The Venkatesa Suprabhatham, composed in the 15th century, is a famous Sanskrit devotional hymn used to awaken Lord Venkateshwara at Tirupati. It is one of the most widely heard devotional compositions and is typically played in many South Indian households in the mornings.

So it was at Uthara Unnikrishnan’s house as well.

“My paternal grandmother listens to it every morning to this day. She also chants it with utmost devotion. The version she listens to is a rendition by the legendary MS Subbulakshmi, which is the track that plays in most households,” says the 21-year-old musician and daughter of popular singer, Unnikrishnan.

Now Uthara has come up with a contemporary interpretation of this ancient work. “I want it to reach young listeners, but I have retained the essence of the original.”

Produced by Sandeep Reddy of Sea Records and programmed and arranged by composer Prithvi Chandrashekar, the 20-minute song aims to create a meditative listening experience.

Uthara was inspired by MS Subbulakshmi’s rendition of the hymn. “I didn’t listen to anything else,” she reveals, “When this project came to me, I felt overwhelmed because till then I had not focussed much on the lyrics. I was concerned about the perfect enunciation of the verses. Before recording, I read the Sanskrit version instead of the English. The faster portions were quite hard to master; it took me 10 hours to complete the entire track.”

A popular film and classical singer, Uthara feels it is important to explore various musical styles. “Tomorrow, a film recording might require me to dabble in a genre I am not comfortable with, so it is important to expose yourself to different styles,” says the young artiste, who also recently released her rendition of the ‘Kandha Shasti Kavasam’ for Saregama India.

The song is out on audio streaming platforms and the lyric video will be out on May 23 on the Rajshri Soul Youtube channel