Music from the heart

Sikkil Gurucharan knew early on that music would be his calling — after all, nothing less could be expected from a fourth generation musician hailing from a family of prominent flautists. Sikkil is the grandson of Sikkil Kunjumani, the elder of the legendary flautist duo, Sikkil Sisters, with her younger sister Sikkil Neela. Gurucharan, who fondly calls them his grandmothers, says that it was an assumption in the family that he too would take up the flute. “From my grandparents to my mother, aunt and sister — all of them are into music. They play the flute. It was a natural thing for me to be interested in it too. My grandmothers (listening to the way I hummed film songs) felt that this boy should be given vocal lessons. If he’s interested in learning the flute, he can always come back to it later. Till today, I don’t know how to play the flute,” confesses Gurucharan, who is the first Carnatic vocalist in a family of flautists.

Tales of times gone by

While most children grow up listening to stories of kings and battles, Gurucharan’s childhood was filled with lazy afternoons spent listening to anecdotes from his grandmothers’ experiences on the stage. “I am blessed to be born in such a lineage. I’m the fourth generation of musician, and surprisingly, the first vocalist in the family. I had the best exposure to music. I used to go to my grandmother’s place every weekend, my eldest grandmother is a fantastic cook. So, when she didn’t have concerts, she would be cooking delicious sambar. She would call me to the kitchen and make me sing a ragam while she was cooking. It was a tough task to concentrate with the delicious smell of sambar around. After lunch and before a siesta, they would tell me stories, not of kings or queens, but anecdotes from their lives as musicians — how they would perform without microphones back then, how they had to pitch their voice higher and more. Those were the lessons that they had learnt the hard way and they were sharing their experience with me. I benefited a lot from these informal lessons,” says this vocalist, who is the disciple of Vaigal Shri S. Gnanaskandan. Gurucharan says that his guru taught him the importance of presentation and really believed in pushing his students to do their best. “He encouraged us to perform often — be it at temples of sabhas, so that we could connect with the audience. He taught us that it is important to get over stage fear, especially if we wanted to become concert vocalists,” he says, on a grateful note.

Making his mark
Gurucharan started singing quite early and had his first ever performance in 1994 when he was 12. He recalls an instance when he sang in front of legendary Carnatic musicians. “Early in my career, I was asked to sing a prayer song at a sabha where legendary artists, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, were present. I sang, and while going home, my grandmother became very emotional. I couldn’t understand the big deal. It was a cakewalk for me because I had practiced well and performed well. She then told me that it was a good thing that everything had gone well — they would never say that it was because they had sung well. That was another lesson. She said that there were many things that could have gone wrong — the sound system, or at the last minute, the artist could have lost his concentration. She said that I had no idea what it was to perform perfectly in front of such legends and she made me realise that it all happened well. That was a lesson that grounded me,” he says.

Seeking popularity in school
Gurucharan confesses that he took up music seriously only after college. “While in school, my focus was on studies. I was in Vidya Mandir School and the motivation wasn’t that great to perform at sabhas. I wanted to perform in school and get appreciated by teachers and my fellow students. So, every week I would be on the stage — either singing Carnatic or film music. I wanted to be popular in my school. And after I completed my schooling, the focus shifted to a bigger stage. In college, I knew I wanted to take music as a career. From then on, magically, everything fell into place — I got many opportunities to perform. It’s all these things that keep a musician going,” he says.

Evolving music and liberal audiences

This music season has not only been about purist performances, but also a healthy dose of experimentation. Gurucharan is quite happy to see audiences open up to new music. “When Anil Srinivasan and I started playing together, I was apprehensive. We decided not to present this during the Margazhi season. But at the recent concert at the Russian Cultural Centre, more than 60 per cent of the audience consisted of those who would go to a kutcheri. The fact that they are willing to listen to different music right in the middle of the Margazhi season shows that audience trends have changed over time,” he points out.

Speaking about the ever evolving Carnatic music scene in the city, Gurucharan thinks  that challenges abound. “The number of concerts has increased, and it is not only about competing with other musicians. You also have to match audience expectation and mood. Nowadays, the audience would go to five or six concerts a day, and in addition to that, they would also have more concerts streaming into their phones or listen to them on the radio. What is it that you can offer them that bring them to you? That is a challenge, which motivates and inspires me,” says Gurucharan who has won many accolades, including the Yuva Kala Bharathi by Bharat Kalachar and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Working with the legends
Gurucharan has collaborated with legendary musicians like Louis Banks and John McLaughlin. He concedes that it was a surreal experience. “John McLaughlin had heard our first album and he called us over to his beach house on East Coast Road. I didn’t believe it would be him who would open the door. We had a nice chat over dinner all about music. During that time, I kept pinching myself to make sure it was real. McLaughlin’s comments were a huge blessing. Shortly after that, we got an opportunity to work with him and Louis Banks for the album, Miles from India,” says Gurucharan, an avid Ilayaraaja fan, who has quite a hectic season ahead.

Cricket love:
“Cricket played an important role in my life,” confesses Gurucharan. He adds, “When I was starting out, I would play with other musicians. We would play a game and then chat about music and then go back to the game. These interactions shaped me as a performing musician. When I give concerts now, I still play a game of cricket either on the field or on my Xbox. My favourite player is M.S. Dhoni — for his guts and never-say- die attitude. I still remember the India vs. Pakistan match that happened in the legendary Chepauk stadium. Sachin’s innings were just brilliant. I was there at the stadium and it was the best match for me. I also remember ardently supporting India against Pakistan during the T20 World Cup finals. I had a minor eye procedure done and I remember cheering for India with a patch over the left eye.”

Rasika admiration:
“I get a lot of emails and phone calls. One guy called me and suggested that I change the frame of my spectacles. Another rasika asked me to change the strap of my watch. But on the other hand, I have had people writing in to me, requesting for a particular song at my next concert. I like taking these requests because we are here because of our audience. There is a boy who comes to every concert of mine, comes to meet me after it’s over, does a namaskaram, tells me what he likes and goes away. It has been happening quite regularly,” relates Gurucharan, on a cheerful note.

Passion for fusion:

Apart from Carnatic music, Gurucharan is known for his collaborative fusion with international pianist Anil Srinivasan. He reveals that he was intrigued initially by fusion. “Back when we were doing what is now called fusion, it was really a fresh challenge. We were intrigued to do this. I still remember that when we were recording, Anil would ask me to sing. There was just a piano and my voice and a lot of silence. I had to fill the silence with my voice. It helped me evolve as a musician. From then on, we have collaborated with many other musicians. We recently played a concert at the Russian Cultural Centre for Karthik Fine Arts, along with a cellist and tabla player,” adds Gurucharan.

This musician concedes that working with Anil has opened up newer avenues to him. “That path I took — of working with Anil — opened an entirely new set of opportunities, a new diaspora of people who were quite happy to listen to this genre of music. People who didn’t listen to Carnatic music started going to concerts. Anil and I have released three of our previous CDs on Universal Music and are one of the few south Indian artists to feature on their catalog,” he says.