Chennai: “What even is life when you don’t follow your passion?” asks Vijayalakshmi Rajaram, a Carnatic singer from Subhasree Nagar in Porur, Chennai.
This 62-year-old enthusiast gave up her job as a top official in a private bank and pursued music. She has performed in a number of Sabhas in Chennai and is now teaching music to people in the locality.
In an interview with News Today, Vijayalakshmi talks about her musical journey.
“Right from my school days, I had set my mind to achieve big in the world of music, and I take pride in saying that Thanjavur Shankar Iyer was one of my Gurus,” Vijayalakshmi begins.
“However, after college, I started working for a bank and settled down. But that didn’t stop me from singing. I took part in local contests, and in case of any inter-bank music competition, my name would top the list of participants,” she smiles.
THE TURNING POINT
In 2001, at the age of 45, I got to do a lot of kutcheris. Opportunities poured in. At this juncture, I wanted to do more and so quit my job and did masters in music from Annamalai University. I have sung in almost all sabhas in Chennai during the Margazhi seasons.
SECOND INNINGS
After some years, I restricted myself from performing in kutcheris and decided to teach and help others in realising their dreams in this field. Besides Carnatic music, I also started teaching devotional songs and chants, such as Devaram. Not just youngsters, even people above the age of 70 are my students. Talking about her students, she says, “These days, children want everything new. After I teach them, they come up with innovative creations and that makes learning more interesting.”
ONLINE CLASSES
Vijayalakshmi also teaches some of her students who are living overseas. “My students from Singapore and other countries take their classes through Skype. This shows the extent of their love for the art,” she smiles.
FUTURE PLANS
Each raga has its own unique effect. Some give mental peace, some regulate blood pressure, and so on. So I am planning to do research on healing patients with music therapy, says a determined Vijayalakshmi.
Article by P T Usha