Two for one, one for two

As the December music season begins, Srivathsan Nadadhur profiles Carnatic vocalists and sisters Anahita and Apoorva who owe their coordination to nature as well as nurture

The Chennai-based classical singer duo, sisters Anahita Ravindran and Apoorva Ravindran, are a complete package in many ways. On stage, Anahita is the yin to Apoorva’s yang. While Anahita, the elder among the sisters, is the disciplinarian, making sure their scheduled sadhana time isn’t compromised come what may, Apoorva scores with her on-stage presence, making sense of the auditorium, the audience and their tastes. Disciples of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipient, Chitravina N Ravikiran, it’s nearly been a decade and a half since the sisters have been performing together, complementing their energies on and off stage to perfection.

“It’s wonderful to perform together because we always have each other’s back. We know our strengths and weaknesses well. When on stage, we are in complete sync with each other. When either of us has a bad day, we know there’s support at the other end,” the two unanimously concur on the advantages of performing together. Besides being conferred the title ‘Rising Stars’ by the Mumbai-based Sri Shanmukhananda Sangeeta Sabha earlier this year, the two were recipients of the M S Subbulakshmi Fellowship in Music as well.

Some synergy, some zeal

With little age gap to separate the two, Anahita and Apoorva are blessed with a similar shruti and their voices blend into one with the right mix of sweetness and firmness. “The success of any concert is the ability to adapt on stage. It isn’t always about executing the plan of action in mind but taking the mood forward by understanding the vibe of the performance venue,” they say. Beneath their synergy is also their zeal for individual excellence.

“We started our careers as individual artistes. While Anahita was the one who started learning first, I picked it up later. Music is in our genes. Our grandmother Shanti Jayaraman was our first guru. When most children in our neighbourhood were content playing, eating and sleeping, we were told to listen to great music and analyse it later. Our parents were very supportive and made sure music was an integral part of our lives when we were barely three years old,” Apoorva reminisces.

Although their early years cemented their foundation for a career in music, their journey as a classical duo wouldn’t have taken off without the encouragement of their guru Chitravina Ravikiran. States Anahita, “He made sure we practised every day together and insisted that we be good individual artistes before coming together as a duo. We were 11 or 12 when we started performing together.”

The versatility of their guru went a long way in widening the range of the musical repertoire of the sisters. “Ravikiran sir’s an all-round artiste in our opinion. Beyond music, he’s helped us understand how to carry ourselves and impart our learnings to others. Merely watching him do these things was enough,” the sisters mention. On most days, their mornings commence with individual practice before coming together because it works better logistically (because Anahita is married now and they stay at different places).

They pick a rare raga of their choice from a Deva Manohari to a Deva Gandhari and explore compositions, only to realise there’s an oceanic depth in the form, waiting to be explored.

The two have a habit of revisiting their concerts as an audience and listing down their negatives and positives in a book, a practice that Chitravina Ravikiran had suggested to them.

Experimenting is the key

Their performances across the country, the US, Bahrain, Australia and New Zealand, have taught them some important lessons. “Even though Carnatic music is such a lyric-centric system, the ragas are so enriching that you don’t need to understand the words to connect. In our recent tours to Australia and New Zealand, we received a great response while we experimented with compositions of the relatively lesser-known vaggeyakaras too,” Anahita shares.

Anahita and Apoorva consistently look back at the yesteryears for inspiration. They want to bring forward the verve and the effortlessness of the Carnatic sister duo Brinda and Mukta in their singing and the coordination and the energy of the Alathur brothers on the stage.

“When we were young, we only used to sing to please our parents. No one needs to monitor us now. Perseverance, taking inspiration from peers and yet finding our style — only that can take us forward,” the humility in their tone says they’re destined for greater heights.