My tryst with Music - Part One
Music has always been my passion. One of my significant childhood memories at Vikaasa is that of my music sessions with Mrs. Lakshmi Parthasarathy in a huge "Interest" hall, next to the KG block at school. I used to love the wooden staircase in that building, which by this time, has been demolished and transformed into something else. As a 3rd std. kid, I looked forward to that one interest class we had every week. If I can still sing today(tolerably), it is only due to Mrs. Parthasarathy's rigorous training sessions in those years.
Not everyone in m
y class liked Carnatic music. In fact, I was one among the very few who could sit through class without getting restless. Ma'am would teach us small songs very rarely. Otherwise, it used to be just swara lessons all the time. Soon, we entered senior school and Vikaasa gave us the freedom to pursue one among a lot of "Interest" classes that were offered. These included Carnatic Music, Western Music, Dance(strictly bharatnatyam only. Grrr.._), Carpentry and Needle work. I made a natural choice of Carnatic Music and to my dismay, there was just one other person in class who thought like me. However, the classes henceforth, turned out to be faster and interesting as there was just the two of us and we picked up pretty easily. She taught us a lot of sweet, short songs. It is a pity that I don't remember most of those songs now. Pavithra(my sole classmate in the vocal class) and I, also got the rare opportunity to visit(actually participate in) the Ambas fiesta at a very young age of 9 years, thanks to our music lessons. However, we lost miserably(it was unfair, the others sang too well and were much older!!)
That was when I was in class 4. My parents decided that my musical talent(haha,) could be honed if I was given some personal training outside school and I started coaching under Mrs. Gyanambal at Viswanathapuram. I would say that she was my "Godmother" wrt music, if there were such a word. Dedicated, humble and dignity-personified, she was the one who taught me the real meaning of carnatic music and pushed me hard to excel. I won a couple of prizes once I started training with her. Soon my sister also joined and we would attend classes together. I was Mrs.Gyanam's favourite student and she would teach me many rare kritis and knew how to mould me and nurture my talent. Meanwhile, it was transition phase at school too. Mrs. Parthasarathy was not too happy with my seeking external guidance. However, she left Vikaasa and joined TVS Lakshmi very soon. Vikaasa roped in a couple of teachers after she left, like Mrs. Krishna veni and Mrs. Meenakshi. By this time, Mrs. Gyanam had become my first guru and the shool sessions were just an addition. These years were dotted with a few futile attempts in the Carnatic Music contsests at LOSA(TVS lakshmi's fest). It was higly impossible to win a prize there coz their students were literally fed with carnatic music, what with the entire TVS family being great patrons of the art. On the contrary, Vikaasa attached very less importance to this skill. However, we would never let TVS win at the Youth Festival(our fest) too. Tit for Tat!
Will continue with the rest of my musical journey soon.....
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