CHENNAI: A lively person by nature, maestro Kala Ramnath welcomes us with a brimming smile. Coming from a family filled with music vidwans, her goal was to make a mark for herself.
“My uncle TN Krishnan was feted with the Padma Bhushan and my aunt Dr N Rajam received the Padma Vibhushan for their contributions in the field of music. I decided not to use my family name as my key to enter into the world of music because there would be too many comparisons. In the early stages of my career, not many people knew about my family background,” starts Kala, with a humble smile.
Her grandfather Vidwan A Narayan Iyer did not teach music to Kala to make her a musician someday. “He taught me music as a means that can be put into use when needed. But I was destined to become one,” she says.
Elucidating an incident that sowed the fear for lack of recognition, the Singing Violin shares, “The fear of not being recognised for my talent was dibbled into my head by Zakir Hussain when he said that my music sense is similar to that of my aunt. He further said, ‘I choose to hear the original versions played by your aunt’. Those words came across as an eye-opener, which made me realise that I have to make my own path and carve a niche for myself.”
Breaking the age-old stereotype that vocal is for women and instruments are for men, Kala is proud that she took up one of the most difficult instruments to handle and excelled in it. She was fascinated by the violin by the way her grandfather taught her.
“Music is a part of my soul and I want to touch the hearts of the listeners and make an impact on them. I am nobody without music,” expresses Kala, who likes to learn and explore new avenues in life. In 2017, Kala was awarded the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy Puraskar for her contributions to the violin in Hindustani Classical Music. Compositions of hers have appeared on the Grammy-winning album In 27 Pieces and the Kronos Quartet’s 50 For The Future. She was the first Indian violinist ever to be featured in the violin Bible, The Strad. She was the subject of a solo essay in the third edition of The Encyclopedia- Rough Guide to World Music. Her contributions feature in Hollywood soundtracks like the Oscar-nominated Blood Diamond and many more.
Though she has received many honours for her works and established herself as a renowned violinist, Kala’s happiness lies in the words of Zakir. “Recently, I performed in a concert in New Delhi. Zakir bhai made a special mention and praised Jayanthi Kumaresh and my performance. To hear it from a maestro like him is more than anything else to me,” she shares.
Kala has the edge of working across different genres. She is working with jazz musicians, a Western classical symphony orchestra, and Persian musicians, among many others. She has written a composition for American violinist Hilary Hahn for her Grammy Award-winning work. “I adapt to different genres because of my classical training. That foundation allows me to approach and collaborate with any other complex genres,” she believes. She advises the upcoming music generation to become strong in their foundation and then listen to different forms of music. This helps the mind be in sync with that particular genre and then start collaborating. Reflecting upon an incident from her life, she adds, “It took two years for me to create a collaboration with the Danish symphony orchestra. Initially, I went there twice to understand their play. They came to India once. That is how the Glow Of Benares album was created.”
Talking about her favourite compilation from her works, “One can never be happy with their work,” she laughs and states, “Among my musical contributions, there is no favourite. I am trying to enhance and do better with each of my albums.”
With independent artistes breaking the internet records with their unique works, being an independent artiste herself, Kala remarks, “Indian music scene has always been for independent artistes. Today it has become more visible with the advent of social media. That is the way to go.” Adding more to it, the violinist explains, “Social media is such a great platform to register your presence. All you need to do is practice well.” “I like delving deep into unexplored paths. My nearest goal is to create something new in the field of music,” she concludes.