Santhi Mahadevan: Marine Biologist to Maestro
Hello everyone. My name is Santhi Mahadevan, and I am a marine biologist by educational qualifications and profession. After finishing two master’s degrees, one in marine biology and the other in bio-acoustics, I was employed as member of faculty at 3 different institutions, namely Mt. Carmel college, Bengaluru, National University of Singapore and the Republic Polytechnic, Singapore, at various levels like lecturer, member of faculty, senior member of faculty etc.
All the while, I have been fascinated by Indian Classical music, the Carnatic style in particular. While I have learnt from my young age and have since developed my skill sets well to have become a performing concert artist, I always seek new challenges and personal growth. I am extremely passionate about my personal interest in music and have since embarked on research in Carnatic music that could lead to a Ph.D degree.
About 14 years ago, I made the bold decision to give up on my earlier career and jump headlong into my supreme passion (Carnatic music) aided by my subsidiary passion which is teaching. I have always strived to balance high expectations from myself or my students with mentoring while teaching. Hence was born, the Pranavam School of Music, which I believe is admired for the quality of music taught, outstanding achievements by its students and discipline/methods followed. This transition was not without its own set of hurdles, challenges, and bottlenecks. But with determination and dedication all of those can be overcome and, in my case, I had the support of my family too. Empowerment is not presented to us on a plate, it must be self-developed.
I strongly believe in the fact that I know myself the best, better than the rest. My motto is not to compete with anyone else but constantly compete with myself to better myself. So, if we identify the strengths within us, harness it and use it to bring out our best potential, then there is no stopping ourselves from being our own hero (heroine in this case 😊).
Photo Credit: Santhi Mahadevani, Link to her concert videos
Featured Saree: Pewter Pink Patola
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