visit her concert and say, ‘We love the way you present your thematic music’. “That’s what makes me happy because I want to introduce the rich Indian arts to our new generation,” she concludes.
Catch It Live
What: 4th Global Carnatic Confluence: Aruna Sairam Live In Concert
Where: CD Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre, Lodhi Road
When: July 5
Timing: 6.30pm
Entry: Free
Nearest Metro Station: Jor Bagh on the Yellow Line
For more, follow @htcity.delhijunction