Western music diva turns teacher

An interview with Sunitha Sarathy 

Her recognition goes beyond singing peppy numbers and winning national talent hunt programmes. Coming from a family well-versed in classical jazz, Sunitha Sarathy started singing when she was just four. She has mastered the craft of combining Indian contemporary, western-classical, quiet storm, R&B, soul, neo-soul and gospel songs to create a colourful collage. She has sung for biggies like A R Rahman, Harris Jayaraj, Yuvan Shankar Raja, and more recently, Gautham Menon’s untitled project, and also dons several hats — of a singer, songwriter, percussionist and composer. Her latest venture is a vocal training school in Thiruvanmiyur.

She sits in front of a piano, tutoring the basic rhythm to a bunch of kids at the school. “So far, I have 19 students and I don’t admit more than eight in a batch. There’s a student in my class who comes all the way from Puducherry,” says the 34-year-old.

So, what made her start a music school? “There are hardly any schools that teach performance-oriented music, that too in one-on-one sessions. I realised the need when I was judging Sangeetha Mahayudham, a children’s music reality show on Sun TV, quite some time ago. Soon, I am also planning to take classes for housewives,” she says.

Sunitha aims to create an atmosphere of Indian gurukul system and says that the standard of students whom she handles is as good as those abroad. “Kids have amazing talent here. I want to identify and help them develop their own style. I handle all the classes myself. In future, I may hire somebody from outside, but that’s only after I expand this further,” she says.

Sunitha says she could not have learnt music any better way. “I have always been exposed to the best music. My granddad Charles Daniel taught M S Viswanathan western music, and my uncle Das Daniel taught the same to GV Prakash. Those genes probably have rubbed on to me too. My mom Susheela Sarathy, a pianist and conductor at church choirs, is my biggest critic. Even now, she can be sarcastic in her review of my performances,” says Sunitha, who also has a bunch of 11 cats as part of her family.

Reminiscing her college days, she says, “I won the best vocalist title at IIT inter-collegiate Saarang when I was doing English Literature at Stella Maris. Those were the best times.”

And how comfortable is she in a teacher’s skin? “I am learning better ways of singing. I have learnt to be patient as I had to deal with kids. I take them strictly on audition basis. I teach them harmony, music notations, hearing and reading music as most students are beginners. Learning these things from the scratch will help them improve their performance as musicians in future,” she says. “The pronunciation is important, besides breathing, posture and vocal cord warming techniques. I cover them all. As the voice ages, tone may retain sweetness, but vocal agility may dampen. Voice problems will disappear once you make the right aesthetic choice,” she says.

Sunitha doesn’t have a formal music related degree. “But I am lot more qualified than formally-trained performers,” she says. “Only experience and practical lessons or knowledge matters. I brief parents clearly as to what could be done with the capacity of a student, and then I take it further. As far as daily lessons are concerned, I plan them according to the needs of each student,” she says.

“People write to me on Facebook and Twitter that I should take classes via Skype. I am planning to have that soon, especially for those abroad,” she adds.

Sunitha is part of two bands – The Agenda and The Sunitha Sarathy Band — that focus on R&B and jazz. Her husband Rahul Gopal, who plays the drums for the latter, is supportive and encouraging.

From the gamut of musical notes that interest Sunitha, it is singing that she enjoys the most. “I am fascinated by live performances. The energy that it imparts is mesmerising,” she says.

As we get ready to wind up the conversation, we request her to sing a few lines from Thoodhu Varuma — one of her famous numbers from the movie Khaakha Khaakha. She does so with no fuss.

(The piece was originally written for The New Indian Express)