Today we’d like to introduce you to Kavitha Jayaraman.
Hi Kavitha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Music has always been a huge part of my life since childhood. I trained in Indian classical music for over 25 years (both on the voice and as an instrumentalist) and have performed at various esteemed venues in India, Singapore, and the US. At age 10, I was awarded the prestigious Cultural Talent Scholarship from the Center for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) Government of India for advanced training in Indian Classical Music.
In 2009, I graduated with a Diploma in Music from Singapore Indian Fine Arts. I am currently pursuing a Masters’s in Music Business from Berklee College of Music, USA. In 2022 I was selected to join the Recording Academy as a Grammy U member. All this while juggling a dual career in Corporate Finance in a multinational for over 15 years in India, Singapore, and the USA.
Growing up in India in a very mixed socio-economic background, I realized that not all kids have equal access to education/health and other basic needs. Obviously, enrichment was out of reach for most of the kids in the lower-income strata of society when their parents were barely managing to make ends meet to give them a decent education. I was always involved through my music with various local organizations like Lions Club, Mumbai, and Rotary Circle, Mumbai, and had the opportunity at a very young age to interact and understand the social structure of our town.
The foundation was laid way back at that age to be an enabler and help kids that did not have access to basic education or health. At age 22, when I started working in a corporate job, my first instinct was to set aside a part of my income to donate to charitable causes. When contributing to various social causes in India, I realized that there is a lack of consistent funding and contributions coming into smaller organizations due to their inability to market themselves.
Most of the contributions came from referrals and well-wishers but it was not regular and sizable enough to sustain these social initiatives. This formed the backstory for Kalaadhaanam. After working for over 15 years in multiple corporate jobs in India, Singapore, and the USA, I decided to quit my active working life and turn to my passion full-time – Music. Though South Florida had a sizable Indian diaspora, there was a void for teaching Indian Classical Music (an art form that I have trained and practiced for over 25 years).
In 2017, I started teaching kids and adults at my home in Weston. Classes were mostly restricted to weekends as I still had a full-time job and a young daughter. I switched to music full-time in 2019 and since then have scaled the entire effort to establish an online presence, build a brand, and engage with more grassroots NGOs in India to channel my music class fees.
Kalaadhaanam simply translates as “art donation”. A simple concept envisioned by me, it was born out of my desire to put two things that I am extremely passionate about – Arts and Philanthropy. Our mission is “Seva through Vidya” or “Teach to reach”. We raise funds for various social agencies working specifically towards improving the lives of underprivileged kids, through the medium of music education.
Thus was born Kalaadhaanam’. 100% of our music class fees are donated to charitable causes in India. To date, we have raised over USD 50,000 benefitting small-scale NGOs in India focused mainly on education and development of children. More on what we do here: https://www.kalaadhaanam.org/
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have definitely been a lot of struggles. Especially at the time when I was juggling a full-time career in Finance and trying to be a musician too! Time management was key. There have been multiple times, especially after embracing motherhood when I had to juggle multiple priorities all at once.
I still remember I was performing the concert of my lifetime in the most prestigious venue for classical musicians in India – The Music Academy in Chennai and in the backstage, I was scrambling to deliver a final report to my manager, as we had our year-end financial reviews! I was traveling with my 2-year-old daughter who had come down with a very high fever on the day of my concert and was stuck to my husband’s shoulder the entire time! I don’t have a single picture or video from the concert!
When I started teaching and focussing on building my music school in the USA, the struggle was very different though. By now I had mastered the art of multitasking (thanks to all that training I had over the years!) but the challenges I faced were different this time. Operationally, it was a lot of struggle initially to figure out how to manage the entire setup of transferring funds from one country to another regularly and seamlessly and have minimal effort both on my and the receiver’s end.
Thankfully, India started seeing a crowdfunding boom and many websites came up within a span of 2-3 years that were helping people like me to contribute to Indian NGOs without the need to have a detailed financial system set up. Now all my class fees are routed through these crowdfunding websites in India (like Go Fund Me) where I create a campaign directly benefiting the NGO I am working with and the students can seamlessly contribute using their Credit Cards every month.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a qualified Finance professional by vocation and a trained Indian classical musician my passion. It’s quite a drastic combination to have as career choices. All my life I have been a multitasker and it is one of the key reasons why I have been able to manage a dual career all my life.
Another thing I am known for is that I am always very passionate about what I do and a go-getter by nature. When I worked in corporate Finance I was extremely passionate about my career and managed to build it up to be a people manager by the time I made the switch to being a musician full-time.
Currently, I am fully involved in building my career as a stage and online musician and at the same time using my passion to teach and fulfill my philanthropic endeavors. I am most proud of what I have been able to achieve with my music school – supporting a lot of small-scale NGOs in India enabling them with what I know best – music!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think having a mentor at every stage of one’s career is a huge part of your journey. Throughout my corporate career, my bosses were my mentors, At Hewlett Packard, where I spent a good 15 + years, mentoring was highly encouraged and they had a great mentoring program that helped high achievers find their next career path.
I was accepted into Berklee College of Music last year and since then have been part of their mentorship program to help navigate and establish my career in the music industry once I graduate. I was accepted as a Grammy U member by the Recording Academy last year and since then have been a part of Grammy’s mentoring program. I had the most amazing mentor in Daniela Padron, a two-time Latin Grammy-nominated musician with whom I even performed a concert recently!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kavithajayaraman.com/ ; https://www.kalaadhaanam.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheKarnaticTuber/ ; https://www.instagram.com/kalaadhaanam/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheKarnaticTuber ; https://www.facebook.com/Kalaadhaanam/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kavithajayaraman/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/TheKarnaticTuber ; https://www.youtube.com/@kalaadhaanam
Image Credits
Rocio Guerra
