Classical musings

However,this theory doesn’t seem to apply to music. Ranjani Balasubramanyam,a Carnatic vocalist,who performs along with her sister Gayathri,says,“I feel there is a revival of the classical art forms. Carnatic music is doing much better today than it was about 20 years ago. People are supporting music by buying tickets for shows. Most importantly,for any art form to flourish,youngsters need to be involved in it,and today youngsters are involved in Carnatic music more than ever before.”

Born and brought up in Mumbai,the two sisters started off with a violin duet act. Around 10 years ago,they switched to vocals and are today considered one of the top Carnatic vocalists in the country. “Music has been a very strong influence in our family. Both our parents were deeply into music and our father in particular groomed the musical taste in us. Our mother was the person who gave us our initial tutelage,” says Ranjani,who along with her sister,received the prestigious Sanskriti Award in 2008,only the third instance when Carnatic musicians were bestowed with this felicitation.

The duo will perform in the city on September 5 at an event organised by the Poona Sangeetha Sabha. They will be accompanied by Charumathi Raghuraman on the violin,Delhi S Sairam on mridangam and KV Gopalakrishnan on ghatam. This is the second time that Ranjani and Gayathri will take centrestage in Pune. “The first time we performed was many,many years ago. We did a violin duet then. This is the first time we will be singing here,” Ranjani says.

The sisters today focus more on vocals. Only sometimes do they play the violin for a duet performance. Today,they are based in Chennai,but have been performing all over the world. “Music doesn’t change with location. It is something that one feels very strongly about and it comes out from one’s heart and soul. In that way,we feel fortunate as most people like our performances. An artiste’s talent can only take one so far; at the end of the day,the audience has to appreciate it,” she says,adding,“As an artiste,it’s priceless when you get to see the audience satisfied after a performance.”

(The duo will perform at the Nehru Memorial Hall,Camp,on September 5,5.30 pm)