Sudha Raja: Nurturing generations through the language of music

Sudha Raja has spent decades nurturing a love of music across generations.

Some teachers leave you with lessons. Others leave you with a love for what they teach. Sudha Raja, my mother and my first music guru, has spent much of her life doing both.

For her, music has always extended beyond performance. A Carnatic vocalist, musicologist and educator with a doctorate in Indian music, she has spent decades using music as a tool for learning, community-building and personal growth. Through the Sargam Choir and her work in music education, she has shown that singing can foster confidence, connection and a lifelong engagement with the arts.

Her own journey in music began in Guntur, where her parents were stationed when she was a toddler. With a music teacher living next door, she became so absorbed in learning music that her parents eventually moved to Chennai to give her the opportunity to pursue it more seriously. There, she came under the guidance of Sulochana Pattabhiraman, who remained her guru throughout her life. She later joined M.B. Srinivasan’s Madras Youth Choir, where her training under Srinivasan opened up an entirely new world of musical possibilities. What began as an encounter with choral music gradually grew into a mission that would shape her life.

Her influence is perhaps best understood by the lives she has enriched. As her students prepare to celebrate her 60th birthday at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on November 1 at 11 AM, their recollections offer glimpses of the teacher I have known all my life.

Sudha’s music goes beyond the classroom.

Uthara Unnikrishnan, a student, remembers being taken to music class as a child, with little interest in singing. “What changed was Sudha ma’am’s patience,” she recalls. “I would jump on the sofas, play with the dog, find something to eat and take every opportunity to distract myself from the class. Despite all this, she never got upset or lost interest. She simply let me be.” In time, music became something Uthara genuinely looked forward to. She credits her teacher with giving her not just a musical foundation, but also a lasting love for music.

For Harshini M.V., music class became a second home — where she could travel, make friends and discover herself. As she puts it, “I thought I found a music class; but what I really found was a teacher, a community and memories.”

V.G. Lakshmy, who has learnt from her for over 25 years, says Sudha has “ingrained varnams” into her and recalls fondly how her classes are enriched by stories and insights that bring compositions alive.

She has been a pioneer of structured choral presentations in Carnatic music, nurturing this vision for over two decades through the Sargam Choir. Her doctoral work explored M.B. Srinivasan’s contributions to Indian choral music, and she went on to carry forward his ideas in her own way. Drawing on Carnatic music while looking beyond its familiar repertoire, she began composing for choirs and seeking out poetry and verses from different languages, regions and traditions. Through this work, she explores how Carnatic music can retain its depth and identity while finding new expression through many voices singing together.

According to Lakshmi Menon, who spent her formative teenage years learning under her, “Sudha is always eager to experiment with Carnatic and choral music.” Her work extends beyond the Carnatic classroom. She has collaborated with artistes in music, dance, cinema and theatre. She has also helped schools and organisations bring music to underprivileged children and integrate music education into their curriculum. For over a decade, she has taught children with special needs.

Having grown up watching my mother teach, I have seen her remarkable ability to draw toddlers, sometimes as young as three, into her classes and hold their attention with seemingly effortless ease. Ritik Raghav Prasad is one of them. “He began learning from Sudha teacher when he was four and within a few months gained the confidence to perform on stage. It was nice to see him take the lessons seriously,” says his mother.

Her choirs too demonstrate how music can sustain relationships across a lifetime. S. Shanthi recalls how my mother began training the Akshayam Choir, a group of Bank of Baroda employees, in 2004. The choir went on to win prizes, perform across Chennai and even win a bronze medal at the Pearl Choir Games in Cincinnati. The association continues today, with some members now sharing the stage with their grandchildren. What began as musical training has become a community.

She has always put her students first. Teaching has never been simply a job with hours and responsibilities. Her concern for her students extends beyond the classroom, whether it is helping them prepare for examinations or ensuring that they are supported in their musical journeys. Teaching is inseparable from who she is and her sense of purpose.

She has spent decades using music as a tool for learning.

For all that she has taught us, the greatest gift may be the simple, enduring joy of singing.