Birdsong by Birdsong by Ranjani Sivakumar celebrates songs with an avian inspiration

The fifth edition of Birdsong by Birdsong by Ranjani Sivakumar in Hyderabad celebrates birds as a muse. The two-hour concert features songs in Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, and Kannada across multiple genres

Birdsong has a way of uplifting the spirit. For avid birder and classical musician Ranjani Sivakumar, it is also a source of inspiration for her concerts. This weekend, the Hyderabad-based musician presents the fifth edition of Birdsong by Birdsong, a two-hour concert celebrating birds as the muse through classical compositions.

Blending multiple genres, the performance features songs in Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, and Kannada by Tyagaraja, Kabirdas, Amir Khusro, and even the Beatles. Accompanied by Dinakar Ramaraju and Krishna Sravan, the session will be interactive.

“It was Anuradha ma’am (Anuradha Gunupati, founder of Saptaparni cultural centre) who helped me incubate this idea. I am grateful — she is the wind beneath my wings,” Ranjani shares.

An Avid Birder

Though identifying birds in dense foliage can be challenging, Ranjani, an enthusiastic birder, recognises species by their calls. Among those she can identify by sound are the kingfisher, red-vented bulbul, grey hornbill, parakeet, kite, shikra, Tickell’s blue flycatcher, sunbird, lapwing, owl, woodpecker, koel, common hawk-cuckoo (brain-fever bird), nightjar, and coucal.

“Many of these birds can be spotted in Banjara Hills, as the city has several green pockets. The dedicated GHMC parks also provide a thriving ecosystem for flora and fauna alike,” she says.

When performing for the first time at the Hyderabad Literature Festival (HLF) in 2021, she wanted to go beyond the traditional classicalkacheri repertoire. Around that time, several experiences shaped her artistic direction — reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (“It helps to break down overwhelming thoughts into manageable steps”), discovering bird literature at the National Audubon Society in Ohio, and her deep passion for both music and birds. These influences naturally evolved into a setlist spanning multiple genres, where birds have long served as the muse in artistic works.