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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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FROM THE EDITOR
By V Ramnarayan
“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”
This is no 21st century lament but what the Greek philosopher Socrates is said to have said some four hundred years before Christ.
In the field of sports writing, the sheer talent of modern athletes forces even the most cynical veterans to sing their praises, a nice change from the yesteryear practice of constantly berating youth. No longer can the journalist or writer dismiss current achievements as inferior to past glory. No longer can a Virat Kohli be treated like a spoiled brat, no more can we keep comparing Ravichandran Ashwin with the famed spin quartet of yore to his disadvantage.
In music and dance, the trend of holding the present generation in contempt seems to continue unabated, judging from recent experience. Over the last few months, I have been witness to numerous outbursts by respected senior artists and gurus against today’s students and performers. Nobody respects the guru, noone has any appreciation of tradition, all every student wants is instant learning, skype classes, item acquisition, and more and more performance opportunities, if we were to believe them.
Many of these elder statesmen (and stateswomen) of our artistic world keep harking back to a golden age of idyllic gurukulavasam. They go into ecstasy remembering their own devotion to their gurus, and their gurus’ limitless love for them. Strangely the love they all received seems to have been tough love of the most violent kind. With masochistic relish they describe the physical atrocities their teachers specialised in. With considerable glee they wax eloquent on the various objects the guru flung at them. To listen to them you’d think they actually miss all that action, or at least rue their own lack of opportunity to flog their sishyas in our changed times.
The irony of it all is that all this wisdom is spouted on occasions got up by their sishyas to honour these venerable gurus. Incredibly, however, there doesn’t appear to be any artifice or pretence in the guru bhakti on display at such felicitations. Are these the same irresponsible, undisciplined, lazy young people whom their gurus verbally flay in public?
The preceding pages of this issue of Sruti offer so many glowing references by sishyas to their gurus (for example, Amritha Murali, Bharathi Ramasubban and Ramakrishnan Murthy about Shriramkumar, and Shriram himself to a whole pantheon of musical gods he worships) that we cannot help wondering if some of our gurus and acharyas have with age become self-absorbed and negative, bitter and ungrateful for their blessings.
To return to a sporting analogy, wasn’t it a heartwarming gesture by India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli when he recently surprised his coach with the gift of a car? Yes, our young musicians and dancers perhaps cannot afford to shower such expensive gifts on their mentors, but do they not publicly express their gratitude to the teachers who they say have moulded them, guided them, blessed them? Is it too much to expect equal grace from the old guard?
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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R.K. Shriramkumar—blessed by many
In conversation with S. Janaki
R.K. Shriramkumar has a phenomenal memory. You get a taste of it as he reels off the dates he first accompanied the stalwarts of Carnatic music on the violin in concerts—D.K. Jayaraman on 13 November 1986, D.K. Pattammal on 5 July 1988, T. Brinda and T. Muktha on 19 October 1988, K.V. Narayanaswamy on 13 February 1989, M.S. Subbulakshmi on 15 April 1989, and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer on 25 April 1995. About his violin debut on the concert stage, he remembers he accompanied his good friend Vijay Siva on Sankara Jayanti day on 19 April 1980. “Every kutcheri was a learning experience,” says Shriramkumar.
Inspired by stalwarts
My grandfather R.K. Venkatarama Sastry groomed me to listen to great music. He taught me the greatness of the music of the maestros—like his guru T. Chowdiah and Papa Venkataramiah (who was his inspiration), Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, the Alathur brothers, T. Brinda, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Ramnad Krishnan and many others.
Accompanying my grandfather to many concerts and lecdems, especially at the Music Academy exposed me to the ambience of the music of the doyens.
Savitri Satyamurthy initiated me into violin playing and taught me the early lessons. From my grandfather, I learnt to sing and play many varnams and kritis on the violin. He also taught me the need to know the deeper import of the compositions. Subsequently I came under the care of D.K. Jayaraman and V.V. Subrahmanyam for advanced lessons in vocal music and violin playing respectively.Learning from DKJ sir was a holistic experience. Along with his family and other students it was happiness and joy at all times, the happiness that has given me the precious gift of love and passion for this great art form. His contribution in presenting me to the concert arena is immeasurable. He instilled in me not just the art of music but the art of life.
Coming under the care of VVS sir has opened my vision to the realm of Nada, the bliss that pervades when he even draws a long shadja on his violin. The nuances of keeping the violin in good shape, the importance of presenting raga and kriti in the most pristine manner, adopting the perfect violin technique of which he is a master unparalleled. Learning from him has bestowed the knowledge of what the real import of music ought to be. His intense engagement with the esoteric world of Nada is awe inspiring. His playing and musical vision is the force that guides me and protects me.
A great source of inspiration, even from my childhood, has been the music of T.N. Krishnan. Being a great fan of his, I have drawn, in great measure, from his bani, music and persona. I have also been inspired by his sister N. Rajam’s violin playing and blissful music.
Senior musicians such as R. Vedavalli, N. Ramani, Suguna Varadachari, Rama Ravi, V. Subramaniam, Alepey Venkatesan, Sugandha Kalamegham and many others have been pillars of support to my musical career.
The seniors were very fond of us young musicians. You won’t believe that in a December season concert vidushi Vedavalli composed a pallavi on the spot at Raga Sudha Hall weaving in the names of the accompanying artists that evening: “Arunprakasa Sreeramajaya Gurupriya” in Keeravani; Arunprakash, Guruprasad and I were touched and honoured at this gesture of warmth. Such has been the affectionate support from such great musicians that I have been blessed with.
Interaction with peers
My peers have been my great friends. All of us have grown up together with music. My interaction with them has been intense—we have exchanged views, discussed, learnt, fought, argued, and enjoyed doing things together. The Music Academy was the hub of all activity during the December season and we had the good fortune of interacting with great musicians who also had a soft corner for all of us. Discussions galore with well informed musicians and rasikas such as Rukmini Rajagopalan, T.T. Narendran, K.S.S. Rajan, Spencer Venugopal, Matscience Seshadri, and S.V. Krishnan, were a good source of musical knowledge.
Vijay Siva, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, P. Unnikrishnan, T.M. Krishna, Bombay Jayashri, S. Sowmya, K. Arunprakash, Manoj Siva, Sangeetha Sivakumar, J. Vaidhyanathan, Nithyashree and her sister Gayatri have all been close friends and pillars of support to me both musically and emotionally. I have enjoyed these interactions which have greatly strengthened and enriched my insight into this beautiful art form.
I have also benefitted from my interactions with my violinist and percussionist friends like Vittal Ramamurthy, Mullaivasal Chandramouli, S. Varadarajan, K.R. Subrahmanyam, V. Lakshminarayanan, Umayalpuram Mali, Neyveli Narayanan, Mannarkoil J. Balaji, Melakaveri Balaji, S. Karthick and B.S. Purushotham amongst many others.
On matters musical
Vocal and instrumental: I have been groomed to play the violin only to reflect vocal music. Though you cannot actually hear the words, playing the fiddle should be like singing. It is my personal choice, although many may argue that the violinist does not necessarily have to reproduce vocal music. When my guru V.V. Subrahmanyam plays the violin, I can literally hear the words. You have to learn the compositions. The words, their import, along with the music and its emotional content have always been of great importance to me.
Lyrics and music: The lyrics and music go hand in hand for me, I cannot separate one from the other. I am extremely passionate about learning many compositions. They range from kritis to varnams to padams and javalis to devarnamas, bhajans, abhangs and viruttams. To me, the compositions of the Trinity are of paramount importance and are very dear to my heart. I am equally passionate about learning languages, in particular to get to know a working knowledge of the language and the meaning when I learn or render a composition. This, I have imbibed from MS Amma that whatever the song, in whatever language, it must be rendered with the same gauravam or dignity and commitment.
I am not drawn too much to musicology. History of ragas do interest me, but my preference is more towards the presentation of ragas and compositions in a traditional manner, with the stamp of authenticity.
Why ‘main’ and ‘tani’? People ask you “What was the ‘main’ in a kutcheri?” The term ‘main’ rings a wrong bell, as other things get sidelined by default. Main artist! As if the other presentations are any less important! ‘Main’ can be misleading. Here is an example: In a concert, D.K. Jayaraman took up Revati raga, sang Mahadeva Siva Sambho and invited the percussionists to play the tani avartanam. This song can’t hold a candle to kritis like Bhajare re chitta, O Jagadamba, or Hiranmayeem. So does this become the ‘main’ compared to such compositions in a concert? Even the use of the word ‘tani’ to describe the percussion elaboration somehow gives it a “stand alone” status and it literally ‘isolates’ it from the rest of the concert.
On teaching
Teaching is a learning experience. I became a teacher because of my own vadyar DKJ sir. In the late 1980s, he asked me to teach Prasad, a child from the U.S.A. I told him I did not know how to teach music but he would not take a no for an answer. He encouraged me saying “It will all come by itself.” KVN Mama also insisted that I teach his niece Bhavya. I love teaching children. But I must add that I have a jataka visesham (chuckles)—anyone who learns from me soon gets his US immigrant visa confirmed! On a serious note, I am happy that all my disciples are doing well and happy with their music. Established young musicians like Amritha Murali, Bharathi Ramasubban, and Ramakrishnan Murthy have also been learning from me and have participated in my thematic presentations and lecdems. My students are my good friends. I too get to learn in the process.
When I teach my violin students, I sing and teach; and every student of mine has to learn to sing. I think it is meaningless to play an instrument without learning to sing.
I don’t write the notations, in fact I can’t; I need student scribes (laughs). I do not approve of referring to notes in front of you as it hampers internalisation.
Tuning and composing
I have tried my hand at composing when asked to do so. I have set several pallavis weaving in the raga names (greatly inspired by Muthuswami Dikshitar) to make them more interesting. My attempts at composing is, of course, inspired by the Trinity.
Some of my compositions are: Arunachalapatey in Todi, on Ramana Maharishi, for Vijay Siva; Kathamaham varnayami in Bhairavi, on nature, and Paramapavana sudharmam in Sahana, with a message for mankind, for T.M. Krishna); and Durgam vande in Durga, for Bombay Jayashri.
I have enjoyed tuning several stotras and geetas composed by the Jagadgurus of the Sringeri Sarada Peetham. I have also set to tune a few devarnamas, tarangams, abhangs, Tiruppugazh, verses from the Divya Prabandham and Tirupalliyezhuchi, songs of Sadasiva Brahmendra, Tayumanavar and Annamacharya.
On request from a few dancers I have composed pieces for specific themes. A piece comprising five ragas, five talas, tanam, jati, swara and sahitya was featured in the production Saayujya presented by Priyadarsini Govind and T.M. Krishna. I composed the sahitya for it and with Krishna I composed the music also.
Also the sahitya for five verses on Lord Tyagesa and other deities of Tiruvarur as part of a mallari for Priyadarsini Govind. Srimathy Mohan, a disciple of Sudharani Raghupathy in Phoenix, Arizona, has presented a few compositions of mine as part of her productions.
I was greatly honoured to compose the music for verses from the Ramayana for Seeta Vislesha Trayam presented by veteran dancer Vyjayantimala Bali. For the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana, I set to tune some lyrics for the Yuddha Parvam of the Mahabharata. I was asked to be a resource person by Natyarangam for Dasa Parampara presented in Krishna Bharatham in August this year
Guiding force
We, in our family, are ardent sishyas of the Sringeri Sarada Peetha. Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal of Sringeri advised my grandfather to perform the Purusha Sukta homam, and by that grace I was born. Mahaswamigal’s grace has forever been my guiding force. Presently the blessings of Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal and Sri Vidhusekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal continue to guide me. In 2012, during a 4-1/2 month Chaturmasya and Navaratri camp of the Jagadguru at Sudharma in Chennai, I was privileged to organise the music concerts during the daily pooja.
I felt greatly blessed and honoured when Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal released, during Navaratri at Sringeri, Sri Sarada Stuti Manjari, an album comprising a few compositions on Goddess Saradamba by the Jagadgurus of the Sringeri parampara that I had set to tune. These compositions have been beautifully rendered by Bombay Jayashri.
Another such blessed influence has been Sri Vimarshanandanatha Saraswati—who in his poorvasrama—was a close associate of my grandfather. He belongs to the direct sishya parampara of the Shakta luminary Bhaskararaya. He taught me along with his grandchildren the Lalita Sahasranama and Lalita Trisati, in a musical way, to the accompaniment of the sruti box. But for him, I would probably not have learnt the Kamalamba navavarana kritis. He gave me the impetus to learn every one of them. He made me realise their esoteric significance as well.
I am indeed fortunate to receive the blessings of such saints, as well as that of the Kanchi Paramacharya and Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. I have played in their presence when I accompanied DKP and MS respectively.
My family
Music has been an integral part of our family. The whole extended family has musicians of great repute. Growing up in such an ambience has been a blessing. My father, an engineer by profession, is a good vocalist, though he did not take to concert singing. My mother was also an amateur veena player and had great interest in the art. All my sisters sing well.
The family bears with me. I have always been pampered since my childhood. My Thatha pampered me, so did my mother and sisters. The tradition continues and now my wife Akhila also pampers me. After marriage I don’t play tisra gati, misra gati, khanda gati—saranagati is my only gati …the only way to sadgati (Chuckles) Otherwise it would become adhogati ! (Has a good laugh).
Trauma of fiddles lost
There is nothing as traumatic as losing the instrument you love. It is so much a part of you, and an extension of your personality. I lost my violins on two occasions. However, soon after both occasions I got to play for great musicians. The first one I lost on 27 January 1989. I was travelling from Tiruvaiyaru to Coimbatore to accompany my guru D.K. Jayaraman in a concert. I dozed off in the bus, and when I woke up, my violin box was missing. I reached Coimbatore and broke down before Vadyar. To console me DKJ called me to sing along with him. A complaint was lodged with the police, but I never got my violin back. Soon after losing this violin I played for MS Amma. In fact she even consulted an astrologer about the chances of me getting back the violin. When the astrologer pronounced that the loss was all good for me, she was mighty relieved!
The second time I lost my violin was on the Bangalore Mail on my way to Chennai. I dread that train. It was again a traumatic experience, because you have lost something for which you have developed so much sneham. After this time I played for Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. A close friend of mine quipped, “Don’t worry da, you will never ever lose your violin again as there are no more bigwigs left for you to play!”
Apart from my violins that I presently use, I also inherited my wife Akhila’s lovely French violin. Thanks to Sankara Nethralaya where she works as the Director of Administration, she does not play the violin regularly.
Some unforgettable moments
- When my guru DKJ said in his Sangita Kalanidhi acceptance speech that I was to him like Vivekananda was to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
- The day I received a call from MS asking me to play for her. And how Vijay Siva made it happen.
- The last time I met Pattammal and she saved her last smile for me.
- When Semmangudi Mama blessed me with a gift that was his life and the substratum of all of his exquisite music.
- When Vijay, Sanjay, Arun, Vaidy, Manoj and Krishna gave me solace and support when my mother passed away.
- When T.M. Krishna became emotional after my raga alapana of Yamunakalyani at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and had the large heart to make me play Krishna nee begane baro, all by myself.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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CMANA celebrates 40th anniversary
The Carnatic Music Association of North America (CMANA) celebrated the fortieth year of its founding with a two-day musical celebration on 24 and 25 September in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Current President of CMANA, Som Sowmyan welcomed the audience and traced the history of the organization citing many milestones and achievements over the years. He noted that CMANA was the only democratic music organisation in the US with an elected Board which works for the cultural enjoyment of its members. It had sponsored several tours of stalwarts and up-and-coming artists from India and was the only music organisation to have organised a concert of M.S. Subbulakshmi in the US. CMANA continues to honour the founder, Dr. P. Rajagopalan’s mission to propagate Carnatic music among the younger generation, evidenced by the number of quality teachers with a large body of young and talented students in the tri-state area.
This being the centenary year of M.S. Subbulakshmi, junior and senior students from different tutelages were given the opportunity to perform some of her signature songs. At least one of MS Amma’s favourites was included in the concerts by the main artists.
Ramakrishnan Murthy excelled throughout his vocal recital on the afternoon of the first day, and he performed the main piece in Kalyani—Bhajare re chitta Balambikam—with great elaboration. He included several ragas in his imaginative ragam-tanam-pallavi and the saptaswara medley hit the spot with the rasikas. His penultimate piece was Vaishnava janato. The accompaniments were top-notch, with mridangam maestro Trichy Sankaran being the backbone, with excellent support by violinist Rajeev Mukundan.
The evening concert was by Ranjini and Gayathri who have a big following and it being their second appearance within six months, pretty much filled the auditorium. They sang in perfect harmony and their music was steeped in classicism. Their elaborate kalpana swaras, niravals and raga rendition demonstrated their manodharma. As a tribute to MS, they started their concert with the daru Matey Malayadhwaja Pandya sanjateyin Khamas. And they did not disappoint their devoted abhang fans as well. Charumathi Raghuraman (violin) and Delhi Sairam (mridangam) embellished the concert with their brilliant playing.
The morning concert on the second day was by Sandeep Narayan and this was an innovative and high energy performance. Nannuvidachiand Marakatavalli were rendered beautifully as was the ragam-tanam-pallavi in Chandrakauns. Violinist H.N. Bhaskar brought out the nuances of Chandrakauns very well. Sandeep concluded his concert with Maitrim bhajata as a tribute to MS. Mridangist Patri Satish Kumar enhanced the quality of the concert.
This was followed by the main event which was the conferring of the Sangeeta Saagara award on senior violinist A. Kanyakumari for lifetime achievement in the field of Carnatic music. Teacher, mentor, role model and innovator, Kanyakumari’s association with CMANA started in 1976 with the organisation’s inaugural tour with her guru M.L. Vasantakumari. In her remarks, past CMANA President, Dr. Soundaram Ramaswami, described the violinist as an “ocean of music” and commended the CMANA Board for the appropriate choice. A special booklet honouring the awardee was released. Honorary Patron Member, Dr. Robert Browning, presented Kanyakumari with CMANA’s award medal and Sowmyan presented a plaque to her. Upendra Chivakula, Commissioner of the New Jersey Public Utilities Commission and Srinivas Ganagoni of Lead India were among the honoured guests.
Following the award ceremony, Kanyakumari presenteda concert accompanied by her student, Rajeev Mukundan with Patri Satish Kumar providing excellent mridangam support. Annamacharya’s kriti, Meru veru in raga Narayanadri (a raga of her creation), was a classic example of her manodharma and stole the show. Following a soul stirring rendition of Maye and Janani, Kanyakumari played a tillana she had composed. Some favorite tukkadas followed which included Kurai onrum illai. The concert was truly a fitting conclusion to CMANA’s 40thanniversary celebrations.
A CORRESPONDENT
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A promising legacy
By Shrinkhla Sahai
Four disciples of Kathak exponent Shovana Narayan presented a festival of their guru’s selected pieces at the India International Centre in New Delhi. Lalit Arpan—Continuing the Guru-Sishya Tradition—was an ode to the evolving yet deep-rooted relationship between teacher and student that anchors classical art pedagogy. The festival featured performances by Shruti Gupta Chandra, Supriya Sathe, Mrinalini and Kartika Singh. Rising up to the challenge of performing well-known pieces from their guru’s repertoire, the artists revisited some works dating back to the 1980s and performed these pieces that were originally composed by renowned musician Jwala Prasad and choreographed and performed by Shovana Narayan. All four dancers expressed deep gratitude to their guru, affectionately called ‘Shovana didi’, and shared vignettes from their journey in dance.
The first evening was not just a regular performance, but an emotional and momentous occasion as the two dancers returned to stage after a hiatus of many years. Shruti Gupta Chandra is an established painter who received the Lalit Kala Akademi award in 2005. After a break of 28 years, she chose to widen the canvas of her creativity with a powerful comeback to Kathak in this festival. In 1973, she was Shovana Narayan’s first disciple and the reason she started teaching dance. Supriya Sathe leads a successful corporate career and returned to her passion for dance after a decade.
The two dancers opened the festival with a duet, Ganga Stuti. Endowed with striking stage presence, Shruti and Supriya exuded the pure joy of dancing. Moving on to the solo section, Supriya Sathe presented Teen taal. In the abhinaya segment, she interpreted the composition titled Chaand, set to music by veteran musician Jwala Prasad, who joined her as the vocalist for the evening. Beautiful poetry unfolded as the child looks out longingly at the full moon, coveting it as a toy. Amid the moonlight and her child’s plea, the mother arranges for a vessel of water to reflect the moon and bring the distant dream into her home as an enchanting lullaby. Though Supriya created the mood, the piece called for lively and animated expressions that would have added a pinch of ‘mazaa’ (fun and enjoyment) to the performance.
Shruti Gupta Chandra also began with Teen taal—the evergreen sixteen beat cycle. She chose a unique piece to display the rhythmic variation. Anaghat was not the regular Teen taal elaboration, it blended intricate footwork with an ending just before the sam. Instead of the impactful landing at the sam with a flourish of footwork as is usual, the end of the rhythm cycle was expressed through the gaze. Shruti’s grace lay in her varied interpretations of the gaze—sharp, subtle, coy, bold, playful and many other hues. Her gaze was as precise as her footwork. The abhinaya piece was a connoisseur’s delight. Based on Maithili Sharan Gupt’s poem on Yasodhara, Sakhi, ve mujhse keh kar jaate(I wish he had confided in me before leaving), it expressed the plight of the wife of Gautam Buddha on discovering that he had disappeared into the night without informing her. Shruti excelled with her mature and involved abhinaya as she evoked sorrow, anger, helplessness and hope in her portrayal of Yasodhara.
The second evening brought an array of dynamic performances by two young dancers. Kartika Singh chose the challenging 11-beat rhythmic cycle—Ashtamangal taal for her nritta portion. She executed the parans and chakradhar with precision and grace. Kartika’s dazzling technique and taiyyari were evident in her neat lines and crisp circles. The abhinaya portion depicting three incidents from Krishna’s life was significantly complex and required a deeper study of characters and nuanced expressions. Moving between roles as Radha, Gopika, and finally Draupadi, Kartika could have enhanced her performance with a more versatile gamut of emotions and expressions.
The festival concluded with a stunning performance by Mrinalini. The nritta sequence of Dhamaar taal, the 14-beat rhythmic cycle, was interspersed with fascinating parans like Panchamukhi—where the same syllables were repeated in five different speeds, and the Gaupuchha paran that tapered off like the tail of a cow. A promising soloist, her talent lies in the way she weaves a story through her dance, in both the nritta as well as the abhinaya sequences. In a radical departure from the Ramayana compositions that revolve around Rama, she performed a piece on Ravana, presenting his perspective as he prepares for the final battle. Reflecting in his chambers, he dithers between a warrior’s pride and a wise man’s humility. Mrinalini played out the events of Sita Swayamvaraand Sita Haran as well as Ravana’s inner conflict with subtlety and sensitivity. Her abhinaya had as much finesse as her footwork and she has the qualities of a rising star.
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Adi Bimb festival in Andaman
By Tapati Chowdhurie
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| Ghumura dance from Kalahandi, Odisha |
The Adi Bimb Festival, held recently at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the National School of Drama (NSD), was hailed as a defining moment in the promotion of the diverse cultures of the indigenous tribes of India.
Ratan Thiyam, Chairman, NSD, whose long-cherished dream it has been to help build cultural bridges between mainstream India and Andaman, delivered the inaugural address at the festival. He pointed out that urban India has much to learn from the lifestyles of Adivasis, who co-exist in perfect amity with nature and remind us how vital it is to conserve its resources rather than deplete them. “Our indigenous cultures have been degenerating in the wake of globalisation, and there is an urgent need to preserve their identity,” emphasised Ratan Thiyam. The Adi Bimb Festival, which saw the participation of over 300 Adivasi kalakars or artists, was a significant step towards this objective.
The morning sessions were exclusively devoted to seminars, while the evenings showcased a vibrant array of tribal dances. The performance space, a replica of a typical Indian village, showcased motifs and materials from all over India.
The festival opened with “Basantare eto rango”, a ghumura dance from Kalahandi, Odisha. Ghumura is both a percussion instrument as well as a dynamic dance form that evokes veera rasa and is said to have inspired and entertained battle lines of yore. Apart from the eponymous ghumura, the dance employs a variety of musical instruments such as nishan, dhol, taal and madal, and is marked by energetic jumps, cartwheels and somersaults.
Kalahandi, a virtual treasure trove of tribal culture, is also home to a popular folk dance form known as bajashal, typically performed during weddings and other social festivities. The bajashal dancers wowed the audience at the festival with their performance of dalkhai, where the lover woos his beloved, telling her she is as fragrant as jaiphul, to the spirited accompaniment of instruments such as the dhol, tasa, mohuri, nishan and taal.
Yet another dance form from Kalahandi is the banabadi, a martial dance ostensibly first performed by Krishna. It is ritually performed by Yadavas in the months of Kartik and Magha of the Hindu calendar. In contrast to the vigour of banabadi is the gentle grace of rasarkeli, a dance performed in a spirit of relaxation and rejuvenation at the end of a long work day.
The festival amply showcased how every mood, season, birth, death, feast, festival and rite of passage is spontaneously celebrated in tribal life with dance and music. Occasionally, as with the Nicobarese, who have adopted an urban lifestyle and converted to Christianity, they bear the imprint of modern influences as well. At the festival, the Nicobarese performed their traditional Ossuary and Pig Festival dance, inviting the whole village to play and sing and hunt the pig, even as they mirrored the stark reality of the hunter-gatherer who has to kill for survival. Similarly, kharsawan Chhau dancers from Jharkhand performed their ritual hunting dance, recreating in minute detail every act and move of hunting for game.
Presenting a perfect foil with their lyrical movements were the Santhal dancers who performed the domdong dance, traditionally associated with wedding festivities, the baha dance that heralds spring and the sohorai dance that celebrates the festival of Paus.
Colourfully attired women from Rajasthan sang and performed the chakri – a graceful fast-paced dance with innumerable spins and turns – while menfolk kept steady beat on their dholaks. A staple of all auspicious events including wedding ceremonies, the chakri was originally performed by women of the Kanjar tribe who settled in Baran and Kota, and has now spread to the Haroti, Barod and the Chippa regions of Rajasthan as well.
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| Holi dance performed by Rathwas of Gujarat |
The Rathwas, who hail from the hills and forests of Gujarat and Maharashtra, performed their unique Holi dance, making a human pyramid to resemble a temple. The Rathwas do not play Holi with colours; instead, they fast and gather alms for five days, cook bagra and offer it to all in the name of Holi mata, the goddess of Holi. The Rathwa dancers also made a beautiful camel formation atop which an image of the Holi mata was taken in procession.
From Madhya Pradesh were the gudum baja dancers, who drummed with their hands and elbows, played a range of drums and reed pipes, whistled, somersaulted, and expertly wielded sticks in mock-fight. The Saila and Ahira lathi dances, also from Madhya Pradesh, showcased their distinctive styles of combat using lathis or sticks. Masked Chhau dancers from Seraikella performed with zest, giving the audience a peek into their rich cultural legacy.
The Kabui Nagas performed the shim laam or the fly dance, a highlight of the Gang Ngai festival, the kit laam or the cricket dance that celebrates a bountiful harvest, and the ga laam or the crab dance, all of which bear ample testimony to how their lives are inextricably interwoven with the rhythms of nature.
The bamboo dance of the Karens (a tribe that traces its roots to Burma, and was resettled in the Andaman and Nicobar islands by the British) was a virtual glimpse into their social history, and a reminder of how tribal culture is a vital key to the collective reconstruction of our past.
The Adi Bimb Festival, true to its name, held up a mirror to the sheer depth and diversity of India’s indigenous tribes. Even as it alerted us to the dangers of confining tribal dance and music to the urban proscenium, it provided both an equal platform and also prompted a paradigm shift in the notions of audience and performance.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Geetanjali mahotsav in Nashik
By Vijay Shanker
Divine Dance Institute in Nashik presented The Legend of Krishna as a dance-drama during Geetanjali Mahotsav at Parshuram Natyagriha, in Nashik recently. The dance-drama portrayed the life of Lord Krishna with beautiful audio-visuals, music, dance and drama that kept the audience enthralled.Geetanjali Mahotsav is an annual event wherein the dancers of Divine Dance Institute showcase their talent as a tribute to their mentor Geeta Gurudas Banerjee. The institute was established by dancer Karan Kiran with the intention of propagating classical arts and promoting young talent across the country. The highlight of this festival was the participation of guest dancers like Sunil Sunkara (Mumbai), Sushant Ghosh (Kolkata), Vasundhara Sharma (Varanasi) and Aishwarya Kunte (Nashik). Sunil Sunkara impressed with his brief and sparkling Kathak performance and fine announcements, the poetic rendition by Sruti Vaidya as a tribute to Geetanjali was soul-stirring. Sushant Ghosh revealed his technical mastery in Kathak. Performances by Vasundara and Aishwarya were pleasing and striking.
The highlight of the evening was the dance-drama titled The Legend of Krishna. Commencing with the birth of Krishna amidst storm and rain, the blue stagecraft to symbolise the waves on the water created a fine impact. The visuals depicting Gokul, Vrindavan, Dwarkapuri and ultimately Kurukshetra helped to heighten the dramatic aspect, which had its climax in the Krishna-Arjuna scene of the Geetopadesam. The dancers were led by the dynamic Karan Kiran as Lord Krishna, with talented dancers making their mark as Radha and Rukmini. It was a colourful presentation by the team of Divine Dance Institute.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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LEC DEM MELA 2016
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Nurturing the classical arts in Kochi
SHYAMALA SURENDRAN
By V.R. Devika
"Why?” The question continued to tantalise Shyamala Surendran as she walked in the hot Chennai sun from Bharatha Kalanjali back to Kalanidhi Narayanan’s house where she stayed as a paying guest. “Why am I doing this?” At the age of 32, Shyamala had given up sailing the high seas with her merchant navy captain husband, admitted her twelve-year-old son at the residential Rishi Valley School, Madanapalle, and taken to attending Bharatanatyam classes at the Dhananjayans’ dance school, where she learnt sabdam and varnam along with children young enough to be her daughters. Why indeed, when she might as well live the good seafaring life, attending naval balls in soft georgette saris around the world?
“The question always disappeared the moment I stepped into Bharatha Kalanjali,” says Shyamala. “And the moment I sat before Kalanidhi Mami to watch her unfurl a whole new world through a padam, I was enthralled.”
It all began with a chance encounter when her husband’s ship docked in Madras in 1976. Captain Surendran and Shyamala were invited to the house of a naval colleague whose daughter was learning from Bharatanatyam guru Krishnan. When an excited Shyamala told them she used to take part in dance programmes too back in school and college, Krishnan assured her that it was never too late to begin again. Shyamala was however sailing the seas with Surendran.
Imagine her astonishment when she met the same Krishnan when it was time to admit her son in Rishi Valley School! Krishnan, who now taught Bharatanatyam at Rishi Valley, repeated to her that it was still not too late to learn Bharatanatyam. Afterwards, at Bombay, Shyamala happened to meet guru Raghavan Nair who had taught Kanak Rele. She boldly performed Natanam aadinar, the only piece she had learnt in college, after which Raghavan Nair insisted that she take up dance again. “All the way from Bandra to Colaba, I kept pestering my husband about learning dance.” Eventually, it was decided that Shyamala would take some time off from sailing, live in Kochi and learn Bharatanatyam. Krishnan had mentioned that C.E. Janardhanan, a disciple of the Dhananjayans, had moved to Kochi to begin teaching Bharatanatyam there. Shyamala contacted Janardhanan and became his first full-time student. He encouraged Shyamala to not only prepare for an arangetram but also hone her skills before that from his gurus, the Dhananjayans, at Bharatha Kalanjali, their school in Madras.
“When I arrived in Bharatha Kalanjali, I saw the Trio Sisters—Radhika, Gayathri and Shobhana—Nirupama Nityanandan, Padmini and others learning the Athana nrityopaharam. I was both overawed by them and nervous about my own skills. Dhananjayan sir gave me confidence, saying the others had learnt for many years and there was no need to compare myself with them. That was when I resolved to continue to learn seriously.”
Shyamala decided to take a year off, stay in Madras and immerse herself in advanced lessons at Bharatha Kalanjali. “I did feel guilty about letting my husband sail by himself but he told me, ‘You have only one life; go ahead and indulge in your passion for a year.’” Indeed, it was at Bharatha Kalanjali, where we shared the distinction of being the “oldest junior students of Bharatanatyam”, that Shyamala and I became intimate friends.When she needed a paying guest accommodation in Adyar, Radhika Shurajit found her one in Kalanidhi Narayanan’s house. V.P. Dhananjayan also asked Shyamala to learn some padams from Kalanidhi Mami, a doyenne in her own right. Along with Kamala Janakiraman, another paying guest, Shyamala discovered the creative tour de force that was Kalanidhi Narayanan. “It was such a fabulous thing for me to stay at Kalanidhi Mami’s house. She had an excellent library of art books and so many stories to tell, all of which I eagerly lapped up. She also took me along to every cultural programme in town. We would pack dinner and eat it in the car to save time. We attended several concerts and did not miss a single day of the Natya Kala Conference at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha.” This was to become a lifelong habit as well.
It was a lecture by Kanak Rele at the Natya Kala Conference that opened Shyamala’s eyes to the beauty of Mohini Attam. She went back to Kochi and began to learn Mohini Attam from Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, driving down to Tripunithura every day for classes.
In 1987, Shyamala converted her garage into a school where she taught Bharatanatyam and Mohini Attam. She named the school “Dharani” after her mother-in-law. Shyamala felt Bharatanatyam teachers in Kochi and surrounding areas needed help. She began to organise regular workshops for them in nattuvangam, abhinaya and dance theory. Those who conducted these workshops included her gurus Kalyanikutty Amma and Kalanidhi Narayanan. Kamalarani of Kalakshetra conducted workshops on nattuvangam, while I visited regularly to take classes on dance theory. As the number of students learning Bharatanatyam, Mohini Attam and Carnatic music grew at Dharani, Shyamala noticed several mothers hanging around, waiting to escort their daughters back home. She began bhajan and veena classes for them, as well as Mohini Attam and Bharatanatyam afterwards. Today, several mothers actively participate in Dharani’s annual day programmes as well.
With a view to bringing high-quality cultural programmes to Kochi, Shyamala started Society Dharani in January 2000, with paid membership to watch fine performances in an aesthetic setting. On the morning of each performance, Shyamala would personally supervise the transportation of about fifty potted plants from her garden to the Kerala Fine Arts Society Hall. A specially commissioned jute backdrop and side wings designed by V.V. Ramani, carefully maintained at Dharani, would also be transported to the hall, where the sound and light controllers sat in a space artistically cordoned off by jute artefacts and potted plants. Shyamala is one who never fights shy of picking up a broom and sweeping the green rooms and the stage before the performances. Society Dharani has showcased some of the finest performances Kochi has ever seen, including Shyamala’s own productions in Mohini Attam and Bharatanatyam. Shyamala’s dance drama Tatvamasi, based on the legend of Lord Ayyappa, has seen several hundred performances and touches hearts every time.
(The author is a cultural activist, critic, and managing trustee, Aseema Trust)
Sathi Kamala Hall
When she realised there was a need for an inexpensive space for young dancers to perform and brainstorm in, Shyamala Surendran sold a piece of land in Kannur that she had inherited from her mother and invested in creating an intimate, aesthetic performing space at Dharani. Her thatched-roof dance hut was demolished and two spaces for classes were created. Over them, bridging the terrace of her home, Shyamala built the Sathi Kamala Hall—a natyamandapa with its distinctive Kerala architecture. The hall was jointly named after Shyamala’s mother Sathi Devi, and Kamala Janakiraman whom Shyamala had met at Kalanidhi Narayanan’s house and who met with an untimely death in a bus accident in Colombia.
Shyamala remembers Kamala Janakiraman with great fondness. Kamala’s father Janakiraman was employed in UNICEF, Paris, and brought Kamala every holiday to the Dhananjayans for Bharatanatyam classes. After high school, Kamala decided to take a gap year and stayed at Kalanidhi Narayanan’s home to learn Bharatanatyam from the Dhananjayans. Later she worked as a human rights officer for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. She had kept in touch with Shyamala through the years, visited Kochi often and urged Shyamala to start Dharani and even sent money when Shyamala needed it.
Sathi Kamala Hall at Dharani was inaugurated by Shyamala Surendran’s gurus, the Dhananjayans on 26 June 2016. I was there as Shyamala’s best friend and also lit the lamp along with our gurus. I also made a presentation on “Nataraja and the Cosmos” for the students of Dharani at Sathi Kamala Hall the next day.
The hall can accommodate about 200 people and can serve the dual purpose of a mini theatre and a classroom. It has good acoustics and needs no amplifiers. It provides an aesthetic ambience for art enthusiasts in Kochi to relish the performing arts.
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Retirement? Never heard of it!
By Bala Shankar
Like poets and writers, Carnatic musicians (and may be other musicians) don’t retire, it is often their last breath that brings down the curtains. In most other fields, especially in sports, retirement from competitive circuits occurs much earlier. Golfers are the exception—they play till their grip is firm and the vision is good. For the rest, the demands on physique, stamina, agility and steady loss of ranking or non-selection accelerates retirement. How do we view the plight of Carnatic musicians on this rather sensitive subject?
If we go strictly by competitive performance, many musicians reach their ‘use by date’ earlier than when their career actually finishes. Physical fallibility, variable voice quality (in case of vocalists), lack of consistency, demand for ‘freshness’, impaired listening faculties and the like take away their steam, after their prime. Pitch alignment becomes a battle. Age, however, is ‘just a number’ as the proverb goes. There are many 80-plus vidwans who can hold their merit seats as well as any.
It begs the question: why not retire from active performance when you need to? There are many factors in their defence like continued opportunity to earn, keeping up their societal relevance, and waiting anxiously in the award queue. When the music matures, there is a different enjoyment for the rasikas. Some do it as a hobby as their focus had just been music. On the other hand, by diminished quality of performance, are they not compromising their legacy? Maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman withdrew from playing when his bowing arm aged faster than his musical brain. He was perhaps conscious of preserving his iconic quality for posterity. Instead, he devoted his prowess to composing and grooming others. Some musicians keep a low-activity calendar in the sunset years.
But many others want to compete with full vigour, notwithstanding the spring of new talents that is amazingly unabated. In fact, they may inadvertently harm the fortunes of their progenies and disciples. The number of top performers in their late twenties to mid thirties is remarkable. So, if your ATP ranking (as in tennis) is below 150, what do you do? Instead of the official ranking system, there are surrogates like loss of prime slot, substantial reduction in audiences, and unfavourable grapevine reviews. You would rather listen to their prime recordings. Graceful retiring is an option that musicians must consider—however irreverent it may sound. The system can do its bit to preserve their dignity. Musicians must be honoured and awarded when they are in their prime, and silver hair should not be the criterion. Top retired musicians could be part of an advanced learning and intellectual forum that offers them different vehicles to share their expertise, and must be well compensated. The industry is getting its own ‘unicorn’ status in terms of budget sizes. Is it time to frame an appropriate pension scheme for ‘former’ musicians, just as former cricketers seem to receive? A Palghat Raghu, for instance, was not as fortunate as a Kris Srikkanth!
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Bharat Sangeet Utsav- Day 1
A colourful series off to a bright start
By Lavanya Narayanan
2nd November 2016
Bharat Sangeet Utsav – a festival celebrating pan-Indian music has the Carnatica brothers partnering with Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha to bring unique concepts and collaborations to the stage at Narada Gana Sabha. It celebrated its 12th edition this year, with most concerts being dedicated to the martyrs from the Indian army and global peace.
Multiple Carnatic jams and Harikatha sessions by rising star Dushyant Sridhar and veteran Vishaka Hari were some of the much awaited events this year. The confluence of music with dance was also highly celebrated with a joint performance by the Priya Sisters and dance exponents Bragha Bressell (Bharatanatyam), Gopika Verma (Mohiniattam), and Sailaja (Kuchipudi) as well as a film-based dance performance featuring vocalists Madhu Iyer, Deepika Varadarajan, and Girija Shankar with young dancers Bhavajan Kumar, Shrutipriya Ravi, and Sudharma Vaidyanathan.
Bharat Sangeet Utsav also showcased senior musicians, and this year was no different with the presence of Sanjay Subrahmanyam and Aruna Sairam in the ten-day line-up. The festival also brought to the stage many laya features with two productions helmed by mridangam vidwan Umayalpuram Sivaraman and a laya jam of young percussion vidwans, something that has been seen more frequently on stages around Chennai this year.
The inaugural event was a sankeertanam recital by child artist Sooryagayatri, with Kuldeep Pai accompanying her on the harmonium, followed by a thematic concert presented by Sudha Ragunathan, M.R. Gopinath, K.V. Prasad, and Krishna Kishore celebrating female stalwarts in the field of music. The team was joined briefly by Anil Srinivasan and culminated in a partnership with Sudha Raja’s Rhapsody choir, concluding day one with a resounding rendition of Chandrasekharendra Saraswati’s Maithreem Bhajata. With the hard work of the Carnatica Brothers and their team, Bharat Sangeet Utsav is all set for another colourful series.
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Article 5
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Bharat Sangeet Utsav- Day 2
Umayalpuram and youth to the fore
By Lavanya Narayanan
3 November 2016
The second day of the festival began with Sant Pravaham ‘Part II,’ presented by vocalists Vasudha Ravi, Savita Sreeram, and Suchitra Balasubramaniam. Able accompaniment by violin, mridangam, harmonium, and tabla highlighted the Carnatic and Hindustani music on offer positively and were complementary to the vocal presentation. As the vocalists took the audience on a journey of compositions by various saints instrumental in the compositional evolution of music, the katha kutcheri was a hit with the audience, captivating their attention. Most noteworthy among the artists was abhang artist Savita Sreeram whose razor-sharp voice and command over layam facilitated an energetic performance.
Suchitra Balasubramaniam’s engaging katha kutcheri did not go unnoticed, however, and was later highlighted in the second programme of the evening by Umayalpuram Sivaraman, the curator of the programme. The event saw Sikkil Gurucharan, B Vijayagopal, Nagai Sriram, and B. Sivaramakrishna Rao collaborate under the guidance of Sivaraman to create Ekam-Bahuvidam, a celebration of the interaction of melody in rhythm. The presentation heavily utilized rhythmic patterns from Harikatha as well as kanakkus based in a traditional Carnatic music kutcheri.
The evening presentation, Naughty Naradarin Pattimandram showcased the creative interests of Subhasree Thanikachalam with seasoned dramatic artist Y Gee Mahendra to produce a musical debate, supervised largely by Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Kumaresh, and Gangai Amaran. The debate centered on music in different environments, comparing and contrasting the music in film to music on a sabha stage to form a thought-provoking performance for the audience.
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The Karnataka Association, Coimbatore
By BuzyBee
The Karnataka Association, Coimbatore was started in 1938. The members of the association are Kannadigas hailing from Karnataka who have settled in Coimbatore; and also friends of local Kannadigas who appreciate the culture of Karnataka. Cultural activities like Yakshagana, Navaratri, Children’s Day, Bombe Aatta, music competitions and Rajyothsava day, are celebrated every year. These activities are held in the association's auditorium in Tatabad, Coimbatore. The Purandara Dasar music competition is a major draw for music lovers in the city. Nearly 200 music students in and around Coimbatore participate in the programme. The competition is not just to test their singing skills, but also to evaluate the rendition of the sahitya of the songs.
A workshop is organised for the competitors to help them improve their diction, correct their pronunciation and to understand the essence of the Devarnama. The one-to-one workshop will be conducted by specialist-resource persons from Karnataka on 19 and 20 November 2016. Moreover, 130 compositions of Purandaradasa are uploaded on the Association website in Hindi and English, to enable the participants and the music teachers to learn more of the Sangeeta Pitamaha's songs.
For the ninth year, the Association will be conducting the music competition in Purandaradasa kritis, which will be held on 31 December 2016 and 1 January 2017.
The competitors will be divided into three age groups, and the group competitions will be held on 31 December 2016. Ten finalists in each group will compete in the final round on Sunday, 1 January 2017 before an invited audience. The total prize money would be around Rs. 50,000 plus gifts. All the participants will also receive a CD of Purandaradasa kritis.
More details can be had from C.R. Suryanarayan, Secretary, Karnataka Association <ka.coimbatore@gmail.com>
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