South India Fine Arts is proud to host the first vocal concert of this Spring season music festival- Vasanthothsavam, by Vidushi Smt. Chandrika Pai, on March 13th, Saturday at 6.30 p.m. PST. Chandrika Pai is an accomplished Indian Carnatic vocalist, performer, and teacher. She was initiated into Carnatic vocal music by her sister Vidushi Sudha Suresh. Her formal vocal training started at the age of 5 under late Sangeeta Vidhwan N. Gopalakrishna Iyer, cousin of Sangitha Kalanidhi T. V. Gopalakrishnan, and continued for 12 years in Mangalore. This foundational tutelage allowed her to imbibe the traditional purity and artistic values of the vocal art form and hone her ability to communicate the divine beauty embodied in the timeless compositions that adorn this genre. During this period, she completed her Senior Vidwat (equivalent to Master of Arts in Music) examination conducted by the Karnataka Secondary Examination Board. She was also awarded several state and national scholarships for advanced learning. During her formative years, she won several awards in state and national level competitions — most notably, she won the national level competition conducted by All India Radio (AIR). She has been a graded artiste of All India Radio, Mangalore, ever since. She continued her tutelage under late Sangeeta Kalacharya Sri. Chingleput Ranganathan, the prime disciple of the legendary Alathur brothers and torch-bearer of the laya-oriented Alathur Bani. After moving to the US in 2002, Chandrika lived in Iowa, California, and New York, before moving back to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014. Throughout her journey in the US, she trained several students and gave numerous vocal recitals at music festivals. She is the founder-director of the Nada Sudha School of Music, which is based in San Ramon, CA. Through her school, she provides aspiring students with a rigorous traditional foundation in the theoretical and performing aspects of the complex vocal art form. The school emphasizes Bhava (emotion) and Bhakthi (devotion) in a nurturing and motivating fun-filled learning atmosphere. Her students have performed and won awards at premier local and national sabhas and festivals, such as Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and the Papanasam Sivan Festival — to name a few. She has composed several classical melodies, prime among them being a lilting symphony on the "Pancha Mahabhutas" that received acclaim. She enjoys singing for dance recitals and provides lead vocal support to numerous dance arangetrams, primarily in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi genres. She actively gives back to the Bay Area community by performing in and organizing fundraisers and other cultural events that celebrate the rich cultural and musical heritage of India.

Vocal: Vidwan Sri. Anil Narasimha Violin: Vidwan Sri. Ajay Narasimha Mrdangam: Vidwan Sri. Vignesh Venkataraman Anil Narasimha Anil Narasimha was initially introduced to music through his parents, Smt Rama and Sri MJ Narasimha. He has since been learning Carnatic vocal music from Hemmige Sri V. Srivatsan, a leading disciple of Palghat Sri K.V. Narayanaswamy. Since his debut vocal concert at the age of eleven, Anil has given concerts throughout India and the USA. Anil adheres to the bANi established by the renowned Ariyakkudi/KVN music school. Anil is a scientist by profession who currently lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter. Ajay Narasimha Ajay Narasimha was introduced to Carnatic music from a young age by his parents Smt. Rama and Sri. M.J. Narasimha. Belonging to the great tradition established by Sangitha Kalanidhi Ariyakkudi Sri Ramanuja Iyengar, Ajay has the distinct privilege of being a long-time student of Hemmige Sri. V. Srivatsan, one of the foremost disciples of Sangitha Kalanidhi Palghat Sri. K.V. Narayanasawamy. Ajay has had the fortune of accompanying renowned musicians across the United States and India. He has performed in many of the major music sabhas in Chennai and Bangalore and at various festivals in the US. Ajay is a sought-after violinist in the Bay Area, continuing to support local and visiting artists Ajay is a graduate of Stanford and UCLA, works in biotech, and resides in Menlo Park with his wife and three young children Vignesh Venkataraman Vignesh Venkataraman is a mridangam artist hailing from Umayalpuram Sri K. Sivaraman’s school of music. Vignesh was initiated into playing mridangam by Sri Anand Iyer, also from the same school. Over a period of 5 years, Vignesh traveled to India every summer to undergo advanced training under the tutelage of Umayalpuram Sri K. Sivaraman. Vignesh has accompanied various artists, including many senior musicians, in numerous concerts all over the US and in India. He won the Best Mridangist award at the Spirit of Youth festival held by the Madras Music Academy in 2013. Vignesh is also learning vocal Carnatic music from Smt. Meena Kothandaraman, and more recently from violinist Sri R. K. Shriramkumar. He holds multiple degrees from Stanford University.

SIFA Vasanthotsavam - Spring Music Festival 2021 - Vocal Concert by Vidwan Sri. Krishna Parthasarathy Accompanied by: Vidwan Aditya Satyadeep on Violin, and Vidwan Ajay Gopi on Mridangam. Krishna Parthasarathy was initiated into Carnatic music by Smt Prema Rajan. She taught him Sarali Varisai with love and care. He then continued his training in violin from Smt. Shanthi Narayan who was patient with the young lad. The late great Sri PV Natarajan taught him vocal music from the age of 13 and let Krishna sing in public. He eventually was able to learn from many great musicians with minimal confusion. One of his most beloved teachers, Smt Srividhya Ramnath, allowed him to make up his own music and smiled at his mistakes. Moreover, the legend Sri KJ Yesudas taught him to sing “Sa” for 3 hours. Presently, Krishna is learning from Sri Nachiketha Yakkundi and Smt. N. Rajam, vocally and violinly, respectively. He teaches students one-on-one and performs music one-on-many full-time in the Bay Area. He has a beautiful wife, Maya, and two daughters, Lalitha and Meenakshi, and a female dog, Chaachi. He loves music and cooking. And basketball. Ping pong too. Aditya Satyadeep is a disciple of Lalgudi Smt. Vijayalakshmi, daughter and disciple of the violin maestro, Padmabhushan Lalgudi Shri G.Jayaraman. Aditya was initiated into carnatic violin at the age of 8 by Dr. Rajalakshmi Srinivasan. Aditya regularly accompanies musicians and music schools in the Bay Area. He has also had the privilege of being invited to perform at various carnatic music events outside the Bayarea, as well as in India. Aditya has also performed full-length violin solo concerts and has been part of the ensemble for Bharathanatyam productions. Over the years, Aditya has received several first prizes at prestigious music competitions. Aditya is a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley. Ajay is a disciple of his father Sri. Gopi Lakshminarayanan (Disciple of Late Sri. Kumbakonam Narayananswamy) and Sri. Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar (Disciple of Late Sri. Palghat Raghu). Ajay has accompanied various artists including many senior artists in several concerts both in the USA and India. Ajay regularly performs in the Chennai December Season festival and has performed as part of the HCL concert series at the Music Academy. Ajay also learns Carnatic Vocal and is currently learning from Sri. Kolkata Vijayaraghavan. Ajay is a graduate of UC Berkeley and holds a Master's Degree in Computer Science.

South India Fine Arts [SIFA]] [SIFA] is proud to host the 3rd vocal concert of the Spring season music festival- Vasanthothsavam, by Vidushi Kum. Roopa Mahadevan on April 10th, Saturday at 6.30 p.m. PDT. Accompanied by Vidushi Kum. Sruti Sarathy on Violin and Vidwan Ajay Gopi on Mridangam. Roopa Mahadevan Roopa is a sought-after second-generation Indian classical and crossover vocalist in the American diaspora, known for her powerful, emotive voice, community spirit, and multidisciplinary collaborations. She is the bandleader of the crossover ensemble Roopa in Flux, director of the innovative choir Navatman Music Collective, and a sought-after vocalist for leading Bharathanatyam/modern dancers. Roopa also brings a critical commentary, humor, and authenticity to her work, often invoking her talents in dance and theater. Roopa received Carnatic training under Vidushi Asha Ramesh and further under Vidushi Suguna Varadachari through the Fulbright scholarship. Roopa has performed in diverse venues such as Chennai's Music Academy during the December festival, Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, which awarded her the title Kala Ratna, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, MET Museum, Chicago Cultural Center, and Hollywood Bowl, among others. She is a soloist on several albums, including Christopher Tin’s Grammy Award-winning Calling All Dawns, and has been chosen for residencies at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, Hedgebrook, and Mass MOCA. Roopa released her album Roopa in Six Yards: a Carnatic Playlist in 2019 and is currently a 2020/21 member of the Joe's Pub Working Group. In a previous avatar, Roopa worked in public health policy, following degrees from Stanford University. Sruti Sarathy Sruti Sarathy is a versatile Carnatic violinist and vocalist based in Chennai and in the Bay Area. She is trained in the Lalgudi style of the violin under Guru Smt. Anuradha Sridhar, Founder/Director of Trinity Center for Music. Sruti's music brings out the voice of the Indian violin in a contemporary and imaginative way. She is the recipient of many awards, including "Best Violinist" from the Music Academy, Madras in 2019 and 2020. A graduate of Stanford University and a Fulbright Scholar, Sruti accompanies top Carnatic musicians and performs in festivals across the world. She often takes the role of composer-performer for dance and theater works. She is the creator of Sound Thoughts, a project exploring resonances between music and literature. Ajay Gopi Ajay is a disciple of his father Sri. Gopi Lakshminarayanan (Disciple of Late Sri. Kumbakonam Narayananswamy) and Sri. Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar (Disciple of Late Sri. Palghat Raghu). Ajay has accompanied various artists including many senior artists in several concerts both in the USA and India. Ajay has performed in many prestigious sabhas such as the Music Academy and regularly performs in the Chennai December Season festival. Ajay has won many first prizes in competitions both in the USA and India. Ajay also learns Carnatic Vocal and is currently learning from Sri. Kolkata Vijayaraghavan. Ajay is a graduate of UC Berkeley and holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science.

Ashok Subramaniam Ashok Subramaniam, mostly a self-made musician hails from a family of musicians. His maternal uncles Late. K.R. Kumaraswamy - a retired Principal of Swathi Thirunal Academy, Trivandrum of and Late K.R. Kedaranathan, a professor of music from Palghat, were respected music gurus. Though he imbibed music from his mother and began his formal training under Sundaram Iyengar of Trivellore and later with both his uncles, he began his more formal learning from Smt. Rukmani Ramani, daughter of Papanasam Sivan and later with the living legend Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan for a couple of years. During the same years, he was learning from Sethilapathi Balasubramaniam, a disciple of Sri Sivan. Since he moved to Bay Area in the mid-80s to pursue a career as a Software professional, he has kept his quest and passion; and continues to derive his inspiration from the legend and his guidance from time to time. He has been teaching music in the Bay Area for the past 20 years. Venkatesan Vijayakumar Venkatesan Vijayakumar is the Founder, Director, CEO at Keyless Academy, based in Fremont. A well-known keyboard and harmonium Artist of the San Francisco Bay area, he supports a lot of local artists in their Sampradaya Bhajanai and Sangeetha upanyasams. He has supported visiting artists such as Sangeetha Kalanidhi Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan in Harikatha program conducted by SIFA. He learns vocal music from Sri. Ashok Subramaniam Ananya Ashok Ananya is a vainika training under Sri Srikanth Chary. She began her training at age 12 and under her guru’s guidance, has been performing Veena concerts for over 10 years. In 2011, she was a recipient of the Alliance of California Traditional Arts fellowship for intense Veena study with Sri Srikanth Chary. She has performed in sabhas throughout Bay Area. Abroad, she has given performances both in India and Singapore. She is a graded artist of All India Radio, Chennai. Currently, she resides in the Bay Area where she performs and teaches both Carnatic Vocal and Veena. Srivathsa Pasumarthi Srivathsa Pasumarthi is a B High Graded mrudangam artist with a concert experience of about 15 years. Belonging to the prestigious school of Guru Karaikkudi Mani, he is currently learning from Sri.T.Shyam Sunder. He also taking advanced training under leading kanjira maestro Shree Sundarkumar a.k.a Kanjiraman. He has performed in several prestigious sabhas and organizations in and around Chennai. He has also performed in various organizations in the US, including the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. Srivathsa is also a flutist and is learning from Sri.J.B.Sruthi Sagar. He is currently working as an AI scientist in the bay area.

South India Fine Arts is proud to host the 2nd vocal concert of this Spring season Music Festival - Vasanthothsavam, by Vidushi Smt. NCS Ravali, on March 27th, Saturday at 6.30 p.m. PDT. NCS Ravali is a young promising Carnatic vocalist with a unique vocal style and mature musical imagination that brings out the best of Carnatic music in her performances. She has been learning Carnatic music for the last twenty years. She received her initial training from her father late Sri. N.C. Lakshmanacharyulu and continued to learn under the tutelage of Smt. N C Vani and Dr. Vyzarsu Balasubrahmanyam, Hyderabad. She then moved to Chennai to receive advanced training and hone her skills further under the excellent guidance of her illustrious Gurus Smt. Ranjani and Smt. Gayatri. Along with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science, she has a Diploma in Carnatic vocal music from Government Music College, Sangeetha Visharada in Carnatic vocal from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya of Maharashtra Mandali, Hyderabad. She finished M.A and M.Phil with a gold medal in Carnatic music from the prestigious Madras University, India. Since her debut as a performing Carnatic vocalist in the year 2000, in Hyderabad, India she has given several concerts across India, and abroad. She has won many awards and accolades in the music fraternity. She has performed in several popular Indian TV channels such as ETV, MAA TV, SVBC, and Zee TV. Apart from her scintillating live performances, she has many private recordings to her name. While adhering to the traditional style, her music has the charm to engage and enrich a wide range of audiences. An excerpt of a review of one of her concerts in The Hindu newspaper: “Exploiting her vibrantly melodious and euphonic range of full two and a half octaves with the same intensity in the voice and her sensibly knowledgeable art of exposition to the hilt systematically, N.C.S. Ravali from Hyderabad rendered an ever reverberating recital on a concluding evening. The expansive expatiation of Bhajare Chitha (Kalyani), stood out hauntingly an ever ringing melody.” On Violin, we have Vidushi Smt. Sandhya Srinath. Sandhya is an innately talented artist who showcases her true talent in every bow! A gold medalist in her masters program in music and an early A-grade awardee for the All India Radio. Sandhya has firmly established the school of Late Shri V. Janakiraman of AIR, Delhi. She learnt, and skillfully absorbed the styles of maestros, late Shri. Lalgudi G Jayaraman and Prof. T.N. Krishnan within her. Some of her coveted awards include the Best Young Violinist, Chennai, India; Individual Artist Award from both PG Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council. Sandhya has also received titles such as Naada Brahma Kala Bhaarathi, Naada Brahma Kalai Mani, and Vaadhya Kala Bhaarathi. She has numerous recordings to her credit and her versatility has led her to take on instrumental ensembles, jugalbandis with Hindustani artists, and fusion concerts with western musicians. She also actively teaches Violin to students all over the US. Visit http://sandhyastrings.com/ for further information and clips. On Mridangam, we have Vidwan Shri Ravindra Bharathi Sridharan. Ravi is one of the most sought-after Guru and mridangist in the bay area who is known for his sensitive and creative accompaniment. Hailing from the well-known ‘Embar’ family, Ravi has been a performer for the past 38 years and has been teaching this great art for the past 25 years. He had his mrudangam initiation under Sri M.A.Krishnamurthy in Mysore in 1980. He continues to further his knowledge under Sri Neyveli Narayanan. Ravi continues to accompany various leading musicians from India such as Sangita Kalanidhi Trichur Ramachandran, Sri O.S. Thyagarajan, Sri. Neyveli R Santhanagopalan, Dr.Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam, Sri Shankara Nambodari, Sri, Delhi Sunderrajan, Sri Sikkil Gurucharan, Ravi’s Mother Smt.Ranganayaki Sridharan, Sri Vidhyabhushana, Sri Ashok Ramani,, etc. In the Bay Area, he continues to accompany all leading musicians for concerts, dance, and fundraisers. He is also a sought-after accompanist for dance and vocal arangetrams. Ravi was invited by UC Davis to conduct Laya Workshop in collaboration with Sri Sikkil Gurucharan. He has also been running a percussion school – Nadhopasana Academy of Fine Arts where he enjoys teaching this great art to selective students. His students have been consistently winning prizes in Mridangam competitions in the US at Cleveland, at Sivan Festival, and Chicago Aaradhana. Some of his students are already sought after in the junior accompaniment segment. He has also been training his students in other percussive instruments such as Ghatam, Kanjira, and Morsing. His percussion ensemble with these instruments has already won good reviews in the Bay Area.

Dear Rasikas, South India Fine Arts is proud to host the 7th Carnatic Vocal Concert of this Spring season music festival-Vasanthothsavam, by Vidwan Shri T. N. Arunagiri on July 10th, Saturday at 6.30 p.m. PDT. Accompanied by: Vidwan Vignesh Thyagarajan on Violin and Vidwan Ajay Gopi on Mridangam T.N Arunagiri Arunagiri’s musicality has been shaped by various genres, gurus, and maestros. Arunagiri was born in New Delhi, to a family where all genres of Indian music were appreciated and promoted - be it abhangs, bhajans, ghazals, or film music. He had an opportunity to learn Sanskrit & Tamil extensively, which attracted him towards Carnatic music to take it seriously and was trained by Smt. Sita Sundararajan in New Delhi. He also learned Tiruppugazh from Shri. AS Raghavan. He was also mentored for a few years by Vidushi Savita Narasimhan. Currently, Arunagiri is on the path to further his musicality with Dr. Renganatha Sharma in Carnatic music. He also interacts with Shri. HS Sudhindra on some layam aspects and he has had the opportunity to imbibe elementary nuances of Hindustani music under Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty. Arunagiri holds a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and has been a semiconductor technologist for 15 years, with several US patents assigned as a co-inventor. Arunagiri is the Founder of Swaradigm LLC, whose core principles are to intuit more and intellectualize less. Swaradigm emphasizes Voice Fitness that can maneuver and deliver a variety of music genres. Vignesh Thyagarajan Vignesh hails from a family of musicians belonging to the lineage of Flute Maestro Brahmashri Sarabha Sastrigal and started learning Carnatic vocal and violin at a very young age with his mother Smt. Rama Thyagarajan, a renowned Bay Area music teacher. He also underwent training in the violin from Sri. Susheela Narasimhan for a few years. He is currently under the guidance of guru Vidwan Delhi Sri P. SunderRajan. He has been learning violin and vocal from his guru for 14 years. He has regularly accompanied in the Chennai December Music Festival for the past 6 years in leading sabhas such as Narada Gana Sabha, Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Kapali Fine Arts, Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai Cultural Academy, Trinity Music Festival, Asthika Samajam (Thiruvanmiyur), Papanasam Sivan Sabha (Madipakkam), Cleveland Festival in Chennai, and Maarga. He has performed at the Madras Music Academy for the 2016 Spirit of Youth series, 2017 HCL series, 2018 Radel Mid-Year Concert series, and its prestigious Annual December Music Conference 2018. Vignesh has also performed widely throughout the USA, in various states, and Ohio for chamber concerts and festivals, notably the prestigious Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana festival held annually in Cleveland, Ohio. He has performed many solos throughout the US and provided violin accompaniment to many visiting artists from India. Ajay Gopi Ajay is a disciple of his father Sri. Gopi Lakshminarayanan (Disciple of Late Sri. Kumbakonam Narayananswamy) and Sri. Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar (Disciple of Late Sri. Palghat Raghu). Ajay has accompanied various artists including many senior artists in several concerts both in the USA and India. Ajay regularly performs in the Chennai December Season festival and has performed as part of the HCL concert series at the Music Academy.