Sometimes, it is amazing to think that the northern and southern parts of India in fact belong to the same country — everything from food to fashion is starkly different, providing this Asian nation with a truly unique cultural landscape. That being said, there has always been a push to establish and celebrate the commonalities between the two, especially in the fields of music and dance. Classically-trained artistes from both the North and the South have made incredible strides in creating a common artistic language that is current and contemporary, bravely exploring ideas and avenues that older musicians may have shied away from.

An upcoming concert at the Temple of Fine Arts aims to bridge this gap — award-winning classical violinist Shreya Devnath will be collaborating with Malaysian-born, India-trained sitar player Kalpana Paranjothy. In the first half of Sutantri, Shreya will be showcasing her own prowess as one of India’s youngest and most successful violin players, famous for imbuing technically challenging classical pieces with her signature youthful and girlish enthusiasm. The second half of the show will then feature a collaborative showcase by Shreya and Kalpana, who is a celebrated local musician in her own right with an active teaching, composing and performing schedule. 

Ahead of the concert, Shreya will be conducting workshops and masterclasses for violin students of beginner, intermediate and advanced levels — a must for violinists intending to refine and pursue their mastery of this enchanting stringed instrument. 

Live It! spoke to Shreya on what audiences can expect at the concert, how she’s aligning music from the North and the South and the skills and spirit she’s inherited from her teacher, violin legend Lalgudi Jayaraman. 

Live It!: Tell me about the repertoire of the show, and how the individual pieces were chosen.

Shreya Devnath: Each piece has a story behind it. The pieces were chosen to convey different emotions, tell different stories. Music needs no translation. It is a language on its own. There will be pieces of different styles, languages, composed by varied composers... The beauty will be in the fact that all of them will be part of a seamless dialogue between the artistes and the audience. 

The first half of the concert will be my solo performance, an entirely carnatic classical repertoire. After the interval, I will be joined by Kalpana Paranjothy on the sitar. We will be performing a jugalbandhi, celebrating the commonalities and differences between our musical styles and repertoires. 

Is this performance unique to you in any way, or is this something you’ve done before?

Every performance is new on that day. Music has that distinct quality of never being the same twice. But this will actually be my first performance in Malaysia and I’m very excited. In addition, it will also be my first time collaborating with Kalpana and I’m looking forward to sharing the stage with her as well. 

Have you ever performed in KL to a Malaysian audience, and how have you prepared for this experience?

This will be my first time in Malaysia and I hope to deliver my best for everyone. We’ve put together a concert, with pieces chosen specifically for this audience and hopefully everyone will like it. 

How are you aligning the very different musical styles from North and South India for this performance?

We’re bringing the two styles together in a way that highlights their beauty and depth, both individually and together. We have pieces and ragas that are seemingly specifically from one style, but are actually going to be approached from the other style as well. It is really a very natural flow that takes its own course. We just have to sit back and let it. 

The Late Lalgudi Jayaraman is a legend — what aspects of his musical style do you think you have inherited?

I have been very fortunate to have learnt from the legend himself. He has instilled in me his style, musical values and high standards. He would never accept anything short of perfection, so it is a constant quest to keep improving. His sense of aesthetics came above all else, and there is beauty in everything, art in everything. It is that perspective that makes you a sensitive artiste. Classicism, elegance, subtlety and sensitivity are some of his hallmarks and those are the values I strive to have in my music as well. 

Catch Sutantri on Sunday at 6pm at the Kanagasabai Studio, level 5, The Temple of Fine Arts, 116 Jalan Berhala, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. For invitations to the concert or for more information about the workshops and masterclasses, call (03) 2274 3709 or email [email protected].