The Maestro’s Mark: Three decades of inspiring music and minds

The multifaceted musician from the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, and illustrious descendant of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and Raja Ravi Varma, Prince Rama Varma’s rise on the musical firmament as an excellent performer was also marked by his simultaneous emergence as a gifted teacher, credited with mentoring more than 25,000 students across the world over three decades. Teaching and performing require distinct skill sets- great musicians may have an intuitive grasp of their craft but struggle to break it down for students, while great teachers may lack the charisma or technical prowess to captivate an audience. Excelling at both means mastering not just the art but the ability to communicate it effectively and Rama Varma does this to perfection. Teaching was an organic evolution largely guided by destiny according to him. “When my guru Vechoor Hariharasubramania Iyer Sir who was perfectly healthy passed away all of a sudden on 16th Nov, 1994, I was totally devastated and felt a great void in my life. I couldn’t get myself to perform at a concert just a month later organized by eminent musician T.V. Gopalakrishnan before the then President of India K. R. Narayanan. It was Gopalakrishnan Sir who advised me that with my guru gone it was my duty to remember with gratitude the knowledge he passed on over the years and prove to be an exemplary musician. I not only performed at the concert but started teaching my guru’s granddaughter Ratnaprabha, music around 1995’ he recalls. His role as a guru had ironically begun at his own guru’s house.

Prince Rama Varma’s search for a guru led him to Madras and legendary musician Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna whose disciple he remained for 18 long years learning songs of Bhadrachala Ramadasa, Purandaradasa, Annamayya, Prayaga Rangadasa, his guru’s own compositions and several other songs with which he was not acquainted earlier. His insatiable curiosity to understand not just the melodies but the depth of the lyrics and the subtle nuances of each composition in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam led him to immerse himself in their rich poetic expressions, intricate rhythms and cultural significance. “As an eternal learner I was curious to understand the works of composers other than the musical trinity of Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshithar, Shyama Shastri or Swathi Thirunal and other well- known composers. Was there no music before them or after them I asked myself. I was very lucky to dip into treasures from all four southern states and discover several beautiful composers and compositions’’ adds Prince Rama Varma. His first workshop at Bombay where he was invited by a musician from Kalakshetra, Indu Raman to teach a small group of 12-13 students was an unforgettable experience. The students greatly enjoyed being exposed to the fresh flavour and feeling of Dr. Balamuralikrishna’s compositions setting the tone for several teaching sessions that grew bigger and brought in to their fold several known and unknown composers not just from Carnatic but occasionally Hindustani music too. The more he learnt, the greater was the urge to share, connect and contribute to something greater and teaching became second nature to him. A fan of world music inspired by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Jacques Brel and Eartha Kitt among several others, Rama Varma’s stay and teaching stints at London Paris and Amsterdam were a blend of knowledge, aesthetics and entertainment to a motley group of students from Australia, Iceland, Finland, Austria and other countries. At London sometime in 1998, he also taught a group of Sri Lankan Tamils both Vocal music and the Veena. “In my classroom at Amsterdam I saw a whiteboard with the topic “Ragtime’ a genre of musical composition for the piano popularized by American composer and pianist Scott Joplin written on it. While students waited for me to erase what was written and write afresh, I surprised them by merely adding an ‘a’ to the Rag making it “Raga Time”. There was spontaneous laughter and applause all around” Rama Varma recalls mirthfully.

Returning to India, around 2007 he had the opportunity to teach young students of a music school on the Kerala -Karnataka border in a three- day camp where there were 150 students out of which 30 were very young kids. This was a totally new experience but he soon realized that teaching was most enjoyable and came naturally to him. The camp was an annual affair but the class became so popular with the students that another one was fixed immediately. Says Rama Varma “2007 was significant in many ways. I met and started teaching my only full -time student Amrutha Venkatesh who is today an eminent singer, met Anuradha Reddy of Saptaparni who invited me to conduct classes in Hyderabad and had my teaching sessions telecast on Bhakti TV’. Teaching sessions followed in Madras, Bengaluru, Rajapalayem and many places in tandem with concerts but his career received a fillip with the advent of You tube which catapulted him to fame, earned him a dedicated fan base and garnered recognition globally.

A new dimension in teaching emerged after the Covid pandemic where Prince Rama Varma was encouraged by his student from Dubai, Sreekutty to take online music classes that redefined the learning experience and expanded accessibility. The online experience brought him in contact with organizers like Sri Vidya of Varaveena school of music, Tara Talk time and Haritha Hariharan who has been regularly organizing Prince Rama Varma’s workshops online and in the Hybrid model (both in person and online) at Hyderabad ever since. With a wide range of students from ages one and half to 90 years, his classes transcend mere instruction: they are profound life lessons infused with wisdom, music and humour, creating a transformative and enriching experience that remains long after the classes are done.

‘Teaching is learning’ says the maestro whose passion for music permeates every aspect of his life. “Vidya nerchina vela, Vidya nerpina vela Krishnayanu Manasa” (When you learn, when you teach, remember the divine Krishna) is a beautiful composition of his guru that has him reflect on the unseen hand that scripts his success both as an outstanding musician and teacher. “I feel divinely blessed because with every teaching session, magic unfolds’ shares Prince Rama Varma, embodying the profound connection between his art and his calling.