I read with great interest the profile of Rama Ravi (Sruti 302) written
by my old colleague K.S. Kalidas (we worked in the Vijayawada-Madras
Railway Electrification Project at Vijayawada: he was in control of
signals and I was providing the stores). In 1982, he had suggested
to me that I should present Rama Ravi in the sabha Ganapriya that I
was conducting in Vijayawada. As I was about to retire at the end of
August that year, and had already fixed up Seshagopalan, Sankaranarayanan,
Maharajapuram Santhanam and Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana before bidding
farewell to Vijayawada, I could not accommodate Rama.
At that time Kalidas had only told me that Rama was a good singer. Now
I find that she is so much more talented, in vocal music as well as
veena. I now feel that I should have extended the tenure of my sabha
by one more month and brought Rama to sing!
V.S. Sundara Rajan
Chennai
Value of hard work
Thanks to the Sruti editorial team for the comprehensive feature on
vidwan T.N. Krishnan. A great artist, vidwan and a true legend, Prof.
Krishnan’s achievement in the field of music came through decades of
dedication, hard work and perseverance. His words “Musicians especially
youngsters, who try to become famous overnight are not only destroying
music but also their talents. Years of hard work is needed for an artist
to mature, and fame earned in a short time will be short lived” is something
that resonated through vidwans and vidushi-s of his generation. Many
others have been making the same call to youngsters, and I honestly
hope younger artists and rasika-s read the article on T.N. Krishnan,
as well as books on GNB and others and realise the value of hard work
and dedication needed to achieve true fame.
We as rasika-s are also partly to blame. We attend concerts in very
large numbers and give a false sense of fame to artists of the younger
generation. Some sabha-s, both in India and in the West, are promoting
this false sense of fame by ignoring real vidwat, which may not bring
a crowd. To the sabha-s it is largely a game of numbers and raising
enough money through ticket sales. The ultimate purpose should be the
promotion of true scholarship.
I was recently at Bidaram Krishnappa Prasanna Seetha Rama Mandira, Mysore,
participating in the first Prof. Mysore V. Ramarathnam Memorial Concert.
While Prof. T.A. Sridhar (Professor of Flute and Vocal Music, University
of Mysore), vidwan Guruvayur Dorai, and Sangita Kalanidhi M. Chandrasekar
fondly remembered Prof. Ramarathnam’s accomplishments through decades
of dedication, it was an account from the chief guest Cleveland V.V.
Sundaram that got etched in my mind. He said “Genius comes rather cheaply
nowadays”. That was not so during the time of Prof. Ramarathnam. Artists
had to work really hard and dedicate their entire life to make a name
for themselves. The true genius of that generation was clearly evident
in one’s accomplishments, whether it was their soulful rendition, or
other contributions as teachers, authors, composers and administrators.
K.S. Srinivasan
San Jose, U.S.A.
TNK and the 'X-factor'
Congratulations to Sruti on the special feature on T.N. Krishnan. Until
a couple of years ago, my new year would invariably begin with a visit
to the Kapali temple, followed by breakfast at the Karpagambal mess
and a dash to the Music Academy to find a seat at the T.N. Krishnan
concert. I vividly remember my first New Year concert experience. I
was involved in a huge debate with my friends on whether to attend Lalgudi’s
concert at Mylapore Fine Arts or TNK's concert at the Academy. Finally,
better acoustics at the Academy made us attend the TNK concert. TNK
played the famous "Sankarabharananai azhaittodi vaadi Kalyani darbarukku"
pallavi that day. The mandra sthayi sanchara-s of Todi are still ringing
in my ears. From then on, I was a regular at the Academy on every 1st
January. I noticed that there were quite a few regulars celebrating
their new year by attending TNK’s concert at the Academy. I particularly
remember a brilliant Shanmukhapriya ragam-tanam-pallavi. Just
when I thought it could never ever get any better, TNK played an out
of the world Sindhubhairavi. It lasted just a few minutes and left a
permanent impact on me.
It is a real pity that TNK doesn’t play at the Academy any more on 1st
January.
Another place where I love listening to TNK's concert is at the Raga
Sudha Hall. In 2003, when he dedicated his concert to Semmangudi, TNK
played the evergreen Semmangudi hit Birana brova and followed it with
a soulful Saveri pallavi. After the pallavi, S.V. Krishnan requested
TNK to play raga sketches of ‘TNK special’ raga-s like Yadukulakambhoji,
Sahana and Surati. TNK's ability to give a sense of completeness, despite
playing each raga for less than a minute was unbelievable.
I have often felt TNK's bowing technique, crisp portrayal of raga-s,
tremendous energy and pleasant stage presence are probably not the only
reasons for his success. We can find many violinists with adequate proficiency
in all these aspects. TNK's concert has an inexplicable element which
I call the "X-factor". I have tried several times, unsuccessfully,
to figure out what this factor could be. At the end of the day, who
cares? I can enjoy his concerts any day, whether or not I know the 'X-factor'.
Lalitha Ram
Bangalore
The Semmangudi-TNK combination
Of late, we talk much about the existence of a 'chemistry' between
artists on a platform that decides the success of an event. This chemistry
manifests predominantly among dancers even while dancing is essentially
a balance between 'physics' (movements) and 'feelings'!
Jokes apart, I have always been fascinated by the perfect understanding
and empathy between Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and T.N. Krishnan. I have
listened to these giants in concert at 'close quarters' on numerous
occasions – including several recitals at the haloed Navaratri Mandapam
in Trivandrum. TNK very well knew where Semmangudi needed active support
or where he should be bowing just sa pa on the strings. TNK would ‘dash’
to Semmangudi's rescue to supplement or wind up sangati-s or swara korvai-s
– all done so subtly.
The following incident is green in my memory. There is a composition
of Swati Tirunal in Sankarabharanam - Kalaye Parvatinaatham (Misra Chapu),
with the pallavi eduppu in viloma Chapu. Most of the audience was hearing
this rarely rendered piece for the first time at a Manadapam concert
by Semmangudi with TNK on the violin. The kriti got off to a majestic
start but it was the last sangati of the pallavi which played ‘villain’
that day. TNK got the cue and helped to tie the elusive tailend of the
sangati in place much to the appreciation of the singer. I also remember
that Semmangudi permitted a special 'mini tani' for Umayalpuram
Sivaraman for the song as a bonus to rasika-s that day.
On another occasion, Semmangudi started a Varali alapana with an avarohana
'pidi' of just two seconds which was the quintessence of the raga, but
had to cut it short due to some disturbance. TNK continued instantly
with a sterling delineation and an immensely pleased Semmangudi straightaway
went on to the kriti in recognition of TNK’s prowess.
All the time Semmangudi kept a close vigil on TNK’s progress. A godfather?
S. Sivaramakrishnan
Nagapattinam
Peria Sarada
Many people would have written about Peria Sarada’s contribution to
dance over the last decades. Her contribution was immense and Sarada
was a major influence in establishing classical dance at the heart of
Tamil culture.
I am a sarod musician – disciple of the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. For
me, over the 45 years that I knew her, she was a constant source of
knowledge on Sanskrit and yoga. Her home was always a place of welcome
– a home away from home while touring the world. There the discussions
with her touched so many philosophical aspects in Carnatic music, yoga,
the understanding of sound and how the great Sanskrit classics explained
the relationships between these aspects of life and rooted them into
practical applications. All of this was shared in such eloquent Tamil
– she translated Sanskrit so well into Tamil that it was a joy to hear.
Her mind was always investigating, and she always ready to share her
vast knowledge; her welcome always warm. She wanted to talk and weave
together her inspiring thoughts.
She was a spiritual, musical, yogic guide for me. It was a joy for me
to play for her and then to talk long into the night discussing the
perfect intonations of mantra-s, incorporating sound and breathing,
how to express the mantra through the yoga of sound, through music.
The gentle compound in the grounds of the Theosophical Society was a
place of kindness and welcome, but above all Sarada Devi gave me, and
many others, a perception of knowledge, honed exactly to our needs and
skills, and she inspired our practice and our knowledge.
I shall endeavour to transmit that extraordinary and privileged experience
to my students. I shall miss a truly great teacher.
K. Sridhar
By email from the U.S.A.
Prof. Gopala Raman
Professor P. Gopala Raman, a noted academician and connoisseur of music,
passed away on 5 January 2010 after a brief illness. He was 85. Born
in 1925 in Tiruvanantapuram, he was professor of chemistry in Women’s
College, NSS College and finally in University College, from where he
retired. He was a reputed teacher, respected by his colleagues and the
student community.
He was closely associated with Sri Swati Tirunal Sangeeta Sabha, Tiruvanantapuram,
for several years. Readers may recall my report of the prominent role
he played in bringing out ten special cancellations on the Navaratri
songs of Swati Tirunal and the commemorative stamp on Chembai Vaidyanatha
Bhagavatar (Sruti 299). He was also actively involved in the running
of Chembai Memorial Trust, Neelakantha Sivan Sangeeta Sabha and Seetarama
Bhakta Sabha, all in Tiruvanantapuram. He also lent his services, in
an honorary capacity, to the Tiruvanantapuram centre of Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan.
He was correspondent of Sruti for about two years in the 1980’s. Along
with (the late) Umamaheswaran, who succeeded him as correspondent, Prof.
Gopala Raman was instrumental in providing openings in Tiruvanantapuram
for several promising young musicians of other States – such as Nagamani
Srinath and M.S. Sheela, as also for talented locals like Mavelikkara
Prabhakara Varma who eventually retired as professor in Sri Swati Tirunal
College of Music, Tiruvanantapuram.
Rasika-s of Tiruvanantapuram will remember Prof. Gopala Raman with gratitude
for his multifarious services to the cause of Carnatic music. He is
survived by his wife, a daughter and a son who is Chief General Manager
of RBI at Mumbai.
S. Sankaranarayanan
Chennai
GNB's disciple S.R. Chandru
Kudos to Sruti for bringing out such an informative and enlightening
issue dedicated to the great GNB (December 2009). Almost all the facets
of his life have been dealt with in the said issue. I would like to
invite your attention to the article by V. Ramnarayan dealing with almost
all the disciples of the great legend. Here I would like to point out
about my late guru S.R. Chandru, who was a direct disciple of GNB sir.
Sri Chandru learnt several pieces from GNB sir directly. According to
my guru, GNB sir never expected his disciples to sing exactly like him,
but encouraged them to understand the nuances involved in a particular
raga or composition. Those familiar with the music circles in Delhi
will recollect GNB sir’s bani in Sri Chandru’s music.
sruti.com
