Fw: [4brahmins] Fwd: MUSICAL ANECDOTES--42--BOMBAY JAISHREE

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May 8, 2015, 5:52:29 AM5/8/15

to Vangal Heritage, Retireeforum Syndicate

On Friday, 8 May 2015 9:22 AM, "'Ramachandran P.P' pprch...@gmail.com [4brahmins]" <4bra...@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Musical Anecdotes--42

42---Jayashri Ramnath

Jayshri Ramnath popularly known as Bombay Jayashri) is a

 Carnatic music  vocalist and composer. She is a disciple of violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman. She was born in Kolkata, into a family of music connoisseurs and musicians. While growing up in Mumbai

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she started training in Carnatic music under the guidance of her parents Seetha and N. N. Subramaniam. She initially learnt under T. R. Balamani, and was with her for a period of 10 years.

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Jayashri was also initiated into Hindustani music and trained under Sri Mahavir Jaipurvale and Sri Ajay Pohankar for about six years. She moved to Chennai and came under the guidance of her guru Lalgudi Jayaraman. She also learnt the Veena from G. N. Dandapani Iyer. Jayashri has a Bachelor of Commerce degree fro

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R.A,Podar College  , Mumbai, a Diploma in Music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi and has been conferred a Doctorate by the Mother Theresa Women's University.

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Not well known is that she had a ball singing jingles in several languages extolling the wonderful attributes of Bournvita, Mealmaker and Rexona, solo or in duets.

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Jayashri performed her first concert in 1982. In India, she has performed in all the major cities and for almost all important organizations. She has performed for the Spirit of Unity Concerts for National Integration, SPIC MACAY Festivals and All India Radio's Sangeet Sammelan.In the US, and Europe she had several concerts.

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Jayashri has performed

 

jugalbandis with Ronu Majumdar and Shubha Mudgal . She has interacted with artistes in dance like Leela Samson and Priyadarshini Govind. Jayashri has sung Thirukkural and Annamacharya verses in the prestigious audio autobiography – “

 

Wings of Fire ” of former President Shri Abdul Kalam. She performed in 'Bhaire Baanvari', the story of Meera, conceptualised and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan. She also was a part of 'Mathemagician' with actor V Balakrishnan and written by Gowri Ramnarayan. Jayashri also performed at theMTV Coke Studio (India)

Season 1 with Ustad Rashid Khan and Richa Sharma. She also conceptualised 'Listening to Life' – A concert that features the journey of a musician as a lover of music.

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She has collaborations with various eminent artistes from around the world. She has sung with Egyptian singer Hisham Abbas and Senegalese singer Thione Seck. In 2008, she was part of an Indo-Finnish venture 'Red Earth and Pouring Rain', where she sang Kuṟuntokai – ancient poems from Sangam literature – with Avanti, a Philharmonic Orchestra from Finland and set to music by Eero Hämeenniemi. In 2012, she sang the poetry of Mirza Ghalib composed by Eero Hämeenniemi at the Vantaa festival, Finland.

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Jayashri is also a playback singer whose film music includes collaborations with composer A. R. Rahman on the song "Narumugaiye" from

 Mani Ratnam's  ‘Iruvar’. Collaborations with music composer Harris Jeyaraj has won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil for the popular song "Vaseegara" from the Tamil film Minnale. She sang in Mahesh Dattani's 'Morning Raga' for the music of Amit Heri. She has also sung in various films in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam languages.

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Jayashri worked with Ang Lee on his motion picture, “Life of Pi.” She wrote and performed the lyrics for "Pi's Lullaby", which was nominated for the 2012 Oscars in the Best Original Song category. She collaborated with composer Mychael Danna for this film.

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She has also composed music for actor

 

Revathi's films Verukku Neer and Kerala Cafe. In 2004, Jayashri composed music for Silappadhikaaram, a dance drama commissioned by the Cleveland Cultural Alliance.

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In 2001, Jayashri, along with

 

Sanjay Subrahmanyan

 

and T. M. Krishna wrote the book “Prof. Sambamoorthy, the visionary musicologist”, detailing the life and times of Prof.Sambamoorthy – eminent Indian musicologist. The book was published to commemorate his birth centenary. In 2007, Jayashri, T. M. Krishna – leading Carnatic vocalist and Mythili Chandrasekar – Senior Vice-President at

 

JWT

 

together wrote the book 'Voices Within

 

',- a one-of-a-kind coffee table book that captures the pioneering spirit of seven of the greatest Carnatic masters of the previous generations.

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She featured in the first full length Carnatic music film 'Margazhi Ragam', conceptualised by Director P Jayendra. This was a ground breaking venture that showed Carnatic music in a whole different light. In her quest to reach music to the next generation, she along with T. M. Krishna and YACM initiated Svanubhava – a week-long Music Festival, exclusively for students of music, which continues to be conducted annually.

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Another dimension of music which Jayashri is focused on is in exploring the therapeutic and healing value that music can generate. She has been working closely with institution like Kilikili, Sampoorna in Karnataka and Sankalp in Tamil Nadu which care for autistic children. This domain is a matter of serious engagement for Jayashri and her students. Some other institutions that Jayashri has worked with include:The Banyan

 

Chennai (rehabilitation of homeless/mentally challenged women), Vasantha Memorial Trust (cancer patients), Stepping Stones Orphanage Home, Malaysia, Multiple Sclerosis Society of India, Bangalore and more.

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She has amassed several awards. "Nada Ratna" Honorary Doctorate – Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa), awarded by Mother Theresa Women's University, Kodaikkanal, "Sangeetha Saraswathi" from the South Indian Cultural Association (SICA), during its Golden Jubilee Year, ."Kalaimamani Virudhu" from the Government of Tamil Nadu, "Shanmukha Sangeetha Shiromani" from Shanmukhananda Sabha, Bombay, Received the 'Kalki Award' from Cine Director K Balachander, on behalf of the Kalki Krishnamoorthy Trust, 'Asthana Vidhushi' of the Shringeri Mutt.

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One of Jayashri’s greatest assets has been her closely-knit, supportive family. Her father, N.N. Subramaniam was a keen amateur singer and teacher, who did not live to see her become a successful vocalist. It was her mother’s dream that she has lived out. Her two brothers Balarajan and Sabesh are strong pillars of support. (“They will drop everything and run to her if she needs them,” says sister-in-law Janaki Sabesh who combines a successful career marketing digital cinema with acting in films, and is a trained vocalist herself). Both brothers have learnt enough Carnatic music to critique and advise Jayashri. Both are company executives and pursue music in their spare time, Sabesh carrying on the family tradition of music teaching. Jayashri’s husbandRamnath, a finance professional, is a genuine lover of music who enjoys singing Hindi and Bengali film songs.

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The behind the scenes person most responsible for Jayashri’s growth as a musician has been her mother Seetha. Forced by her husband’s premature death to teach music for a living, she discovered when Jayashri was barely three, that she was gifted, from the way she picked up the nuances of the Ranjani varnam while she was teaching older children the song in the next room. “Actually, it was the teachers who were keen on teaching a child as talented as Jayashri,” she says. That is how Jayashri came to learn Hindustani music from Mahavir Jaipurwale and Gautam Mukherjee, Carnatic music from T.R. Balamani and Bharatanatyam from guru Kalyanasundaram.

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For someone of immense pride in her art, she is also a humble student, willing to surrender to the teacher. Her attitude to criticism is best exemplified by an incident some ten years ago, when she sought help from a reviewer – who had strongly criticized one of her concerts – to make some corrections, because she believed it was a case of constructive criticism.

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By the time she was eight, her father passed away and her two brothers and she were taught to focus on each one's particular talent by her mother. Jayashri's phenomenal gift was trained, honed and polished by the ambitions of her mother who had seen the singular achievements of an MS or MLV. She was a tough disciplinarian and nothing other than music was allowed to enter Jayashri's life.Soon her mother realized that Jayashri needed a more qualified guru to broaden her knowledge and skills. Smt. T.R. Balamani in Matunga was chosen and Jayashri's life. "I have been lucky with my gurus, confesses Jayashri. "Balamani teacher made learning music so interesting. It was not just learning a krithi or a raaga. It was delving into the lyrics, learning about bhava and laya. I learnt music with her for the sheer pleasure of singing. Then, the prizes began to come my way. Any competition concerned with music attracted me and I won so many prizes. Extracurricular activities too centred on music. I was pampered and allowed to totally focus on music. Ironically, even friends contributed to music.

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Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman was a friend of the family. On a visit to their home, he heard her sing and invited her to come and learn music from him in Chennai. That season in Chennai, she took part in the Music Academy competitions and won prizes. Jayashri was soon convinced that she was not going back to Mumbai until she had done her Gurukulam with Shri Lalgudi. "Lalgudi Sir's way of teaching, his insight into music and the way he transferred that knowledge to his students was inspiring. If he took up a raga, say Kalyani, it was not merely the raaga and its interpretation that were discussed. He would explore the rendering of the raga by various composers, performers and dissect our own interpretation. He would identify the best interpretation and ask us to imprint our own sense of aesthetics into the rendering and make it our own. He is a guru in the true sense of the word. His approach was open and he made us listen to all kinds of music, including diverse music by Ravi Shankar, George Harrison, Rafi or Lata and other doyens of Carnatic music.

Back home, her mother started to worry that the bird had flown the nest. She was 23 years old and thoughts of marriage began to enter her mother's scheme of things. Jayashri was not ready to perform yet, but soon small opportunities came her way. Her cassettes first appeared in the public. The change between Mumbai and Chennai was an opportunity for Jayashri to discover herself. In '92, her brother Sabesh took a transfer and came to Chennai to give Jayashri the moorings of home and family. In '96, she met Ramnath. "His sister plays the veena and a friendship grew. The families were glad to clinch the alliance, and suddenly one day, we were married. I was initially nervous about handling another person. I was now used to being on my own. I wondered whether I could devote time and think beyond my music about another human being. I was adamant about not giving in on certain things. My anxieties were set to rest from the word go and we just clicked. He works from home as an accountant. I have my den upstairs and can read, sing, listen to music whatever."

Amrit was born in '98 and Jayashri took time off from public appearances for 7 to 8 months. The space around her had now enlarged to include another human being. Soon she bounced back into circulation and began to perform and travel with the baby in her bag. She now teaches students and her husband looks after her fortune!

Jayashri's learning curve continued to grow. She found that she could not appreciate western music. Analysing this mental block, she de

cided to learn to play the piano to appreciate the nuances of western music. Reading on musicology, religion and philosophy is part of her daily routine. "My legs on wheels have taken me far and wide. I enjoy giving performances in Europe where the audience is tremendously appreciative of Indian music due to Ravi Shankar. Sri Lankans have come together to promote Carnatic music in a big way. I make it a point to see the places I visit apart from my music

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I have had some strange events connected with my performances. Once I was singing in Phoenix. Parents of a child came to me before the concert and said that their child would only eat and sleep if one of my songs was played. At the concert, he was sleeping in their arms and woke up after my repertoire was over. He started wailing and I immediately sang the song. Miraculously he quieted down. That was truly a wonderful experience. Another child loves my rendering of "Ranganayakam" and calls me Ranganayakam Aunty.

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A linguist, speaking English, Tamil, Marathi, Urdu and Hindi, Jayashri seized upon an opportunity to discover the classic books of Kalki when she was hospitalised after a freak accident that left her bed-ridden for 2 months. A friend visited her and had discussions on Bharathiar's poetry, its meaning and metaphor. He also gave her homework to study a few of the poems and then helped her analyse them. Her knowledge of Tamil was greatly improved.

Amrit hums quite well. Sabesh's daughter sings beautifully and so does Ramnath's niece.

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“Paahimam Shri Rajarajeswari” was her first song for films. It was a classical piece rendered for Ilayaraja. "`Vaseegara' just happened. When Harris Jayaraj asked me to sing it, I was not happy with the high pitch demanded by film music. He gave me the freedom to choose the pitch on the synthesiser and my normal 51/2 scale gave that song its special quality.

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Controversies

The relatives of Malayalam poet Irayimman Thampi and the Irayimman Thampi Smaraka Trust alleged that the lyrics penned by Bombay Jayshree for “Pi’s Lullaby”, which was also nominated for Oscar for the 'best original song category', for the 2012 film Life of Pi has been copied from Thampi's lullaby Omanathinkal Kidavo. Jayashri had rendered 'Omanathinkal Kidavo' Malayalam version back in 2001 in her album named 'Vatsalyam'.

PPR

8/5/2015