Five years ago when Carnatic vocalist TS Sathyavathi received a standing ovation at Chennai’s Music Academy, she spoke at length about her guru, RK Srikantan. Now, she follows in her guru’s footsteps receiving the first Purandara Award her guru received from the Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha in Bengaluru about three decades ago.“The Purandara Award is my guru’s blessings. Although every award is an honour, this one is special as it is in the name of our sangeeta pitamaha, Sri Purandaradasa. With events and awards that propagate the classical arts, the Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha is doing great service to music connoisseurs and East Bangaloreans,” says Sathyavathi.

TS Sathyavati receiving the Ganakalashree
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Much like her guru, the Dasa Sahitya holds a place close to Sathyavathi’s heart; she has released numerous albums and over four dozen dasara padagalu (hymns) in praise of Purandaradasa, a saint composer and Haridasa philosopher born in the 15th century. “Almost every saint-composer was inspired by Purandaradasa — from Tyagaraja who penned Bhakthi-laden kritis and the Suladi talas of Dikshitar to Mysore royal, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, who preferred a similar rhythmic structure in his compositions,” explains Sathyavathi.Glorious startSathyavathi had a sterling start to a life of music, performing for the Maharani of Mysore as a two-year-old. She was born to TS Srinivasa Murthy and Rangalakshmi, a musician who revelled in Dasa Sahitya. She pursued a M.Phil degree in Sanskrit from Bangalore University and her thesis was on the ‘Contributions of Abhilashithartha Chintamani (Manasollasa) to Indian Music’. She later topped her Vidwat in Carnatic classical music too.Playful but observant, “music came to me freely while growing up,” says Sathyavathi, recalling the strains of her mother’s Dasara Padas. Initially trained under her sisters, Vasantha Madhavi and Vasundhara, she received expert guidance under RK Srikantan. Her first performance was at the Karnataka Ganakala Parishath as a 16-year-old. With an interest in the research-based study of music, she developed her skills under the guidance of musicologist BVK Sastry and her interest in Laya, made her study the mridanga under Bangalore K Venkataraman. 

TS Sathyavati
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Now at 70, Sathyavathi says she never imagined herself as a scholar — singing, teaching Sanskrit, authoring innumerable papers and leading musical productions. Owing all her achievements to her childhood and academic influences, she says, “I used to stay at VV Puram as a schoolgirl in the late 1960s and studied at the Maharashtra Mahila Vidyalaya (now Vasavi Vidyaniketan). I later attended the Acharya Pathasala College. I vividly remember participating in competitions for Sanskrit, on the Ramayana, devotional and patriotic songs, as well as sampradaya songs akin to jaanapada (folk) during festivals and occasions.”“Recitations in Sanskrit would include works of Kalidasa such as Raghuvamsha, Shakuntala and Meghadhoota. Right from high school, music was one of my favourite subjects. I believe music and Sanskrit are my eyes, blessing me with the vision of an artiste.” In her guru’s footstepsJust as RK Srikantan (RKS) trained hundreds of students with individual classes and distance learning programs, Sathyavathi too believes in taking music forward by building the blocks of creativity within the frame of tradition. “My journey as a student of RKS goes back to the days when I received the National Cultural Scholarship and opted to learn rare compositions of the Trinity under him, something I continued from 1974 to 2014.” Sathyavathi remembers a workshop in Shivamogga where RKS asked her to take over a concert as he was feeling unwell. “Despite his backache, RKS waited for me to finish singing so he could come over to the mic and laud my performance.”

TS Sathyavati receiving the Sangeetha Pracharya
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Despite the numerous awards she has received over the years, Sathyavathi is proudest of the fact that 16 of her students are graded AIR artistes, proficient in Sanskrit. On February 9, she will also be awarded the Kala Jyothi from the Nada Jyothi Sabha in Malleswaram.Epic presentationThe ‘Ramayane Geetaayanam’ will be presented by TS Sathyavathi, her team of students and other performing artistes on January 24, after she is bestowed with the Purandara Award at 5pm. “I have culled out shlokas from Valmiki’s Ramayana, verses that depict particular moods and sentiments (rasa bhava) and have set them to music. Some are structured compositions set to tala, while some are shlokas that have been elaborated. I have chosen verses that depict almost all the rasas such as Shrungara, Haasya, Karuna, Veerya, Adbuta and Rowdra.” On why she chose the evocative Shubhabantuvarali for ‘Dasharata Vilaapa’, she says,“One has to realise the vision of the composer, the lines should linger and inspire you to employ the right raga scale.” For ‘Gangaavatarana’ where Vishvamitra’s description to Lord Rama and Lakshmana of how Bhagiratha brings down the flow of the Ganges, she has chosen Atana to explain the cadenced flow of the river. Two of Sathyavathi’s students, Arati Balasubramanyam and KS Sumana, will provide the narration for the production that consists of eight singers.The Purandara Award followed by Ramayana Music production will be held at Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha; January 24, 5pm onwards  Published – January 22, 2025 03:03 pm IST