Smt. Aruna Sairam [Vocalist]
ARUNA SAIRAM is the most sought after vocalist of Carnatic Music today. During the December 2004 Chennai Music festival, Aruna’s concerts were sell-outs drawing unprecedented numbers of audiences. In the past few years Aruna’s concerts in various cities, – be it Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai or Le Theatre de la Ville in Paris - have attracted record crowds that created “traffic jams around the auditorium” She straddles the national and international music world with equal ease and popularity. Her panache for innovation has brought her accolades as a trail blazer in Carnatic Music.
Recently the Outlook magazine made the following observation : “M S Subbulakshmi is no more. But if there is any singer who comes close to matching such purity of voice, diction, impeccable sruti alignment and frill-free singing, it is Aruna Sairam”
Aruna Sairam was born in Bombay – a city whose rich cultural life embraces the majority of India’s artistic fields – into a family with a deep love for music. Her mother, the singer Smt. Rajalakshmi Sethuraman, was her first teacher in the art of Carnatic music, while her father, a fine and knowledgeable connoisseur, established their house in Bombay as a favourite guest home for the greatest musicians and dancers from both Northern and Southern India, such as the dancer Smt. T. Balaraswati, the Khayal singer Ustad Amir Khan and the Carnatic flutist Sri. T. R. Mahalingam, Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi. It was in this propitious atmosphere, which was fundamental to the development of her art, that Aruna Sairam met Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. T. Brinda, who taught her for the next several years, training her in the style of her own mentor, the great Veena Dhanammal, one of the most outstanding figures in Carnatic music, still today a source of profound inspiration for Southern India’s leading musicians.
Drawing on her long concert career and a number of significant encounters with other great musicians, Aruna Sairam is known for her own style. Aruna’s voice is a beautiful blend of resonance and range. It has an unusual timbre which gives it a special quality. Add to this the musical legacy rooted in the traditional classicism of her guru, as well as her own openness, you have Aruna Sairam.
She has created a large audience for Carnatic Music among the European listeners through her concerts. She also has the distinction of performing Carnatic Music in dialogue with internationally renowned artists of European and African countries.
The deep emotional impact of Aruna’s music intensely moves her listeners and has deservedly made her the favourite of pundits and the public alike.
New Woman magazine, in a profile of Aruna said ”Sometimes a voice keeps you entranced. At other times a personality. Very rarely does it happen that both the richness of the melody and the exponent herself mesmerizes you completely. Aruna Sairam is one such remarkable artiste, who commands respect, inspires admirations and exudes humility.”