India’s Own von Trapp Family: Dr L Subramaniam and family mesmerise at Lakshminarayana Global Festival

Who hasn’t seen The Sound of Music and enjoyed the immortal songs from that great movie? Based on the true-life story of the Family von Trapp of Austria, the movie told the heartwarming story of a family of singers, and their struggles during the lead up to the Second World War. But what is etched permanently in the hearts and minds of the past many generations across the globe, are the wonderful songs from the movie. Thus, it is music, and the novelty of an entire family being part of it that stands out as the unique contribution of the von Trapp family.

These thoughts crossed my mind as I sat in the jam-packed Chowdiah Memorial Hall, mesmerised. I was witness to India’s own Family von Trapp, aka the family of legendary violinist Dr L Subramaniam. The occasion was the Lakshminarayana Global Festival, conducted annually by Dr L. Subramaniam in memory of his father, the founder of this Indian von Trapp Family. Dr Lakshminarayana was a great violinist in his days. And he was blessed with not one, but three eminently capable sons – L. Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar, besides L. Subramaniam, our own version of Georg von Trapp. I have grown up listening to the brothers playing a violin trio, to the accompaniment of no less a personage than the great Palghat Mani Iyer. They set the trend for playing varnams in four speeds, a feat next to impossible – keeping to the exact fraction of the beat as the speeds double each time is tricky and can lead to cacophony if even one violin is out of sync. Their perfection is a tribute to the countless hours of practice extracted by their father. The eldest, L Vaidyanathan, made his name synonymous with the famous Malgudi Days, screened in the 1980s, by providing an unforgettable musical score for the series. L. Shankar went on to make his name by inventing the double violin and associating with such international figures like Guitarist John McLaughlin. But these achievements are, in my personal opinion, dwarfed by what Dr L. Subramaniam has achieved in creating a bridge between pure, unadulterated Carnatic classical, and Western classical music.

But that is a topic in itself. Let me explain the von Trapp connection. On Stage that day, with Dr L Subramaniam, was his illustrious wife Kavita Krishnamurthi, a renowned playback and classical singer with songs in practically every Indian language; his daughter Bindu and granddaughter Mahati. His son Ambi Subramaniam was conspicuous by his absence but only because he was away from town on a concert tour. While Ambi is an expert violinist like his father, the girls are vocalists as well as violinists.

The programme showcased the huge range of the family’s musical genius. There was fair bit of informal banter between mother and daughter (Bindu and Mahati) in between songs, adding to that additional touch that is so endearing about a family totally given to a common pursuit – that of musical excellence. In the true spirit of the “global” nature of the concert, the programme included some famous visiting artistes as well – Muhammed Yildirir and Ron Wagner.

The Indian von Trapp family, like its Austrian counterpart in its latter days, includes others who are as good as family members. Sanjeev Naik, Frijo Francis, Dominic Fernandes, DSR Murthy, Tanmoy Bose, K Sekar, Kartik Mani and G Satya Sai, all part of the great L Subramaniam’s musical magic.

The unending applause and standing ovation at the end was reminiscent of the scene in Sound of Music where the Family von Trapp escape potential arrest by the German Secret Service. I did not wait to see if the Indian von Trapps also tried to escape. I doubt it very much. For there was overwhelming show of love and admiration on this occasion.

It would be interesting to know if there are other Indian families performing together at the highest level in public. This author must admit to not being aware of any such.