“My parents wished to see me become an engineer. Now they are proud to see me scaling heights in this divine art…”

Some people have the luxury and privilege of inheriting art from some unbroken family lineage. For such artists, the whole ambience at home becomes a sort of a given, though, of course, individual labor and talent are the main components. Then there are others who cannot talk about their interest in art in the context of hereditary involvement. I would be one such person. I am fully indebted to my parents, Sri G. Muralidhara Pai and Smt V.S.Vijayakumari for identifying my love for music at a very young age, despite no particular artistic inclination existing in the family.

My training began when I was three years old. Sri Antony Bhagavathar, Sri Arun Kumar, Sri Shamsudheen and later Sri N.P.Ramaswamy nurtured my voice with very caring and loving training for many years. My simultaneous interest in playing the mridangam, violin and harmonium were also duly encouraged. This close familiarity with instrumental music stands me in good stead today in my efforts towards becoming a complete musician.

Like many aspiring young artists, I gravitated to Chennai where I received advanced training in Carnatic vocal music from my Guru Vidwan Sri O.S.Thiagarajan. At the same time, Vidwan Sri Mannargudi Easwaran provided me with specialized training in highly nuanced technical aspects of rhythm in Carnatic music while the academic vista opened out in front of me in the form of a Masters program in Indian Music from the University of Madras.

Chennai offered me a whole range of opportunities – to learn, perform, collaborate, interact - that I quickly embraced into my fold. My involvement with dance music has been a result of that exposure. Working with great practitioners of dance has sensitized me to the art of singing for dance, thereby making me see the completeness of Sangeetham, that which comprises Geetam (vocal music), Vadyam (instrumental music) and Nrutyam (dance/mime). My aspiration is to have a complete experience of music and part of it comes from collaborating with dancers who weave such great movement and emotional patterns on the canvas my music provides them. It has been a very enriching experience.