Aruna Sairam

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam (also spelt Sayeeram) is an Indian classical vocalist and top Carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (India's premier national institution for music and dance) by the Government of India. In 2011, Aruna was the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London. She is also the first Carnatic musician to perform in the Oud Festival of Israel (Jerusalem).

Early Life

India's legendary classical vocalist Aruna Sairam was born in the multicultural metropolis of Mumbai into a family with a deep love of music. Her mother, Smt. Rajalakshmi, was her first teacher in the art of Carnatic music, the classical music of South India. Her father, Sri Sethurman, a music connoisseur, hosted many of the foremost musicians and dancers from northern and southern India in the family home. It was in this propitious atmosphere, which was fundamental to the development of her art, that Aruna met her Guru, Sangita Kalanidhi Smt.T.Brinda, who trained her in the style of her own mentor, the great Veena Dhanammal, one of the most outstanding figures in Carnatic music.

As a child, Aruna demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for music. She won her first Gold medal at the age of eight at the Shanmukhananda Sabha Competition in Bombay (nowadays Mumbai). Aged 14, she performed her first full-length solo concert at the Rama Navami festival, Bhajana Samaj in the same city. Aged 21, she won the Best Young Musician Award at the annual conference held at the famed Music Academy in Chennai. Aruna began to get noticed as a serious musician of great promise and went on to render performances throughout the country.

Over the following years Aruna brought her own approach to Carnatic music, drawing on the cosmopolitan influences of Mumbai and, covertly, on her Guru’s pure classical style. Her musical perceptions were enriched by exposure to film, western and Hindustani (Northern Indian) classical music. She ushered in a new approach to concert presentation, extending the boundaries of the Carnatic repertoire while remaining firmly rooted in the classical grammar and tradition of this great art form.

Training

Aruna Sairam was taught by Sangeeta Kalanithi T.Brinda, and others.

Shri S Ramachandran, from the bani (style) of Chittor Subramanya Pillai, expanded her already wide repertoire and taught her the fine nuances of nereval singing (improvising within poetic texts). A S Mani, a disciple of Tiger Vardacharyar, guided her through the creative process of Swara singing (improvising with the sol-fa). Prof T R Subramanyam, an acclaimed music professor at Delhi University, taught Aruna to sing and spontaneously compose within ragam-tanam-pallavi. K S Narayanaswamy, the respected veena singer, taught her the subtlety of gamakas – the microtonal oscillations that mark Carnatic music.

Despite her extensive training, Sairam felt the need for guidance in voice training to become capable of fully expressing her creativity and knowledge through her voice. She met German voice maestro Eugene Rabine, who helped her discover and apply a new sound and emotion to her voice. She later took advice and guidance from Carnatic singer M. Balamuralikrishna. To this day, she remains in touch with the New York-based voice teacher David Jones.

Performances and Collaborations

In addition to the classical repertoire, Aruna has conceptualized and performed themed concerts.

‘Aruna – Thousand Names of Divine Mother’– is a concert and recording project first produced in Germany. The recording was done in the crypt of a Benedictine monastery in Germany with co-artists Christian Bollmann and Michael Reimann.

‘Sources’ – are a series of collaborations by Aruna and Dominique Vellard, a master of Gregorian and medieval song. The first, released by EMI Virgin, connects devotional music traditions from South India and medieval Europe. Aruna and Dominique went on to join forces with the Moroccan Sufi vocalist Noureddine Tahiri folding in music of the later Arab-Andalusian tradition, exemplified by their album ‘Trialogue’(2012).

‘Matrubhumi’– is a journey through India from the Himalayan top to the southern tip of Kanyakumari. This concert was performed with Shankar Mahadevan, the renowned Bollywood singer and music director of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy group.‘Strains of Heaven’ – is a duet concert with celebrated mandolin maestro, Mandolin U Srinivas, exploring dialogues between the voice and the string. ‘Aikya’– is a concert in 14 Indian languages, celebrating India’s unity in diversity and saluting such national figureheads as Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi.‘The Wisdom of Vitthala’ and ‘Rang Ahang’ – are concerts fully dedicated to abhang in which Aruna sings and narrates stories about these songs. Both projects proved remarkable successes with audiences participating – chanting the name of Lord Vitthala – along with her.

Awards and Recognitions

Sairam has won many national and international awards, including the Padma Shri and the US Congress Proclamation of Excellence.

• Sangeetha Kalanidhi from the Madras Music Academy, 2018
• Padma Shri from the Government of India, 2012
• Aruna Sairam has been appointed as Vice-Chairman of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi, 2015
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Government of India, 2014
• Bharathi Thyagaraja Samman Award by Dakshinamnaya Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Bangalore, 2015
• Isai Mani Magudam Award by Rajalakshmi Fine Arts, Chennai, 2015
• Arsha Kala Bhushanam Award by Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Coimbatore, 2014
• Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Award by Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Memorial Trust Chennai, 2013
• Shri P. Obul Reddy and Smt. P. Gnanambal Award 2012
• Indira Sivasailam Endowment Award, 2012
• Sangita Kala Nipuna by Mylapore Fine Arts Club, Chennai, 2012
• Sake of Honour Award by Rotary Club of Ambattur 2011
• U S Congress Proclamation of Excellence, 2008
• Gaana Padmam by Brahma Gana Sabha, 2008
• The "Kalaimamani" by the Government of Tamil Nadu, 2006
• The "Isai Selvam" by the Government of Tamil Nadu, 2006
• Sangita Choodamani by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha Chennai, 2006
• Aruna Sairam has been appointed the Advisor to the Department of Culture, Tamil Nadu, on Musical Education by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.