Music can cure diseases - Sirkazhi Sivachidambaram

Q: Tell us about your childhood atmosphere …

A: As I was surrounded by music and literature, I imbibed the taste for both automatically and I cherished the same. On the days of sabha programs, my father would be readying to start at the time of my returning home from the school. So, we could not talk much. On returning from the program, he would wake us up and ask us to eat the tiffin he had bought for us. Even today, I am moved whenever I think of those moments when my father showered affection on us. My father believed in frugality. Though we were economically comfortable, my father rented out the upstairs. There would be a table and a chair at a corner of the hall in our house. Myself and my sister would sit there and study. My father could very easily watch what we were doing and, likewise, we could also see the visitors who came to meet him. We learned from our parents how to respect others. And, it has served me as the foundation for the affectionate relationship I’ve with my wife. My paternal grandmother lived with us. She was also a benevolent woman like my mother. We owe our success to the way we were brought up.

My father would wake us all when he got up in the morning. I was expected to practice music at that time. My talent in music improved a lot due to my ‘aalaabhanaa’ inside the bathroom while taking bath! I would be engrossed in my music, starting right from the songs of Thyagaraja Bhagavathar to those of my father! M. P. Somasundaram was residing at the back of our house. He was working in All India Radio, Chennai. On his way to office, he would meet my father and put in a word of appreciation about my music and the song I sang that day! Small compliments like this have played a great role in my growth.

Q: Is your wife too interested in music? Had she enjoyed your father’s songs before her marriage?

A: It would be more apt if my wife Shanthi Meenakshi replies to this question!

Mrs. Sivachidambaran took on …

A: Before my marriage, I had not listened to Carnatic music much. As I was born and brought up in Malaysia in a business family, I didn’t have much opportunity for it. My father’s name is V. K. Kalyanasundaram, a businessman. He had been conferred with the prestigious KMN award in Malaysia. My father’s company V. K. K. & Sons is very well known in Malaysia. Now, my brothers are looking after it. My father-in-law got an opportunity to perform in Malaysia in the year 1962. At that time, he met my father during his voyage. My father did all the arrangements for his programs and his stay also. He had stayed even with us in our house.

Q: Shall we say that you and your husband had childhood love?

A: No, actually I was not even born at that time and my husband was a baby. But at that time itself, the two families had decided that both the families should be united through marriage. When we grew up, they decided our marriage. After marriage, I got interested in Carnatic music. I want my children also to learn it.