We’ve all seen her around. She has a face that is familiar to every Bengalurean and we’ve definitely heard her sing and probably loved one of her compositions too. But Bindu Subramaniam is quite happy teaching and sharing her love for music rather than focusing the limelight on herself. Singer/songwriter, entrepreneur, music educator and co-founder and CEO of SaPa — Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts, Bindu has been described as a ‘third generation prodigy’ and is the daughter of renowned violinist Dr L Subramaniam. She has collaborated with her father on a number of projects including Global Fusion, Visions of India and Athens and helms the band SubraMania with her brother Ambi Subramaniam. In 2018, she created The Thayir Sadam Project with Ambi, carnatic fusion artiste Mahesh Raghvan and mridangam artiste Akshay Anantapadmanabhan and the band goes viral every time they release a new track on YouTube. Bindu wrote her first song at the tender age of 7 and first performed on stage in Norway when she was 12 years old and today, hopes to bring the passion and enthusiasm she shares for music to toddlers and adults alike. We caught up with Bindu to talk about a brand new program she has envisaged that promises to help children get the foundation in music they deserve, with the objective of helping them decide which path they can choose for themselves as they grow older. We speak about this and more in this casual tête-à-tête on a sunny September morning in Sanjaynagar. Excerpts from the interview:
How did you discover music and why did you decide to make it such a big part of your life?
I was born into a family where there was a lot of music around me and so music, sort of, became a default setting in that sense. I struggled against it for many years. I tried being a lawyer and many other things. I did, however, see music as an intrinsic part of who I am and not necessarily a career path. And then I realised music was a huge part of me and that I don’t see myself living a life where I’m not performing or not participating in music in several ways. That’s how it all began.
When did you start learning music professionally?
I think, the advantage that I always had, even though I was born in the USA, was that I always had access to high quality music education in both the Indian and western forms and from a very young age. Because my father is so open minded and so keen to explore different musical styles, we were all learning western classical piano, violin and voice along with Indian classical violin and vocal training. My formative years was really more about experimenting with a lot of different styles of music and as I grew up, it turned more into this journey of trying to find my own pathway, something that made sense to me.
Most artistes have a journey to find their own unique expression, how was that journey for you?
It has been an exciting journey all along and now in my role as a mentor at SaPa (Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts), I find so much joy in helping other people discover their voices too. I think it’s a continuously evolving and ongoing process. You’re obviously learning when you’re learning but you’re also learning when you’re teaching and you’re also learning when you’re performing. So, for me, a lot of the discovery process was the search for my authentic voice. Of course, in the context of the fact that I come from a strong influence of music in my family. Like what if my authentic expression is a 3-minute piece and not a 45-minute ragam or alapanam — so, how does that fit? A lot of it is a conversation with yourself — this is where I come from, this is where I am going, this is where I feel, I am my most authentic. There is no right way to do this journey. Sometimes, when I look at what I wrote 15 years ago, I think to myself, ‘wow, was I really that angry?’ I think, as long as you do not take yourself too seriously this journey is always exciting.
Now, that you’ve mentioned SaPa (Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts), do tell us what you’ve been doing at the institution in terms of changing the way people study, learn, experience and enjoy music?
SaPa has always been imagined as a home for the next generation of musicians, a home for global music and a place where anyone can come and find their own unique artistic path. That path, of course, manifests differently for different people. People can join as early as when they are a year and a half old — we have a toddler program — we also have adults who come to us who want to rediscover something that they connected with when they were children or live out a passion for music… something that they never had a chance to do, earlier in life. We have a lot of foreign artistes who want to come to India and understand aspects of Indian music that they can then relate and apply to their own styles. We’ve been around since 2007, but it was in 2013/14 when we decided to include teaching classical music to toddlers. We then started the SaPa Baby Program because there was this misconception that classical music was only for serious people and grown ups. We also wanted to break the belief that one can access classical music education only if they came from that kind of a background. We wanted to make classical music fun and cool again. We realised that the music had always been great, it was the methodology that had to change. If a child was unable to enjoy or appreciate the music, let’s begin by assuming it’s the teacher’s fault and not the fault of the child or the music. Also, because the music and the child are two things we can’t change, but the way we teach was in our hands… therefore, it could be changed. So, we asked ourselves as educators — what is it that we could do? We now teach carnatic music across vocals and a variety of instruments, we teach hindustani music and we also teach western classical music and contemporary music too. A lot of our students are now much older from when they started and are finding their own pathways into music and musical self expression. It’s really exciting to see this explosion of talent. Our students are going out and composing pieces of music that are being performed by string quartets in the USA or releasing their music on Spotify and being featured in music magazines. There are also others who are collaborating with similar musicians from all across the world and now identify themselves or are being called and recognised by others as, ‘carnatic violinist + pop-song writer + graphic designer,’ and that’s what we love about this space. It’s so dynamic. Many of our teachers are also young musicians or older musicians who are looking for better ways to communicate through music. We really think of ourselves as a home for all of this.
And what are you working on currently?
I am excited about a bunch of things. With SaPa, I am really excited about a new course that we are launching called The Foundation Course, where for the first time we’re bringing together carnatic, hindustani and western classical music — vocal, string instruments and wind instruments — and putting it together for children the ages of 4-10. The idea is that in three months one gets a complete exposure to all these different kinds and styles of music, so you can really discover what you’re passionate about. Children are very keen to try out everything and parents are keener to give their children these opportunities. On a personal front, Ambi (Subramaniam) and I are working on new music for SubraMania and I am also working with long-time friend and collaborator Varun Murali on some new music together and we might be releasing something in the next few weeks.
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