Geeta profiles Sruthi Sagar, a rising Chennai flutist, exclusively for Different Truths. He won the “Child Prodigy Award” and has performed alongside legends and dancers, in India and abroad.

Thiruvanmyur is quite a crowded place in Chennai. But once you enter JB Sruthi Sagar’s apartment, it is a world of music. There are the Tanpuras (Thamburu) and the Veena placed neatly against one wall. Keerthana, his sister, is all smiles as she welcomes us in. She is an upcoming vocalist. Both his parents play the Veena. “Will he speak?” I wonder as Sruthi makes himself comfortable on the swing there. He reflects an aura of purity, silence, and spirituality around him.

“You are a prodigy…,” I begin.

Even before I complete the statement, I feel, Sruthi Sagar is ready to speak.

“I started learning music at a very young age from my first guru Bala Sai. I developed a problem with my vocal cords and switched to the flute.” Sruthi prefers to speak in Tamil. “Since I was small, I did not know anything. I just got introduced to the instrument. I don’t have a flautist as a teacher. My guru is Dr. S. Sunder, a vocalist. He sings and I play the flute to his music – a little self-learning. That is why I have a Gayaka style.” They have their sadhakam or riyaaz four times a week early in the morning at 6.30.

“Is that why you are compared to Mali?” I am curious.

“No, no, he was a great person. (No comparison). It is the Sruthi – I use the five and a half pitch, like him. Usually only two and a half is used by most of the artists. “That reminded me of the piece I had heard. Yes, that is why his music stands out. It is the sruthi (pitch).

 At the age of ten, Sruthi Sagar won the ‘Child Prodigy Award’ from the Rotary Club Besant Nagar. At seventeen, he won the ‘Kuzhal Isai Selvan Award’ from the Kumararaja Muthiah Muttamizh Manram. He is also the winner of the AIR (2000) and Mylapore Fine Arts Club (2003) competitions. As a student of Chettinad Vidyashram, a school that actively promotes extracurricular activities, he won several prizes in inter-school competitions. He had his arangetram at the age of sixteen, in front of great musicians such as Vedavalli, Ravi Kiran, TM Krishna. He has won prizes at the IIT Sarang fest three times, Kalki Krishnamurthy Memorial award. He also received the MS Subbalakshmi Fellowship award from Shanmukhanada hall, Mumbai.

Sruthi Sagar is a full-time musician now. He is busy throughout the year. He goes for kalyana kacheris (performances at weddings), kovil kacheris (performances at temples) and recordings. So, he is busy almost twenty-five days in a month. Music season is full. Then he performs for dancers as well.

“Which do you prefer – solo performances or accompanying dances?”

“Both. Equally. Classical music is devotional. So, both satisfy me.”

“Who are the dancers you have played for?”

“Vaijayanthi Mala, Alamer Valli, Leela Samson, the Dhanajayans, Urmila Sathyanarayana, et al.”

“All great artists!” It surprises me. So much accomplishment at such a young age. Yet he is so humble!

“Do you have to go for their practises as well?” I ask. How does he manage otherwise!

“Not always,” he replies, “I am allowed to play freely, as they perform, and also in between when there is a break.” His life must be so beautiful!

Now a days most of the artists travel a lot. I ask him if he does.

“I used to. I have travelled in Europe, the U.S.A., London, Malaysia, Singapore. Not anymore. I have stopped. I miss out on religious rituals when I travel, and I believe in them strongly. Sasthras do not encourage crossing the sea.” I can hardly believe my ears.

“Tell me about your experiences when you travelled.”

“Most of them were big crowds and big performances as the dancers I was accompanying were famous and established. In most of the places, again, the crowds were mostly Indians with a few foreigners. Except in Europe where the audiences are made up of foreigners mainly. There, they listen because their way of appreciation itself is different. They have a rhythmic way of clapping, which also suggest that they want more. I have had that experience when I performed during the breaks when the dancers went for a change of costumes.” Sruthi shows their way of clapping.

Inspite of all this, he gave up travelling! And, he says the dancers respect his sentiments.

“In India, I have been to Delhi, again a big performance. In the south, once you are accepted in Chennai, you are accepted in many places including Mumbai.  I perform regularly in Bangalore. Only in Kerala, they listen to your music during the season and then call you. I have performed in Guruvayur, Thrissur, Trivandrum. I also performed at the Kuthiramalika when they had the music festival.”

“What are the recordings for?”

“Albums – devotional and for dances. Sometimes for Rajkumar Bharathi.”

He picks up his flute and starts playing the Shahana. We are transported into a magical world of ecstasy. Sruthi Sagar, I feel, has spread his wings. He is going to fly high.

Photo by the author and picture design by Anumita Roy

Geeta Varma

Geeta Varma is a poet, an author and a journalist based in Chennai. She has worked as a teacher and a freelance journalist for some time. She has to her credit two books of poems and is a regular contributor to a few online magazines. Her next book will be published soon. She lives in Chennai with her husband Shreekumar Varma and has two sons, Vinayak married to Yamini, and Karthik.

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