The musical side of a physicist

Paniveni Udayashankar, featured on radio and TV, is presenting a concert with her students

Pursuing an academic career along with a hobby is tough for many. Not for 65-year-old Paniveni Udayashankar, who is a physicist as well as a musician. She holds a PhD in astrophysics and is currently an honorary professor at Poornaprajna Institute of Scientific Research. She also performs at concerts, and teaches music online.

Paniveni started learning music as a child. “The Bellary Brothers used to come home to teach music to my sisters and me. My voice can hit a low pitch and then a high one with equal ease. I used to sing for my brother’s Balaji Orchestra in Bellary. I also used to sing classical-based film songs during my PUC days on stage,” recollects the resident of BTM Layout.

“I became a student of Neela Ramgopal and have sung on AIR and for the ‘Nada’ programme on ‘Udaya TV’,” she says. She doesn’t find the act of balancing two careers challenging. Paniveni has published 26 research papers in international journals and is a lifetime member of the Indian Physics Association, Indian Association of Physics Teachers and Indian Astronomical Society.

She is a mentor for the ‘Supernova Foundation’ that encourages young women to pursue physics, and is a guide to two PhD students currently.

“I always wanted to pursue music but my parents wanted me to pursue academics. So I continued training in music along with my studies and research work,” she says.

Paniveni finds music relaxing. “I have been teaching music for 25 years. During the pandemic, my classes moved online. My students vary from school and college students to professionals,” she adds.

Are music and physics connected? “They are equally interesting yet different. There is interconnectivity as sounds and acoustics are all nothing but vibration, overtones, and hypersonics, which are based on physics,” she sums up.

Upcoming concert

Paniveni will perform on October 3, 6.30 pm at Vinayaka Temple, BTM Layout, as part of Dasara celebrations. “My students will sing the pancharatna kritis along with me,” she informs.She will perform the Bhagavadageetha shloka in raga Mohana, Sri Mahaganapathim in raga Atana, Sri Rajarajeswari in raga Kapi, and Kashi Vishalakshi in raga Purvi Kalyani.