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 His love with the grand tradition - music
- blossomed at the tender age of five. It was very strange and unbelievable when A. Sundaresan declared that beggars music performances on the Marina Beach ignited his passion to learn Carnatic music.
Hailing from a hamlet near Palani, his family comprised musicians and music lovers. He was drowned in sapthaswaras and the beggars music inspired him to explore the nuances of the art. He would come home and sing every line verbatim without knowing the raga or the
tala.
His house at Triplcane was a meeting point for several vidwans. Once he delineated the raga Shanmukapriya for over an hour in the
presence of vidwans like C V Krishnamurti Iyer and Valadi Krishna Iyer showing flashes of brilliance which was evident. As a matter of fact, I started my balapadam and finished it within a month when I was 10 years old, which was only after my alapana session, declares Sundaresan nostalgically.
Kittamani Iyer, his guru, discerned the potential in the child and imparted lessons to him almost everyday. I enjoyed my gurukulavasam and imbibed a wealth of musical ideas, says Sundaresan. He declares that G N Balasubramaniam is “my manaseeka guru”.
His schooling at Hindu High School proved to be a blessing because its principal GV Naryanaswamy Iyer (G N Balasubramaniam’s father) was able to spot this young talent which facilitated his interaction with GNB. Sundaresan would visit GNB’s house often and discuss the art in detail.
Sundaresan’s maiden concert at Mylapore Sankara mutt caught the attention of aficionados of music. His tutelage under D K Pattammal, Ramnad Krishnan, and Alathur Subramania Iyer made him attain consummate artistry in classical music. “I do not practice before a concert but my sadhakam for almost 10 hours a day those days laid a strong foundation,” states
Sunderasan.
He assimilated all the styles to form his own bani. A citadel of sampradaya, his fidelity to sruti even at this age is amazing. His nada and emotive power of music is intoxicating especially with the cerebral aspect of music - ragam, tanam and
pallavi.
 An ‘A’ grade artiste in AIR, he has had teaching stints at several music schools and organisations and also takes classes at home.
Sundaresan has systematised Syama Sastri’s compositions in an authentic way.
“To perform for an overseas audience is exciting,” quips Sundaresan, who has toured USA for performances and lecture-demonstrations. “Many stalwarts have accompanied me including mridangam monarch Palghat Mani Iyer which I deem a great honour,” he reminiscences.
GNB used to call him a gnanasthan and ‘Bhairavi Sundaresan’ as he used to conceive the raga Bhairavi in a unique way. He has won several awards including the Acharya Choodamani from Krishna Gana Sabha. He strongly feels that a good guru is necessary and youngsters should delve deep into the core of melody as they are torchbearers of a great heritage.
Mira
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