KOCHI: It is always a herculean task to handle dual professions simultaneously, particularly when both require utmost passion and focus. And this is where, Dr Rashmi Madhu differs from the rest. Being a duty medical officer at Cosmopolitan Hospital in the capital city, she is busy with her patients round the clock. Surprisingly, Rashmi is also a classical musician and playback singer, who travels far and wide across the country and abroad to perform.The enthusiastic singer, an alumni of Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai, hails from a family of doctors. So naturally she too ended up taking an MBBS degree. But music, she says, is what she lives for. “My childhood days at Palakkad were rich with music. I have been learning Carnatic music from the age of five and have been trained under Venkat Raman, Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma and other well known musicians. Because of my passion for music, I didn’t pursue my MD.”Rashmi has so far crooned for a handful of movies including Kala Varkey (2003), Hai (2005), Nasrani (2007), Thrill (2008), Kudumbasree Travels (2011) and oflate Arabiponnu. Though she gave her voice for Nasrani, the song didn’t find a place in the movie.She says, “I felt sad when my song did not come out, but it is like that in the film field. It is a rat race. One has to rush behind opportunities. One who cannot give self-publicity will be sidelined, naturally. I don’t have regrets, as singing alone is my passion, not singing for movies.”A chance to get training under music maestro Devarajan in 2000 was a turning point in Rashmi’s life. “My acquaintance with him taught me many valuable lessons in singing.” Extending her interest to new horizons, Rashmi has sung for several plays of KPAC like ‘Sabko Sammadi Dey Bhagavan’, ‘Adhinivesham’, ‘Manaveeyam’ and has been associated with stalwarts in music like Devarajan master, Pirappancode Murali and Kallara Gopan. “Kallara Gopi, with his dedication, is an inspiration to me in music. He has taught me never to feel disheartened and to strive for more.”Besides lending her voice for films and dramas, Rashmi has also sung for many devotional albums, the latest being one on ‘Attukal Bhagavathi’. Rashmi who had sung for many television serials, bagged the best female singer award in the year 2003 for the serial ‘Valayam’.She has also been part of several concerts throughout Kerala and at Mumbai, Qatar and Dubai. “In my past, whatever be the occasion, be it a ganamela or any small event, I used to sing. But now, I have turned more selective,” says Rashmi.
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