The making of Carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s autobiography

Sanjay Subrahmanyan
| Photo Credit: S. R. Raghunathan

On that note, an autobiographical portrait of Sanjay Subrahmanyan, is at once the summary of a life dedicated to Carnatic music and a peek into the effort that goes into making a classical musician’s genre-defying transformation at the top of his career. In fact, the headline of the second chapter summarises it rather graphically: “It takes a village to raise a musician.”

Sanjay’s hasn’t been an easy journey, but the joint effort of his family and, above all, the dogged determination of Sanjay himself, helped in his evolution from a reluctant learner to an accomplished artiste. It’s also about his well-wishers, mentors, audiences and fans.

It’s fascinating to read how a playful boy from Mylapore gets initiated into music because of the deep-rooted socio-cultural milieu of his family. This five-decade long story is also about Carnatic music during the same period — besides Sanjay’s journey, you also get a ringside view of the lives of all the major characters in his life.

“The last two years have seen a lot of change in my performing career post pandemic. I never thought I would be doing the things I did. I also thought it would be the perfect time to look back and write about the circumstances that led to this,” says Sanjay, about the reason for the book at this juncture of his career.

On that note is an autobiographical portrait of Sanjay Subrahmanyan,
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

On that Note is compact and easy to read because Sanjay and his co-author Krupa Ge stick to the main story, but still don’t compromise on the details. It has everything – his growing up years, family and friends, the never-ending process of learning and even insecurities and vulnerabilities while being at the top. It gives us a magnified view of his artistic perspective, why he does what he does, and how he reached where he has.

Here’s an example (Page 79): “It was during this period that I transitioned from being a strict conservative to embracing a slightly more liberated, out of the box approach. I experimented with new ideas and took liberties with my performances without getting bogged down by the dilemma of whether innovation was right or wrong.”

The book succeeds in its coherent narrative style — it’s as if Sanjay is speaking in first person.

Krupa Ge presents the book in Sanjay’s style, showcasing very little of herself. “I relished the challenge of playing a ventriloquist. Capturing other voices is a major preoccupation in my other life as a writer of fiction,” says Krupa.

Equally commendable is how she, along with Ajitha, editor, Westland, extracted the essence from an ocean of material. Her writing skills as well as working knowledge of Carnatic music and its state-of-play also seem to have helped. “Sanjay was pretty clear about what he’d like the takeaway from the book to be: the metamorphosis of his identity as the pandemic vaned. Keeping this in mind, I came up with a plan for the book, in consultation with our editor. The final form was her idea, which gives you a peek into a vast life — of a particular moment, and the events building up to it, with a few detours. It also left Sanjay with the option of expanding later on, into more volumes, or for a deeper dive, on his own or with a collaborator,” adds Krupa.

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