Birthdays & Anniversaries
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| 9.3.1951 |
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Zakir Hussain
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The Compleat Rasika
A Seshan
By Seshan Ramaswami
A Seshan, a Sruti subscriber since its inception, and a regular contributor (often under the nom-de-plume Sankarabharanan) of articles and letters to the magazine, passed away in Mumbai on 7 January 2018.
Seshan was an accomplished economist, with a lifetime of service at the Reserve Bank of India. He retired voluntarily as Officer-in-Charge, Department of Economic Analysis and Policy, in the early 1990s, to take up assignments as the IMF-appointed Advisers to the central banks of Kyrgyzstan, and then Sierra Leone. He excelled academically, topping Madura College in his B.A. (Economics) degree, and earning a gold medal. He had an M.A. from Madras Christian College, before proceeding to the University of Hawaii on an East West Centre scholarship for a Masters in Agricultural Economics, when he spent a semester at Cornell University. Of his lifetime of work in the RBI, former RBI governor Y.V. Reddy is quoted in a Business Line tribute published on 11 January 2018, as saying, “He was absolutely thorough, well-respected and one of my earliest gurus in the RBI.”
Throughout his work life, he would type all communications, personal and professional, on a small portable typewriter, with an unusual cursive/handwriting font, which was his lone material acquisition from his years in the USA! One look at the envelope, and you could recognise the sender from the font! Later, he mastered the use of word processing software and the Internet, and was a regular contributor to the pink papers on monetary policy matters. He would listen to the policy announcement each quarter, and within a couple of hours, send the commissioned commentary to the press for publication the next day. The Business Line and Business Standard, carried many of his articles, and letters, but he wrote for almost all the Mumbai dailies.His passion from his childhood days was Carnatic music, which gradually expanded to Hindustani music, Bharatanatyam, Western music and all forms of the performing arts. When he first moved to Mumbai in the sixties, he became the close confidant of the late vainika maestro Devakottai Narayana Iyengar, and would do all the correspondence to AIR, Sangeet Natak Akademi, and sabhas for “veena master,” as we used to refer to the vidwan. He also taught Seshan’s wife, Bhanumathi (grand-daughter of the late F.G. Natesa Iyer, and from a very illustrious musical family), and Seshan himself learnt to play for a while, and would forever proudly tell everyone, with a twinkle in his eye, about his own prowess in playing the Abhogi varnam. As a patron member of the Shanmukhananda Sabha, and a member of the NCPA in Mumbai, he would insist on attending practically every concert offering of all genres, much to the despair of his family who were increasingly concerned with the strain on his body as he aged!
With his scholarly bent, and general intellectual temperament, Seshan was a thoughtful and serious rasika, and an obsessive collector of books on music and dance. He had a massive collection of spool tapes of concert recordings, records, cassettes, CDs, and DVDs. A Madurai-vasi for much of his childhood, he would reminisce about the huge crowds at Sethupathi High School for concerts of the great vidwans and vidushis of the 1940s and 50s. He was an obsessive fan of M.S. Subbulakshmi, and collected all her Meera film songs on 78 rpm records. And he then would dutifully purchase every single new LP release of her (on a “first day first show” basis). He assiduously recorded on a spool player, radio concerts of all the great masters, and then type up the song lists and file them carefully. And then he would disrupt our sleep early each morning by blaring those concerts at full volume as a sort of suprabhatam to the neighbourhood! And then, by osmosis, both my brother, Ananthanarayana Sharma, and I could not resist the absorption of this music into our very living cells and we are both today rasikas, but not of the stature and passion of our father. We ourselves learnt some music formally later, my brother learning the tabla, and I learning veena and Hindustani vocal music.
Seshan was extremely excited by the launch of Sruti and was in regular correspondence with the late Sruti Pattabhi Raman, and then with V. Ramnarayan. He would regularly write letters and had several articles published in the magazine on a variety of topics. His superb command of the English language, combined with his vast experience of passionate, thoughtful listening to music, and his deep interest in and knowledge of the history of Indian music, gave all his articles that touch of class. He once wrote an award winning essay in a Sruti competition, on M.S. Subbulakshmi, which he titled the 'Compleat Musician' (an obscure reference to The Compleat Angler, a classic work on fishing), and was dismayed when the editor attempted to correct his spelling to “Complete”, which did not quite convey the exceptional completeness of MS’s music. He was a devoted fan of Madurai Mani Iyer, D.K. Pattammal, G.N. Balasubramaniam, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.D. Ramanathan, M. Balamuralikrishna, Maharajapuram Santhanam, D.K. Jayaraman, M.S. Gopalakrishnan, and the Bombay Sisters. Among Hindustani singers, he had a particular passion for Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal and Parveen Sultana.
Having lived his entire adult life in Mumbai, with much exposure to Hindustani music, he gradually began taking greater interest in it too, and would attend many seminars and music appreciation courses, peppering the speakers with questions to improve his understanding. With that knowledge, and from hours of dedicated reading, he began writing articles on Hindustani music too; the academic in him would lead him to seek “peer review” from many artists and scholars before submitting the article for publication. He also was invited by the Shanmukhananda Sabha in Mumbai to be a part of their programmes committee, an advisor to their music and dance school, and on the editorial team of their publication Shanmukha. A collector’s issue of Shanmukha that he conceived and executed was on the banis of Bharatanatyam, which involved meticulous follow-up with dancers around India to get them to describe the niceties of their individual banis. He also designed a regular quiz on music and dance for the publication. His creative, constantly curious mind led him to curate conferences, for the sabha, notably one on the use of Western instruments in Indian music. He also contributed articles in Tamil to Kalaimagalmagazine, notably a profile of DKP, which led the maestro to inquire around about the identity of this mysterious “Sankarabharanan” who knew so much about her.
Seshan regularly contributed dance reviews and articles to narthaki.com and to the dance publications, Nartanam and Attendance. Leading dancers soon realised that they had a discerning (but friendly and exceptionally fluent and expressive) critic in Seshan and began regularly calling him in advance, beseeching him to attend and review their concerts in Mumbai. And he could not “just say no”, so would always oblige, attending the recitals, taking copious notes, and within a day of the concert, turn in a sparkling review to narthaki.com, excerpts of which would soon enter the “press review” sections of these dancers’ resumes. Last year, we in the family decided that he could not continue to brave the Mumbai traffic and senior-unfriendly sabhas to attend concerts. He chafed at the restrictions muttering, “Stop treating me like a sick man”, and would beg to be taken to concerts, from arangetrams to major dance productions and concerts.
The art historian in him led him to discover, important impending birth and death anniversaries of composers, musicians, dancers and gurus, and he would research and write profiles of these artists, and also write to sabhas worldwide urging them to organise commemorations.
Seshan was a devoted follower of the Paramacharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, and instituted the Ramaswamy-Seshan-Ananthanarayanan (RASA) Awards (in memory of his ancestors) for excellence in Vedic Studies, administered by the Veda Rakshana Nidhi Trust (VRNT) of the Peetham. These annual awards have been given, since the beginning of the millennium to the best scholar, teacher and student of Vedic studies as judged by the VRNT.
Seshan was also a passionate tennis fan, and wrote commissioned previews of all Grand Slam tournaments for Mumbai newspapers, with detailed statistics of the past history of these tournaments, and his own pick for singles winners. When we were children, he would type up his prediction, seal it in an envelope before the start of the tournament, and reveal the contents after the final. I can’t remember how accurate he was, but we loved the performance spectacle of the opening of the “Grand Slam envelope.” He was overjoyed to be able to personally witness Serena Williams and Sania Mirza/Cara Black, win the singles and doubles 2014 WTA finals in Singapore.
To the extended family, of some forty plus cousins, he was “Durai Anna”, the unquestioned head, and chief counsel and advisor on personal and professional matters. His generosity at times of distress and family weddings could be reliably counted on. As he aged, he found it difficult to travel to Chennai, and Madurai, to meet family members individually, so he made arrangements for a high tea party for the entire family of some 150 members to gather in a rented bungalow in Luz, Chennai, for a family get-together for a celebration of his 80thbirthday, and then sent CDs with photos of the event to every one of them.
Seshan is survived by his wife, and two sons. His daughter-in-law, Dr. Siri Rama is a Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, and founder of the Kanakasabha Performing Arts Centre in Mumbai and Singapore. His grand-daughter Amara Rama, is an aspiring student of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak, and Hindustani vocal music, in Singapore.
This combination of complete (dare I say “compleat?”) professional and devoted family man is a rarity these days when professional and personal matters all co-exist and much writing is done informally, and at a fairly superficial level on the same social media platform. If he could have read this piece, he would no doubt have whipped out his editing pen and done a few edits, of both content and form. If only this article could have been sent to him for a friendly “peer review” before publication!
May the music of the late greats continue to resound around him in the afterlife!
SESHAN RAMASWAMI
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K J Sarasa
Birthdays & Anniversaries
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| 10.3.1937 - 2.1.2012 |
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The Gentle Rebel
Gnani: an appreciation
By Charukesi
Gnani Sankaran, a fiery writer of gentle demeanour, passed away at Chennai on 15 January 2018. He was 64, and had been suffering from a kidney ailment.
It was exactly four years ago—in February 2014—that I requested writer and ideologue Gnani Sankaran to review a book of essays by the octogenarian Tamil writer Indira Parthasarathy for Tamizh Puthaka Nanbargal, a group that met once a month to review the works of living Tamil authors and interact with the author. Gnani accepted my invitation without any hesitation. In the course of his speech, he mentioned that in the beginning of his career as a budding journalist of a local daily, his maiden interview was with the doyen of Tamil literature, Indira Parthasarathy. (Incidentally, in the recent Hindu Litfest 2018, Indira Parthasarathy dedicated his Lifetime Achievement Award to Gnani who had just passed away.)
I do not remember when I met Gnani first, but at he straightaway endeared himself to me. He was frank in his speeches and writings and did not mince words while expressing his views or opinions. He never hurt his readers or viewers with harsh words. This was evident in his popular column ‘O Pakkangal’ he wrote at different times for Vikatan, Kumudam and Kalki, which carried his commentary on society and politics. When he disagreed with one magazine, he continued his comments in another without any fear or favour. That was the quality of his remarks
While he was running his own monthly ‘Dheem-Thari-Kita’, I was asked by the late Balyu of Kumudam subscribe to it, to encourage Gnani in his new venture. I obliged immediately and enjoyed reading it month after month, until it folded up for want of financial support. The emblem or logo of the magazine was the powerful pair of eyes of Mahakavi Subramanya Bharati with his up-twirled moustache below. Gnani zealously protected its copyright.
Gnani’s contribution to Tamil theatre was laudable; besides running his own experimental theatre group Pariksha, he introduced Badal Sircar, Vijay Tendulkar and other eminent playwrights to the Tamil stage, besides Tamil playwrights Indira Parthasarathy, Ashokamitran and Na. Muthusamy. Pariksha had a decent run before it folded up, and Gnani was trying to revive it before he fell ill. I came to know of his enormous interest in theatre, when he staged Tamil plays for thirty consecutive days in the mini hall of Narada Gana Sabha, when the late R Krishnaswamy of the sabha insisted on a play a day. Gnani loved challenges.
Gnani used to have a stall in the Chennai Book Fair where he conducted opinion polls on social and political themes. He would announce the results on the concluding day of the Fair. These were interesting probes into the minds of the public to elicit their views on important issues.
Gnani had friends in all political parties, but he had no enemies despite his frank criticism of their announcements or actions. He was respected for his sharp opinions. He made a documentary on Periyar E.V. Ramasami Naicker for Doordarshan as he was convinced of the leader’s role in social reform. He was a rebel in the real sense of the word but did not show off.
At any meeting, Gnani came to your seat if he noticed you among the audience and greeted you with a warm handshake. He was so simple and cordial. I attended a few of his popular meet-the-author ‘Keni’ meetings at his home in K.K. Nagar. He would talk about the author matter-of-factly and leave the platform for him to reveal his thoughts.
Despite having to undergo dialysis on alternate days, Gnani cheerfully attended most important functions in the city, never complaining of discomfort.
Gnani was a rare kind of journalist. He would never argue, but place his points gently. He was a regular invitee to television channel debates, where he was always brief and to the point.
Gnani’s demise is a loss to journalism and Tamil theatre. His political comment, marked by decency and depth, will be missed.
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Awards for artistic couple
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Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher Indira Kadambi receiving the Vidhya Tapasvi award instituted by Tapas Cultural Foundation, Chennai, from Dr. R. Nagaswamy and N.S. Jayalakshmi on 18 February 2018. |
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Carnatic musician T.V. Ramprasadh receiving the Dasa Kala Rathna award instituted by Purandhara Daasar Trust, Chennai, from the Bombay Sisters on 10 March 2018. |
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Season Awards
Visakha Music Academy conferred its title Sangeeta Kala Sagara on Trichur V. Ramachandran, during its 48th annual festival of music, on 26 November 2017 in Visakhapatnam.
Mudhra (Radha and Mudhra Bhaskar) celebrated the 15th anniversary of Samudhra magazine and 250 weeks of Paalam Free Webcast on 19 November 2017 at the Infosys Hall on Bazulla Road in Chennai. Sudharani Raghupathy, veteran Bharatanatyam dancer-guru inaugurated the function and Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti, presided over the proceedings. This was followed by conferring of the title of Gnana Samudhra on Rama Kausalya, for her outstanding contribution as a musician and musicologist, and presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to ace photographer Yoga. The much sought after Music Planner cum Directory 2018 was also released on the occasion.
The book Sita Kalyanamu—a Bhagavata Mela natakam edited by N. Srinivasan and Dr. N.V. Deviprasad (1st and 2nd from L) was released on 22 December 2017 in Chennai. The first copy was handed over by Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti to V. Ramnarayan (4th and 5th). Madabhooshi Sampath Kumar and Revathy Ramachandran felicitated Melattur Mali (extreme R) and his team. This was followed by the staging of Rukmini Kalyanamu by members of the Melattur Bhagavata Mela Natya Vidya Sangam.
Purnakumbham, a musical album comprising 30 original compositions of ‘Ghatam’ Dr. S. Karthick, was released on 23 November 2017 at the R.R. Sabha Hall in Chennai. It marked Ghatam Karthick’s completion of 30 years as a musician. His guru, vidwan T.H. Vinayakram, launched the album online and also released three CDs titled Kumbham, Kalasam and Kataksham. Karthick’s teachers Prof. Va.Ve.Su, Dr. S. Ramaratnam and vidwan T.H. Subashchandran, blessed him and also received the logo as a mark of the online launch. The release function was followed by Sudha Raja’s Sargam Choir singing a few songs from the album, and Bharatanatyam dancers Shweta Prachande and Sudharma Vaithiyanathan dancing to a few songs from Purnakumbham.
The Tamil Isai Sangam has been doing yeoman service in pann research from 1949. This season the pann research conference took place on 24 December 2017, and the panns Narayani and Velavali were discussed. Dr. M.A. Bhageerathi presented a paper on pann Velavali which is the present day raga Gaurimanohari. Mylai Sadgurunada Oduvar presented the kattalais for the pann Nattapadai. Also seen in the picture are Dr. Sirkazhi Sivachidambaram, Dr. Thangarasu, Justice P. R. Gokulakrishnan and T.K.S. Kalaivanan. The Tamil Isai Sangam conferred the title Tamil Isai Perarignar on vidwan T.M. Krishna.
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D K Pattammal Centenary
By Samudri
Sangita Kalanidhi DK Pattammal's centenary celebrations are being planned on a grand scale by a trust comprising her family, disciples and admirers. Her 100th birth anniversary falls on 19 March 2019, and the celebrations will be inaugurated on Saturday 17 March 2018 by Vice President M Venkiah Naidu at the Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai.
The year-long programmes which will reflect Pattammal's life and contribution will include the following:
A heritage walk at Kanchipuram
A ragam tanam pallavi festival
Workshop on training students to sing in Pattammal's pathantaram
Group singing of patriotic songs by children
Discussion on her film song and 78 rpm record hits
A Muthuswami Dikshitar festival
A seminar on her multifaceted contribution
A Tamil Isai festival
The production of a documentary film on her.
The patrons of the DKP 100 committee are Sri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Sri N Murali, Sri Nalli Kuppuswami Chettiar, Sri N Gopalaswami and Sri R Seshasayee.
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Zia Mohiuddin Dagar
Birthdays & Anniversaries
One of the foremost presentday practitioners of dhrupad, Umakant Gundecha has an interesting name for Seattle, USA. He calls the city “Dhrupad Nagari” meaning “City of Dhrupad”. For, true to its reputation of providing a vibrant blend of cultural activities that draw upon its rich ethnic diversity, Seattle is home to a large number of practitioners of the Dagarvani style of dhrupad.
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| 14.3.1929 - 28.9.1990 |
It all began with the visit by an eminent rudraveena maestro from India, the late Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, who came as a visiting faculty member more than three decades ago at the invitation of Robert Garfias who headed the University of Washington’s (UW) Ethnomusicology programme in the mid 1970s. Over a period of four years spread over the mid-to-late-1970s, the ustad, a representative of the 18th generation of the Dagar family of musicians, trained several students in the art of dhrupad. He also taught khayal to beginner vocalists and trained instrumentalists who specialised in playing Indian stringed instruments such as the sitar, surbahar, violin and sarangi. Fred Lieberman and Daniel Neuman who succeeded Garfias at the ethnomusicology department at UW also actively supported the visiting artist programme. Over the years, musicians interested in learning dhrupad moved to Seattle from states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and California.
Mohiuddin Dagar groomed two disciples of Indian origin, Shantha Benegal and the late Prabha Rustagi, both committed to learning dhrupad.
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S R G Rajanna
Birthdays & Anniversaries
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| 14.3.1932 |
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Bharatanatyam guru honoured
The queen receives Chamundeswari Pani
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Guru Chamundeswari with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth |
Chamundeswari Pani, senior Bharatanatyam artist, choreographer, guru and producer of several dance dramas in the UK, was invited to a reception at the Buckingham Palace on
14 February 2018, ahead of the London Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to be held in April.
14 February 2018, ahead of the London Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to be held in April.
The reception is held to recognize the achievements of "those in the Commonwealth diaspora from across the UK who have made a notable contribution to the wider community."
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VV. Subramanyam
Birthdays & Anniversaries
VV. Subramanyam is a musician who, even his worst detractors will admit, has reached regions beyond mere technique and dwells in them. As a probable corollary, he is not very facile with the world of everyday interactions. His refusal to accept anything less than perfect lies at the root of his musical achievements and that same attitude perhaps underlies what is seen as his somewhat intractable disposition towards men and matters.
A complex personality, Subramanyam has one consuming passion – music; and this has led him into deep explorations of religious belief and spiritual techniques. His is a world of mysterious connections, of kundalini yoga and mantra sastra, and, above all, nada – that all pervading, primal sound energy mentioned in esoteric philosophical traditions.
Born at Thoattuvay in Kerala on 16 March 1944, Vadakkencheri Veeraraghava Subramanyam (VVS), is among the great Carnatic musicians that verdant green country has produced.
Among VVS’s earliest memories are concert tours with his guru Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar. One of them stands out clearly: a visit, when he was barely ten, to Poomuli Mana in Kerala – a household where prosperity wafted through the air like cool fragrances. An old, orthodox namboodiri in that household murmured “Saraswati kataksham” whenever he looked at the boy VVS, convinced that he was blessed by the goddess. During that visit VVS also remembers a little girl offering him a flower as devi prasadam – Saraswati’s blessings. It all fits with his worldview: a world where the divine is as much a matter of experience as normal sense experiences.
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The Pattammal century
An exciting slew of events has been planned to celebrate the centenary of one of Carnatic music's enduring icons starting on Saturday 17 March and culminating on her 100th birth anniversary on 19th March 2019. Sruti's inaugural issue proved an instance success as it had Sangita Kalanidhi DK Pattammal on the cover. She was in many ways a pioneer among Carnatic vocalists, and we called her a trail blazing traditionalist. It is no secret that in the conservative south Indian milieu of the first half of the twentieth century, women were expected to take care of home and hearth, not venturing out even to practise the arts. The performing arts, not considered very respectable in Victorian India, had just about emerged from the shadow of social stigma, and were now dominated by men. In a remarkable turn of events that so often surprise us in the melting pot that is India, it was the intervention of the headmistress of the convent school she went to in the temple town of Kanchipuram that prevented young Pattammal from going the way of many upper caste Tamil girls.
Pattammal was a fortunate exception to the social norms that kept women at home. Once her father Krishnaswamy Dikshitar became convinced that her musical talent should be displayed on the concert stage, there was no stopping her. She not only became the equal of men in areas the few women already performing had hitherto been allowed to enter, but stormed the exclusive male bastion of ragam-tanam-pallavi singing and complex swaraprastaram.
Born in Kanchipuram on 28 March 1919, Damal Krishnaswamy Dikshitar Pattammal was over 90 when she breathed her last on 16 July 2009, her death bemoaned by the lifelong admirers of her sonorous rendering of unadulterated traditional Carnatic music, austere in intent and execution, crystal clear in enunciation, faithful to its creators in word and spirit, soaring in its adventurous exploration of the most complex rhythmic variations.
For all her immaculate pathantara, Pattammal’s early schooling in her chaste music was at best vicarious, learnt from the great gurus of her day by indirect assimilation Ekalavya-style rather than through gurukulavasa, which her gender at any rate ruled out. Her virtual mentor Kanchipuram Naina Pillai’s impact led to her mastery of ragam-tanam-pallavi at a time when women singers were expected to confine themselves to song-rendering in a demure, proper manner. The brief tutelage with Ambi Dikshitar that came later meant that she would one day become synonymous with the Muthuswami Dikshitar oeuvre. Graduation through adulthood and marriage to direct learning from Papanasam Sivan gave her a command over Tamil compositions poignant in the visible bhakti of her exposition of those moving lyrics.
For a woman of orthodox upbringing, Pattammal took many a daring step in her youth, especially in her courageous espousal of the nationalist cause through song. She did not shy away from lending her voice to film songs either, provided the songs were based on classical music and had high meaning. They were usually of patriotic content. She gave new life to some of the best creations of poet Subramania Bharati in this genre.
Pattammal and her brother D.K. Jayaraman were a rare combination on stage, creating vocal excellence in a role reversal that meant the younger brother had to sing in a kind of falsetto to support the elder sister’s deep voice. It is only when Jayaraman started to perform solo that the real depth and range of his voice came into prominence.
While son Sivakumar is a mridanga vidwan, his marriage to Palghat Mani Iyer’s daughter resulted in the passing on of extraordinary musical genes to the next generation. Granddaughter Nithyashree Mahadevan is the best known among the musicians from the Pattammal lineage.
Pattammal was a much loved, respected teacher too. Many frontline musicians belonging to the Jayaraman school had the good fortune of learning from Pattammal too, especially after Jayaraman’s premature death. Vocalist Vijay Siva and violinist R.K. Shriramkumar are perhaps the most prominent of them.
Pattammal remained a loving and devoted teacher almost until the end. She listened to and appreciated good music of all kinds, including film music, jazz and opera, and even watched cricket, but her views on Carnatic music remained unwaveringly traditional, classical.
Much of what you read here formed the substance of a documentary on Pattammal's life that preceded the formal launching of the DKP centenary celebrations by M Venkiah Naidu, Vice President of India on 17 March 2018 at the Narada Gana Sabha. The outstanding feature of the film was Pattammal's magnificent voice which reverberated around the hall. It was difficult to resist the temptation to ask the question, "Will we ever hear another quite like that?"
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Sudharani Raghupathy
Birthdays & Anniversaries
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| 21.3.1944 |
In 1965, Sudharani was only 21 years of age but the responsibility of choosing which road to follow was left entirely to her by her parents. Her mother was ready to back her up if she wanted to pursue dance, while her father would probably have understood her if she did that, compromising her chance to lead a life of wife and mother. But they left the decision to her.
Sudharani had already acquired a reputation as a fine Bharatanatyam dancer— and made the eminent teachers who had groomed her feel proud. She had earned the appreciation of ordinary VIPs, namely the connoisseurs, as well as of WIPs like Heads of State and Prime Ministers. She had learnt Carnatic music also. She had graduated with a B.A. degree in philosophy and sociology from the University of Mysore. She had studied abroad, in the United States of America, for a year and this had widened her horizons. She had acquired a degree of sophistication, in addition to the college degrees. She had gained enormous selfconfidence. With such qualifications and experience, she could pursue a career, in dance, if she wished to do so, and hope to succeed.
Interestingly, yet, she chose to travel the other road, knowing very well that it almost certainly meant a drastic change from the joy of dancing in front of footlights to assuming responsibilities as a 'domesticated' wife and mother. She was willing, if not eager, to leave all the glory and glitter behind. She elected to marry R. Raghupathy, 'the boy next door' in a manner of speaking: her and his parents had stayed only a couple of streets apart in Bangalore and known each other for many years, even though the latter had their base in Madras. The alliance had been broached five years earlier and even then Sudharani had tentatively agreed to it.
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Ustad Bismillah Khan
Birthdays & Anniversaries
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| 21.3.1916 - 21.8.2006 |
Ustad Bismillah Khan, the shehnai maestro, and possibly the most popular Hindustani classical musician of the 20th century, breathed his last at the age of 91 in Varanasi at 2.20 am on August 21. In his death, the nation mourns the fading away of the musical magic that heralded the dawn of Independence at the Red Fort on August 15, 1947, and regaled free India for six decades.
Bismillah Khan was one of the chief architects of India’s postIndependence musicscape. He elevated the shehnai, an ancient ceremonial instrument, to the status of a concert instrument. Through the 1960’s and 70’s, his formidable musicianship, along with that of instrumentalists like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Ustad Vilayat Khan, enabled instrumental music to overtake vocal music in terms of stature and popularity. Bismillah Khan, however, achieved much greater popularity than other instrumentalists of his generation because he straddled the worlds of classical, folk and popular music with equal ease and distinction.
The key to Bismillah Khan's musicianship lay in his having steeped himself in the rich musical tradition of Varanasi, the cultural capital of early 20th century India. Though born to a family of musicians from Dumrao in Bihar, Bismillah Khan moved to Varanasi at a young age to become a disciple and later, also son-in-law, of his uncle, Ustad Ali Baksh. It was in this holy city, that Bismillah Khan mastered classical music, and the various semi-classical, folk and romanticist genres of the Purab (Eastern U.P.) region, like thumri, chaiti, kajri, and dadra. Over the years, he transformed these genres into a distinctive modern idiom for the shehnai, of which he remained the only convincing exponent.
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 264,311
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 264,311
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M.S. Anantharaman a violinist of rare skill
Violinist M.S. Anantharaman, a Carnatic music icon who straddled the 20th and 21st centuries as a performing violinist and guru, passed away in February, bringing to an end a rare period in contemporary history of at least three generations of the Parur Sundaram Iyer lineage, performing contemporaneously on stage, solo, accompanying vocalists and sometimes together on stage.
For, in recent years,Anantharaman, elder brother of the late MS Gopalakrishnan, gave solo concerts as well as performances along with his sons Sundareswaran and Krishnaswami and his grandsons, not to mention the occasional stage appearance with a granddaughter.
In his prime, he accompanied almost every stalwart among the great vocalists of his generation.
Born on 26 August 1924 in Madras, Anantharaman was a son and disciple of Parur A. Sundaram Iyer, the eminent violinist and pioneering guru responsible for the spread of the violin beyond Carnatic music into Hindustani music as well. Anantharaman received training in playing the veena as well as the violin, and in Hindustani music.
A demanding teacher with a fine reputation, he served the Tamil Nadu Government Music College in Chennai as professor of violin from 1962 to 1983. Later, he taught in Pittsburgh, U.S.A., for some time.
Anantharaman was a recipient of the Kalaimamani award of the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, the T.T.K award of the Music Academy (1996) and the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1998). He was the Asthana Vidwan of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
Some years ago, Anantharaman, his two sons and their children gave an entertaining lecdem on rare Tyagaraja and Dikshitar kritis. During the lec-dem, they described their style, the Parur style, which is almost 125 years old, founded by Parur Sundaram Iyer, a disciple of Veena Dhanammal.
Anantharaman sang in perfect sruti songs that he played on the violin as well.
In his profile of MS Gopalakrishnan in March 2013, Prof. N Ramanathan wrote: "The early years of rigorous training in violin that Anantharaman and Gopalakrishnan underwent became a legend as early as the end of the 1950s. Stories used to circulate about the sadhakam or practicenthat started in the early hours of the morning in a room which would be locked from outside. After a break for bath and pazhaiyadu (curd mixed with rice cooked for the previous evening) and the sadhakam resumed to proceed till noon. Sundaram Iyer monitored the session, and teaching commenced in the afternoon. It used to be said that the father never allowed a mirror to be hung on the wall, nor provided the boys with a comb, so that time was not wasted in such 'extraneous activities.'
In the same article, Ramanathan describes the viraladi or single-finger slide technique to achieve "a continuous, undying tone," probably invented by Sundaram Iyer to replicate the meend of Hindustani vocalist Omkarnath Thakur--whom he and his sons accompanied in concerts--and cultivated by Anantharaman and Gopalakrishnan. He also mentions the practice of one brother playing a raga in thye hindustani mode and the other in the orthodox Carnatic mode. In fact, it is well known that the Parur bani does reveal the Hindustani influence.
One long time observer of the bani claims that Anantharaman's admiration for the violin-playing of Lalgudi G Jayaraman—a professional rival of the family—is occasionally reflected in his own music. Anantharaman spoke glowingly of Jayaraman at a condolence meeting soon after his death. while the Lalgudi family acknowledged Anantharaman's lifetime achievement with an award during a Lalgudi memorial event at the Madras Music Academy.
Anantharaman was a simple man, a careless dresser, of stern countenance during concerts, was a man of few words, but "called a spade a spade", not above publicly criticising even celebrities for what he believed were improprieties they committed. In a lighter vein, his humorous quips could provide light relief when musicians strayed from their music on stage to engage in speech. At a concert in which he was accompanying vidwan S.R. Janakiraman, SRJ launched into a description of the musical phrase he was essaying, when Anantharaman brought him back to earth by reminding him, "Janakiraman! your engagement here is for a concert. Please resume it and reserve the discourse for some other occasion."
Anantharaman was a caring elder who not only encouraged his own offspring in their musical careers, he also attended concerts of other young artists from a quiet corner in the auditorium. A number of music students from Sri Lanka received more than a helping hand from him in the late 20th century, while trying to establish themselves in the concert scene here. "He was a godfather to many of them, taking care of their welfare and their music."
He was also a respected violin teacher at the Central Music College at Chennai, where students looked up to him.
Parur M.S. Anantharaman's death has marked the end of a lifetime of devotion to his art—quietly, unobtrusively, but with immense pride in the perfection of his art and his legacy.
By V Ramnarayan
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ShringAra RusaAnubhava
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D K Pattammal
Birthdays & Anniversaries
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| 28.3.1919 - 16.7.2009 |
Born in Kanchipuram on 28 March 1919, Damal Krishnaswamy Dikshitar Pattammal was over 90 when she lifelong admirers of her magnificent, sonorous rendering of unadulterated traditional Carnatic music, austere in intent and execution, crystal clear in enunciation, faithful to its creators in word and spirit, soaring in its adventurous exploration of the most complex of its rhythmic variations.
Spotted by a school headmistress, Pattammal learnt from the great guru-s of her day by indirect assimilation Ekalavya style rather than through gurukulavasa, which her gender at any rate ruled out. Kanchipuram Naina Pillai’s impact led to her mastery of ragamtanam- pallavi at a time when women if heard at all on the concert stage were expected to confine themselves to song-rendering in a demure, proper manner. The brief tutelage with Ambi Dikshitar meant that she would one day become synonymous with the Muthuswami Dikshitar oeuvre. The graduation – through adulthood and marriage – to direct learning from Papanasam Sivan gave her a command over Tamil compositions that was at once enviable and poignant in the visible bhakti of her exposition of those moving lyrics.
For all her orthodoxy, Pattammal took many a daring step in her youth, especially in her courageous espousal of the nationalist cause through song. She did not shy away from lending her voice to film songs either, provided the songs were based on classical music and had high meaning. They were usually of patriotic content. She gave new life to some of the best creations of poet Subramania Bharati in this genre.
The success of Sruti was assured when Pattammal offered her unconditional cooperation in a two-part profile with which we launched the magazine in October 1983. This is how that profile began — with a graphic description of a Madras Music Academy kutcheri:
“The auditorium is full; a young woman has cast a spell over the listeners. Clad in a maroon silk saree with mustard and gold border, the pallav covering her shoulder, she presents a picture of modesty and feminine grace. The coruscating diamonds on her ears and nose enhance the old world elegance of the occasion. There are no sudden or jerky movements either in her person or in her music. She has sung Vachaspati raga elaborately, with subtle and imaginative touches. Now she is singing the tanam in the same raga, weaving rhythmical patterns skillfully into melodic phrases. There is palpable excitement and as the tanam draws to a close, the audience visibly holds its breath in avid expectation of the main attraction of the evening. This is the pallavi. The singer now renders it in a complicated rhythmic structure. The development of the pallavi “Navasakti swaroopini, nada omkara roopini”, follows the dictates of classical tradition, and niraval leads to kalpana swara-s. Nowhere is there the slightest infraction of artistic decorum. Nor is the intellectual handling of rhythm allowed to become a mere display of vocal gymnastics or solfa without soul. The emotional content runs through the whole like a luminescent silver thread. Perspicuity and poignancy, held to be the two aspects of all great art, fully realised on the razor’s edge balance of intellect and emotion. This finesse and depth coupled with original creativity amaze listeners.”
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Devakottai Narayana Iyengar
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Veena is one of the most ancient among Indian musical instruments and is as old as Hinduism. Sanskrit texts on music of yore refer to all stringed instruments as veena-s. Hence we have Rudra veena, Saraswati veena, sata-tantri veena (santoor), chitra veena (gottuvadyam) and so on. Even sarangi is classified under veena. The greatness of the South Indian or Saraswati veena lies not just in its ancientness.
It can bring out all the subtleties and nuances of a raga delineating the raga bhava. Therefore, those who give lectures on gamaka-s often prefer it for the purpose of demonstration. It is a hard taskmaster requiring constant practice for attaining proficiency. Not long ago one of the requirements in many Tamil households was for the daughter to learn to play it along with vocal music as a qualification for marriage! The number of vainika-s who have mastered it is limited and those who can command the loyalty of many rasika-s can be counted on one's fingers. Devakottai Narayana Iyengar was one of those rare vidwan-s who could establish their hold on the rasika-s without resorting to any gimmicks or publicity for themselves.
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Padma Varadan
Birthdays & Anniversaries
In earliest vision of musical perfection was the image of Padma Varadan’s (Pappa Akka as I used to call her when I was a child) slender fingers gliding effortlessly over the black and bronze fretting of the veena to produce seamless musical phrases of exquisite brilliance. That vision has been an enduring one, responsible for making me an Ekalavya of her musicianship and accepting her as my ‘manaseeka guru’, much to the amusement/ irritation/disapproval of my real gurus. While my mother and my foremost guru, Karpagavalli Gopalakrishnan, accepted my preference with good grace, my mother’s guru and Padma Akka’s father, the late Ranga Ramanuja Ayyangar, who tutored me on and off over the years, was not amused when I often questioned his authority in favour of his daughter’s. For me, Padma Varadan was the ultimate arbiter, at least in my impressionable childhood and teen years.
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S. Nagarajan
Musicians for Classical Dance
By Anjana Anand
A versatile percussionist, S. Nagarajan has been accompanying senior Bharatanatyam artistes for the past two decades. At Kaladarshanam, a school he founded, his wife Kirushanthy and he train students in Bharatanatyam and mridangam. He aspires to take percussion to the layman, and believes that an artiste should be adaptable and true to his art.
All your family members are involved in the arts.
My father, Shanmugalingam, an Odhuvarmurthy, was active in singing pannisai at the temple in Yazhpanam, Sri Lanka. He was also a tambura artist, though he was a goldsmith by profession. All his activities were connected to the temple. He specialized in making ornaments for deities. My mother is a rasika and is still involved in singing bhajans. They have been a tremendous influence is my life. My father passed away some years ago, within a week of being diagnosed with cancer. I think it was his devotion to Goddess Kamakshi that allowed him to leave this world without suffering.
All my siblings are involved in the arts. My brother, Gnanaguruparan is an artist specialising in painting. Another brother, Davaguruparan, is a tabla vidwan. Umaguruparan is a vocalist. Kumaraguruparan is a drama actor, while my sister Sarumathy is a veena artist. I married a Bharatanatyam dancer and my children are learning Bharatanatyam under her guidance.
What was your early exposure to music like?
I was born in India but spent my early years in Sri Lanka. Jaffna was very active in promoting music through the university. My father was the tambura artist for many senior visiting musicians. I started my training in mridangam. My guru, Kalaimamani Durairaj, was a disciple of A.S Ramanathan. Besides learning formally, I used to accompany my father in pannisaikucheris. My life revolved around school, the temple and concerts.
Yazhpanam was unique in its nurturing of artists, wasn’t it?
Yazhpanam was very rich culturally. I gained a lot of exposure playing for senior artists, as musicians encouraged young artists like me. Looking back, my early years in Jaffna shaped my approach to and understanding of music. It was such an open minded cultural ambience. A good mridangist was expected to play for all genres of music, be it Carnatic music or bhajanasampradaya recitals or Bharatanatyam. We learnt to adapt to different ways of playing depending on the kind of music being performed. If it was a Bharatanatyam programme, a percussionist was expected to know the adavu system, the nuances of bhava, the entries and exits of the characters and the modulation involved in playing for nritta and abhinaya. The same mridangist was adept at playing for a full-fledged kutcheri. I grew up in that kind of atmosphere, watching my own teacher play for different art forms.
How did you decide to pursue a career as a mridangist?
I completed my degree at Hindustan Engineering College. I was keen to further my training in mridangam and joined the Music Academy for a course under Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman Sir. It was a six-year course but I was fortunate to gain admission into the fourth year. I completed my Diploma in Mridangam in 2002.
My entry into dance was through Hariharan and Prameela in 1994. As I said earlier, I was open to playing mridangam for all kinds of performances, so it was a welcome opportunity. At that time, I was working for the Shriram group. I was leading a team and had a lot of responsibilities. Soon, I found it difficult to do justice to my music and a full time job. In 2003, with the encouragement of all my peers, I quit my job and became a full time musician.
I was interested in Western and Indian rhythm. I decided to do an MA in Indian music (Rhythmology – Mridangam) at the Madras University. I graduated in 2009 with a first class. In 2011, I went on to complete an M.Phil in Indian music (Rhythmology -Mridangam).
In what way can dancers and accompanying musicians work to ensure quality of performance?
As a mridangist, I find it easy to work with dancers when they are very clear about the compositions or choreography. This way we can support them to the best of our ability. It helps us if they send us the jatis before the rehearsals and clear any doubts regarding kanakku before the other musicians arrive. This will ensure that time is not wasted during full rehearsals.
How should aspiring mridangists for Bharatanatyam prepare themselves for a career in this field?
I think sincerity and humility are important traits to develop. Regardless of the standard of the teacher or the performer, our job is to support the dancer and aim for a successful performance. There are many things for us to learn on this journey even if we have received the best training. Being open to working with fellow artistes and improving our knowledge will go a long way in enhancing the quality of performance. I find that every performance contributes to my learning. The same composition is handled in a multitude of ways depending on the dancer’s bani and creativity. We have to be ready to adapt without having rigid ideas. To do this, a sound foundation in technique is important. With that we can create wonders.
I think the reverence we have for our instrument is something we should never forget. My first allegiance is to my mridangam. I only play after doing puja to my instrument. It is not something I can be careless about. Whether it is for Bharatanatayam, Carnatic music concert or a bhajan, the moment I touch my instrument, it is with full dedication.
What are the challenges when playing for recordings?
Time constraint. Within our scheduled time, we have to finish our parts understanding what is required by the choreographer. I feel it will be more effective to have a rehearsal before the recording so that time spent in the studio is optimised.
Do you play any other instruments?
I have formally learnt the mridangam but along the way, picked up the khanjira, tabla, tavil, morsing and dholak while playing for bhajans. This helped me when I started using the rhythm pad. It is important to know the basics of these instruments to create an authentic soundscape on the rhythm pad.
Tell us about your new venture, the Madras Drum Circle.
My friend Soundararajan and I were very keen to take percussion to the masses. We bought some djembes (an African percussion instrument) and started conducting workshops for interested groups. Till date we have worked with IT professionals, children and teenagers at different events. We were recently invited to conduct a birthday party event where children enjoyed themselves thoroughly. In fact, the parents joined in too. The best part about these workshops is that there is no hierarchy. Everyone plays simple rhythm patterns together with everyone else and the output is amazing. This has been useful as a team building activity in the corporate world as it promotes camaraderie amongst team leaders and their group members. We are very active on Facebook.
It takes a lot of time and energy as my friend and I handle the events personally. However, the reward of seeing the smiles and enthusiasm of the participants is worth every moment. It gives me great satisfaction to reach out to people.
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