Notes of commitment

'LOOK AT HER! She speaks Marathi like a local! She sings Hindustani music with ease. She has even begun to look like a Pune-ite! Can you believe she is a Tamilian?" smiled eminent vocalist Veena Sahasrabuddhe, during a music class at her home in Pune. The girl seated before her with taut concentration, repeating after the teacher with a voice surprisingly deep in one so slender, was Chennai born Ranjani Ramachandran, who gave a concert in the city last week. Later, a visibly overwhelmed Ranjani attributed the presence of K. V. Narayanaswami, N. Ramani, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, M. S. Anantharaman, Vijay Siva and sitar artist M. Janardhanan to the regard her guru commands among musicians.

The young performer's preference for the north Indian genre is the natural outcome of her student life in Kanpur, Delhi and Pune. She grew up watching her mother take music classes at home in Kanpur. At age ten, the child switched from Bharatanatyam to music classes with her mother Vijaya's guru - Pandit Kashinath Bodas of the Gwalior gharana. At first "Guruji ke yahaan khana hai" (I must eat in guruji's home) motivated her more than "gaana hai" (must sing). But along with the delicious sabudana khichdi, she did get trained to take the Gandharva Mahavidyalay exams in music. Bodas encouraged her in every way, as in making her join group singing of chaiti at the Ramnavami celebrations in village Unnao near Kanpur. She recalls, "It was good fun. I felt so confident about my singing. But now, as I get deeper and deeper, I feel there's so much more to learn!" Ranjani led a "normal" school life, with music lessons fitted into a round of tennis tournaments, working with street children, trekking with friends, as also hours of drawing and painting. Her father advised her to keep her options open, and the guru told her to get into the IIT in Kanpur - so that she could continue her lessons with him!

Bodas' unexpected death at age 60 became a turning point. Ranjani was determined that henceforth she would focus on music alone. This urge intensified during the year she spent with Bodas' sister Veena Sahasrabuddhe, his most famous disciple, accompanying her on her concert tours. As an undergraduate (physics) in Pune, she had already continued her training under Veenatai, who now became her sole guide."Being a top artist, she can't give you as much time as you like. But she wont settle for anything less than what she expects," Ranjani explains. Outside the class, the taskmaster turned friend. "Once Veenatai became so nervous before my morning concert in Mumbai, that she got up to make ghee-soaked sheera (ravakesari) to put strength into me!"

Ranjani did her M.A. in music at the Lalitkala Kendra, Pune University, with much encouragement from Suresh Talwalkar who auditioned her, and Satish Alekar, who heads the department. She continued lessons under faculty member Sahasrabuddhe with a two year scholarship from the Government of India.

"This was when I began interacting with others of my age in the music circle," says Ranjani. "It made me realise how much harder I had to work to make my mark. The competition is tough and there's so much talent. Now I know that many factors influence success...though I don't know them all yet!"

Ask her if it is an advantage to be the grand daughter of R.Venkatraman, former President of India, and the singer will reply, "Well, sometimes it can distract people from assessing me for what I am!" But that her background does impact on her outlook is evident in Ranjani's determination to make time for some rehabilitation work for deprived children, just as her mother has done in joining the drive to assist the communities of bricklayers in Kanpur.

GOWRI RAMNARAYAN

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