They grow up far from Chennai, the Carnatic homeland, but their passion for Carnatic music can put the best of Chennai-bred music students to shame. They don’t have as many listening, learning or performance opportunities as in Chennai, yet they become musicians to reckon with — performing alongside the crème de la crème of Chennai’s music scene.
What is it like to learn and perform Carnatic music as a second-generation immigrant? I find out from two talented vocalists, Vidya Kausik (a disciple of Smt. Bala Narasimhan in Toronto and Smt. D.K. Pattammal and Calcutta Shri K.S. Krishnamurthy in Chennai) and Manasa Suresh (a disciple of her mother Smt. Anu Suresh in the US and Shri P.S. Narayanaswamy in Chennai). Continue reading
The Carnatic Times 