It is rare that one gets to meet one prodigy, but two in a day is a real treat! What makes a prodigy? Do they have features that identify them easily? All these questions were racing through my mind as I walked into Bhanu Jayaraman’s house to meet two of the great Carnatic musicians of the present time, Chitraveena Ravikiran and Flute Shashank. One look at the two of them and you realize that while they share a passion for music and a desire to excel, their personalities and approach to music and life itself is quite different.

Shashank is energetic, vibrant and is ready to be adventurous and explores avenues to bring music from different worlds together. He is very down to earth. While aware of his potential not lets that get into his head.

Ravikiran is a matured musician passionately wanting to reach across the world and spread Indian classical music.  While an extraordinary talent himself, he works hard to support others with talent. The fact that they could present a fabulous jugalbandhi shows that the two geniuses have an enormous respect for each other’s  talent and a great enthusiasm to spread Carnatic music.

How do you differentiate a prodigy from a talented child? “In addition to extraordinary ability, prodigies bring a certain perception to the music at a very young age.. Shashank and Mandolin Srinivas are examples” says Ravikiran Ravikiran is considered an unprecedented phenomenon in Carnatic music. By the age of twelve, Ravikiran was a full-fledged vocal artiste and was given an A-grade ranking in All India Radio.

What does it take to make a prodigy? Do they just happen? “It is a combination of nature and nurture” says Shashank’s father, Mr. Subramanyam who quit his job to concentrate on the music career of his son. ”If there is talent it needs to spotted and appropriately guided so that the musician is able to transcend from being just another talent to one who can contribute to extending the boundaries of the art form.” .

Does Ravi Kiran agree ? “I have always maintained that it is not I but my father who is the genius. I did not go to school for many years. My father home schooled me. He had the unique gift of giving knowledge. He taught me everything from music, to math to a variety of languages. He made it so much fun to learn that I preferred to study rather than to play. To understand rhythm better he asked me to learn  Mridangam . If I have accomplished something I owe it all to my father”

So do they feel privileged to be a prodigy? “What people do not know is that it takes an extraordinary amount of hard work not only to get to certain level, but to maintain it. So is it a privilege? I am not sure” says Ravikiran

What was the training like? Did it cost a lot of money? “We are middle class people. The training did not need money as much as it did passion and dedication.  We lived in a small house and did not have many luxuries. But we worked hard and trained under excellent Gurus” says Shashank.

How do the prodigies evaluate their success? Is it fame? Is it money?  “Fame, money and recognition from fellow musicians are certainly markers that one has accomplished something. For me though the most important mark of success is to know that I contributed something of lasting value to the music that will take the music to the next stage. The multi flute transposed fingering technique I have created extends the range of the instrument and is a lasting contribution to music” says Shashank

For Ravikiran the matrix is simple. “If I have done justice to the art and created something of enduring value that is success”. At the age of twelve, Ravikiran switched over from vocal music to the difficult Chitra Veena to prove to skeptics that this instrument was indeed suited to Carnatic music.

What do they think of the future of Carnatic music? What are they doing to keep it alive?
They differ in their predictions. “I think the future is bright. Carnatic music has a very small base. It is kept alive by a small community mostly in Tamilnadu as opposed to Hindustani Music which has a base in every state Karnataka and north of Karnataka.  Thanks to  Pandit Ravishankar's  extraordinary amount of hard work, Hindustani music has a foothold in the west. Despite our samll base,  Carnatic music has quite a following all over the world. The South Indian diaspora has done a lot of work to bring the music to the west. To help the spread of Carnatic music, I have established the International Foundation for Carnatic Music and have used technology enabled methods like tele-teaching to bring the music to those who may not have access otherwise.

Shashank is not so optimistic. “I feel the number of rasikas is dwindling and I worry about that. "

Do Carnatic musicians need devotion to be good performers? “Any Carnatic music performance requires Bhakti, Bhava and Bhuddhi. Bhakti is an important ingredient” says Ravikiran

Shashank agrees but feels it is important to note tje meaning of Bhakti.  "Bhakti does not mean rituals and going to the temple. It means a sincerity and commitment to the music and a determination to do justice to your music"

Why did they decide to do a Jugalbandhi and how was the experience? “We felt from a marketing perspective a Jugalbandhi would work better. One must have the right team for the Jugalbandhi. The lead artists need to understand the team and work with them to make the concert a success. I have really enjoyed Jugalbandi both with south Indian and north Indian artists” says Ravikiran.

"Working with a stellar team like we have in this concert is a delight for me. Ravikiran and I have such an understanding that we are able to work together to produce music that is really good. The percussion support is also excellent and thus we can really push the edges of the envelope" says Shashank.

What is their opinion of the students who are training in the US? “I really admire the effort that the parents and teachers are putting in training children. At the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, I saw a few really talented children. I hope they keep up the good work and I wish them well” says Ravikiran.

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