Technically sound

Madurai Sundar,
Carnatic musician and IT manager, DaimlerChrysler, Detroit

People call me a contradiction of sorts. They wonder how I am able to handle two interests as diverse as technology and music. They often ask me where the two meet.

Well, I think they don’t really meet at all, one complements the other without any direct interaction. Isn’t that a beautiful phenomenon in itself? I count myself fortunate that I am able to manage and compartmentalise two professions at the same time!

As a software professional at DaimlerChrysler, USA, I manage projects while as a musician I give vent to my inner voice and connect with a cross-section of people.

Many musicians condemn ...
... the intrusion of technology into their lives. Personally I believe that technology is a good tool if you use it the right way. It has in many ways enhanced the world of music, at least in my experience it has made the teaching of music very easy! While I was a student of Carnatic music under the tutelage of Shri T. N. Seshagopalan (TNS) and other gurus, in the early 1970s, there were hardly any audiocassettes that you could learn music from. All our learning came from our guru during the music class, and we had better imbibe as much of what was taught during that session or be the losers. Today, students can record the teacher’s lesson and listen to it several times later and perfect his ability to perform that piece.

In fact, there is Samir Rao, a senior disciple of mine (he even accompanies me during some of my concerts) who used to live in Detroit. As a student of Harvard he had to shift base to Boston. However, his training in music didn’t stop, I now teach him over the telephone, each session lasts for an hour.

He uses the practice room at Harvard for these lessons, so he is able to sing loudly without anyone looking on! I even record the songs on my MP3 player, and upload them into my Yahoo Briefcase from where he picks them up. So, you see, technology has actually helped to revolutionise so many aspects of a musician’s life.

If technology has made my life as a musician easier, I must also give credit to music for ‘fine-tuning’ my understanding of the aesthetics in technology.

Besides learning and practising, music involves relentless pursuit of excellence and perfection. These attributes kind of flow into everything I do.

Actually, for a very long time, none of my clients or colleagues knew that I was a trained musician with a fair measure of credibility in the world of Carnatic music. Humming is something that comes instinctively to anybody and you don’t have to be a musician to hum, but somehow I never had the habit. The humming would go on within me!

I think what eventually gave them an inkling of my musical career were my annual trips to India every December. In the US, people normally break up their month-long vacation into three short breaks. I would never do that and use up all my 30 days in December. So, I would be asked why was I ‘chunking’ up my entire vacation, instead of ‘splitting’ it like others did.

Well, I had my own reasons. December is the month when the annual music festival (it’s called the December Kutcheri – concert – season) is held in Chennai, India. It’s almost like a pilgrimage for every musician and lover of music to be in the city to catch up with all the concerts that happen round the clock during the month. The city comes alive with music, the columns in newspapers are filled with reviews and musicians vie to be given a good time slot during the live stage concerts in the coveted auditoriums. In fact, your standing as a musician is measured by the time slot that you are granted to perform (afternoon, early evening or prime time).

My tryst with India would centre around this season. My colleagues now see me as more than just a project manager, they’ve realised that I have another identity. They have been very co-operative and ensure I get my month off with no hitches.

The most defining moment ...
... in my life was when I got promoted to the evening slot as a senior musician at the [Chennai] Music Academy, an auditorium where every musician dreams of performing. It was in the year 2000. The moment I stepped on to the stage, and when the curtains went down, I felt this inexplicable feeling of having accomplished something in life. A person pursuing a unique dual career was actually performing as an equal to people for whom music was their only profession. Just for a moment, and only a moment, I allowed my mind to drift to the thought that I was sitting on a platform where all-time greats have performed. Then I sang from my heart to justify the privilege I had been given.

For me, a concert is like a full-fledged dinner with various courses. Just because the starter or dessert tastes good doesn’t mean you can have it for an entire meal; it will only satiate your appetite. I plan the sequence of my pieces in a structural manner.

Every year, I imbibe at least 30 to 40 songs by stalwarts in the music field. I try to execute every piece through a different facet of the ragam. For me, its not just enough to say I know more than 2,000 songs, what’s important is to understand the meaning of the words.

My favourite part of the concert is ragam thalam pallavi, which is probably my greatest strength. How does one explain ragam thanam pallavi to someone who’s not familiar with Carnatic music? Let’s put it this way, it is the acid test for creative and imaginative music, it contains everything an individual should know to become a complete musician, and which differentiates him from a singer.

Artists build their career on criticism, and I too have come under stringent scrutiny by music critics. When I was evolving in my career, people said I needed to sing with more power. I went up to my guru Seshagopalan and sought his advice. He taught me to practise in different octaves instead of sticking to the same shruti.

My wife Padma, is also a musician ...
... she is more of a teacher than a performer. Ours is an arranged marriage. My parents found her suitable because she hails from a family that is deeply into music, they felt she would be supportive of my passion for music.

Finally, a word of advice to all singers: on my guru TNS’s recommendation, I carry a concoction of pepper, unrefined sugar ( panavellam) and turmeric powder boiled in hot milk to every concert. It helps to clear my throat. Try it.

Madurai R Sundar’s songs can be heard on his website: www.maduraisundar.com