MUSIC KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES

Carnatic music. Thrilled by the OAM honour, Jayashree told Indian Link, “Any award will propel you to work harder and this honour has instilled an all-new confidence in me. Ever since I landed here in Australia I have been working in the field of Carnatic music by performing and teaching the art. I’m indeed happy by this recognition.”

I encourage my students to use science to strengthen their arguments.”

In his role as an educator at multiple universities worldwide (UC; University of South Pacific, Fiji; University of Fiji; Fiji National University), as the founding President and Fellow of the South Pacific and the Australian Computer Societies respectively, as a Fulbright ambassador since 2016 and as the senior member of various institutions and think-tanks, Prof. Sharma has always stressed on the importance of education and of students challenging themselves. He’s especially passionate about the STEM fields, saying, “Worldwide, we’re not investing as much as we should in science and technology. STEM should have a lot more focus early on in school. But I see the students who come to me, from all over the world, and I’m filled with hope.”

What’s next for Prof Sharma? “This award is just a stepping stone. I’ll continue to be a professor - connect with international colleagues and universities (including many Indian ones) to solve difficult problems, use data science to make the world a better place. I still haven’t achieved everything that I want to. There’s lots to do still, and I’m very excited about the future.”

Sneha Khale

Jayashree Ramachandran, a Carnatic music vocalist, believes that her OAM recognition would motivate her to reach many more milestones in the field of

Jayshree, who is the Vice-President of the Federation of Indian Music and Dance (FIMDV) since 2013, is also the founder of Sapthaswara School of Carnatic Music. The school, which was started with just a handful of students in 1992, is now one of the finest music schools in Melbourne. About this musical journey, Jayashree said, “Thirty years ago, the environment in Australia was challenging for me to establish the Carnatic music scene as there were only a few Indians here. Also, I was juggling between my Telstra job, family life and music at that time. Slowly but steadily, I made the Telstra job a parttime one and Carnatic music became my full-time career, so that I could give my 100 percent to this art. Our school, which has hundreds of students now, started with just four to five kids. Over a period of time, with many dedicated musical performances across Australia, we were able to inspire many children to learn Carnatic music. We also created avenues to help kids display their talent on stage. From the initial baby steps to now watching our school students perform at three-day concerts, truly it has been a rewarding experience so far.

Despite western music taking centrestage, we have managed to inculcate the love of Carnatic music in our young children. My wish is that out of 100 students, at least 20 consider Carnatic music vocals as their professional career to keep this beautiful art alive in the coming years.”

To help youngsters to understand Carnatic music, Jayashree has been performing thematic concerts, which according to her are being well received by the audiences. About the conceptbased musical performances, she said, “In these thematic presentations, I explain the concept of the song in English and then render songs based on that theme. I have plans to do more such lecture-based musical concerts as they reach out to a wider audience, especially youngsters,