Chicago music lovers will be deeply shocked by the sudden demise (October 27, 2021) of Mrs. Sharada Venkataraman. She is survived by her son Srikanth and daughter Lakshmi, son-in-law Dave and her grandchildren.
I knew them from as early as 1982-83. Though he got his initial training as a potential genius from local teachers, Ranjani Narayanaswamy and Manjula Rao, the remarkable promise that Srikanth had as a solo violinist needed a higher level of training from a top professional violinist from India. The renowned violinist Sri T.N. Krishnan was visiting the USA with his family- probably around 1985. His was the first ever performance under CTU by a professional artist from India. It was through the efforts of Dr C.N. Krishnaswamy that we could organize it at the prestigious Wheaton College music auditorium. Sharada was keen on inviting them for a dinner in their house in Crestwood, IL. Sri T.N. Krishnan had come with his wife and daughter and was keen on staying in one place for a longer period in the USA. C.N. Krishnaswamy immediately came up with a brilliant idea. If Sharada and Venkataraman were willing, he could suggest them as their host, which opens up as a unique opportunity for Srikanth to be trained right at home and it will be a win-win situation for both sides. Sharada Venkataraman was excited with this unique advice and opportunity even more than Dr. Venkataraman. Sharada was ready to get up early in the morning and prepare lunch and dinner for all of them before leaving for her office in the Naperville area. All she wanted was that her musical genius son would pick up the nuances of our Carnatic music under a true Gurukulam system. Sharada, as an excellent cook, was always ready to entertain anyone who had an interest in our classical music. What could be more rewarding to her, than her son and daughter to learn right at their home, the subtle ghamakas of many major ragas like Begada, Thodi, Kharaharapriya, and so on from one of the greatest all-time masters of Carnatic violin. At Sharada’s request, Srikanth got a lot more training visiting Sri T.N. Krishnan in New Delhi during the whole summer.
Though Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam, as a festival started in 1977, it took 9 more years to formally register CTU as a not-for-profit organization. It required signatures from American citizens. I could not be one as I was (and still am) just a permanent resident. Sharada wanted her husband to be the first signatory. As it turned out, Dr V.K. Venkataraman, S.A. Balakrishnan, Nagalakshmi Sridharan, Dr. Vedam Venkata Subrahmanyam, Lalitha Tyagaraja Rao were the first signatories for CTU registration (30th November 1986.)
While the two temples – S.V.S (Balaji) Temple, Aurora and HTGC, Lemont – had their Kumbabhishekam in 1986, they were keen on organizing cultural programs to attract more temple visitors.
Venkatramans decided to become active members of the S.V.S (Balaji) Temple, Aurora and were in charge of the cultural committee. Under their joint efforts, they organized very many concerts and dance programs of very distinguished musicians and dancers. They organized annually a festival called All Saints’ Day and preferred never to conflict or compete with CTU and its main effort to promote the music and message of Saint Tyagaraja. It is certainly to their credit to have organized many dance programs including the dance program of the legendary dancer Kamala Lakshman who at the age of 65 thrilled the audience with a nonstop major varnam for 45 minutes. They tried to promote Bharata Natyam in a big way by encouraging all local dance schools. I am sure that Vanita Veeravalli and Sushmita Arunkumar were genuinely promoted by Mrs. Sharada Venkataraman. Needless to say, giving opportunities for young and upcoming dancers was possible only thanks to their genuine commitment for cultural promotion and an efficient application of their position at the Balaji temple as cultural committee heads. As a senior executive at AT&T, she had enough persuasive skills to have the S.V. Temple hall at their call.
Over the years they tried to build a network of budding musicians across the Midwest. Thanks to their efforts, CTU jointly with the S.V.S (Balaji) Temple, Aurora organized for the first time a music festival for three days encouraging many local talents across the Midwest. Though we wanted this to continue year after year, it was not monetarily viable and we had to drop it off.
When Pandit Jasraj was passing through the Chicago area (probably in 1991) both Venkataraman and Sharada needed in the last minute additional monetary support to organize the concert of Pandit Jasraj. I have always felt this was a win-win situation for both CTU and the cultural focus at Balaji temple. Pundit Jasraj was all praise for their hospitality and her succulent dinner at Crestwood after the concert.
Certainly, she was very happy that her son Srikanth turned out to be a very fine accompaniment to many great task masters like Sri. KV Narayanaswamy, Flute Ramani, Sri Kalyanaraman, Sri. T.N. Seshagopalan and Sri. Trichy Sankaran.
When Dr Venkataraman was facing serious health problems, she decided to slow down from cultural organizational activities. She stood courageous by her husband and decided to retire from organizational activities once for all.
Sharada had great regard for CTU as an organization for its values and was genuinely proud of its progress over the years. She would not miss the Utsavam if she were in the Chicago area. Even with her poor and deteriorating health, she never stopped supporting the Memorial Day CTU festival with her generous donations. Just a month back we received her donation for this year’s Fall festival (2021).
Her greatest achievement is not just love for classical music, but in recognizing talents and positioning them for a successful cultural career. I can certainly say one thing for sure. She truly succeeded in nurturing a son and a daughter, who are supremely modest, utterly simple and unassuming and very caring. I tried to call Srikanth this afternoon, but he has gone to Washington to do the last rites in the company of his sister Lakshmi.
Truly shocked
TES Raghavan