Guruvaram Music Workshop @ Gayaki School of Performing Arts, Tripunithura

May 20 to 22 2018 would be cherished as special days in the lives of all the 25 participants who attended the Music Workshop at Gayaki School of Performing Arts, conducted by Dr. Baby Sreeram.

There are great musicians who are blessed in performing, others who are exemplary teachers, but Dr. Baby Sreeram proved her mettle in rendition as well as teaching music.

Gayaki Music Workshop Details

Chamber Concert –

The chamber concert held on Sunday had her featuring exquisite krithis. The session was also followed by an interactive session with special focus on rendering various aspects of Manodharma Sangeetha with emphasis on Neraval singing.

Guruvaram: Musical Workshop Series

With the desire of propagating Carnatic Music in its purest form, Gayaki School of Performing Arts is organizing a series of Music Workshop sessions, conducted by exponents in the field.

The inaugural workshop was done by Dr. G. Baby Sreeram. During the workshop, she taught the students a total of eight krithis, consisting of rare compositions of Trinity, Garbhapuri vasar and Neelakanta Sivan.

Baby Akka had meticulously scripted all the krithis with swara notations, making it very easy for the participants to follow and sign along. The neatly photocopied notes were distributed to participants in advance, thereby minimizing any confusion. 

#	Krithi	Ragam	Composer
1	Ijjanmam Idhai kadaithera	Chakravakam	Neelakanda Shivan
2	Sree Krishno maam	Nasikabhooshani	Muthuswami Deekshithar
3	Sree Venugopalam	Shankarabharan	Muthuswami Deekshithar
4	Karunanidhi Ilalo	Thodi	Shyama Shasthi
5	Maruvakka daya	Mohanam	Garbhapurivasar
6	Dinanum ninai maname	Sourashtram	Neelakanda Shivan
7	Kattajesinana	Atana	Thyagaraja Swami
8	Neevanti Deivamu (Thyagaraja krithi on Lord Muruga)	Thodi	Thyagaraja Swami

An average teacher would compromise on the nuances of the krithis to match the capability of the students. But great teachers would take the students along with them, and with their excellent teaching skills, make the students proficient in handling even the subtle sangathis, thereby raising the standard of the students’ musical capability. The workshop was a testimony to this. 

Punctuating the magnanimous and heavy dose music lessons with fun here and there, the class was so lively. After singing one krithi at last after learning it, we would wonder “Wow! How did I learn that so fast?”… And the answer of course, is the Guru’s expertise in teaching. Baby akka would also visualize the music for us, to help us render it better. “After you complete singing the ragam before a krithi, finish it with a phrase that beautifully sums up that raga, like wrapping up a beautiful present”, she says, with her ever graceful smile. I am sure all the participants would have this analogy in mind whenever they render a raga.

While the audience consisted of a wide age range (from 8 to 40 years), all the participants had a genuine interest in music, and were rapt in attention throughout the session. It is this group effect that made all the participants accomplish the task of learning eight krithis in a short span of two days, an otherwise unimaginable feat.

Participants enjoying fun filled lunch sessions with our Gurus - Baby akka and Shanthala akka

Guruvaram Inaugural Workshop: Participants along with Dr. Baby Sreeram and Smt. Shanthala Raju

Baby akka being honored for the wonderful Music workshop

Gayaki School of Performing Arts

 Mrs. Shanthala Raju, owner of Gayaki School of Performing Arts, had painstakingly organized such a music workshop. Music workshops are a priceless experience to all artists. It is very rare that such music workshops are organized in Cochin too. With her primary focus on instilling classical music to all, all other motives like self interest or monitory benefit take a back seat. The very fact that the two day workshop was priced at a very nominal amount itself is proof to her genuine interest in making good music available to all. (Usual two day workshop fee is three times this amount)