They find world of ragas in perfect rhythm with their life

Choosing the right career is important in today’s world. But some youngsters from the city have taken up music as their full-time career, despite doing academically good. They have forgone greener pastures to pursue their passion. As Margazhi festival is all set to begin, we speak to four youngsters from the city and get to know why they embrace music as their profession for life.

Although not being born into a family of professional musicians, Sandhya Sundararajan’s paternal grandfather (retired IIT registrar) was a music critic who along with her parents constantly encouraged her to pursue her inherent talent in music. “I used to relate all my academic subjects to music. This, in fact, helped me excel in my academic pursuits (securing an All India 4th Rank in CA Final examinations, May 2011). Also, winning some of the popular reality shows and competitions motivated me further to take up music seriously,” she says.

There was always a positive and welcoming family that motivated and inspired Sandhya. “Since I was a consistent topper in my school, I always wanted to strike a right balance between my music (passion) and my CA (profession), which was made possible through the support of my parents, my school and my guru PB Shrirangachari (disciple of Madurai TN Seshagopalan). With the manifold opportunities and platforms made available now, I see a lot of youngsters boldly taking up their passion for music as their full-time profession.

Undoubtedly, family support is the key to success, especially for married women and young moms like me, which I am fortunately blessed with. Being a young mother of a super-active toddler, challenges do crop up which indeed makes me strive harder to enhance my passion for music,” shares the singer.

It was an organic transition for violinist Raghul Ravichandran to take up music as a career. Having a Masters in Mathematics, Raghul says that it was his gurus, who gave him the courage to take up music as a full-time profession. “Initially, my parents were a bit apprehensive about my decision. The only thing they told me was to make sure that I don’t fall behind and feel bad later. Not only kutcheris, but there are also many avenues for musicians to earn their bread and butter. You can have a decent living on a par with whatever others from our same age group earn,” he says.

Raghul says that a Carnatic musician needs to be responsible. “You can either work 24 X7 or not work at all. How well you manage the time is the crux of being a professional musician,” says the violinist, who also organises chamber concerts and conducts workshops. There is no dearth of opportunities and R. Ratipriya, a vocalist, couldn’t agree more. “When I decided to become a full-time singer, I was a bit scared. Because all my friends took up other professions and were doing really well. But I was so passionate about music and didn’t want to do anything else. When you compare my ‘happiness quotient’ with my friends’, who are well-placed, mine would be slightly higher. At the end of the day, if you are not happy with what you do then it is pointless in continuing that profession,” she says.

A Computer Science Engineering graduate, Kalyanapuram S Aravind stood as one of the top 0.1% rank holders in the All India Level during his high school exam. Being a qualified professional, he has chosen to pursue the path of Carnatic music as his full-time career forgoing higher studies and great work opportunities. “There is no profession without challenges and music field is not an exception to that. It’s a great challenge to carve your own niche and get accepted by the audience as an original product that emerged from the shadow of the teacher. Music or dance is not limited to just performing. It’s a continuous thought process one should possess. Thinking about music should happen as analogous to breathing. Apart from performances during the Margazhi season, we get to sing during different times of the year in different parts of the country,” he says.

Aravind enjoys the limitless freedom that comes with taking up singing as a professional career option. “A variety of freedom namely time freedom, freedom to explore musically and also the freedom to be independent of sticking to a monotonous schedule, deadlines, etc. Also teaching good music to interested and passionate students is a great avenue for musicians to earn their livelihood from music. We conduct workshops, online classes, etc., apart from our performances. Hence, it’s a very viable option as a professional career to choose music,” vouches Aravind