Charumathi Raghuraman

Intuition coupled with rigorous practice has made the violinist a front line performer.

Her silky smooth bowing, unhesitating fluency, thorough competence and immaculate accompanying skills make Charumathi Raghuraman a sought-after violinist for leading artistes in the Carnatic firmament such as Ranjani Gayatri, Sudha Ragunathan, Vijay Siva, Gayathri Venkataraghavan, Ramakrishnan Murthy and more.

Charumathi’s musical path involved a lot of travel (“I was in trains a lot”) and frequent separation from immediate family. It began in Mumbai where her family lived, with Charumathi imitating her older sister’s violin playing using a ruler and a pencil. She started lessons herself at age 4 with N. Krishna Iyer of Bhakta Rasika Ranjani Sabha. She also learned vocal from TR Balamani whilst absorbing what her mother, Rama Raghuraman, taught her vocal students at home.

At a friend’s urging, Rama took Charumathi to the doyen TN Krishnan in 1995 when he visited Mumbai. He took her under his wing after hearing her play. Intense practice followed. Charumathi says, “My mother would wake me up at 4.30 am, bundle me up in a monkey cap and sweater in the colder months, give me my Bournvita/Horlicks while practically still asleep, and make me play for a couple of hours before school.” A diary was maintained ensuring that Charumathi cycled through practicing all the varnams she knew, playing each 5-6 times and at multiple speeds. Varnams, varisais, kirtanams, manodharmam – everything she knew was played every 48 hours at least. This routine of 5-6 hours of daily practice continued for years, with Charumathi traveling from Mumbai to Chennai every 6 weeks or so for violin classes.

This article appeared in The Hindu.

On one such trip a year later, Krishnan told then 9-year-old Charumathi that she would be playing with him at a concert that evening. “It was totally unexpected and a surreal moment.” More such performances ensued.

Increasing difficulties juggling school in Mumbai with music lessons in Chennai made Charumathi and her mother move to Chennai in 2000. She continued in depth violin training whilst also taking vocal lessons from PS Narayanaswamy. “I learned vocal to get the necessary lyrical background for the violin.” She listened to a lot of music, observing the give and take within concerts, developing a sense of proportion, and discerning subtle vocal nuances and how to reproduce them. She practiced by playing with vocal recordings and during the violin interludes. This rigorous sadhakam has yielded handsome dividends.

“The bow is the voice of the instrument and Charumathi’s bowing is one of the best there is. It comes to the fore particularly when playing at higher pitches. We sing at G sharp where the violin can sound shrill. However, Charumathi generates wholesome sound due to her finely honed bowing technique.”

Ranjani and Gayatri – acclaimed vocalists and violinists

Violinists have to quickly figure out unknown ragas and play it on stage sans prior practice. Charumathi says “The antennae should be up in fullest concentration and the arohanam and avarohanam rapidly ascertained. But a raga is not just a scale – there are specific phrases that give life and body to it.” Short and long alapanas both present different challenges. “To synthesise the life of a raga in a short duration is as difficult as playing an elaborate alapana. However, it is such aspects of live concerts that are most invigorating.”

Charumathi keeps refining technique. “I try to bow only when there is a syllable, to ensure adherence to the lyric.” She practices at least an hour a day now, travel and performances permitting. “My instrument will tell me if I have not played for a couple of days,”

According to Ranjani and Gayatri, “Even as Charumathi embodies the best of the TN Krishnan bani, she has been enriched by other approaches too, particularly noticeable in her one string playing, a very difficult skill. As she traverses 1.5 octaves on one string, her sense of fingering and placement with incredible control, is a combination of an intuitive feel for the instrument and a lot of hard work.” A fan of the Gayaki ang of Hindustani music, Charumathi has also learned from Kala Ramnath.

“Accompanying so as to boost the vocalist, holding the right note at the right juncture – Charumathi has imbibed these so well. She customises her playing for each artiste, reflecting his/her characteristic vocalisations minutely and accurately. She is also pleasant in demeanour and not afraid to show enjoyment of the music on stage.”

Rajiv Menon – renowned movie director and knowledgeable rasika

Ranjani and Gayatri add, “Be it gana ragas like Kambhoji or Thodi, or rakti ragas like Sahana, Yadukulakambhoji or Devagandhari or Hindustani ragas like Shuddh Sarang or Rageshri, Charumathi conveys a refined sense of aesthetics and bhava in a way that appeals to both our minds and the heart.”

An MBA in Finance, she is a foodie who actively researches sabha menus during music season. “I patronise the canteens on days I don’t have concerts. I also like chaat so much I am called ‘Chaat-mathi’ by my good friends,” she grins.

Charumathi Raghuraman is an accomplished soloist too, who wishes that violinists be given more opportunities for solo performances. “That way, we can showcase our ideas fully.”