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 Her music school of three decades has not been formally christened, but thousands of Carnatic music lovers know the "Akila Shiva School of Music", a name they themselves gave to an institution that has imparted this divine art to countless students. She is also the mother of three well-known musicians - Vijay Shiva the vocalist, Poorna Shiva, the violinist and Manoj Shiva, the
mridangist.
Akila Shiva first learnt Carnatic music under the learned V.M.Krishnamurthy, a sishya of Tiger Varadachariar. Later she did the Sangeetha Vidwan course in the Music College, where such masters of Carnatic music as K.V.Narayanaswamy, T.M.Tyagarajan and T.Brinda were on the faculty and the music Titan Musiri Subramania Iyer was the Principal. She completed the four-year course in just half the time, winning a Gold Medal. Later, she studied at the College for Tamizh Isai, after which she was awarded an
'Isai Mani' degree.
Akhila's father was resolved that he would give her in marriage only to one who genuinely appreciated Carnatic music. That is how Narayana Shiva, a great rasika of this music form, entered her life. It was he who sent her for advanced training under D.K.Jayaraman. For one who had all this expertise, Akila Shiva has performed at surprisingly few concerts. Raising a family was one of the reasons. She has been content with providing good quality education to her students.
The school that started with a handful of children in her home in the late 60s, now flourishes with over 60 students who come from all over Chennai. That she teaches her students to sing verses from ancient Tamil works such as the Devaram, Thiruvasagam, Thirupughazh and Pasurams and the songs of Subramanya Bharathi, Bharathidasan and other renowned poets is an added attraction. With the revived interest in Tamil, there are so many competitions and contests based on these works being conducted and the training proves very useful.
In contrast to the present-day trend in schools to make music learning hi-tech, aided by computers and gadgets, Akila Shiva's approach is refreshingly traditional. The sruti box and audio-cassettes in which she tapes classes for students to practice later are her only support. Apart from youngsters, she has a lot of housewives coming to her, who for various reasons could not pursue a musical career despite a good many years of study.
Recalling fondly her son Vijay Shiva's innate interest in music, she says even when he was a baby, he would correctly pick out the cassettes of Madurai Mani Iyer and other vidwans. But she maintains modestly that her influence on his musical growth was "very minimal". However, Vijay Shiva does not agree. He says, "I don't remember sitting before her and learning formally. But the informal and casual learning process was there all the time. One's parents are one's greatest benefactors and my mother has been a great source of inspiration for me."
Akshaya
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