BOWING TO SUCCESS

IOLIN - it is an instrument that can wield immense power over our minds, hearts, and souls. Sometimes, its sweet notes evokes an abundance of happiness and excitement but other times, its beautiful notes cause melancholy and fury. Indeed, any composition is elevated when the violin waltzes onto stage. Think "violin", and legendary violinists L Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam, who recently became father to a baby girl, come to mind. Humble, jovial and a class apart, this Bengaluru-based duo speaks to CE ahead of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival set to be held in memory of L Subramaniam's father and Ambi Subramaniam's grandfather - violin maestro V Lakshminarayana Iyer - on January 4, at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram.

- NITIKA KRISHNA

Excerpts: Both of you have had extremely interesting and unique journeys. Could you walk us down memory lane?

L Subramaniam (LS): I was six when I did my first concert at the Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. I was nervous about my performance as appa [V Lakshminarayana], also a violinist, was a tough taskmaster. But he was the main force behind me becoming a violinist. You see, in those days, the violin was an accompanying instrument and "classical music" was understood as "Western classical music". Appa wanted to take violin to the global stage and change this narrative. One of the defining moments early in my journey was when Pandit Ravi Shankar selected me to do a violin solo in the Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India. We toured Europe and then North America with George Harrison and The Beatles. In the 1980s, when my father was unwell, I composed a track along with French violinist Stephane Grappelli called Don't Leave Me. It's been quite a journey! Recently, AR Rahman and I recreated that track as a tribute to my appa - he is my hero.