Music's Bylanes IX: Shri Tattva Nidhi (....continued)

In many places we have alluded to the Mysore Maharajahs as great benefactors of art, culture and of people. We have particularly mentioned his Highness Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar in many contexts.

We have also talked of Durbar Bakshi’s (Palace Secretaries) with whom our host Sri. K. Srikantiah would facilitate many a help from the Palace for some of the great music doyens.

We turn our minds to the great composer Muthiah Bhagavatar in such a context.

As our very many of our Rasikas know, Muthiah Bhagavatar, is one of Carnatic Classical music's most famous twentieth-century composer. He is credited with a mammoth 400 musical compositions and about 20 ragas. He was also known to be a Harikata Vidwan and adept at playing many an instrument. At times, some of the great Carnatic Vidwans including Madurai Mani Iyer, T. Chowdiah, Veena Chitti Babu would play a rare tune to an encore called “English Note”. This too was one of the creations of this great composer.

The rare photograph (above) shows him as a Mysore court musician. During his tenure at the Mysore Palace he was known to have composed 115 kritis in Kannada all in praise of Chamundeshwari Devi, the Ishta Devi of the Maharajas and the protective Mother of the city called Mahishasura-uru (Mysuru as rendered in the native).

[ We are very obliged to Heritage Objects of Mysore for preserving and publishing such photos. Heritage Objects of Mysore can be found on Facebook, with permission. It is to their credit that they have created a virtual museum on the life and times of the great Mysore Kings with some very rare photographic displays and narratives. ]

Ah, is it just Coimbatore ?

The city of Coimbatore in Tamilnadu is also connected in more ways than one with the family of “Parvathi”. As a musical center, it would often find Sri. K. Srikantiah making many a sojourn there for the cause of music along with T. Chowdiah or many an eminent other (things that we have mentioned before).

It was also a city recognized as a home for some cherished sweets, thanks to Messrs. “Krishna Sweets”, whose very fine creations would bring many a famous Carnatic Musician such as an MMI or GNB craving for the same while thinking of a simultaneous performance there.

Somewhere, in the passage of time, it also became a city of “Sambandhi”, as “Parvathi’s” extended family found itself with “in-laws” there.

We show you a rare photograph (below) of Parvathi “Sambandhi”, the late Shri. S.R.Nanjundan of Coimbatore as seen with his late Highness Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar. Throughout his life Mr. Nanjundan would have cause to remember his very close and honorable friendship with H.H. and their families.

Mysore’s famed Parliamentary building, the Vidhana Soudha, even as of today, carries many a tile installed from the Coimbatore factory of Shri S.R. Nanjundan.

Continuing with our Wodeyar Kings, we show you His Highness JCW, greeting a young Mr. M.V. Krishnaswamy of Documentary fame (we’ve spoken of him elsewhere in our pages).

Now, how many do we know that can show us such a photo (below) for their Bio data?

" This Mysore-born film maker assisted Roberto Rossellini on the sets of Viaggio in Italia starring Ingrid Bergman and once "made" Satyajit Ray stand in a queue for a cinema ticket...But he makes such facts appear like that serene illumination in the verandah which does not blind your eyes...."

- Sugata Srinivasaraju on M.V. Krishnaswamy

Finally, as we went into print, we heard the heart warming news of a person who made the distinguished PADMA BHUSHAN rolls for 2014.

As all the B&W photographs on this blog reveal, in a rare collection of his much younger days, we are provided with the glimpses of a genius who provided magnificent accompaniment for the greatest of the Carnatic vocalists of those times. This was much earlier to his departure onto a world platform, with the group “Shakti” or with the Grammy.

How do we best like to remember our famous Ghatam Vidwan artist T.H. “Vikku” Vinaykram?

Just as he is shown below.

[ Courtesy: Experience with Mahaperiava ]

Music's Bylanes III - "Thyagaraja Seva Rathnam" - through the lenses of a Thyagaraja Bhagvathar, M.S. Subbulakshmi and others

We find ourselves gathered, as we have done many a time before, in Mr. Srikantiah’s house in Bangalore.

An Illustrious musical icon, perhaps Sangeetha Kalanidhi V. Ramachandran, or Vidushi T.Rukmini , has called from their home, and the host is engaged in a heartwarming discussion of old times with them.

We are left in a reverie.

Honorables: M.S. Subbulakshmi, T. Sadasivam and Radha Vishwanathan

We are reminded, why we of the next generation, are also gathered here.

This is the theater of our nostalgia. We can wax eloquent here, as with Sri R.Sachi ( click ), who can tell us of his boyhood days visiting ‘Parvathi’ or of his wonderful musical experiences with Sri KVN or of his visits to Rukmini Arundale’s Kalakshetra.

This is where our host, who has met them all, can tell us more of an MS and Sadasivam, of a GNB and Semmangudi, a Prof TVS or a Prof. G.N. Chakravarthy, of an MGR/Jayalitha or of any of a slew of Karnataka Politicos, or of an AV Meiyappan or Sundarambal.

Governor Dharma Vira who always remained a steadfast friend of “Parvathi”during his tenure

NIE (National Institute of Engineering, Mysore) Mr. K. Srikantiah welcomes Justice M.C.Chagla India’s Education Minister

This is where you can also find jokes on them or from many of them.

This is also where you can find yourself suddenly threaded into remembering, with a certain poignancy, the life of documentary Filmmaker M.V. Krishnaswamy.

This is "little" Doreswamy Iyengar as shown in a documentary by M.V. Krishnaswamy

The house, in the photo above [ Photo Courtesy: http://bcp.wikidot.com/city-walks:malleswaram ], used to be known as ‘Kusuma Bhavan’. It was the house of the late Mr. M.V. Krishnaswamy, the V Shantharam Lifetime Achievement Award winner in 2010.

It sits directly across Veena Doreswamy Iyengar’s house. These may be the last of the few houses that once graced Malleswaram and Bangalore with great dignity, amidst some of the finest flora. These are slowly beginning to be brought down now with high rises, mass production architecture and synthetic interior decorations that resemble many a fake movie set.

M.V. Krishnaswamy remained close to two of K.Puttu Rao’s sons; one in terms of movie work and the other in terms of pure friendship retained over Maharaja's College days. For an article of heightened sensitivity written on this great documentary maker by one of India’s very sensitive and fine journalist cum author, Sugata Srinivasaraju, please see Outlook Magazine here

Sarod Maestro Pandit Shiva Kumar Sharma, Veena expert SUMA SUDHINDRA and the late K.K. Murthy

As we sit in Mr. Srikantiah’s house we are also reminded of something in our subconscious, of the heritage from where we have come? It has a cocoon like warmth. The warmth is also from another source; the continuous steaming from an Upama, a Masala Dosa or from the delight of the Mysore coffee. You can, without feeling guilty here, ask for several cups of the same, and you will be served with the same loving hands of Smt. Vatsala or a Mysore Prabha, as they might have done for countless years for a Ramani, Lalgudi, Vellore Ramabhadran or a Parur MSG.

The household is also a rare one for our modern times. As we see the family structure being destroyed so unfortunately, in our present day world, and particularly in America (where family life is considered anachronistic giving rise to so many causes of child abuse), the family in India still seems to have retained the ability of being able to survive amidst three generations under a single roof. All of Puttu Rao’s families seem to have maintained this type of ability.

Comfortably, ensconced, with our ears trained towards the conversations, some of us turn our eyes towards the pile of music jackets.

We ask to be reminded of who he is? – time has warped our memories!

Sri Srikantiah opens up :

“This was a great legend who passed away in 1959. He was barely then 50 years into his life. He was considered as the first superstar of the Tamil Cine world and a magnificent singer. When not found singing many of his own rich compositions, he would be found singing the magnificent compositions of a Papanasan Sivan. Recognized also for his very many charitable contributions, he was that rare breed who was also patriotic enough to refuse a British honor.

His life was one of an inner strife and ultimate tragedy in the latter years. Along with other members of his studio and cinema world, he would be drawn into as a suspect, when one of the members in his own group was deemed to have committed homicide. While nothing was proven with Sri Thygaraja Bhagvathar, and he was subsequently acquitted, the entire episode devastated this sensitive soul and he was left behind a sad and lonely figure with practically no money, in spite of all his great earnings and colossal fame.”

Rest in Peace (RIP) Sri Bhagavathar! - You all but gave us so much of yourself.

[ The labels EMI and the Gramophone Company of India and Capitol records on the Thygaraja Bhagvather phone record, also ushered in a rare nostalgia; that of how proud one felt, during those early years to herald one of India’s own countryman who had risen to some dizzying heights in world recognition. Mr. Bhaskar Menon in 1978 was appointed the first chairman and CEO of the newly formed EMI Music Worldwide ]

.......to be continued