Production of autobiography of Carnatic singer Sanjay Subramanian

Sanjay Subramanian Photo Courtesy: SR Raghunathan

heyn that noteIt is an autobiographical portrait of Sanjay Subramanian, simultaneously a summary of his life dedicated to Carnatic music and a glimpse of the effort it takes to make genre-defying changes at the top of a classical musician’s career. In fact, the title of the second chapter sums it up graphically: “It takes a village to raise a musician.”

Sanjay’s journey has not been easy, but the combined efforts of his family and above all, the determination of Sanjay himself, helped him transform from a reluctant learner to an accomplished artist. It is also about his well-wishers, gurus, audience and fans.

It is interesting to read how a playful boy from Mylapore gets initiated into music due to the deep socio-cultural environment of his family. This five decade long story is also about Carnatic music during the same period – apart from Sanjay’s journey, you also get a real view into the lives of all the key characters in his life.

“The last two years have seen a lot of change in my performing career following the pandemic. I never thought I’d do the things I did. I also thought it would be the right time to look back and write about the circumstances that led to this,” Sanjay says about the reason behind writing the book at this point in his career.

heyn that note An autobiographical portrait of Sanjay Subramanian. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

on that note Concise and easy to read as Sanjay and his co-writer Kripa ji stick to the main story, yet don’t compromise on details. It has everything – her growing up years, family and friends, the never-ending process of learning and even the insecurities and vulnerabilities of being at the top. It gives us a detailed view of his artistic approach, why he does what he does, and how he got to this point.

Here’s an example (page 79): “It was during this period that I transitioned from a strict conservative to a slightly more open, outside-the-box approach. I experimented with new ideas and took freedom in my performance without being indecisive about whether the innovation was right or wrong.”

The book is successful in its coherent narrative style – it seems as if Sanjay is speaking in the first person.

Kripa Gay presents the book in Sanjay’s style, showing very little of her own. “I loved the challenge of playing a ventriloquist. “Capturing other voices is a big preoccupation of my second life as a fiction writer,” Krupa says.

What is equally commendable is how he, along with Westland’s editor Ajitha, extracted the gist from the ocean of material. His writing skills as well as his working knowledge of Carnatic music and its playing conditions have also helped. “Sanjay was very clear about what he wanted the book to say: the transformation of his identity as the pandemic subsides. With this in mind, I came up with a plan for the book in consultation with our editor. The final form was his idea, which gives you a glimpse of a larger life – of a particular moment, and with some variations, the events associated with it. This also left Sanjay with the option to expand to a larger scale later, or to expand deeper on his own or with a partner,” says Kripa.

The session will be held on January 19 at 3.50 pm at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall.