Coming back to a musically charged environment, it can take different forms. Frequent get togethers of musicians and exposure to this is one such as in the case of GNB. Growing up with everyone in the family being musicians as in the case of the Dhanammal family is another. Look at the exposure Brinda, Muktha, Viswa and Ranga got in their formative years. Music all day long. Visitors thronging every weekend to hear grandmother play. A brilliant dancer in Bala who had some terrific singing from Jayammal. What more can you ask for?
Another type of a musically charged environment is the ‘Rasika household.’ Typically this has a family of crazy music fans. The radio/tape recorder would have been continuously playing music. People in the house discuss their favorite artistes all the time. a few in the family have learnt a lot of music but no performers here. Some families have a few musicians as personal friends. These musicians add value to the ambience with their own brand of music, talk and stories. The family typically is a regular attender of concerts at a local sabha or temple and children grow up being exposed to a lot of music.
The last is the kind of family I grew up in. But at the same time I did get to experience a lot of the other types as well. More soon.