PRESS

Songs for Many Lives features seven original Carnatic compositions by Mahadevan and Sarathy, inspired by the lives of early South Asian immigrants to the Bay Area. For the project, they used archival sources like the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), and conducted video interviews with early immigrants to present a mosaic of desi history in the Bay Area. 

“Sruti Sarathy, from California, responded on the violin with equally charming and aesthetic elaborations.”

“Another disciple of Smt. Anuradha Sridhar and the Violin Virtuoso Srimathi Brahmanandam, Sruti has paved her path as a winner of HCL and SOY and as an Academy performer during Music Season. An accomplished vocalist as well, Sruti is one of the most sought after young violinists today. As a graduate of Stanford University and a Fulbright Scholarship awardee, is there anything this talented lady can't do?”

“Vani Ramamurthy was ably assisted by Sruti Sarathy on the violin. Sruti responded well in raga essays and swara repartees. The effect was pleasing.  ”

“‘The early opportunity we got at the Sunday Kutcheri helped us grow in our musical careers.’”

“‘Growing up in the US, Margazhi is the time of year that we musicians look forward to. It motivates us to practice and serves as inspiration, too.’”

“Sruti Sarathy, who is earning both a master’s degree in French and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 2016, and who will study cross-genre hybridity in South Indian classical violin through practice, performance and ethnography. Sarathy will look at the violin’s role in defining and contesting the borders of Carnatic music.”

“Like her peers, Sarathy has studied classical Indian voice and violin with local masters, as well as teachers in India, via Skype and periodic visits to see her mentors in person. ‘There are lots of people learning,’ Sarathy says. ‘There are lots of people to practice with, and you just keep getting inspired from watching your peers play and sing. And then we get concerts from India which also keep us motivated.’”

“Sruthi's violin adhered to swara-suddham. It was masterly and creative with pleasant flawless brgas … she produced a fine aural effect. An apt word in Sanskrit would be ‘Sraavya.’”

“Sridhar trained Sarathy to become a stronger accompanist and hone her ability to spontaneously respond and follow the challenging structures established by a lead musician or vocalist, a process which demands swift rhythmic calculations and a stronger understanding of musical structure.”