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Getting folksy
| Anita Kuppusamy about how she has come a long way from a conservative background that did not allow girls to sing |
Lots on her plate Anita Kuppusamy
Folk music singer; television host; school correspondent — Anita Kuppusamy dons many hats. For a person who made ‘Naatupura Isai’ her career after getting married to Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, Anita has carved a niche for herself.
“I come from a conservative Aggarwal family, and my grandfather never entertained girls singing. The only song we were allowed to sing was ‘Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare’. But, I secretly pursued music,” she says.
She convinced her family that her true calling in life was music and pursued her Masters in music at the University of Madras, Chennai. And, that’s where she met Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, also a student of music. The couple started off as folk song singers in competitions and concerts. Of course, cupid struck and they became life partners.
Rich in meaning
“I love our folk music for its simplicity and the grammar of this music is bound by our soil’s culture and tradition. Also, I began to understand the importance of this music as it values relationships than anything else in the songs,” she says.
She believes folk music is ‘Thaai’ (mother), Carnatic music, ‘Magal’ (daughter) and film music, ‘Marumagal’ (daughter-in-law).
She enjoys singing songs with a message, be it AIDS, dowry, and smoking, or drinking, female infanticide, child labour, and importance of education for girls. Anita firmly believes that folk music still holds currency amongst the younger generation and will continue to. “We are applauded by the youth, who ask us for more songs at our concerts,” she says.
Her advice to budding singers is: “Be original, practise a lot.”
As a tribute to her grandmother, she recently started a school named after her, the Poonam Industrial School in Kumbakonam, aimed at empowering women. The singer-couple plans to approach the Government with a request to start a Department of Folk Arts in Colleges, to preserve the traditional arts and pass them on to successive generations.
SUKANYA CHELLAPPA
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