S. Ramadorai: "Music helps Me in my Work"

Music is a part of my life. I had a traditional Tamil upbringing and so I grew up with Carnatic music. Though I did not get trained in it, I picked up music being with the teachers who had come to teach my sister. Those days, I was always told, music for girls and maths for boys!

The appreciation also came from the fact that I got exposed to music at weddings and festivals. Once I went missing at age three, only to be found listening to a Nadaswaram concert.

The second wave of interest came through All India Radio while I was studying in Delhi. Thus I listened to all the great masters such as Madurai Mani, DKP [Pattammal], MS [Subbulakshmi], Musuri [Subramanyam] and Ariyakudi [Ramanujam]. Even in Delhi, teachers used to come home to teach my sister; so it was not difficult to keep in touch. And whenever we went to Madras for summer vacation, we would go to the concerts.

After marriage, I got introduced to Hindustani music through my wife. Mala had trained in Carnatic music under Ayyalur Krishnan, and when she moved to Bombay, she majored in music.

And then there was the December Season. I made it a point to spend at least a couple of days every year to go to Madras during the Season. This time, I hope I will get at least a week. Listening to a live concert is always a phenomenal experience. You get to see the expressions of the singers, the participation of the audience.

But beyond that, if you want a therapeutic effect from music, when you are in stress or have worries, listening to music on CDs or on iPod or such devices is good.

Music has helped me a lot in my work. If you look at the notation, in a way, it has quite a bit of resemblance to mathematics. I have seen many young people creating software or working on the OS side also doing undergrad courses in music.

There is a culture of music inside TCS. We do a lot to encourage interest in music. it is a passion; it is an outlook that helps you hone your skills at work.

I have always felt that I am not able to set aside as much time for music as I would want to. But in life, everything is an adjustment. But I am clear that when you go to a concert – the time may be 15 minutes or one hour or two hours – you must dedicate the time to it.

10 things to do in Chennai during the music festival season

1. Visit Sampradaya music library which has 7,000 hours of music from the great masters, old and rare books, photographs and gramophone records
2. Go to Ayodhya Mandapam in Mambalam, sit on the floor and listen to religious discourse which blends humorous storytelling of the epics with songs.
3. Get up early and join the bhajan groups marching to the temple; make sure to sing a song at the temple; get pongal as reward
4. Go to the house of your favourite film star and have a photo taken of you with him or her; all stars employ photographers for the purpose
5. Don’t fret if your favourite star is out for shooting. Go to Marina Beach and take a photo with the star’s life-size cutout.
6. Eat chilli bajji at Santhome; drink filter coffee anywhere
7. Eat “full meals” on a plantain leaf
8. Spend Christmas at the church on St. Thomas Mount, where Apostle Thomas was killed in the First Century; also, visit Santhome Church where his body was buried for some time
9. Shop at Ranganathan Street for trinkets; Nalli Silks for Kanjivarams; Usman Road for jewelry
10. Have your fortune told by a hawker’s parakeet