She has the good fortune of being the daughter and disciple of the rare musical genius Mrs.
Sarojini Sundaresan, the senior-most female disciple of none other than the doyen of Carnatic
music, Late Sri Alathur Venkatesa Iyer.
Leela commenced her training under her mother Mrs. Sarojini Sundaresan when she was
barely three and she could sing kritis of Dikshathar and Purandara Dasa when she was five.
She still remembers vividly her first kriti – Panchamathanga Mukha Ganapathi in Mallahari of
Muthuswami Dikshathar. She is endowed with a rich and melodious voice and sings with ease
in all Indian languages being multi-lingual. Her training in Bharatnatyam helps in rendering life
and Bhava to her music. She is able to picturize the mood and brings it into her voice.
She is also a gifted Veena artist. She obtained her initial training in the art when she was eight
and later on moved to Mrs. Rajeshwari Padmanabhan of the Karaikudi style. She perfected
the technique of manodarma and obtains continuous training from her mother Mrs. Sarojini
Sundaresan. Leela was initiated in Konnakol, the art verbally rendering Mridangam
sollukattus from the notable Mridangam artist Ramanathapuram Sri. M.N Kanadaswamy.
As a Performer
Leela has accompanied her mother in all her concerts / lecture-demonstrations and
workshops in India, UK, Germany, Holland, USA and elsewhere. She also gives individual
concerts and lecture-demonstrations on Carnatic music and Bharatnatyam in India, the UK,
US and the Europe.
As a Composer
Leela is a gifted composer in Tamil and Hindi and has several songs on Lord Krishna to her
credit The compositions have also been taken by senior dance choreographers and teachers
for their students and presented in international festivals.
As a Teacher
Leela has trained several students from different nationalities. She conducts classes on a
regular basis for enthusiastic students in the US location of Raagalaya Foundation. She has
had the good fortune of aiding her mother in her training sessions even while she was a
student.
Media
Leela has been presented by television networks in India and the UK as a multi-faceted
personality. She has been interviewed by several international televisions networks in the UK
and India such as Jaya TV, Deepam TV, Doordharshan and CEEI TV.
Others
Leela is a very capable painter in different media and has won accolades in solo and joint
exhibitions of her paintings on canvas and other forms as well. She has often donated
proceeds of her paintings for many deserving causes of human welfare in developing
countries.
She is also the President of GoodWin Asset Management Inc.a Florida-based investment
management firm, where she lives with her husband who is a Pulmonary/ Critical Care/ Sleep
Disorders specialist.
