October 24, 2017, 10:57 pm
![]() |
| 25.10.1912 - 8.6.1968 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
His music was sweetness personified and his voice had a bell like tonal purity. The name of Madurai city has come down from Madhura, or ‘sweetness’, and ‘Mani’, an abbreviation of the name ‘Subramaniam’, means a ‘bell’, among other things. These two words sum up Madurai Mani Iyer so perfectly. Add the simplicity with which he presented his music and it was music as it ought to be sung, appealing to the cognoscenti and lay audiences alike. A man who asked nothing more of life than the ability to sing, Madurai Mani Iyer was an all-time great, an icon whose fan following continues to increase decades after his physical form left us.
Born on 25th October 1912 at Madurai, Mani Iyer came from a well-known music family of the temple town. His father’s brother, Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer, was the reigning star of the early years of the last century. His premature death ended a potentially brilliant career. Mani’s father, Ramaswami Iyer, an employee of the District Court at Madurai, was highly respected for his knowledge in the theoretical aspects of music. His mother, Subbulakshmi Ammal, was a good singer. Mani Iyer was the only son among their four children.
The musical atmosphere at home was encouraging and soon Mani learnt all his father could teach him. He was sent to Rajam Bhagavatar, a disciple of Ettayapuram Ramachandra Bhagavatar. The tutelage continued for two years, at the end of which Rajam Bhagavatar took employment at the Tyagaraja Vidyalaya, a music school founded by Harikesanallur L Muthiah Bhagavatar in Madurai.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 294
↧
October 25, 2017, 11:22 pm
By Buzybee
'Nitya Akhanda Nrittam', 27 hours of continuous Bharatanatyam performance was organised on 23 and 24 September 2017 at Ganesa Natyalaya in New Delhi. The event was a record attempt for a non-stop Bharatanatyam marathon relay. On 24 September Ganesa Natyalaya (founder-president Saroja Vaidyanathan and Rama Vaidyanathan), was awarded the Record Breaking certificate by the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records for the longest (27 hours 30 minutes) Bharatanatayam Dance Marathon Relay.
↧
↧
October 26, 2017, 10:24 pm
Aiyyelu, probably the busiest and most sought after costume designer for classical dance, passed away at midnight on 22 October 2017 in Chennai. He was 88. D for Devaraj (his father's name) and S for Sanjeevi (his name) Aiyyelu was famous for his creative designs and prolific costuming for dance. Over sixty years, his art and craft of stitching 'dance dresses' have enhanced the persona of several front-ranking dancers including Vyjayantimala Bali, Alarmel Valli and several others.
In his passing away, the dance world has lost a veteran creative costume designer.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 168
↧
October 26, 2017, 10:55 pm
![]() |
| 27.10.1874 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
KattumannarKoil Muthukumara Pillai. A name that still glows in the annals of Bharatanatyam of Indian dance, some 12 years after his Birth and 33 years after his death.
He was an unusual phenomenon. A product of unique Blind of deep spirituality and instinctive Cove for the dance. The spiritual side ofhis personality lent a luminous glow to his art.
He was the only dance master of the old tradition who had a career as a performer also. Notably, he dressed up and danced as a girl, a woman.
He survived" a dart period when the dance, then fcnown as Sadir, was looked down upon By society and virtuatty driven out of existence. But he did more than that; he served as a guardian of the true greatness of tradition and succeeded in propagating it far and wide through his teaching.
He was a great teacher. With a missionary zeal, deep dedication and a stern sense of discipline.
M.K. Saroja, Rukmini Devi, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Muthuswami Pillai, Kamala, Ram Gopal, Nala Najan, Janak Khendry'...who distinguished them-. selves in dance...were all privileged to Itarn from him.
The world of dance, of Bharatanatyam, has ample reasons to remember him with gratitude.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 108
↧
October 27, 2017, 10:44 pm
![]() |
| 28.10.1930 - 9.4.2015 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
T.S. Sankaran was the son of flute vidwan T.N. Sambasiva Iyer from whom he imbibed music and flute playing at a very tende age. The family hailed from the village of Sathanur in the musically and culturally rich Kaveri delta. Family folklore dating back a couple generations speaks of associations with the illustrious 19th century son of Sathanur, musician Panchanada Iyer, a disciple of Muthuswami Dikshitar.
Later on, “Sankaran sir” (as he was to all who knew him) was a loving and dedicated disciple as well as perhaps the closest confidante of the legendary Mali. “Mali sir” was a native of Tiruvidaimarudur, a mere stone’s throw from Sathanur. In a conversation with the poet Vali, published in the Tamil weekly Kumudam sometime in the 1960s, Mali hailed Sankaran as an Ekalavya who perfectly imbibed his style without any direct instruction. That said, Sankaran was no carbon copy of his guru. He was an original musical thinker and the innovator of a unique flute playing style. He certainly took the best elements of the Mali style, added his personal touches and perhaps combined it with other elements reminiscent of the great nagaswara vidwan T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai whom Sankaran held in the highest esteem. What he evolved was an exquisite gayaki style. When playing kritis, it was marked by great poise and control, the kalapramanam steady, precise and unhurried, the sahitya clearly articulated by an optimal blend of blowing, tonguing and fingering. His raga alapanas combined the core gamakas with long, perfectly sruti aligned karvais and interspersed by rapid fire nagaswaram-like brigas. Sankaran’s use of blow modulation for expressivity is unique among Carnatic flautists who depend mostly on fingering techniques for this purpose. Furthermore, he used head movement effectively for precise enunciation of certain gamakas and as part of his overall expression. While his “viral adi” or fingered staccato was of the strong Mali school variety, he also used true tuthukaaram or tonguing for clear cut articulation of swaraprastara. Mention must also be made of the beautiful Mali school cross fingering techniques that lent so much character and weight to spuritams. Sankaran’s posture was perfectly erect and he held his flute in a most graceful and elegant way. His gentle swaying and eye movements communicated the bhava of the music wonderfully to the fellow musicians on stage and to the listeners in front of him.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 369
↧
↧
October 27, 2017, 10:03 pm
![]() |
| 28.10.1950 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Hema Rajagopalan is a senior Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher and choreographer ba Hema Rajagopalan sed in Chicago, IL, U.S.A. She is the founder and artistic director of Natya Dance Theatre, a professional touring company and school that has specialised in Bharatanatyam for more than 40 years. She has performed as a soloist at prestigious venues throughout the world, receiving critical acclaim. As a choreographer she has created numerous short works and over thirty major productions. Her gurus are some of the foremost figures in Bharatanatyam—natyacharya K.N. Dandayudhapani Pillai and abhinaya guru Kalanidhi Narayanan.
Among the many prestigious awards that Hema has received are an Emmy Award for the PBS production of World Stage Chicago; seven National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Awards (the highest number ever received by any U.S. choreographer); and, in India, the Vishwa Kala Bharati Award for artistic excellence from Bharat Kalachar. In 2004, she received the Nritya Seva Mani award from Bhairavi, a prominent organisation based in Cleveland, Ohio. Hema is the first US-based dancer to receive this award. Also in 2004, she was the first choreographer working in an Indian tradition to be selected among leading Chicago choreographers by the Chicago Dancemakers Forum to create new work.
Scores of students trained under her have established themselves as performers, teachers and choreographers. Her teaching accolades include the Master Teacher Award from the Asian American Heritage Council and the Master Teacher Award from the City of Chicago. She has served as a dance panelist with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council and other state arts agencies. Hema has been appointed by the Canadian government to assess Bharatanatyam dance training programmes. She conducts workshops and master classes at several colleges and universities, and is an adjunct faculty member at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago.
↧
October 29, 2017, 11:07 pm
Birthdays & Anniversaries
![]() |
| 30.10.1952 |
↧
October 31, 2017, 4:45 am
↧
October 31, 2017, 10:53 pm
![]() |
| 01.11.1917 - 06.12.2002 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Natyacharya Tiruvidaimarudur K. Mahalingam Pillai was a veteran Bharatanatyam guru respected for his dedication to the preservation of traditions and values and for his achievements as a teacher and choreographer. Short in appearance, Mahalingam Pillai was tall in artistic stature.
Mahalingam Pillai belonged to a family of natyacharya-s, who wielded the cymbals for four generations. His ancestors,who hailed from the town of Tiruvidaimarudur in Tanjavur district, included such renowned guru-s as Venkatakrishna Nattuvanar, his son Veeraswamy Pillai, grandson Panchapakesa Nattuvanar, and his great grandson Kuppiah Pillai.
Mahalingam Pillai, eldest son of T.P. Kuppiah Pillai, was born in 1917. Brought up in a vibrant artistic atmosphere, he took to the art of dance and the craft of conducting. Apart from learning dance and music, he also studied Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil to improve his capacity to understand and project the art. He was initiated into nattuvangam while still a boy. Exposure to dance at home, in the temples and weddings helped hone his skill in wielding the cymbals. He was among the few to be honoured with a 'parivattam'— a special privilege entitling him to serve the deity— at the Konkaneeswarar temple in Tanjavur when he was only seven years old. Before long he was active as a teacher, training a new generation of dancers in Madras, as well as in Tiruvidaimarudur. The Travancore Sisters— Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini— were among his first disciples.
Mahalingam Pillai became the head priest of this Mandir after the demise of his father and brother-in-law. He trained a number of film personalities of the past like Kamini Kaushal, Nalini Jaywant and Waheeda Rehman, although he was not keen to choreograph film dances. Famous dancers like Gopi Krishna, Sitara Devi, Damayanti Joshi and Roshan Kumari also learnt from him. Having settled down in Mumbai, he had a 'cosmopolitan mix' of disciples— Tamilians, Maharashtrians, Gujaratis, Punjabis, as well as students from abroad. He had the reputation of being a conscientious teacher and a strict disciplinarian.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 222
↧
↧
November 1, 2017, 10:34 pm
Birthdays & Anniversaries
↧
November 2, 2017, 3:54 am
By S. Sivaramakrishnan
It could be christened 'Oliyum Oviyamum' (Pitch and Picture would be a rough translation). The story or glory of Krishna titled 'Muddukrishna' through select songs was sung by Sriram Parasuram, Nisha Rajagopal and K. Gayatri to the majestic strokes on a canvas by the genius-artist Keshav, famous for his political caricatures in The Hindu. The venue was the haloed, refurbished R.R. Sabha in Mylapore, Chennai, which could well be a hotspot during this December Season.
By the time the trio completed their rendition of a nice collection of kritis on Lord Krishna, Keshav completed his painting--a magnificent maroon-hued portrait of his 'ishtadevata' Gopalakrishna. The audience focus was perhaps more on the renowned artist working with his pencils and brushes on the canvas. A Tiruppavai, some famous kritis of Dikshitar and Tyagaraja, and a thumri, provided quite a different aural canvas. This was the second episode of a novel three-day series focussing on the inner story through music and art, organised by Charsur Foundation 20-22 October 2017.
The first day was a celebration of Purandaradasa (Purandara gurum Vande) anchored by R.K. Shriramkumar telling the story, with vocal support by Amrita Murali and Ramakrishnan Murthy. Illustration of the saint on canvas was by Subhiksha Rangarajan who is an artist and a musician.
The final day had Jayanthi Kumaresh (veena) presenting a Story in Concert--mystery of the missing veena--with K.U. Jayachandra Rao and Pramath Kiran and Vidhya Anand. The artist working on the canvas was Neernalli Ganapathy. As bad luck would have it I could not attend the last day's event.
It was indeed an entertainment of a different kind on three days. On the whole, the concept was received well by the rasikas.
↧
November 2, 2017, 10:44 pm
Birthdays & Anniversaries![]() |
| 3.11.1918 - 13.6.1996 |
↧
November 3, 2017, 10:53 pm
![]() |
| 4.11.1937 - 13.09.2015 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Sathyabhama was born on 4 November 1937 to Kadambatt Krishnan Nair from Thalassery (Kannur) and Venat Ammini Amma in Shoranur (Palakkad). Recalling her childhood she told me, “I became interested in dance, watching classes at my school, Ezhuthachan UP School, Shoranur. So while studying in the fifth standard I started training in dance with a teacher called Balan.
He visited my home and taught me a couple of items such as Siva-Parvati nrittam and Pooja dance. My father had passed away, but my mother and brother appreciated my interest in dance. Some of the neighbours frowned at me – a girl from a decent Nair family being trained in dance. But we ignored it. We were inspired by the music and dance of T.R. Rajakumari, Sai-Subbulakshmi, and Baby Kamala in Tamil films, which we passionately loved. The brothers Achutha Warrier and Krishnankutty Warrier, who were teaching Bharatanatyam at Kalamandalam, were staying in a rented house near the institution. Arrangements were made for me to learn Bharatanatyam from them as a private student along with my teacher Balan Master. After some time when Balan Master left Shoranur, my dance training stopped as I was twelve and found it difficult to go alone for dance training to a house where only two men lived.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 374
↧
↧
November 5, 2017, 9:17 pm
Birthdays & Anniversaries
![]() |
| 5.11.1926 - 15.2.1996 |
↧
November 5, 2017, 9:36 pm
| Birthdays & Anniversaries |
![]() |
| 5.11.1912 |
↧
November 5, 2017, 9:48 pm
![]() |
| 6.11.1926 - 31.5.1986 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
In 1937, after listening to T.R. Mahalingam for the first time, Mysore Vasudevachar is reported to have observed : "We all go in search of tala, but [Mahalingam] is like Lord Krishna—the tala goes in search of him." Even as a child Mahalingam astounded everyone with his superb sense of rhythm and the intricate permutations and combinations of the beat of musicthat imparted an exciting pulse to themelody he wrought out of the simplebamboo.
Pudukottai Dakshinamurthi Pillai and Palghat Mani Iyer were the incarnationsof tala who, to use the great Karnatakacomposer's figure of speech,went in search of Mahalingam.
Asked once why he was willing toplay with Mahalingam who couldn't bedepended upon to fulfil his concertengagements, Mani Iyer had retortedwith a rhetorical question : "Who else isthere who can provide me work for mymind and hands in such a gloriousmanner?"
Mahalingam and Mani Iyer were made for each other. Their combinationclicked most perfectly. Child prodigiesand masters of laya both, they rodetogether the waves of musical creativitywith the precision as well as the excitementof champion surfers.
As far as the public knew, his deathwas sudden and most unexpected. Andmost tragic.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 24 - 24-s
↧
November 5, 2017, 9:56 pm
![]() |
| 6.11.1934 |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Subrahmaniam was born on 6 November 1934 to Meenakshi and S. Vaidyanatha Iyer in the Princely State of Tiruvananthapuram. The immediate family saw great promise in the child, when he identified ragas and picked up songs naturally without any formal training. His musical career formally began in 1951 at the age of 17 (somewhat late compared to the rush of today’s young prodigies), under the tutelage of Prof. Sankara Iyer from the Swati Tirunal Music Academy. Despite the late start, he soon went on to give his maiden performance in 1953, such was his confidence and performance skill. His real break came in 1956 when he came under the wing of the doyen and ace teacher, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, with whom he was closely associated for the next 50 years until Semmangudi passed away.
Subrahmaniam remained deeply devoted to his guru learning innumerable kritis and honing his music from years of association and absorption. By his own admission, he learnt many a subtle nuance and phrase while giving vocal support to his guru which he did for four decades. He held his guru’s pathantaram to be sacrosanct, never altering a single note from the way Semmangudi taught him. He gave vent to his creativity while exploring ragas, singing niraval and swara sancharas and won much applause during Semmangudi’s concerts when the guru as was his wont with his students, allowed him manodharma interludes. Subrahmaniam’s raga delineations were filled with bhava while never losing sight of the inherent grammar. He often remarked that music should be so as to touch the heart, not just an intellectual exercise.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 374
↧
↧
November 5, 2017, 10:01 pm
Birthdays & Anniversaries
↧
November 6, 2017, 10:07 pm
Birthdays & Anniversaries
![]() |
| 7.11.1934 |
↧
November 6, 2017, 10:12 pm
Birthdays & Anniversaries
↧
