Music of and beyond the world

Violin — it is an instrument that wields incomprehensible power over our minds, hearts, and souls. Sometimes, its sweet notes evoke inner peace but other times, its beautifully crafted notes cause melancholy and fury. Indeed, any composition is elevated when the violin accompanies it. Think ‘violin’, and legendary violinists L Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam come to mind, rendering melodies that make all five elements of Mother Nature swoon. So, when they performed at ‘Pandit Jasraj’s 52nd Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroha’ in CCRT, Madhapur, an unparalleled joy and peace pervaded our senses. Humble, jovial and a class apart, this duo speaks to CE about music and more.

Excerpts.

What are your thoughts on Hyderabad?

Subramaniam: Hyderabad has audiences for different kinds of music. They have open minds — I’ve had the pleasure of performing here several times before with classical artistes such as Pandit Jasraj and jazz artistes. In 1999, I performed along with foreign artistes on Necklace Road for an audience of two lakh people. Initial apprehensions about how they would respond to the open-air concert comprising foreign artistes vanished; the way Hyderabadis appreciated the music was wonderful. I’m happy to be back here.

Ambi: I’ve always found Hyderabad to be very enjoyable. What’s nice is that Hyderabad has very diverse audiences. Also, it’s not always big concerts like the one at Necklace Road; the underground music scene is booming with many bands and live music.

Both of you have had extremely interesting and unique journeys. Could you walk us down memory lane?

Subramaniam: I was six when I did my first concert at the Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. I was nervous about my performance as appa, also a violinist, was a tough taskmaster. But he was the main force behind me becoming a violinist. You see, in those days, the violin was an accompanying instrument and ‘classical music’ was understood as ‘western classical music’. Appa wanted to take violin to the global stage and change this narrative. One of the defining moments early in my journey was when Pandit Ravi Shankar selected me to do a violin solo in the Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival from India. We toured Europe and then North America with George Harrison and his band, The Beatles. In the 1980s, when my father was unwell, I composed a track along with French violinist Stéphane Grappelli called Don’t Leave Me. It’s been quite a journey! Recently, AR Rahman and I recreated that track as a tribute to my appa — he is my hero.

Ambi: Music-making would happen all the time at home and I was fortunate to meet great musicians — one day it would be a great Carnatic musician or Hindustani Classical musician and another day it would be a foreign artiste. I have met AR Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, Pandit Jasraj, and so many other greats. I recall that once, the great DK Pattamal came to record a song. Although in her 80s at the time, she showed an immediate readiness to learn a new song. This is something I imbibed too. For me, learning the violin started off as an imitation of how my dad would play. I hear many artistes say they have to ‘switch off ’ their Carnatic side to play Western or vice versa. I learned Carnatic violin, Western violin, piano, Carnatic vocal…so I never really felt that these were separate things. I learned early on that there are no boundaries in learning music and always tried to figure out how one instrument could help the other. And as much as my parents were great guides in my journey, I have worked to find my own voice and path in the realm of music.

What has music taught you about life?

Subramaniam: I am nobody without my music, which has given me everything — it is deeply spiritual and emotional for me. When you render certain ragas, the sound takes over; you don’t think, ‘Have I put petrol in my car?’ or ‘Has my car been washed?’. My inner voice takes me on a spiritual journey and I don’t even know where I am until I finish playing. Ambi: I get to collaborate with musicians who inspire me — what this has taught me is that there is more than one right answer or idea. Each musician adds his or her own flavour to the music and together, we create a beautiful story. So, what I’ve learned is that it’s not all about you but bringing out the best in everyone else in your team. It’s about creating an environment where someone can say, ‘Ambi, I don’t agree with you, let’s try this instead.’

What are your thoughts on the younger generation of musicians? Subramaniam: There is a lot of talent out there but if they really want to become musicians, they should come with that passion and be ready to work until they achieve their goals. If they come thinking that they want to get famous quickly and take shortcuts to do so, they won’t have the right foundation.

Ambi: There’s so much talent in India and across the world. In our music school SaPa, we teach around 40,000 students, including many from Hyderabad. They are gifted singers but also have different passions; an amazing violinist is also an illustrator or into machine learning. I think that is really cool.

If not a musician, what would you be?

Subramaniam: I can’t imagine myself not being a musician!

Ambi: A math professor or a cricketer. (laughs)

— Story by Nitika Krishna