Catching up with Aparna Sridhar, an editor who is bringing classical music to the forefront

Words by Anubha George    Photos from Various Sources

Aparna Sridhar is the editor and CEO of the niche magazine, Saamagaana – The First Melody, India’s leading monthly on Indian classical music. The USP, though, is that the country’s leading classical music artists either write, or are happy to be featured — be it Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, the world renowned Sarod master, or Pandit Shiv Sharma, the santoor maestro. Related to the celebrated composer Thyagaraja, Aparna has music in her blood and is also an avid sports person. I recently caught up with Aparna Sridhar at her office in Bengaluru. We talked about journalism in general and music writing in particular, about life- work balance and if women can really have it all.

Tell us a bit about your journey as a journalist.

While I trained and studied journalism, I wasn’t sure that I was cut out to be a career journalist. I used to believe that journalism requires a person to be outgoing, social, good at networking and constantly in touch with people. But my two years at the helm of a classical music magazine, has taught me that journalism is not just about being there all the time, it’s also about introspection, sensitivity to people, dedication to writing and being totally unbiased. For a while I worked as an education counsellor as I didn’t like the lifestyle that comes along with journalism. Late hours, sometimes unprofessional attitudes, and the general apathy that prevails in today’s journalism put me off working in a daily newspaper or magazine. But writing about music is totally different. It requires an immersion and a passion, and a little disengagement with the mundane. It is definitely more fulfilling personally, than covering routine stories.

How did Saamagaana come about?

Saamagaana-The First Melody is the initiative of a Bangalore based cultural sabha called the Bharatiya Samanga Sabha (BSS). BSS is an 8-year old organisation promoting music in the city. They conduct a week long music festival every year in January. They wanted to continue the activities of the Sabha through a magazine, connecting musicians, rasikas, organisers, government organisations supporting art and culture, as well as corporates who need to play a big part in supporting music. We started small with a team of seasoned journalists and photographers committed to journalism. The idea was to bring all that we had done in journalism to a new audience.

How do you maintain work life balance?

Working in a startup, and being both the CEO and the Editor put a lot of pressure initially to sustain the magazine, both in terms of content and financially. Getting financial backing for any art-based activity is very difficult. Corporates are willing to sponsor music per se, but not writing in music. However, at one point I realised that if I allocate more time to fund-raising than writing, I would be unhappy and also unproductive. When I made that decision, the magazine started to really flourish. I found more time for myself and my family. While I used to spend all my time on the magazine in the first one year, from the second year onwards, the magazine took off on its own. People started volunteering to write, and participate. That took a lot of pressure off me.

In your view, can women pursue serious careers?

Even 50 years ago, there were great musicians like M S Subbulakshmi, M L Vasanthakumari, and D K Pattamal who gave their all for music. They would do concerts in the evenings, travel a lot, spend their mornings practicing. They have made immense sacrifices in their personal lives to do justice to the gift they have been born with. If one has the talent, the aptitude for anything, then one must chase it, no matter what. But for more women to come into the workforce, it’s important that they be given some leeway in terms of where and how they do their work. Women are good workers, and they should be allowed to contribute in a manner that does not take them away from their families.

What’s your experience working with Indian classical artists? What are the challenges?

The main challenge to is to write about an abstract art form. Most of the ideas are there for everyone to experience, but how does one translate that into words. How do you write about the emotions that are triggered while listening to a beautiful ragam? I think the other challenge is to stick to the identity we have carved for ourselves. To be a magazine for both lay readers as well as connoisseurs. One senior musicologist told me that she doesn’t want to know about music, as there is nothing new that I can tell her. She’d rather know what is Balamuralikrishna’s favourite food. But if I talk about all that, I am categorised differently – as not being a serious magazine.

Any regrets career-wise? Anything you’d do differently?

I’m wiser now. I choose my allies and working partners carefully. Sometimes when one’s coming up in life and at work, in our eagerness to succeed, we partner with the wrong people. Sometimes those decisions can be very crucial and detrimental, especially if you head an organisation. I’m more careful now.

Your most inspiring woman?

Because of my ancestral connection to Saint Thyagaraja, I’d say it’s Bangalore Nagarathnamma. She was the daughter of a devadasi, and a very talented singer. She was way ahead of her times. She set up the Samadhi in Thiruvaiyaru and for the first time made sure women singers were allowed to pay homage at the Samadhi to the Saint.

Your favourite music and why.

I like to listen to the late Dr M Balamuralikrishna. He always tried to do new things in his music and his melody is unparalleled. I also love instrumental music. India has produced some very great instrumentalists; flute, veena, mandolin, saxophone, violin.

Tell us about the latest Indian classical scene…is it still popular among the new gen?

There are a lot of youngsters learning Indian classical music, especially abroad. Music offers many benefits to children, both emotionally and intellectually. Especially Indian classical music. Unless it’s made part of the school curriculum, it will never have mass appeal. Every child in the US learns classical music at school, no matter what they listen to otherwise. The same should be the case in India. Otherwise soon, it will be available to a very small elite audience.

How do you see the future of Indian classical music?

Indian classical music is not a business, it’s promotion is. Organisers, patrons and most importantly the government needs to back artistes strongly. Even the public should be willing to pay for tickets. Due to the wide-scale availability of ‘free’ music online, most people are not willing to spend money, either attending concerts or buying CDs.