Swaralayam Promotes Carnatic Music
Last updated: Feb 21, 2009

HOUSTON (The Hindu): Over the years, Indian classical music has gained a strong foothold on American shores. Today, there are several artists from the U.S. who are making a name for themselves in the Indian music scene.

While many of our musicians travel to the U.S. annually to perform and teach, there are several first generation immigrants who have started schools in a bid to promote our classical arts.

One such is Swaralayam Arts Forum in Houston, Texas. Founded by R. Ravi Iyer, the school which started with just three students in 1996, today boasts over 100 musicians, many of whom (like Vijay Narayan and Sruti Iyer) perform during the Margazhi Vizha in Chennai.

For Ravi (“I am not a musician… just a rasika”) the inspiration came from that selfless teacher of Carnatic music, Sulochana Pattibhiraman. He says, “I met Sulochana mami through violinist Kanyakumari. Mami has been my mentor, in every sense of the word. She was all too happy to help set up the institute and sent capable musicians to teach at the school, when she could not travel to the U.S. I miss her warm smile and support.” As a tribute to his mentor, Ravi has decided to institute ‘Sulochana Pattabhiraman Music Awards’ from this year for science projects on music (eg. ‘The Mozart effect’, or ‘Does pollution affect the lung capacity of a wind instrument player?’) promoted at the Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) Science Fair and the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH), U.S.

“The award is in memory of Sulochana mami, who was a member of Swaralayam’s faculty and a patient guide to many of the school’s students who visited her in Chennai. When we started violin classes, she ensured that the seniors got trained by Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi, whenever possible,” says Ravi. He also has plans to celebrate her birthday (November 27) as ‘Sulochana Pattibhiraman Utsavam’ by conducting lec-dems and holding concerts. The first concert planned for November 27, 2009, is likely to be by well-known veena artist P. Vasanth Kumar.

Meanwhile, Swaralayam has instituted three music scholarships for aspiring students - Shrutilaya Scholarship for Grades 1 to 5; Pattu Rajagopalan Scholarship for Grades 6 to 10 and Sulochana Pattabhiraman Scholarship for Grades 11 to College level. These scholarships, which will be given away from 2010, are in keeping with Swaralayam’s aim to get more and more youngsters interested in classical music. Also, with classes being held throughout the year unlike earlier when they were conducted for two months during summer and spring, more and more students will benefit from these scholarships, feels Ravi.

As for the teaching faculty, the first teacher was Prema Hariharan, Sulochana Pattibhiraman’s disciple. After a three-year stint, Prema left and was replaced by Vittal Ramamurthy. From 2004, Rajarajeshwary, an AIR artist and Ramamurthy’s sister, has been at the helm of affairs.

“What is interesting is that all the artists belong to the Lalgudi bani. So there is a common thread of thought and style,” says Ravi, who is full of ideas to promote the cause of Carnatic music in the U.S. He also acknowledges the unstinting support of Michael P. Hammond, Rhodes scholar and composer, who till his death in 2002, pitched in when it came to Western classical music.

He has donated Rs. 3 lakhs to the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement headquartered in Savagur, Karnataka, to start the Swaralayam Endowment programme. By doing so, Ravi aims to tap talent among tribal children from these parts and hone their skills. “The tribals here are talented, and more important, relatively uncorrupted by film or pop music and so it is easier to train them. We have spoken to many Carnatic musicians in Chennai and they have evinced interest in visiting Savagur and teaching these children. They may hold lec-dems and even teach the students there.” Ravi’s endeavour is one of the many such projects in the U.S. to create what he calls an ‘East West rendezvous.’