Conversations in Carnatic

Minutes before her concerts,Bombay Jayashri Ramnath closes her eyes and prays.

Minutes before her concerts,Bombay Jayashri Ramnath closes her eyes and prays. More than an offering,she says,its an invitation for the divine beings to join her in a conversation she is about to strike with them through her music. A Carnatic music vocalist par excellence,she takes this time to internalise what she is about to experience. Carnatic music is bhakti music, says the award-winning multi-faceted vocalist,who is in the city for a concert,courtesy SPICMACAY (Society of Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth).

She agrees that when it comes to Carnatic music,its difficult for many to comprehend it. The compositions and the grammar of this genre are very complicated, says Jayashri. She confesses that it took her time and a phenomenal guru to make her understand and appreciate the real meaning of this classical form. My parents were teachers of music,and my mother would switch on the radio and make me sing Lata Mangeshkar songs. My initial lessons would be listening to all sorts of music,and without any choice,I was pushed into learning Carnatic music, she says.

For years,she admits,classical music was her life till she reached college and formed a band called Seven Colours. Shy to tell anyone that she was a student of Carnatic music,Jayashri and her band would sing Hindi film songs. I would sing them with such ease,without realising that it was my intense training in Carnatic music that made me that good, she says. All through college,Jayashri questioned her musical training in this 1000-year-old classical form till she met her mentor and guide, legendary violinist,Lalgudi G Jayaraman. I was 21,and he heard me at a concert. I was still not sure about my music and it was he who changed my outlook and gave me the confidence to love this music, says Jayashri,who adds that theirs was a rare guru-shishya connection.

From the poetry of Mahakavi Bharathiyar that weaves love,patriotism,bhakti and nature,to expressing motherhood in her album Vatsalyam,scoring music for documentaries and dance ballets,singing in films to composing the operatic ballet based on the Tamil epic- Silapadhikaram and being the first Carnatic classical performer in the Opera House in Durban and the Russian Opera House in Helsinki,Jayashri harnessed her skills towards making music a powerful catalyst in promoting Indias rich legacy in art and culture. In her quest to interact and experiment,she has lent her voice for former President of India,Abdul Kalams audio autobiography titled,Wings of Fire; co-authored the book,Voices Within and created history by being featured in the first full length Carnatic music film,Margazhi Ragam along with TM Krishna. She has even collaborated with artists such as Egyptian singer Hisham Abbas and Senegalese singer Thione Seck. She also works with Finnish composer and pianist,Eero Hmeenniemi regularly and has become a part of Avanti!,a Helsinki-based chamber orchestra. Hmeenniemi is a lover and student of Carnatic music,and together we composed music from 2000-year-old Tamil poetry from Sangam literature, says Jayashri

Her name,Bombay,speaks of her roots,her identity and her style of music. In south India,we have to prefix our village name to our name,and mine is Bombay, she says with a smile. Actively involved in Svanubhava a six-day annual music festival exclusively for students of music,Jayashri feels music enhances levels of internal peace,concentration and sensitivity. For meditation is the real emotion of Carnatic music, she sums up.

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