More about Dr. Aswathy
Dr. Aswathy Vinu is one among the leading Carnatic musicians, who attained her knowledge from the legendary vocalist Harippad TK Padmanabhapillai, Prof. K Omanakutty and Sri B Sasikumar. Aswathy is an established Carnatic performer and Assistant Professor of NSS College, Karamana, Trivandrum.
She is married to Avaneeswaram Vinu, a well-known Violinist, famous for his, “SwaraShudhi” (playing perfect notes).
Was your profession a Passion or an accident?
Aswathy credits her family to be her strongest support, and adds that “without them, I wouldn’t have made it this far”. She finds it lucky to be born in a music-based family and to be even married to a musical family who supports her talents and motivates her to achieve more. With the passion and luck blessed on her in perfect amounts, she has performed in numerous stages, with different legendary personalities as audience, which she believes to be one among her greatest achievements.
Achievements, Honours and Recognitions
“The feel of satisfaction after a performance, the happy faces among the audience along with positive reviews are what I consider to be a great achievement” says Aswathy with a simple smile.
Lost in her past, she also shares one of her happiest moments, when TV Shankar Narayan, the famous Carnatic vocalist, appreciated her performance which he watched through Youtube. Spreading positive, happy vibes all around, she continues to mention yet another instance when TN Sheshagopal, Carnatic vocalist and composer,
on the way to concert visited her home and shared his happiness, giving the best of reviews, on her program in Doordarshan.
Weighing emotions and performances more than material awards, showed her positive trait of simplicity.
Other achievements include, an A-grade in classical and light music tests conducted by AIR (All India Radio), which gives the achiever different opportunities in National Level and Invited audience performances. She has performed in Different National level stages, which includes, Sangeetha Sammelan National level, Folk and Regional Folk National level stages etc.
Your Favourite Raga, Kriti and Composer
“Almost all the Ragas and Kriti’s come under my favourite list. Each Raga or Kriti has its uniqueness and gives a feel of its own. Same goes with the composers. Different composers produce in different styles and I’m a fan of all those styles and composers,” explains Aswathy.
Your Research Inventions
Different research and studies are presently being held in the field of music. As for Aswathy, her research in the field of music was on the similarities and uniqueness of ragas which are alike in appearance but different in characteristics
Your thoughts on the opportunities and excellence of women in music
According to Aswathy, women have good opportunities in the field of music. A great example would be the recent opportunity given to women to perform in the Navaratri mandapa, Trivandrum during the Navaratri festival. She states the examples of MS Subbulakshmi and Parassala Ponnamal (first women performer to sing in Navaratri mandapa), to support her point. But she also expresses her concern in women having limitations, like family, travel and more; can be cleared and women can excel in the field of passion in music and also in life.
