Welcome to Ramaa's Carnatic.

Ramaa's Story

Once upon a time, there was an bright, curious little girl who fell in love with stories and music...

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One morning in Madras, as a pigtailed bookworm child of six years old, I overheard a couple of girls learning to sing the basic swaravali varisais (first lessons) and asked my mother to enroll me in music lessons. My mother wasn't sure whether I was serious - so I begged and pleaded all day until No turned to Yes! That was the start of a lifelong journey....

Since then, I have had the privilege of learning from stalwart gurus such as AIR A-Grade artiste Smt Prema Hariharan, Sangeetha Kala Acharya Sulochana Pattabhiraman and most recently Kalaimamani Shyamala Venkateswaran who continues to mentor me. Some of my fondest memories are of sitting cross-legged in my my gurus' homes, listening to their experiences of learning from legends such as Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Thanjavur Kalyanaraman; watching them lovingly make a note of a tricky saahithyam in my music notebook, and marvelling at their breadth of knowledge about this ancient art form. They inspired in me a passion for the pursuit of music coupled with a rigorous schooling in the practical aspects of Carnatic music.

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Somewhere along the way, I read thousands of books (the bookworm being well alive!), went to university to study management, and a decade later found myself leading a training team for a leading finance company. Something however was missing... so after intense soul searching, I opted out of a lucrative corporate career and took my talents in coach and training -- to turn into a music teacher and storyteller.

Now as a way of carrying those years of grateful learning forward, I want to find and light that spark in learners of all ages who want to dip their toes into the never-ending ocean of Carnatic music.