Cross-cultural experiments with the music of the West and the dance of the East or vice versa are not entirely new. Years ago when explorations of such a nature were rare, dancer Padma Subrahmanyam had attempted it with mixed responses from viewers. Since then, there have  been occasional forays into such cross marriages with varying degrees of success. Daksha Sheth's Kathak to Vivaldi's score, and Shovana Narayan's experiment of Kathak rendered to the Moonlight sonata are some of the instances, which come immediately to mind. But rarely has one had the feeling of music and dance being perfectly matched as in the recent endeavour of Swan Lake in Mohini Attam based on Tchaikovsky's original music by The Centre for Mohini Attam, under the leadership of dancer Bharati Shivaji and her disciple/daughter Vijayalakshmi. A replay at the Kamani on the 2nd of May attracted a large audience, word having gone round after the earlier premiere performance.

Tchaikovsky's magnificent music, along with the movements of the dance it has inspired is imprinted cultural memory, and to separate one from the other would be unthinkable. And yet Bharati and her daughter have visualised the dance movements in a manner which makes Mohini Attam seem an inevitable part of Tchaikovsky's score. The dip and elevations of Mohini Attam and the andolika torso would seem to be ideally designed to portray swanlike grace in leisurely pace and fluidity. Gliding along on tip toes, the dancers moved without giving the obvious impression of seeking to cover floor space-- much like the swan gliding along on the surface of the water. The absence of a metrical cycle in rhythm (tala) seemed to give the dancers a kind of freedom they revelled in. About twenty dancers clad in the Mohini Attam off-white costume moving in complete unison, made a most vivacious picture-- the small double circles one below the other of frilled fans in the front of the costume at the waist, with the top hair-knot decorated with jasmines and a frilled attachment like a tiny fan just below the right shoulder adding up to a total picture very suggestive of the swan. Indeed not often has this critic seen more tasteful costuming with a deft touch like a waist band or a sprinkling of some colour added to the orthodox Mohini Attam white getup, to single out different characters like the Queen, enacted by Bharati herself or Odette the swan princess, sensitively danced by Vijayalakshmi. Along with the designing what added that final touch of class was the exquisite tailoring with really well fitting costumes for one and all. To offset the grace and serene beauty of the swans was the male vigour in Mayurbhanj Chhau movements choreographed by Santosh Nair, himself a dancer with exemplary balance and ambit of movement. Being grounded for the most part on one leg while the other engages in swirling movements in the air requires the kind of complete centredness not all dancers command. Santosh is one of them and with his long limbs he imparts expansiveness to the dance. And in the sequences requiring the chasing of Prince Siegfried by Rothbart the wicked magician, the Chhau utplavana-s and the long-legged strides were perfect. Santosh showed a feel for the music and both its tranquil moments and swelling throb, sending pulses racing, were well echoed in the movement choreography. Just a plain dhoti elegantly draped with a neat top looked ideal for the prince's costume and in contrast was the black costume, the Indian tone not a whit diluted, for the magician. Anil Panchal as Rothbart gave his dance the thrust and power needed for the role.

The pas de deux between Odette and the Prince, the high melodrama of the second act when the prince rejects all the four suitors preening before him to show off their physical attributes and charms through differently paced Mohini Attam sequences, were all very convincingly portrayed. Above all, to keep the production to an hour and ten minutes without losing the flavours of the story meant editing the music, composed for a very long ballet. This task of retaining the best of the music without giving a feel of disjointed bits put together could only have been achieved by one who had absorbed every mood in the music by listening to it constantly. Here it was Vijayalakshmi whose obsessive desire to do Swan Lake in Mohini Attam after having listened to the music in Russia and seen ballet performances was a factor which came to the aid of the production and in a sense became its main motivating force. The fact that many Westerners who are familiar with the work, while watching forgot the feeling of this being a cross-cultural work, says a lot for how dance and music interacted.

MAIN FEATURE

The following article was written by Dr. M.A. BHAGEERATHI, Lecturer (SG) Department of Music, The Queen Mary's College, Madras and daughter of violinist Parur M.S. Anantharaman. Her doctoral thesis in the Madras University was on "Prof. P. Sambamoorthy's Contribution To Music Theory" and during her research she went through all his personal papers and notes preserved in the Music Academy.

Professor P. Sambamoorthy was the musicologist of the century", said Professor S.R. Janakiraman, himself a musicologist. Sambamoorthy was the author of more than fifty books and as many articles on music and musicology and a legend in his own lifetime. He was a teacher of music, a pioneer in introducing music teaching in educational institutions, an organiser  of sabha-s, one of the founding fathers of the Music Academy, a composer of various musical forms, and a conductor of an orchestra of Carnatic music. He travelled widely and was recognised as an ambassador of South Indian music. 

Sambamoorthy was born on 14th February 1901 to Pitchu Iyer and Parvati Ammal. He was the youngest of five children. His ancestors were originally from Varahur in Tanjavur District. According to his horoscope, however, his date of birth was 21st February 1900.... He lost his father when he was only four years old. Thereafter, he and his mother came to Madras and settled down at No. 205 Thambu Chetty Street.... He had his elementary school education in Arya Pathasala (now defunct) in Thambu Chetty Street. He joined the St. Gabriel's High school in 1910 and passed out of it in the year 1916, during which period he was the recipient of a Government scholarship. 

At the age of twelve, while studying in the III Form, he began the systematic study of music.... Sambamoorthy began his systematic study of violin under Krishnayya and the first lesson was held in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ramaswami temple. A year later he learnt the fundamentals of playing the flute from one Krishnamurthy. He also learnt many aspects of playing the flute from Ashtaputra Venkatarama Sastri, a nephew of Sarabha Sastri, the eminent flute player.... Sambamoorthy then started giving flute performances. In the year 1916, on the occasion of Telugu New Year's day, he performed at No. 88 Ramaswami Street, G.T., Madras....

He passed the Intermediate examination  from the Madras Christian College, all the time continuing his musical studies also. He then worked as a clerk in Macmillan & Co, which helped him learn the nuances involved in printing and publishing books. He joined the Presidency College for a B.A. degree and completed the course in the year 1922. He was married the same year to N.S. Anandavalli, a cousin of T.S. Sabhesa Iyer. In July 1922, Sambamoorthy joined the Madras Law College and took his B.L. degree in 1924. He was one of many prominent musicologists who were lawyers....

Sambamoorthy started the Tyaga Brahma Sabha in George Town, Madras, in 1920. That was the first sabha to hold Bahula Panchami concerts....

Sambamoorthy came in contact with Rev. Popley in the year 1924 and on his invitation, he delivered a series of ten lectures with demonstrations on 'Musical Forms in South Indian Music'  to the students of the summer school. The same year he was appointed as a lecturer in the school.... In 1926, Sambamoorthy became its Vice-Principal and in 1927 he was appointed Principal of the School. He set about making it a high class institution. The strength of the school gradually increased.... A Teacher's Training Course was also introduced. The summer sessions became a regular five-year course.

Many music teachers working in the schools of the Corporation of Madras and other schools joined and studied in this institution. The performance of the summer school orchestra became very popular....

In addition to instruction in theory, practical instruction was given in vocal music, veena, violin, flute and mridanga. In the year 1937, it had more than 200 students including Christians, Hindus and Muslims.... Sambamoorthy continued here till he was appointed to a position in the Music Dept. of the Madras University in 1937....

Early in 1926, Sambamoorthy was appointed a teacher of music in the Vidyodaya Girls High School.... In August 1926, he also started teaching general singing to the students of the St. Christopher's Training College, which was then in Kilpauk. The same year he was appointed as a part-time lecturer in music in the Queen Mary's College and in the following year, in the Lady Willingdon Training College. In 1927, he joined as a part-time teacher of music, in the Northwick Girls High School, Royapuram; the London Mission Bentinck Girls High School, Vepery; and the Lady Willingdon High School, Triplicane. Between 1928 and 1931 he was thus teaching music in six institutions in Madras, and the Principals of the institutions were kind enough to arrange the time-tables to suit his convenience....

He evolved his own teaching methods (about which he has written elaborately in his book Teaching Of Music), and they proved successful....

In 1924, a resolution urging the University authorities to include music among the optional subjects for the Intermediate examination was passed and this was endorsed at a meeting held under the auspices of the South Indian Teachers' Union in the Pachaiyappa's College, Madras. As a result, a committee was constituted by the University to draft a syllabus for the Intermediate course. A second committee of the University revised this draft syllabus. Sambamoorthy was a member of both the committees....

The Queen Mary's College, Mylapore was the first college to get affiliated in music and Sambamoorthy was appointed as the first lecturer in Indian Music.... A Board of Studies in music was also constituted in the University....

Music was then introduced as a subject in the B.A. class and a suitable syllabus was framed. The Queen Mary's College received affiliation for the two-year B.A. degree course....

The Fifth All India Music Conference was held in December 1927 in Madras along with the session of the Indian National Congress.... Sambamoorthy and E. Krishna Iyer were the Secretaries of this conference. As part of the deliberations it was decided to organise an exhibition and Sambamoorthy was deputed to collect the necessary material. He was able to get many rare manuscripts, musical instruments and books on music which were displayed in the exhibition which proved very popular.... For obtaining the materials for the exhibition, Sambamoorthy visited Tanjavur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram and Coimbatore. This was the first exhibition of music that he organised and subsequently he was able to organise more elaborate ones....

As is well known the Music Conference led to an initiative being taken to establish a Music Academy in Madras and this came into being in 1928. When concert programmes and a musical conference were first organised by the Academy, E. Krishna Iyer was in charge of the former while Sambamoorthy was in charge of the latter and of arranging for papers to be presented....

On his return to Madras from Germany, K.T. Paul told Sambamoorthy that he had secured for him a scholarship from Germany for advanced studies in music there. Sambamoorthy soon got the official communication about the scholarship. He accepted the offer but had to arrange for funds for his passage to Europe, by steamer. The Madras University sanctioned him a grant of Rs. 2000 to meet his travel expenses.... He left Madras for Europe on the 14th April 1931....

In Munich, he enrolled in a number of music courses....

He was invited to many places in Europe to give lecture-recitals on Indian music under the auspices of Acedemies of music and  culture societies and over the Radio....

Sambamoorthy returned from Europe in April 1932 and resumed his posts in the Queen Mary's College and the Lady Willingdon Training College. While in Europe, he had made a detailed study of orchestral music and the composition of music for orchestras. On his return to India he organised an Indian orchestra playing pure melodic music with a balanced emphasis on the tone colour. The concerts of his orchestra were very popular.... After 1939, by when Sambamoorthy had joined the Madras University as a lecturer, service conditions prevented him from conducting orchestral concerts and he had to disband his orchestra....

In 1937, Sambamoorthy was appointed Lecturer in Music at the University of Madras, where he continued till his retirement in 1961, rising to the position of Professor. In the year 1961 he was appointed as the Director of the Sangeeta Vadyalaya, an institution for the development of musical instruments which had been started in 1956 by the All India Handicrafts Board, and which Sambamoorthy had set up. He worked there till 1964 when he was appointed Visiting Professor of Music at the Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He continued in this post till 1966. In the year 1967 he was appointed as UGC Professor of Music, in the Department of Music, University of Madras.... He occupied this post till 1970. He continued  his academic pursuits right till his death on 23rd October 1973....

In the year 1949, he was appointed by the Govt. of India as Special officer for starting a Central College of Carnatic music in Madras. He framed the syllabus and curriculum....

When the Government of Madras constituted the State Sangeeta Nataka Sangam in 1956, Sambamoorthy was one of the first choices for membership and he served many terms with distinction.

Several institutions connected with music honoured him....

In 1972, Sambamoorthy presided over the annual conference of the Music Academy in whose coming into being he had played an important part. He received the title of Sangeeta Kalanidhi at the sadas in January 1973, a fitting, though perhaps belated, recognition of his service to music....

He wrote several books on musical theory and biography and the history of music. He was also interested in publishing songs with correct notation. His first publication was The Flute, a pamphlet in English which came out in 1923.... His next publication was Indian Songs Book I in Tamil. His other publications:

l Indian Songs Book - II, III, IV & V
l Golden Treasure (1927).
l South Indian Music Primer
l South Indian Music Books I, II, III, IV, V and VI
l 72 Mela Karta Janya Raga Scheme.
l Practical Course in Carnatic Music Books I, II and III
l New Musical Compositions, A New Kriti in Vachaspati Raga and Two Marches.

In 1929, Dr. Gravely, the then Superintendent of the Madras Government Museum, asked him to arrange a gallery of musical instruments.... Gravely also then suggested that he could write a descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the gallery.,,,

Sambamoorthy also took up writing of musical biographies. With the material gathered during his visits to Tanjavur and other places, he was able to publish the book Syama Sastry And Other Famous Figures of South Indian Music. Great Composers Books I and II and Great Musicians. Later, he authored the book Tyagaraja for the National Book Trust....

Sambamoorthy published three volumes of the book A Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians, the first volume in the year 1952 and the third volume in 1971, two years before his death. The third volume had taken the work upto the letter "N"....

Sambamoorthy had published a book titled the Teaching Of Music in 1947. In 1960 he followed it up with Aids To The Teaching Of Music. Sambamoorthy was a pioneer in the authorship of books on the teaching of Carnatic music.... 

Sambamoorthy wrote three books on Western music. They are Elements of Western Music For Students Of Indian Music (1961), Indian Melodies In Staff Notation and Western Melodies In Staff Notation Played By Serfoji's Band.

He published the following operas: 

1. Pallaki Seva Prabandham (1955) 
2. Sundaresa Vilasamu (1952) 
3. Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam (1965) and 
4. Nauka Charitram (1962).

Sambamoorthy also brought out the following books:
l Namavali Satakam
l Selection From Tamil Composers (1935) and Tamil Songs - 1.
l Carnataka Sangeeta Vidwangal
l Madras as a Seat of Music

He edited the book, Bharata Siddhantam (1953) for the Madras Government Oriental manuscript library....

Sambamoorthy also started a publishing company named Indian Music Publishing House which published mainly his books.

Sruti Vadya-s and Laya Vadya-s  and Compositions Of Pallavi Seshayyar With Notation were some of the books published by other organisations.

Sambamoorthy has authored two books jointly with another scholar. They are: 

1. Guide Book On Teaching Of Music - Forms I to III, along with S. Parvathy (1951). 

2. Kunrakudi Kumaran Peyaril Keertanaigal,  along with Chittoor Subramania Pillai.

Sambamoorthy was a regular speaker over All India Radio....

He served as Vice President of the International Society for Music Education for three years and was the Representative of India at the International Music Council in Paris.

Sambamoorthy's was a life dedicated wholly to Carnatic music.... No one else in his time could be said to have achieved so much on the academic aspect of the art and generations of students of the theory of Carnatic music are indebted to him for his scholarly works which are couched in simple and easily understandable terms. In the history of Carnatic music in the 20th century, Sambamoorthy's name deserves an honoured place.

Awards And Titles

The following is a list of some of the awards and titles received by Sambamoorthy.

l Member, Gesellschaft fur Erforschung der Music Des Orients Berlin (1931).
l Gandharva Veda Visarada - Hindu Dharma Maha Mandal (1943).
l Sangeeta Kala Sikhamani - Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai (1946).
l Isai Peraringnar - Tamil Isai Sangam, Chennai (1957).
l Fellow, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi (1963).
l Sangeeta Kalanidhi - Music Academy, Chennai (1972).
l Padma Bhushan - Government of India.
l Geeta Vadya Vinoda by the Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
l Natya Kala Kovida - Fine Arts Society, Mumbai.
l Sangeeta Sastra Praveena - Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. 
l Sangeeta Sastra Ratnakara - Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. 
l Sakala Kala Vallabha - Fine Arts Society, Bangalore.

 
Sambamoorthy The Composer

It is not well known that Sambamoorthy was himself a composer. He has composed many musical forms like kriti-s, sootra geeta-s, and a moorchanakaraka mela ragamalika. He started composing in 1919, while in his teens, as can be seen from his papers preserved at The Music Academy in Chennai. He has composed songs based on musicological concepts. The total number of his compositions exceeds 150.... Sambamoorthy has composed many marches based on Western music.... Sambamoorthy's ishta devata seems to be "Musicology". He created at least one raga, which he called Haridasapriya. Its arohana Sa pa ma ga ma pa dha ni sa was based on the Harikambhoji mela and the avarohana Sa ni dha ni pa ma ga ri sa based on the Kharaharapriya mela.

BACK OF BOOK

Postage Stamps: Windows To Music &Dance

Stamps On Saints And Poets - Part 8

Eknath-S. SANKARANARAYANAN

Stamp on Eknath

The stamp on Sant Eknath was issued on 23 March 2003, in the 470th year of his birth anniversary. It is a multi-coloured stamp in the denomination of Rs. 5, perf. 13. It is printed in India Security Press, Nasik, on imported un-watermark adhesive gravure coated stamp paper by photogravure process. Both the stamp and the First Day Cover depict a picture of Eknath at work on his famous Eknathi Bhagavata.

Life of Eknath

Eknath was born in 1533 AD in an illustrious Brahmin family in Paithan (Pratishthaan) in Maharashtra. Suryaji and Rukmini were his parents. His great grandfather, Sant Bhanudas (1448-1513) was a prominent leader of the Varkari sect of devotees. It is said that it was he who brought back the idol of Lord Panduranga from Vijayanagar to Pandharpur. 

Eknath lost his parents when he was very young and was brought up by his grandparents, Chakrapani and Saraswatibai. Even as a child, Eknath was disposed to remain in solitude, devoting his time in singing keertan-s on the Lord. 

When Eknath was about 12, he heard about a renowned scholar-saint of that time, Sree Janardanaswami. The Swami was a follower of Dattatreya, and was living in Devgiri (Daulatabad). Eknath walked all the way from Paithan to Devgiri to meet him. He realised at once that the Swami was the spiritual guru he was looking for. Prostrating at his feet, Eknath implored the Swami to accept him as a disciple. The Swami unhesitatingly acceded to Eknath's request, for he could foresee the divine mission that awaited Eknath; and Eknath served the guru faithfully during the entire tutelage. 

Janardanaswami taught him Vedanta, Yoga, Mimamsa and other branches of higher learning. He also initiated him into Bhakti Yoga, or the Path of Devotion. It is then that Eknath got acquainted with the works of Sant Jnaneswar, including Jnaneswari. Eknath spent most of his time in deep meditation, besides mastering the scriptures. 

On the completion of the discipleship, Janardanaswami advised Eknath to go on a pilgrimage to holy places. It took him, among other places, to Nasik, Triambakeswar, Ujjain, Mathura, Prayag, Varanasi and Ayodhya. 

Returning to Paithan, Eknath settled down to a house-holder's life, very much like Namdeo before him. He was fortunate in his wife Girija who was totally devoted to Eknath and his ideals. They had two daughters and one son. (According to another account, they had only one son and one daughter.) Eknath showed to the world that married life was no hindrance to the pursuit of spirituality. 

Eknath embraced jal-samadhi in Lakshmi Teertha in the river Godavari on the Krishna Shashti day (sixth day of the dark fortnight) of Phalguna month in the year 1598 AD. 

His philosophy and beliefs

In Eknath's philosophy, one finds the doctrines of Vedanta and the tenets of Sufism.  People from all creeds thronged to listen to his recitation of the Bhagavata and singing of keertan-s. He abhorred caste barriers. His followers belonged to different castes and callings. Once he offered the food prepared for sraddha (and therefore meant only for the Brahmins) to sweepers. On another occasion, he gave Ganga-jal (holy water from Ganga) to a dying donkey! Such acts, though prompted by compassion, angered the orthodox Brahmins who caused endless trouble to him and his family. However, Eknath remained composed and serene and bore their animus without any trace of rancour or malice against them. 

His works

Eknath was a prolific writer. He was a scholar in Marathi and Sanskrit, as also in Arabic and Persian. He also wrote in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. 

Eknath's major work is his Eknathi Bhagavata, a Marathi commentary on the 11th Skanda of the Bhagavata Purana which contains the Uddhava Gita. It is said that it took him three years to complete it. 

His other works include Rukmini Swayamvara, Bhavartha Ramayana and numerous abhang-s. His short poems, known as Bharudas, were remarkable literary creations, in that one can read into them both secular as well as spiritual meanings. 

Eknath should be remembered for another notable, and noble, deed. Jnaneswar, the author of Jnaneswari, had attained samadhi in 1296. During the nearly 250 years that separated Jnaneswar and Eknath, several interpolations had crept into Jnaneswari, and distorted and corrupted versions were in circulation in Eknath's time. Eknath worked very hard to collect the manuscripts of the original rendition wherever they were available, and produced a critically edited version. In fact, but for Eknath's devoted and untiring efforts, Jnaneswari in its original form would have been lost to posterity. 

Given below is a translation of the ovi-s added by Sant Eknath after his research on Jnaneswari-- extracted from the English translation of Jnaneswari by R.K. Bhagwat, Samata Books. 

"Eknath, the disciple of Saint Janaardana, corrected with high regard, from the original, the copy (manuscript) of Jnaaneshwaree-Geetaa (then in vogue) in the year Shake 1506 named 'Taarana'. The Scripture was by itself originally perfectly pure, but had meanwhile been rendered inconsistent (incorrect) on account of wrong and unauthorized interpolations made during the course of the day-to-day routine reciting. These have, after a careful research, been corrected (now) and a correct and authentic copy of Jnaaneshwaree has now been prepared from the original. I bow to the spot-less saint Jnaaneshwar, the reading of whose commentary on Geetaa imparts knowledge to the devoted lover of the Scrip-ture. Writing work was completed at the town named Paithan (Pratishthaan) on the bank of river Godavari, on the most auspicious and unique occasion, the Kapila-shashthi, in the month of Bhaadrapada. Anyone who would hereafter interpolate any (unauthorised) Marathi verse of his own composition in this copy of Jnaaneshwaree should be taken as having placed a hollowed shell of a coconut in a dish filled with ambrosia."

His abhang-s

The commencing words of some of his abhang-s are given below: 

Anadi Ambika Bhagavati;
Chinchechya panavar;
Kaivalyacha putala;
Kasturi parimal;
Kaya hi Pandhari;
Maze maher Pandhari; and
Sarva sukhachi lahari.