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| The Hindu , Wednesday, 13th December, 2006 |
| Sruti gets a makeover |
| Launch of the new look Sruti magazine |
 CELEBRATING THE ARTS N. Murali, Aruna Sairam and K. V. Ramanathan at the launch
It was a celebration of Indian classical music and dance in every sense, combining the launch of the `new look' of Sruti magazine, the opening of an exhibition of rare black-and-white photographs of some of India's greatest musicians and dancers, and a heart-warming presentation on the life of that icon of Carnatic music, M.S. Subbulakshmi, on the occasion of her second death anniversary.
Not surprisingly, the Senate Hall at Taj Coromandel, where the event was held, was packed with well-known musicians, singers, dancers, as well as lovers of both art forms. |
| The first issue of the revamped magazine was presented by N. Murali, President of the Music Academy, to Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam. Aruna spoke movingly of her father, the late R. Sethuraman's close involvement with the magazine of which he'd been the Mumbai bureau chief for several years. "Every time I visited him, he'd be pounding away at his keyboard and would say `Don't disturb me, I have a deadline to meet'." she said. |
| The moving force |
| K. V. Ramanathan, editor-in-chief of Sruti, took a nostalgic look at how the magazine, one of the leading publications on Indian classical music and dance, was started 23 years ago by N. Pattabhiraman, a music enthusiast who remained the moving force behind the magazine until his untimely death in 2002, and discussed some of the changes he had made since he took up the reigns in 2003. |
| There was an atmosphere of camaraderie in the hall as the audience shared memories, and enjoyed `in-jokes' such as the one about the removal of the controversial `Whispering Gallery' column that Pattabhiraman ran. |
| Murali spoke about the recent changes in the magazine, such as the introduction of colour, the coverage of other art forms and the effort to expand its audience base. "Sruti is at a crossroads today, like any institution that represents a classical art," he said. "It needs to find a way to balance modernity and tradition, and attract the attention of the youth." |
| Both Ramanathan and Murali complimented N. Sankar, chairman, Chemplast Sanmar, who has recently taken over the management of the magazine, ending years of financial difficulties, and his daughter-in-law Sukanya who is now running the magazine. |
| V. Sriram, contributing editor of Sruti, gave a presentation on M.S. Subbulakshmi's life that was deeply respectful of the legendary singer while being humorous and wickedly irreverent about the many people with whom she was associated such as the American director of Meera, Ellis R. Dungan, whom he said kept a leopard as a pet, and learnt only three words of Tamil, "Paiyya, brandy konduva." |
| The presentation was well researched with intriguing details, stills and clips from early movies, and photographs of M.S. and her family. These photographs are part of the exhibition that will be on at the Piano Lounge in Taj Coromandel till December 29. V. Ramnarayan, the magazine's new Editor, delivered the vote of thanks. |
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