Lead singer for the popular New England Music group, Saptaswar, Sudha (Lakshmi) Rao was born and raised in Chennai, India and moved to the Boston area in 2001. She spent many years working with orchestras in Chennai including Friends’ Orchestra, Chennai and the Rooplyn music circle (western and Indian film music), Chennai.

She has done several fundraisers in the Boston area and is a much sought after singer in the New England area. She writes music reviews for Lokvani. She spoke to Lokvani about her musical journey.

How did you get interested in film music?

 I guess my interest started very young. My mother says when I was a baby she would leave me in my crib with the radio on next to me mostly playing film music on Radio Ceylon, while she did her household chores.   At family functions, my siblings and I and parents would sing a lot, dance a lot – and most of the time it was film music and western music.

Could you describe  your musical training?

I started learning South Indian classical music from the age of 7 or 8.    In addition I used to be part of Bhajan groups at school. All our cultural activities at school included classical and semi-classical music and dance and western choral music.  I was in the choir too singing soprano – so learned how to sing parts and harmonize.  In college, I was in the cultural team, representing the college in light music events. 

What was your musical career like in India?

It was just beginning to get more successful and active when we left in 2001.  I was singing with 2 groups – Friends Orchestra (whom I joined in 1988, a year after my daughter was born) and Rooplyn (a group that performed themed Hindi film and western music shows).  I was very busy with music shows with occasional recordings .  We would perform for different occasions including weddings – so during a wedding season, I would have shows back to back (sometimes 2 in a day) during the entire season.  It was a musical high or overdose for me!  

 Did you worry that coming to US would put a pause in your performances?

Absolutely!  That was what worried me the most.  I did not know anybody in Boston except for my brother-in-law who had no contact or connection with anything remotely Indian –I remember my cousin in Florida who also sings arranged for me to do a Tamil show in Fort Lauderdale the year I arrived – it was fun and I felt a little better about my music.  Later that year, my cousin, Viji Ananthakrishnan told me about Saptaswar and gave me some numbers to contact.  And there was no looking back!  Over the early years of being in the US, I was able to do shows in NY, NJ and DC and even St.Louis for various Indian community events and fund-raisers.  It was really interesting and kept my hopes alive!

How did get involved with Saptaswar

My cousin gave me the number of Kumar Padmanabhan’s uncle (Kumar was the keyboardist for Saptaswar when they started) who in turn put me in touch with Kumar and Mohan Somasundaran.  I was asked to join and at the first show which was a huge success  I remember meeting the late Chitra Parayath of Lokvani for the first time during that show – she gave Saptaswar a glowing write up and also was very kind and encouraging to me personally and gave me special mention in her write up.

Lokvani has been a wonderful source of support and encouragement in my musical endeavours over the years and I really appreciate what they have done for Saptaswar and me.  My journey with Saptaswar has resulted in my being able to work with a number of extremely talented musicians, some of whom have become my extremely close friends. 

Who are your favorite music directors?

In Tamil, M.S.Viswanathan, Ilayaraja are my all time favourites. In Hindi, tough to say – but I do adore the music of S.D.Burman, Shankar-Jaikishen, O.P.Nayyar and R.D.Burman.  Having said all this, my most favorite Hindi film song ever is Abhi na Jao from Hum dono that was composed by Jaidev!  Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle and P.Sushila and L.R.Easwari are my favorite female singers of all time.

You seem to all your shows as charity work.  Why is it so important to you to use your talent for fundraising purposes?

I worked in and still continue to be associated with Bala Mandir a Home for orphan and destitute children in Madras and while working with Bala Mandir, became associated with a number of NGOs.  In both my school and college, the spirit of social and community service was ingrained in us.  

However, truthfully, in the beginning,  not all my shows were charity based.  In Madras, I was semi-professional – but my group Friends’ Orchestra did many a charity event every year –and after my association with Tanker Foundation (Tamil Nad Kidney Research Foundation), of which I am an overseas advisory member, we did a number of fundraisers for them and also do a segment every year during their annual Republic Eve function.  When I joined Saptaswar, I was informed that we were a ‘group with a cause’ and that most of our shows were fundraisers and community events and I was therefore fine with that.  We have done many a fundraiser and community event for a good cause over these last few years and it has been immensely satisfying.  Of late, now we are also doing paid shows for individuals and organizations too, but we continue to do our bit for the community as often as possible.   Besides this, Raghu Saranathan, my co-singer and I have been doing a few O.P.Nayyar tribute concerts for Siraj Khan, a music afficianado in the Boston area where part of the proceeds go to a trust set up in OPN saab’s name to help destitute and deserving musicians in India. It is my dream to set up a similar trust in Madras that will help needy stage musicians and their families.  I am working on it and hope it will bear fruition in the near future.

What advice do you have for singers who may want to pursue film music singing?

Go for it!  Practice hard – there are tons of resources available nowadays on line (karaoke websites, tracks for purchase, karaoke cds etc) and in stores that gives an aspiring singer the chance to pursue and practice their music.  Music directors are now always looking for young and untapped talent and there is a whole new world out there waiting to hear you. Most definitely a combination of talent, right attitude, drive, hard work and of course luck and the right opportunity are also really important!  And remember that it is important to take constructive criticism and critique in the right spirit and respect the opinion and advise of other senior musicians or experts.  It can be quite a struggle and a talented singer is always not lucky – but do not give up hope – if you have a dream, pursue it, share it and live it!!  Rejection and disappointment are all part of the story and don’t let it dishearten or dispirit you in any way!  For some others (like me for example), they could continue doing what they might be most comfortable with or do best – stage performances – but my sincere advice, be it stage or informal (even bathroom) or any singing, just don’t ever give up – because music is what we carry with us always and for ever!

Thanks for your time 

I would like to express my sincere thanks and eternal gratefulness to my husband Mohan and my children Krithi and Vinayak who have been my patient and constant pillars of strength and support in my musical endeavours.  Also, a big thanks to Gayathri and Chandru of Friends Orchestra and Mohan Somasundaran of Saptaswar who put their full faith and trust in me gave me the opportunity to grow with each and every show that they arranged over the years!  And of course, today I am really proud to be associated with a group of absolutely talented singers and musicians like Raghu Saranathan, Vinay Mishra, Rahul Bharadwaj, Christy Mathew, Krithika Jeyaram's and Hiral Parikh.

Many thanks to you and your team for giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts and my musical journey with your readers!

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