FROM YOUR DIARY | VOLUME 4
"TO ME, MUSIC HAS NO BOUNDARIES. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME, MUSIC HAS BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER." ANIRUDH RAJAGOPALAN
I am a young Indian-American musical artist. I was born to Indian-origin parents in a city near Osaka, Japan. I am 24 years old and currently live in Raleigh, North Carolina. I am a music composer, director, performer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist. I can play as a leading artist, or as an accompanist. Since my early childhood years, I have been exposed to various kinds of Indian, Western, and world genres. I have been performing for over a decade and am a recipient of several prestigious awards. In addition, I have met and had conversations with several world-renowned musicians, most recently Academy Award and Grammy winner A.R. Rahman, and international sensations Jonita Gandhi, Haricharan Seshadri, and A.R. Ameen. My earliest exposure to music was the South Indian classical style, called Carnatic music, thanks to my first guru, my mother. But while living in Japan, I was also exposed to Japanese styles of music, including traditional and contemporary, just walking along the streets of the bustling cities. In addition, I went to an international school in my home city where musical festivals showcasing music from all around the world were abundant. This was a catalyst for me developing a keen ear for music of all kinds. Although my music is largely grounded in Indian classical music and Western styles, I have learned to incorporate several different aspects of other world genres, based on my lifelong training and experiences. I am equally at ease in Bollywood music and Ghazals, and I also listen to traditional and Classical Japanese, German Classical, German Folk, Contemporary German and French Pop, Portuguese Fado, Korean, and Japanese Pop. I have also studied both Indian and Western music theory for a number of years, learning and improving on how I write the solfège and other notations to make it easy to read and play for others of different skill levels. I have written music from solo performances to large ensembles and orchestras. I can play both Indian and Western instruments, including Mridangam, Ghatam, Violin, and Piano, and can sing in multiple languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish, German, Korean, and Japanese.
134 | THE INDIAN STANDARD
