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Enter Athira

The announcement for the concert organised by Hamsadhwani had given just an inkling of what was in store for music lovers that Saturday evening. 'Boy wonder Sathyanarayana on the keyboard' and 'girl wonder violinist L Athira'. The eight and 15-year-olds soon had the audience in raptures with their performances.

Athira thus burst upon the Chennai music scene with her first performance in the city. With an ease that belied her age, the youngster moved from a composition in Sriragavarnam to vAtApi gaNapatim (a Dikshikar kriti, in Hamsadhwani raga) MAmava sadA (a Swathi Tirunal kriti in Kanada raga), a Tyagaraja kriti in Varali, BrOva bhArAma (Bahudhari ragam), a tillana, a bhajan in Kapi raga and so on.

Hardly three months into life in Chennai, the family having uprooted itself from Kerala to boost her musical journey, Athira may need some introduction here.

Hailing from a family of musicians, it was but natural that young Athira too took to music. Her grandfather Kodampalli Gopala Pillai was a famous Carnatic vidwan and her father Kodampalli Krishna Pillai was her first guru. Her musical training began when she was three. "Watching her absorb whatever she was taught and sing beautifully, fired my enthusiasm," says the fond father. "I felt that she could reach great heights if she was moulded with proper care..... I wanted her to learn some instrumental music and it was then that I decided on the violin," he said.

Athira's violin lessons began when she was nine. She continued learning vocal music too and her gurus were B Sasikumar, Professor S Eshwarsarma and Saravalli Sasi. After shifting to Chennai, the family became acquainted with noted violinist Kanyakumari. Athira is at present learning from her.

The youngster entered the Guinness Book with her 13-hour non-stop performance in Thiruvananthapuram in 2001. She was placed first in the 'Young Achievers' list and has won the President's 'Balasree' award.

Athira, who has composed many ragas, is an advocate of music therapy. She gave a three-hour performance for the mentally challenged in Thiruvananthapuram. The psychiatrists there later said their patients were calm during her performance and that their pulse rates were found to be normal. Ragas like Bahudari, Kapi and Vasanthapriya reduce the intensity of ailments, she believes. Diabetes too can be controlled with music therapy, she says.

Athira has performed in Bahrain, Muscat and Doha and considers her participation in Russia's 'Youth Festival of Classical Music' as a memorable event.

She turns emotional when she speaks of the experience at the Rashtrapati Bhavan where she played before K R Narayanan and Usha Narayanan. The First Lady then described her as a 'Gem of India'. Among the innumerable prizes she has won is the first prize in the competitions held for children in three consecutive years -- 1997, 1998, and 1999. She was given the Sree Chithira Tirunal Sangeetha Natya Prathiba in the year 2001. During the Onam festival, she performed in many places in Kerala. A soul-stirring experience, she says, was performing in the divine presence of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

This Plus One student of the Hindu Senior Higher Secondary School, Indira Nagar, is not to be left behind in studies either. She comes first in class, remarkably juggling studies with her rigorous schedule. She is an avid reader, writes poetry and listens to music in her spare time. "My friends often used to ask me to play film songs and that's what I used to do for school functions in Thiruvananthapuram." Want the latest A R Rahman hit? She's ready to oblige.

Her days are now more hectic than ever. The reason is an event, which could rewrite her previous Guinness record. On November 10 and 11, she will be giving a 32-hour non-stop violin concert at the Tagore Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram, in connection with the Soorya Festival. The performance, arranged by the 'Surya Stage and Film Society', will be dedicated to her grandfather Kodampally Gopala Pillai. And what is she readying for the marathon session? Nothing less than 901 ragas!

"I am looking forward to the performance. I leave all the worrying to my mother," she says.

KT Sri 
(Translated by Radha N)