held on October 6th at RLV College of Music, Tripunithura
Born in Varanasi, she took to violin at an early age of three, under the guidance of her mother legendary violinist Padmabhushan Dr N Rajam. Coming from a family whose bond with music dates back to over seven generations, she gained a skillful mastery of the Hindustani and Carnatic genres and had the privilege of accompanying her mother at the age of 13. Her first solo performance was at the age of 16 and her music is referred to as ‘singing violin’.
It was during the British rule in India, when violin first made its entry to the annals of Carnatic music. “The techniques as we know today evolved over a period of 300 years. When my mother switched over to Hindustani from Carnatic, she had to work hard to develop new techniques. Her efforts bore fruit and she discovered whole new techniques for the Hindustani genre,” says Dr Sangeeta.
“I learned the first musical notes from my mother, and she has been my best teacher and role model. If you keep your ears wide open to music, there is something to learn from each and every musician,” she says.
What has been her fondest musical memories? “My fondest musical memories have been spiritual. It is the ultimate goal of each individual to attain ‘ananda’ or bliss. By striking the right notes to attain the best musical proportions, one can tune in to the ecstatic spiritual levels. It is rewarding to an artist,” she explains, exuding joy.
Besides being a prolific violinist, Dr Sangeeta is also a visionary and a musical composer. She has currently embarked on an educational project , ‘Milaap’ . Through a collection of 11 DVDs and 99 audio CDs, the project aims to imbibe and nurture values of life through music among the young in the age group 6 to 15. “It is my way of giving back to the society. The young generation is often glued to TV sets, computers, and social networking sites. There is a vacuum created when it comes to nurturing life values and the electronic media does not always deliver a positive message to the young,” she observed. Through the ‘Milaap’ project, renowned theatre and movie personalities, playback singers and celebrities aim to deliver 99 life values to the posterity. “It is the need of the hour and a gift to society by the musical fraternity ,” she adds.
How does she balance work and home ? “It is challenging and rewarding as well. My husband is an engineer by profession, and he loves singing ghazals. I have two daughters, an engineer and a CA, they also have taken up the musical legacy.”
To the aspiring musicians, she has just one word, ‘perfection’. “There is no short cut to excellence, whatever be the style of music. Achieving perfection is the only way to success, stardom and fame,” she noted.
Dr Sangeeta is also the director of music company, Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt Ltd. She resides in Mumbai and imparts voice culture and music training at Whistling Woods International film institute.
Comments
0 comment