Saraswathi Ranganathan is a Chicago-based musician, composer and veena artist. She has been performing and teaching for over three decades and is also the founder of Surabhi Ensemble, a cross-cultural music and dance ensemble. Saraswathi is the first Indian woman to win a Chicago Music Award and credits her mother, Shantha Ranganathan, for teaching her how to play the veena.

In this edition of #SAIatHome, Saraswathi spoke to us about her musical journey, intention to bring people together through her music and how she has been coping during the pandemic. She shares some of her beautiful veena skills in the video below to help uplift us and give us a sense of calm in these trying times.

Can you tell us about your musical upbringing and your experience about learning veena from your mother? What was that bond like with her?

I reminisce on my childhood with gratitude, remembering my mother’s gift to me. As a child, she handed me a small veena – much smaller than you would find today – but perfect to fit a 6-year old.

That type of upbringing is such that there is no questioning a parent nor is there any intent to do so. I simply listened to my mom and started playing the veena. Growing up I looked up to my mom for her musicality, musicianship, artistry and the fierce streak to be unique in my creative thought process. She was my first influence into the ideal sound of a veena – one that transcends. I am from a musical lineage where my ancestors have been musicians, artists, composers and pioneers of opera-theatre stage productions.

I realize that music is an enduring gift for any child to receive. If I’m able to share my learning with students, instilling in them a lifelong appreciation for the arts, I have done my part in providing them an outlet – their own gateway – adding value, beauty and direction to their life. That’s why I founded Ensemble of Ragas, my nonprofit music school.

What inspired you to create the group Surabhi Ensemble?

Most of my adult life was riddled with dysfunctional conflicts. An after-effect of my experience was my own revelation that the root of most conflicts is fear and the inability to handle life with a “yes, and” approach. This fear seems to stem primarily from a multilevel lack of awareness, sometimes compounded by a rigid attitude. I started to look at this phenomenon on a broader societal canvas. If I had to face so much conflict from people with a background similar to mine, I only could imagine the complexity of conflicts in today’s diverse society. Where and how do we plant the seeds of love and harmony? What can I do as an artist to reach a cross-cultural audience? These questions compelled me to establish Surabhi Ensemble.

Where and how do we plant the seeds of love and harmony? What can I do as an artist to reach a cross-cultural audience?

Your work celebrates connections between cultures to teach a positive message of togetherness. How has your experience in performing with the musicians of Surabhi Ensemble transcended your musical abilities?

It has helped open up new ways of exploring music both melodically and rhythmically. Recognizing similar patterns, scales, rhythms. You know, any form of music is never a standalone product – it’s the creative output of a social collective that continues to evolve culturally, artistically. Our diverse backgrounds and musical approaches make it challenging and dynamically interesting all at once – so our compositions are a creative output from a refreshingly new lens.

To me personally, the more aware the audience is of diverse cultures, the less fear there is and consequently less and less hate – and what can be better than sharing music and dance deriving from multiple traditions to weave our story. It is a delightful way to transcend race, religion, culture and color. All of these cultures have a history of warmth and kinship when families share dinner and you can hear laughter from miles away – not gunshots. My hope is to revive that spirit of friendship, sharing and warmth through these collaborative cross-cultural endeavors.

To me personally, the more aware the audience is of diverse cultures, the less fear there is and consequently less and less hate – and what can be better than sharing music and dance deriving from multiple traditions to weave our story.

You describe music as healing. How has your practice influenced your time at home during the pandemic?

Initially I was thinking this stay at home will be over in a few days. I thought it would be a good time to practice deeply. But boy was I wrong. Days went into weeks that went into several months! These were stressful times and continue to be. I share my musical energy in a performance with my audience and fellow collaborators in a way that can’t be felt electronically! I think that might be true for most performing artists. It was challenging to be inspired to create new material or even sit down to practice – surrounded by anxiety within and outside. A positive person like me had to go through a couple of anxiety attacks and months of being sick for no ‘apparent’ reason. Through this, as always, I turned to my veena experimenting with Ragas. I found that the energy of some Ragas had a positive effect on my well-being. Like, for example, Raga Saveri seemed to relieve my metabolism-related problems. Raga Shankarabharanam helped me ground myself to get into a stable frame of mind. I utilized these experiences to share in social media along with tips for healing food and beauty practices to boost immunity and inner strength. These are meaningful times to introspect and learn to be in touch with our inner self so we can discover our potential to radiate joy from within.

These are meaningful times to introspect and learn to be in touch with our inner self so we can discover our potential to radiate joy from within.