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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego Festival 2017
By Sukanya Sankar
Day 2 : 3 April 2017
As a fitting tribute to her father on his 97th birthday which falls on 7 April 2017, Anoushka rendered a soul stirring performance to a packed hall at the quaint Jewish David and Dorothea Garfield theatre at San Diego. An emotional Anoushka, apart from playing some of her popular fusion pieces, also rendered some of the ragas that were created by her father—ragas Jogeswari and Sandhya— she had played the latter at her maiden ensemble concert at the Kremlin, along with her father Pandit Ravi Shankar.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego Festival 2017
By Sukanya Sankar
Day 3 : 4 April 2017
Although it was a typical working day, the buzz started as early as 4.30 pm on Day 3 of the IFSAAD festival, with Shekar Viswanathan and his team of volunteers launching the preparations for the evening. A session by Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao with Chitravina N. Ravikiran was scheduled at 6 pm and the topic was "Life and music of Veena Dhanammal, Bidaram Krishnappa and Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna". Who else could do justice to all that under 60 minutes, but Venugopala Rao!
Ravikiran joined him for the first 20 minutes, where he spoke about the Veena Dhanam bani and also highlighted an interesting and subtle differentiation while referring to school, style and bani. Style is something that an artist evolves based on his personality or his method of singing; and when this artist has numerous disciples, it becomes a school. When artists from other schools also imbibe the facets of his style, it then graduates and becomes a bani, said Ravikiran. Dhanammal's bani inspired artists to seek and learn its special features, said Ravikiran. He also played some interesting audio clips highlighting her subtlety in handling certain sangatis. He said the authenticity of rendering a Syama Sastry kriti or a Kshetrayya padam could only be found in this bani, as Dhanammal and her family members, after learning these kritis, did not alter anything to suit their style of singing. They made sure that they retained the full essence of the kriti, while passing on their repertoire. The session concluded with a short documentary on Dhanammal produced by Podhigai.
In the next part of the session, Venugopala Rao spoke about the music and compositions of Bidaram Krishnappa who hailed from Nandalike village in southern Karnataka. Krishnappa sang Devarnamas for a living and was also part of the local Yakshagana troupe, where he portrayed the role of Seeta. Maharaja Krishnarajendra Wodeyar III (1862-1894) happened to witness a performance of Krishnappa and the troupe, and invited them to perform at Mysore. They were housed in a tent called ‘Bidaram’, and hence the prefix to his name. From the tent, the troupe moved to the palace. Krishnappa was trained in Carnatic music by palace artists Veena Seshanna and Karigiri Rao. His patronage continued under the succeeding ruler Krishnarajendra Wodeyar IV (1884-1940) and he was conferred the title ‘Gana Visharada’ in 1903.
Venugopala Rao said that Krishnappa would not have become famous had it not been for his disciple Bangalore Nagaratnamma, who brought him to Chennai. He was bestowed with titles like ‘Suddha Swaracharya’ and 'Pallavi' Krishnnappa. He also served as an active member of the experts’ committee of the Music Academy in 1928. He was a great Rama bhakta and built a Seetarama Mandiram in Mysore. Krishnappa's disciples were Bangalore Nagaratnamma, Mysore T. Chowdiah, and Rallapalli Anantha Krishna Sharma, to name a few. Venugopala Rao also listed the compositions of Krishnappa. Revathi Subramanian, music teacher and IFSAAD Board member, sang Dasarathi ninnu—a beautiful Rishabhapriya composition of Krishnappa and Parvateesa mam (Gamanasrama).
The lecdem concluded with Venugopala Rao recounting the life and music of his guru, the late Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna. Tracing his lineage as a fifth-generation descendant in the guru-sishya parampara of Tyagaraja, he said that Balamurali was a multifaceted personality—an accomplished vocalist, he could play the veena, mridangam, khanjira, the violin and the viola. Recalling a favourite quote of the maestro: “Tradition is not a stagnant pool of water. What I do today becomes tradition tomorrow”, Venugopala Rao also shared some of his personal interactions with his guru. He related several anecdotes and also played short snippets from many of his compositions, which transported the happy listeners to the days of Dr. BMK.
A choir by students of C.M. Venkatachalam
A choir with 56 musicians, ranging from six to forty plus, representing four schools, was conducted by one of San Diego’s leading music teachers, C.M. Venkatachalam. The group started with the nottuswarams in Sankarabharanam— Sakti sahita Ganapatim, Sanatanam Govindarajam and rendered a few other notable ones. An interesting presentation of Muthiah Bhagavatar’s English Note followed; it was presented for the first time with sahitya written by mridangam artist Erode Nagaraj. The seniors then took over, and delivered a beautiful Maye tvam yahi (Tarangini) and rendered Tyagaraja’s Dorakuna (Bilahari) as per Dr. S. Ramanathan’s bani, with some of the senior disciples rendering niravals and kalpanaswarams. The choir was accompanied by local artists, Ramkumar Balamurti (mridangam), Cleveland/San Diego Balu (khanjira), young Tejas on the violin, Amshu Murthy (flute) and little Agastya also on the flute.
The stage was rearranged for the last programme of the day featuring Bharatanatyam performances by local artists and their students. Dancers Aler Krishnan, Suman Nayak, Rohini Herur and Divya Devaguptapu presented short attractive pieces on Tyagaraja and Dasavataram, along with their students.
An enjoyable evening and a fitting tribute to the gurus by their sishyas.
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A road named after first woman sarodiya
By Buzybee
Dr. Sharan Rani was the first woman instrumentalist to take up the sarod which was described as a 'man's instrument’. Sharan Rani was born on 9 April 1929 in a cultured Mathur family of Old Delhi. She was educated and married—to Sultan Singh Backliwal—in Delhi where she lived and taught music until she passed away on 8 April 2008. She learnt from eminent masters like Ali Akbar Khan and Alauddin Khan. Popularly known as ‘Sarod Rani’ after Pandit Omkarnath Thakur named her so, she presented sarod concerts for seven decades in India and abroad, winning unprecedented critical acclaim. She cut several gramophone records, among them an album issued by UNESCO. Sharan Rani was a guru to many students in India and abroad, whom she taught for free.
Called the 'Cultural Ambassador of India' by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, she was a pioneer with many firsts to her credit. To preserve and promote India's musical heritage, Sharan Rani spent decades collecting old and rare classical musical instruments. From her personal collection, she gifted nearly 450 such musical instruments—musically perfect specimens and aesthetic masterpieces—to the National Museum, New Delhi. This entire collection was builtup singlehandedly without government or institutional aid. These instruments are exhibited in the 'Sharan Rani Backliwal Gallery of Musical Instruments' inaugurated and dedicated to the nation in 1980 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who described it as "an unparalleled collection of rare classical music instruments of national importance". This is the first and largest collection of its kind in the world, till date.
In 1998 the Department of Posts, Government of India, released the first set of four postage stamps (along with a first day cover and brochure), based on four Indian musical instruments, from the Sharan Rani Backliwal Gallery of Musical Instruments. Sharan Rani was the author of the Divine Sarod—a book on the origin, antiquity and development of the sarod released in 1992 by President K.R. Narayanan, followed by its second edition, released by former Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral in April 2008.
She was the first woman instrumentalist to be honoured with the Padma Shri in 1968. She received several prestigious awards and honours like the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1986), Padma Bhushan (2000), and National Artiste by the Government of India (2004).
Her house in the Capital was a 'mecca of music' graced by legends from around the world. Her sangeet sadhana and her contributions are an inspiration to future generations. To honour her pioneering contributions, the government of Delhi recently named a road after her near her residence in Defence Colony—a befitting recognition to the sarod maestro.
Her daughter Radhika Backliwal Narain, who has made a documentary on her mother, is the Honorary Director of the Sharan Rani Foundation.
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The road to Ettayapuram
By Rajani Arjun Sankar
Ettayapuram would seem like an unlikely musical destination, even to many Carnatic music aficionados. Yet, recently, during the second weekend of March, a group of around 60 – comprising musicians and Rasikas, congregated there from Chennai, Bengaluru and places in Kerala. For, enshrined there is the sacred resting place of the much-revered and admired composer, the youngest of the Trinity of Carnatic Music, Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar. The trip was organized by ‘Guruguhaamrta’, which has been founded by Carnatic musician Sri G Ravikiran. The plan was to spend a day paying homage to this great soul, by singing his compositions as an Akhandam (uninterrupted programme).
March is indeed an appropriate time to remember Dikshitar, as it is the month of his birth. Born in the holy city of Tiruvarur, Dikshitar lived in several places - Manali (near Chennai),Varanasi, Tiruvarur, Tanjavur and Ettayapuram. In and around each of these, he visited a very large number of sacred shrines. And the songs he composed in the various temples have been his invaluable legacy to us.Dikshitar's Kritis are known for the sedate, majestic pace, as well as the grand delineation of the Ragas he handled. The Sahitya(lyrics) is another vast area of study, with references from Advaita philosophy, Mantras and Yoga Shastra, all these coupled with the mention of the particular legends and practices of each temple,
It was the reverential entreaty of the Raja of Ettayapuram, that made Dikshitar give up the Chola country along with his beloved Lord Tyagaraja and Goddess Kamalambika of Tiruvarur, and make Ettayapuram his home in the last few years of his life. Of course, eternal pilgrim that he was, he visited many temples around the place like Sankarankoil, Tirunelveli and Kazhugumalai and composed songs there.
The sublime manner in which he gave up his body and merged with the divine, on the day of Deepavali, is well-known. His Samadhi now has been built up there, unostentatiously , as a simple, serene hall, just as he would have liked it to be, one imagines.
Ettayapuram is about fifteen kilometers from Kovilpatti, the nearest Railway Station. It is in Kovilpatti therefore that the group alighted and prepared for a day of musical offerings to this divine composer. As befitting the Vainika-Gayaka that Dikshitar was, the day started with a Veena rendering of Ganesha kritis by Vidvan P Vasanthkumar.
As the day progressed the Rasikas had the rare opportunity to listen to many Kritis of Dikshitar, sung by eminent Vidvans/Vidushis D B Ashvin, Tiruvarur Girish, Padma Sugavanam, Vishnudev Namboodiri, G Ravi Kiran and Amritha Murali. Violinist R Hemalatha (who later also sang a few kritis), Vainika Ananthanarayanan and Mridangam artistes A S Ranganathan and Adamya R accompanied them. There was a group singing of Kritis by the disciples of eminent music teacher Neela Ramgopal. All these sessions were interspersed with young students rendering a song each.
The day closed with musician A S Murali and his disciples singing a few imposing numbers from the Tyagaraja Vibhakti Kritis, one the many groups of Kritis that Dikshitar has composed.
The rarely-heard kritis rendered by all these talented people with the respectful repose that the ambience demanded, was an experience hard to put in words. Narmada Kaveri(Namadesi Raga), Marakoti Lavanya(Arabhi), Sri Rajagopala(Saveri), Brhannayaki (Andhali), Shrngara Rasamanjarim (Rasamanjari), Brhadishvaro (Ganasamavarali), Mamava Raghuvira(Mahuri), Purnabimba (Ragamalika), Sri Ramam (Narayana Gaula), Saurasenam (Saurasena) and Thyagaraja Mahadhvajaroha(Sri) were among the gems that were laid at the feet of the one who gave them to us. The Panchabhuta Kritis and many other well-known pieces were also heard. One Rasika described the delight of hearing the rich spread as “feeling like a child in a candy shop”, while another felt this was a pilgrimage to show his gratitude to the one whose music has given him joy over many decades.
The name Ettayapuram is closely linked with another great soul who inspired and uplifted with his music and poetry – the versatile poet Subrahmanya Bharatiyar. He was born in Ettayapuram, and his well-maintained house of birth is there to visit, as is the Mani Mantapam built in his memory on a “Kaani Nilam” ( a particular measure of land mentioned famously in one of his verses). Both are full of rare photographs and other memorabilia of Bharatiyar which those interested in the history of India's independence and particularly admirers of Tamil poetry are sure to delight in. Several members of the musical sojourn group also managed to get some time at these two places.
G Ravi Kiran says “Muddusvami Dikshitar occupies a special place in my heart as a musician. Thanks to my Gurus, I had the pleasure of learning several rare Dikshitar Kritis. Conducting an Aradhana at Ettayapuram has been an enriching experience year after year – we are in our 6thyear and I am grateful to all the musicians who co-operate year after year to offer our collective homage to this Great Composer.”
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
Kumar Gandharva - Buy Now
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
Musiri Subramania Iyer - Buy Now
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Pioneering effort by Neyveli
Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego Festival 2017
By Sukanya Sankar
Continuing with the guru-sishya theme and tribute to Tyagaraja, the fourth day of the festival featured, students of senior music teacher Revathi Subramanian, disciples of flautists Radhakrishnan Ramachandran, Amshu Murthy and percussion by disciples of Ramkumar Balamurthy.
Carefully chosen compositions from Tyagaraja’s repertoire, the children presented Manasa etulo (Malayamarutham), Hecharika (Yadukulakambhoji), Telisirama (Purnachandrika), Marubalka (Sriranjani) and other notable kritis. The highlight of the evening was the ‘Desadi mala’ presented by Revathi’s choir. Innovatively created by Revathi’s guru Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Desadi mala encompassed the first line of forty-one songs of Tyagaraja in Desadi tala strung together beautifully and presented as a garland of melody to the Sathguru.
The seamless flow of Manasuloni, Buvinidasudane to Entabhagyamu and the chain continued; a pioneering effort by Santhanagopalan.
Day 5 commenced with Dr. Venugopala Rao comparing and contrasting four dance forms (Odissi, Bharata Natyam, Kathak and Kuchipudi). The panellists Sujata Mohapatra, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar, Saswati Sen and Kishore Mosalikanti demonstrated the characteristic features inherent to their styles with regard to stance, gait, and ‘bramhari’ (spin). Each of the doyens also performed an Ashtapadi, the common thread between all these dance forms. While visual differences may exist, all these dance forms adhere to the core philosophy of Bharata’s Natya Sastra concluded Venugopala Rao.
5 - 7 April 2017
By Sukanya Sankar
Continuing with the guru-sishya theme and tribute to Tyagaraja, the fourth day of the festival featured, students of senior music teacher Revathi Subramanian, disciples of flautists Radhakrishnan Ramachandran, Amshu Murthy and percussion by disciples of Ramkumar Balamurthy.
Carefully chosen compositions from Tyagaraja’s repertoire, the children presented Manasa etulo (Malayamarutham), Hecharika (Yadukulakambhoji), Telisirama (Purnachandrika), Marubalka (Sriranjani) and other notable kritis. The highlight of the evening was the ‘Desadi mala’ presented by Revathi’s choir. Innovatively created by Revathi’s guru Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Desadi mala encompassed the first line of forty-one songs of Tyagaraja in Desadi tala strung together beautifully and presented as a garland of melody to the Sathguru.
The seamless flow of Manasuloni, Buvinidasudane to Entabhagyamu and the chain continued; a pioneering effort by Santhanagopalan.
Day 5 commenced with Dr. Venugopala Rao comparing and contrasting four dance forms (Odissi, Bharata Natyam, Kathak and Kuchipudi). The panellists Sujata Mohapatra, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar, Saswati Sen and Kishore Mosalikanti demonstrated the characteristic features inherent to their styles with regard to stance, gait, and ‘bramhari’ (spin). Each of the doyens also performed an Ashtapadi, the common thread between all these dance forms. While visual differences may exist, all these dance forms adhere to the core philosophy of Bharata’s Natya Sastra concluded Venugopala Rao.
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FROM THE EDITOR
Sruti, April 2017
The exodus begins. Come March-April, and Carnatic musicians travel en masse to North America to take part in festivals galore there. Those programmes have become an essential part of the Carnatic music and Indian classical dance calendar. Without support from the diaspora, these arts will find it relatively difficult to flourish in these times of intense competition from a plethora of entertainment options and diminishing attention spans. The sabhas of North America, established by Indians who left these shores during the last century and nurtured by succeeding generations of NRIs, have done an enormous service, especially to Carnatic music, by inviting our artists year after year to perform in that continent. The global financial recession some years ago threatened to reduce the involvement of Indian émigrés there in the promotion of Carnatic music, but that turned out to be a false alarm. While the floods and a cyclone that devastated Chennai over the last two years have certainly affected the number of NRI visitors to the December season to some extent, there is no visible decline in either the music on offer in India or the interest in festivals endemic to the US at this time of the year.
There is much to celebrate in the way US Indians have embraced Carnatic music (and Indian classical dance). They tend to benefit from some excellent teaching by teachers and institutions that have sprung roots there, and also from gurus visiting from India and teaching via Skype. Add to this the tremendous encouragement of their parents who are keen on providing their very American offspring with strong linkages to their original culture, and their own commitment and industry, and you have an explosive mix. The result is the emergence of some outstanding talent in the diaspora that can challenge the best of our domestic products, even if there may be dilution of standards here and there.
The problem with most of the Carnatic music festivals in the US is that they tend to be replicas of typical Mylapore kutcheris and vizhas, even our own reality shows transplanted abroad. How much of an effort has been made and how difficult it is to attract Westerners to take a serious interest in our music is not something we know, but the overall impact of all these decades of hard work has been one of cultural ghettoisation, to go by the accounts of regular visitors.
Be that as it may, the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana will enter its 40th year soon after this issue of Sruti is out. V.V. Sundaram and his indefatigable band of volunteers have not only conducted kutcheris and thematic productions of music and dance, they have also added a valuable dimension to dissemination of the arts through their Sustaining Sampradaya movement. Through it, they regularly make available the accumulated wisdom and expertise of some very senior and accomplished vidwans and vidushis for the edification of the bright young talent in the US. Hearty congratulations and warm good wishes from all of us at Sruti.
Sruti will be present at the San Diego and Cleveland festivals of music in March-April. We hope our presence will encourage music, dance and theatre enthusiasts to join the Sruti fold and expand our community of sahridayas.
V RAMNARAYAN
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T.K. Padmanabhan
By Anjana Anand
T.K. Padmanabhan has had the rare opportunity of accompanying five generations of dancers and their disciples. He continues to accompany senior artists like C.V. Chandrasekhar as well as up-and-coming dancers with the same enthusiasm. With sound training in Carnatic music at his alma mater, Kalakshetra, T.K. Padmanabhan is at ease in both—the Carnatic concert and Bharatanatyam fields.
An ‘A’ grade artist of All India Radio with a host of awards like the Kalaimamani, Gnana Kala Bharati, Gandharva Nipuna and Sangeetagna to his credit, Padmanabhan has never considered his visual impairment as an obstacle to excelling in his field. As he says with a mischievous chuckle, “Can you believe that I have seen and experienced places more beautiful (thanks to my art) than even a person with vision?” He has trained many disciples in violin and vocal music.
Why did you come to Kalakshetra to learn music?
I was a student of vocal music and spent my early years in my hometown Tiruvaiyaru in Tanjavur. My parents wanted to ensure that I had a secure future and sent me to Kalakshetra to pursue music full time. Those days, there were not many avenues in the academics for the visually impaired, so the arts was my only future.
A minimum eighth standard certificate was required for a candidate to join as a full time student in Kalakshetra. Rukmini Devi waived the rules for me and I joined Kalakshetra at the age of ten and spent the next twelve years in that wonderful institution. I was the youngest such full time student and I was surrounded by akkas and annas!
When did you switch to violin as your main subject?
I initially started as a vocal student with violin as my subsidiary subject. After some time, Athai (Rukmini Devi) suggested that I take up violin as the main subject as there were only a few violinists at that time. Probably, her instincts told her that this would be my bread and butter in the future.
Any special memories of Kalakshetra?
All my teachers were musical giants. My violin teacher was T. Venkatarama Iyer who taught me in all the years that I studied there. My vocal teachers were Ramaswamy Iyengar, Krishnaswamy Iyengar, Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma, Mysore Vasudevachar, M.D. Ramanathan, S. Rajaram and Adyar Lakshman.
Rajaram sir used to take part-time classes for us in his house. Once he joined All India Radio as director, Vasudevachar Thatha started taking our classes. I have fond memories of his sessions. Even though he was in his nineties he taught us—sometimes lying down. I was blessed to learn from him for two years.
Did you want to become a concert musician after completing your course?
I completed my post graduate diploma in violin and vocal with distinction in 1968. I spent another three years studying in Kalakshetra with a Government of India scholarship.
While I was in Kalakshetra, I was given permission to attend any class I wanted. A student from Bali, Indonesia came to Kalakshetra to learn Bharatanatyam. I used to sit in his classes and listen to the compositions, often helping him with the tala in the alarippu or other musical doubts that he had. I was thus exposed to Bharatanatyam at a young age and I never differentiated between concert music and music for Bharatanatyam. I had no fixed ideas about becoming only a concert artist.
You know, I have even done nattuvangam for a couple of programmes! When you spend time in a place like Kalakshetra, you get over the rigidity and compartmentalisation of art forms.
When did you first play for Bharatanatyam?
In 1962 V.P. Dhananjayan organised a fundraiser. All the students participated in the programme in Kalakshetra, which belonged to the variety show genre. I played the violin.
What did you do after you left Kalakshetra?
I was chosen under a scheme of the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, to give four concerts for three years consecutively. I started accompanying musicians like Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Maharajapuram Santhanam, M.L. Vasanthakumari, Managalampalli Balamuralikrishna, Mani Krishnaswami and the Bombay Sisters. I also started playing for Bharatanatyam for Kalakshetra artists like Adyar Lakshman, Krishnaveni Lakshmanan, the Dhananjayans and Leela Samson. After some years, I also started playing for C.V. Chandrasekhar, and other artists like Kalanidhi Narayanan, Padma Subrahmanyan, Chitra Visweswaran, Malavika Sarukkai and Alarmel Valli, to name a few.
At that time, I also played in the afternoon concerts at the Music Academy. But as I was very busy in the Bharatanatyam field, I requested them to give me opportunities for violin accompaniment only in the afternoon sessions (without promoting me to the evening slot) so that I could play for Bharatanatyam also!
In your five decades of experience, what are the changes you have noticed in the field?
I remember the grand music of the giants who sang for Bharatanatyam in the early years. I recall the beauty of the music of Adyar Lakshman, Rama Rao, S.K. Rajarathnam Pillai, Kameswaran, Seetarama Sarma and S. Rajeswari. Sometimes, I used to attend Bharatanatyam concerts just to listen to their music.
The other differences are in the amount of time spent with the main artist and in the changing methodology of learning compositions. Earlier, we used to notate all the songs for the performance and spend a lot of time with the artist. Now young musicians take photos of notations on their smart phones to save time! Today, the number of dancers seems to have dramatically increased, musicians do not have the luxury of time as we move from one concert to the other. Naturally, somewhere quality is compromised.
Any special experiences that you wish to share?
I fondly recall the recording sessions in those days. All the musicians would meet and record at the same time. Even if one person made a mistake anywhere along the way, we would restart from the beginning! You can imagine the amount of focus and concentration we all had during recording hours.
What I found quite amusing was when people asked me how I knew the correct cues in a performance. I was never offended by the question. V.P. Dhananjayan would tell them that is was the rapport and understanding between artists which went beyond mere vision. My association with artists like him have taught me so much in life. Not just about art, but about bringing that aesthetic to my lifestyle. They were so particular about cleanliness and making the environment conducive to teaching and performing.
Were you nervous during your first years of travel?
Not at all. My friends are my greatest asset. All those who have been associated with me have been very good to me. My first trip was in 1977 to Malaysia. I have gone to more countries than I can even count. At one point in my career, I was travelling 25 days out of the 30!
I enjoy everything. During our visits abroad, I never stayed alone in the hotel. I have been to amusement parks, roamed around with my fellow musicians, taking in all that each country offered and have performed in prestigious venues. What more can an artist want!
What other posts have you held?
I was a Staff Artist (violin) at All India Radio, Chennai and retired in 2006.
When did you start composing music for classical dance?
I have composed music for almost 70 dance-dramas. I started composing in the 1970s. Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma was composing the music for Sanghamitra, for the Dhananjayans, but was unable to continue because of ill health. I started working on that production, and there was no looking back.
When Natyarangam (dance wing of the Narada Gana Sabha) started their thematic series, I was involved in several productions. I have composed music for many items of the repertoire as well. I enjoyed composing music for modern themes too like ‘pudhu kavidai’. I was honoured to compose Nammazhvar kovil patthu for Jeer Swamigal.
What do you value most in life?
My friends and colleagues who are responsible for my well being. From my days in Kalakshetra till now, I have been surrounded by my loving peers and seniors who have enriched my life.
[Sruti has a policy of editing out salutations like Sri, Smt, Sir, Ji, Anna, Aunty, Mama, Pandit, Ustad, Saheb and honorifics from all our articles]
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Generation Next
By KS Kalidas
Ashwin Anand
(Reproduced from Sruti 338, November 2012)
For long, vocal music and the veena have been regarded as having a symphonious relationship. It was even considered necessary for a vocalist to have a basic skill in playing the veena to understand the potential and extent of the gamaka-s, moorchana-s and jaru-s, and the preciseness of maintaining the tala. On the other hand, every vainika tried to play in a style that came close to vocal music; many claimed to have achieved this goal through techniques invented by them. At the same time, there was also a claim that instruments like the veena, violin, and flute had, in many areas, greater freedom of expression than vocal music – called ‘vadya dharma’, a view that cannot be summarily dismissed. However, the ritual murder of beautiful kriti-s like Ninnuvina namadendu, Raghuvamsa sudha, Sarasara samarai. Niravadi sukhada by instrumentalists of all categories can be painful.
The yazh, precursor of the veena in Tamil country in the centuries gone by, was played as an accompaniment to vocal music but the advent of the violin has changed all that. Today, we do listen to the veena as a solo instrument but even that only rarely.
Be that as it may, young vainika, Ashwin Anand of Bangalore learns vocal music from the redoubtable vidushi R. Vedavalli; Ashwin duly interprets what he learns from her on to the veena. He has resisted suggestions to take to vocal music instead of the veena – such is his love for and commitment to the instrument. In the process, he has evolved a style that captures the best of vocal music.
Ashwin initially learnt to play the veena at the age of eight from Prof. H.V. Krishnamurthy (father of violinist H.K. Venkataram), a violinist who also played the veena very well and ran the popular music institution Vijaya College of Music in Bangalore. He was, in fact, a professor of zoology and after retirement, chose to teach music full time in the institution he had founded. Ashwin’s training under Prof. HVK lasted seventeen years. He received the CCRT, Govt. of India Scholarship from 1991 to 2000 and a further scholarship for advanced training from 2002 to 2004. He gave his first public concert at the age of thirteen and concerts soon followed his debut. From 2006, Ashwin teamed up with H.K. Venkataram (violin) and G. Ravikiran (flute) and the team has performed more than thirty concerts, as an instrumental ensemble appeals more to the public; it also enables participation of senior pakkavadyam artists.
Chancing to hear a vocal concert by Vedavalli four years ago, Ashwin was captivated by the charm and subtleties of her music. He wasted no time in requesting her to take him as her student and his wish was duly granted. Surrendering himself totally to his guru’s music, Ashwin has never ceased to wonder at the musical values he had not encountered till then. He has also started receiving excellent reviews from seasoned critics.
Ashwin has won a bagful of prizes and awards from various sabha-s, the most important being the Ananya Yuva Puraskar of Ananya Cultural Academy, Bangalore, the Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar Award of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and the Spirit of Youth prize from the Music Academy, Madras.
Professionally, Ashwin holds a Master’s degree in Microelectronics and is employed as a senior engineer in a Bangalore firm, but this has not dampened his involvement with and commitment to the veena.
(The author is a mridanga vidwan, connoisseur of classical music, and a keen follower of young talent)
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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V. Vedakrishnaram
By Anjana Anand
Mridangam artist Vedakrishnaram is so much in demand that it is said that dancers first check his availability before they book an auditorium for a performance! Son and disciple of mridanga vidwan the late C. Venkatesan, Vedakrishnaram knew for sure that he wanted to play the mridangam for Bharatanatyam performances even as a young boy. Perhaps it was the hours he spent watching his uncle, mridanga vidwan the late D. Bhakthavatchalam, play for Bharatanatyam recitals that inspired him to learn the nuances of playing for dance.
Today Vedakrishnaram has many awards to his credit, including Laya Kala Siromani, the Best Bharatanatyam accompanist (V.D.S. Arts Academy) and Sangeeta Natya Kala Bharati (Bharat Kalachar). An artist with a calm unflappable demeanour who offers the utmost support and attention to every project he is involved in, Vedakrishnaram speaks to Sruti about his experiences in this field over the last three decades.
You come from a musical family.
Yes, my father and all my uncles played the mridangam. My mother used to play the harmonium and sing, but did not take up as a career. I learnt mridangam from both my father and uncle, but it was not until my tenth standard that I began to show a serious interest in pursuing mridangam as a career.
Initially, I would accompany my brother (who learnt from my uncle) to his mridangam lessons and spend time playing outside while the classes were on. However, my attention was always on what was happening inside. Once I recall that when my brother was struggling with a certain nuance, I ran in, grabbed the mridangam from him, played it and quipped, “Don’t you know even how to play this!” From that day onwards, I began learning mridangam formally.
Was it your choice to start playing for classical dance?
Very much. My uncle wanted me to play for music concerts and apply for AIR grades but from a young age, I was drawn to the world of Bharatanatyam. I used to watch mesmerised when my uncle played for Bharatanatyam performances. At first he tried to dissuade me, but he came round after seeing my persistence.
What are the challenges you face as a mridangam artist for Bharatanatyam?
A mridangam accompanist must have a lot of patience. I say this because it is not only about what we want to play, but it is our role in the performance as a whole that matters. I am very clear that the dancer’s ideas and choreography must be supported and embellished. Understanding the lyrics fully is essential, so that we can play to enhance the mood the dancer creates. As an accompanist, I have to be alert to each dancer’s requirement.
How does your playing change for each artist?
A mridangam artist should be clear about the choreography and the adavu combinations. If it is a junior dancer or a student performing an arangetram, then we must be helpful and adhere as closely to the kanakku as possible. If it is a senior artist, then we can take more liberty and improvise in certain sections. There are many aspects that we have to pay attention to, such as jatis (beats), sahityam (lyrics), kalapramanam (speed) and creating the right mood, to name a few. At the end of the day, it is all about team work.
Who are some of the senior Bharatanatyam artists you have accompanied?
I have accompanied several senior dancers such as Yamini Krishnamurthy, Swarnamukhi, the Dhananjayans, Sudharani Raghupathy, the late Udupi Laxminarayan, Viji Prakash and Guru Kalyanasundaram.
You have worked extensively with the Shakti Foundation in Los Angeles. How did this opportunity come about?
In 1992, I travelled with the Dhananjayans to the United States for a performance and they introduced me to Viji Prakash, Director of the Shakti Foundation. I was a lead percussionist for their school for many years.
What would be your advice to aspiring mridangists?
“No pain, no gain!” There is nothing to beat hard work and focus. I don’t mean just about your career. The time that we invest as students at an early age is very important. That is a time when we do not have other distractions or commitments. I remember spending hours with my guru, sometimes staying up till the early hours, discussing music-related topics with him. We used to talk about playing for dance and various techniques to enhance the performance. An important aspect for any aspiring mridangist is kelvi gnanam. Listening to good playing and letting it soak in subconsciously are an intrinsic part of maturing as an artist. Listening to kutcheris to observe different styles of playing – often to know what not to do! – is also part of the process.
What are your interests besides playing the mridangam?
Besides mridangam, which occupies most of my time, I love nature and being in natural environs. Sometimes I think I would have been happy as a farmer working in the fields!
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
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Ravikiran in sublime form
SIFAS Festival 2017
By PNV Ram
Arriving at Changi Airport, Singapore, on 1st April, I was happy to be received by Sushma and Shruti. Shruti left with my co-passenger Mannargudi Eswaran, while I stayed back with Sushma to await the arrival by another flight of Satyajit Talwalkar the tabla ustad who was to accompany Kaushiki Chakrabarty (vocal) and Rakesh Chaurasia (flute) in a concert on the 2nd at Esplanade on the Beach. Satyajit turned out to be a cool character, easygoing and confident in his self, the legacy of his tabla maestro father Suresh Talwalkar sitting lightly on him. We were taken straight to the SIFAS premises, where we freshened up in the guest house and had a breakfast of idlis and coffee, before we trooped to the auditorium to listen to Kauhsiki Chakraborty and Rakesh Chaurasia in conversation with a sizable audience.
Moderated by the American accented Ganesh Anand (a Hindustani vocal student of SIFAS), the session proved lively and entertaining, even if Kaushiki spoke of how divine her father's (Ajay Chakraborty's) music and nature were in typically traditional tones of guru worship. Both she and Rakesh, who is flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia's nephew, spoke of the advantages and disadvantages of their inheritance, though even the so-called negatives did turn out to be positives in the long run. For Kaushiki the child, music was play, and growing up, she revelled in translating every song she learnt into sargam syllables, and pushing herself to extremes while traversing the octaves. Rakesh, in contrast, was lazy about daily riyaz, but Hariprasad overcame this obstacle in his nephew's musical path, by leaving blank cassettes with him in the morning and demanding that they be filled with his practice exercises by the time he returned in the evening. Both confessed to their openness to the idea of collaborations and fusion efforts.in particularly, gave a strong reply to a member of the audience who suggested that some of these attempts to take classical music to the common folk would result in dilution of the art.
Kaushiki drew parallels from the history of music, by referring to the Persian influence on Hindustani music, and even traced the raga Bhoop to the Chinese pentatonic scale. Kaushiki proved an articulate and confident champion of her school of music, and gave some lovely samples of the incredible range of her voice and her amazing virtuosity. He reached out easily to the young in the audience, though she tended to go on a bit too long. Rakesh showed several glimpses of his uncle's sense of humour and repartee, but he fooled no one into believing that he was playful in his pursuit of musical excellence. Like Kaushiki, he spoke of the collaborative work he enjoys doing.
Chitravina N Ravikiran’s concert that evening was as good as his best concerts in India. Every raga and every kriti he played was rooted in the traditional mode, and the sound of his instrument resembled some ancient cry to the beyond, giving you goosebumps with its purity and magnificent reverberance. Is there a better Carnatic musician in the authentic tradition? Ravikiran had great support from Akkarai Subhalakshmi (violin) and Mannargudi Eswaran (mridangam) who was celebrating his 72nd birthday. Both of them complemented the chitravina with their sometimes subtle, sometimes dynamic playing. It was also an opportunity for the versatile local percussionist who was playing the ghatam this evening. Charged by the brilliance of his mridangam playing senior, he perhaps got away on occasion. All in all, it was a most memorable concert.
(To be continued)
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Two outstanding young artists
SIFAS Festival 2017
By Vasudha Srinivasan
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| Photo by Manu Ignatius |
As part of the annual SIFAS Music Festival 2017, Singapore was proud to host amongst other shows, two US born artists now belonging to the frontline of mainstream Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam—vocalist Ramakrishnan Murthy and danseuse Mythili Prakash.
Accompanied by Charumathi Raghuraman (violin), Manoj Siva (mridangam) and BS Purushotham (khanjira), Ramakrishnan Murthy was masterly in his delivery. Entitled Parampara, his concert featured a line-up of songs rich in our musical heritage. He aptly embraces a style reminiscent of stalwarts of yesteryear, or as one of my companions put it, “very DK Pattammal”. His unhurried pace would have almost been plodding, if not for his song choices. Avoiding the conventional structure of peppering “tukkadas” to break up a singular pace, or relying on a tillana, RK Murthy instead played with songs of varying length. Spending just enough time to explore a raga, he was careful not to dwell too long in any song but his main, Tyagaraja's glorious Upacharamulanu. Such an approach was successful in keeping the tempo of the concert brisk. He wielded his musical knowledge with flair, dancing into the heart of the raga and delivering as much as needed to be. His restraint for a singer so young was beautiful; unlike many of parallel talent, he resisted the temptation to stuff his songs with ideas. Instead, by allowing the music to breathe, he gave us the room to appreciate the play of notes and the essence of the ragas. His accompanying artistes were well matched, responding to his music with equal sensitivity and discernment.
Yet, when I walked out, I felt vaguely dissatisfied, but unable to figure out why. It was only later, when I watched Mythili’s Bharatanatyam performance that I was able to grasp why.
“Jwala”, means intense flame in Sanskrit. Mythili engaged her audience with the same intensity she performed with. She stoked the embers of our interest as she explored the different manifestations of fire and its place within our lives.
Her performance began with a tribute to Surya, the sun god, the source of our fire within and out. Donning his bright shades she summoned him in his various aspects as she cycled through other songs during her 90 minute performance. With her musical accomplices, vocalists Aditya Prakash and Sushma Somasekharan and Jayashree Ramanathan (nattuvangam), violinist Easwar Ramakrishnan and percussionist, Venkatesan Vedakrishnaram, she beckoned and bewitched you into a visual feast.
Mythili is an accomplished dancer, and her fluid movements swept through the expanse until they need to stop and then they stopped precisely, her hands and feet hovering, almost as though they were slotted into a space moulded for them. Complementing this visual mastery was the strategic use of light (with the help of Krishnan Venkatesh on lighting) to highlight the intent of her performance. In the piece Shivashakti, sung by Sushma Somasekharan, she explored the essence of feminine energy. Artfully framed by twin beams of horizontal light shining across the stage, her every leap and every bound were accompanied by leaping silhouettes on the side walls, creating a rich shadow play that added to the song's narrative.
This symbiosis of light and movement literally took the limelight in her main piece as she stood on stage shrouded in darkness, save her hands and forearms, which were bathed in a single unbroken beam of red light. In this glow, she began evoking, with dancing fingers, a gentle flare of a flickering lamp. Dextrously, she progressed with swirling limbs and fingers, to paint a visual of flickering tongues of flame as they leapt higher and higher into the air, until they stopped, suddenly extinguished, shrouding everything in darkness once again. Within these moments, Mythili infuses a primal mysticism not commonly associated with Bharatanatyam, bringing a boldness to the dance form. With the low baritone of Aditya Prakash, the steady tattoo of the mrindangam and the hum of the violin, she ended in a similar vein, leaving us with her glowing and surging hands as the one indelible memory of this performance.
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| Photo by Manu Ignatius |
Aside from the technical aspects, she displayed a depth of emotion and maturity that I had not experienced in her previous work. True enough, she shared that some of these pieces were inspired by personal joys and tragedies. While not every piece seemed to fit as seamlessly as it could have, the boldness in which Mythili cast a traditional art form into a theatrical production mitigated the occasional incoherence.
It was only then that I realised the source of my dissatisfaction with Ram Murthy’s concert, easily explained by how he tackled the final song of his repertoire. He chose to close his performance with a tribute to KV Narayanaswamy by rendering Vargalamo from Nandanar Charitram. KVN's rendition is breathtaking in its expression. From the very first syllable, KVN draws each note from the ragam, like pulling water from a deep well. Gently tipping each note over its musical edge as it drifts into the next note, he infuses the humility and hesitance of someone who knows not where his place in society is. With each pause, Gopalakrishna Bharati’s heart reverberates in this song. Such depth of empathy from KVN could only be due to his observation of such circumstances in his lifetime. True enough, the history of the song highlights why KVN’s version resonates even today. While Ramakrishnan Murthy's version stylistically embraces KVN, dipping into notes and gliding into pauses, reproducing the same yearning deeply and sincerely is a challenge. And that hollowness was precisely what was niggling at me when I walked out.
By any means, this isn’t a criticism of either performer. From these two concerts, I could point out that Ramakrishnan Murthy could do well to learn from Mythili’s boldness and emotional depth. And Mythili could also benefit by finetuning her boldness to deliver a punchier and coherent structure. But to focus on those would be doing both artistes a disservice as every artiste learns from each of her concerts.
Carnatic music, or Bharatanatyam, like any other art form, is not static. It is a product of its times and circumstances. These two factors characterise the heart that shape the classical music (and dance) of south India, which is a reflection on the rich tapestry of human emotion. It may be obvious, but this aspect feels forgotten. Carnatic music increasingly seems to be benchmarked by the number of sabha concerts that a musician accumulates during the December season. Carnatic music has a story to tell outside of its intellectual complexity and devotional thread. To stunt its emotional richness in favour of technical prowess is not to be preferred. So, it is really for young artistes like Ramakrishnan Murthy and Mythili, who are consummate professionals, to push the boundaries meaningfully.
(Thanks to Mr Srinivasan Narayanan of Hyderabad for educating me on the history of Nandanr Charitram and for helping me with my reference to it).
The author is the editor of littleindiadirectory.com and a freelance writer.
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