<p>Vocalist Bhargavi Venkatram is a rising star in Karnatik music. Young, spirited and talented, and a tech-savvy millennial, she commands a huge following on Instagram of nearly 163,000 followers. The short musical reels that she periodically posts are liked by many and draw comments of appreciation and requests for more such reels.</p>.<p>Bhargavi hails from a family of musicians; her father, H K Venkatram, is a prominent violinist while her mother Triveni and aunt Kavitha, referred to as Saralaya Sisters, are Karnatik vocalists who have been performing for well over 25 years. Her grandfather is the legendary H V Krishnamurthy, a great violinist, who set up the Vijaya School of Music that imparted and trained hundreds of youngsters. Several acclaimed musicians began their musical journey under the tutelage of Krishnamurthy.</p>.<p>She grew up listening to music and even as a two-year-old child, she could recognise ragas and kritis. But despite this early influence, she was not keen on learning Karnatik music; her interest lay in pursuing Bharatnatyam, which she learnt till the age of 12. Her grandmother Sulochana Saralaya, a danseuse, was a major influence in her taking up dance. During one of the dance classes, she had to learn the song — Baro Krishnayya which proved providential. In the process of learning this song, she saw herself being drawn to vocal music. She was keen on learning music from vocalist T M Krishna — she had attended many of his concerts with her parents and was a huge fan of his singing. When they approached him, he asked her to learn a varnam and sing it; and based on her performance he would then decide if she was ‘student material’. Thankfully, she did well and thus began her formal music lessons.</p>.<p>She remembers her first formal concert that she performed as a youngster during the Ramanavami festival. The first few minutes of the concert were unnerving, but she quickly gained confidence and went on to give her best. In the initial years, the expectation from people to see her perform well considering her musical lineage did weigh on her. But over the years she has learnt to deal with it. She realises that people will have something to say irrespective of how she performs — if she does well, they will credit it to her family’s and Guru’s tutelage. If she falters, they will certainly criticise her performance. But despite the double-edged sword that her music lineage brings, she is immensely grateful as her learning has been mostly organic — imbibing music while watching her parents perform and grandfather teach. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhargavi did a Bachelor’s course in engineering and worked briefly before she decided to become a full-time music professional. She has performed at renowned sabhas including the Madras Music Academy, and Narada Gana Sabha and has earned accolades for her professionalism and talent. She knows the journey is not easy — junior artistes are paid less and sometimes the fee does not cover the expenses. She explains this is the reason many musicians have parallel jobs — to balance their financial needs while fulfilling their passion for music.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She concedes she is blessed to be born into a family of musicians and to have T M Krishna as her guru. When quizzed if it opened doors for her easily, she is frank to admit that in some cases it did. But at the same time, her parents have never pushed or sought favours from music organisers. She has reached thus far in her music journey through her dedication and hard work, she says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhargavi understands the impact and relevance of social media in today’s world. She has found a niche fan following among the younger generation due to her Instagram reels that she puts out regularly. Many write to her thanking her for the happiness they derive while listening to her sing a specific raga, kriti, bhajan or shloka. A woman messaged her saying that her father who was recovering from cancer insisted on listening to Bhargavi’s rendering of a particular shloka every day and drew comfort and strength from it. The thought that she can connect to people across geographies and positively influence them gives her a high that is equal to or possibly greater than a formal reward or recognition. And as she navigates through the ups and downs of being a professional singer, her spiritedness and positivity stand out.</p>
<p>Vocalist Bhargavi Venkatram is a rising star in Karnatik music. Young, spirited and talented, and a tech-savvy millennial, she commands a huge following on Instagram of nearly 163,000 followers. The short musical reels that she periodically posts are liked by many and draw comments of appreciation and requests for more such reels.</p>.<p>Bhargavi hails from a family of musicians; her father, H K Venkatram, is a prominent violinist while her mother Triveni and aunt Kavitha, referred to as Saralaya Sisters, are Karnatik vocalists who have been performing for well over 25 years. Her grandfather is the legendary H V Krishnamurthy, a great violinist, who set up the Vijaya School of Music that imparted and trained hundreds of youngsters. Several acclaimed musicians began their musical journey under the tutelage of Krishnamurthy.</p>.<p>She grew up listening to music and even as a two-year-old child, she could recognise ragas and kritis. But despite this early influence, she was not keen on learning Karnatik music; her interest lay in pursuing Bharatnatyam, which she learnt till the age of 12. Her grandmother Sulochana Saralaya, a danseuse, was a major influence in her taking up dance. During one of the dance classes, she had to learn the song — Baro Krishnayya which proved providential. In the process of learning this song, she saw herself being drawn to vocal music. She was keen on learning music from vocalist T M Krishna — she had attended many of his concerts with her parents and was a huge fan of his singing. When they approached him, he asked her to learn a varnam and sing it; and based on her performance he would then decide if she was ‘student material’. Thankfully, she did well and thus began her formal music lessons.</p>.<p>She remembers her first formal concert that she performed as a youngster during the Ramanavami festival. The first few minutes of the concert were unnerving, but she quickly gained confidence and went on to give her best. In the initial years, the expectation from people to see her perform well considering her musical lineage did weigh on her. But over the years she has learnt to deal with it. She realises that people will have something to say irrespective of how she performs — if she does well, they will credit it to her family’s and Guru’s tutelage. If she falters, they will certainly criticise her performance. But despite the double-edged sword that her music lineage brings, she is immensely grateful as her learning has been mostly organic — imbibing music while watching her parents perform and grandfather teach. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhargavi did a Bachelor’s course in engineering and worked briefly before she decided to become a full-time music professional. She has performed at renowned sabhas including the Madras Music Academy, and Narada Gana Sabha and has earned accolades for her professionalism and talent. She knows the journey is not easy — junior artistes are paid less and sometimes the fee does not cover the expenses. She explains this is the reason many musicians have parallel jobs — to balance their financial needs while fulfilling their passion for music.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She concedes she is blessed to be born into a family of musicians and to have T M Krishna as her guru. When quizzed if it opened doors for her easily, she is frank to admit that in some cases it did. But at the same time, her parents have never pushed or sought favours from music organisers. She has reached thus far in her music journey through her dedication and hard work, she says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhargavi understands the impact and relevance of social media in today’s world. She has found a niche fan following among the younger generation due to her Instagram reels that she puts out regularly. Many write to her thanking her for the happiness they derive while listening to her sing a specific raga, kriti, bhajan or shloka. A woman messaged her saying that her father who was recovering from cancer insisted on listening to Bhargavi’s rendering of a particular shloka every day and drew comfort and strength from it. The thought that she can connect to people across geographies and positively influence them gives her a high that is equal to or possibly greater than a formal reward or recognition. And as she navigates through the ups and downs of being a professional singer, her spiritedness and positivity stand out.</p>