Nirmala Rajasekar is a dynamo. She’s a wife, mom, teacher, IT professional—and an internationally acclaimed touring musician.

She’s even got the scars to prove it. A quick glance at her hands reveals deep grooves etched into the tips of her fingers, the mark of her instrument, the veena.

Those unfamiliar with Indian music often mistake the veena for the sitar. To an untrained observer, each looks like an oversized guitar, but they are distinctly different. “The veena is older. It’s the national instrument of India. It’s as ancient as the country,” Rajasekar says. “It’s soulful in tone. Its sound is as close to the human voice as possible. It can sound like the tinkle of laughter, the sparkle of sunlight of the bubbling of a brook.”

Rajasekar has been playing the veena since she was a young girl growing up in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. Her parents enrolled her in music lessons at age 6. By the time she was 13, she was performing on stage, and she hasn’t stopped. “Music is the language of emotion. It’s a language that doesn’t need translating,” she says. “A performance is a very private space. The audience is there because they want to listen, and it is an honor that they allow me to share what I have to say. It’s a privilege. It’s the best part of being a musician.”

Being a musician, though, hasn’t come without sacrifice. For many years, she put her performing schedule on the back burner as she and her husband, Raj, moved from India to England, then to Switzerland as they each pursued careers as IT professionals. It wasn’t until the couple had landed in Plymouth about 14 years ago and gotten son Neeraj and daughter Shruthi firmly established in the Wayzata school system that Rajasekar started to rekindle her musical dreams. Three years ago she was awarded a Bush Foundation fellowship, but has since gone back to work part time, though she says she will never give up her new musical lifestyle.