In Memorium: Shri B.M.N. Murthy

The Hindu: The man who knows everything
[ http://www.hindu.com/lf/2004/03/15/stories/2004031508690200.htm ]

We live in a world today where it is not uncommon for a person in the media to likely interrogate you (when you discuss someone not given to essential mainstream) in a capsuled fashion such as “Can you describe this person in two sentences or less?”

In remembering Shi B.M. Narayana Murthy we would say “Yes” with an aplomb, though rather with a certain sadness today. He passed away last week.

“Yes, we can and we are honored that we knew him. He was a man who lived his whole life in dignity and treated all those whom he came across with that same said dignity”.

He was of course many, many things more, as we have leaned on him a few times ourselves in this blog to borrow some of his articles from that vast fund of his resourcefulness.

He had retired professionally as Chief Engineer, Life Insurance Corporation of India. But after his retirement he dedicated his entire time to guiding and informing "the younger generation" in India of the spiritual wisdom of their country, reminding them to know something of the great traditional lineage to which they belonged. Many of them did listen to their "Nani Uncle" and endeared themselves to him.

BMN Murthy - Chennai Industrialist A.N. Srinivasa Rao

He was a voracious collector from his youngest days of books and periodicals and a very well read person on “any subject under the sun” which could project a value. He applied himself by sharing his fund of knowledge in penning beautiful articles in not only jogging our memories but in introducing us to names and events about which we may have hardly known anything.

His house was a veritable library and we came to know of his prodigious writing when we realized that by July 2013, he had completed the penning of a staggering 700 weekly articles spread over a period of twelve and half years.

No subject would escape his serene mind . On music you could find him waxing on the mastery of a Veena Seshanna or a Madurai Mani Iyer; on religion it could be the exemplary teachings of a Chandrasekhar Bharathi or the MahaPeriyava of Kanchi; in poetry he would be at home equally to a Kalidasa or a Keats; or in a cheerful bid towards inculcating positive thoughts he would bring to our attention that "Poverty and Humble Beginnings Are No Impediments to a Success in Life". He would bring any number of examples to bear testimony to that in a Rt. Hon. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, a Michael Faraday, a Charlie Chaplin or a Justice Kapadia.

We close with our prayers to the essential memory of a very decent and good man.

Rama - The Abiding Subject of Carnatic Krithis

Vid. K.S. Gopalakrishnan – Flute 1977

A Contribution from R. Sachi

1977: Vidwan K.S. Gopalkrishnan in “Parvathi”

We are pleased to share with rasikas a wonderful flute recital held in the Ramanavami festival in 1977 at Parvathi, Mysore. Vid. KS Gopalakrishnan has been rather elusive and inaccessible to most Carnatic rasikas all these decades, although he is readily hailed by the cognoscenti as a great flute maestro. In this concert, like the one we shared before with rasikas from 1976, he indelibly stamps the music with his melodious manodharma and virtuosity.

The concert begins with the enchanting phrases of Ravichandrika. The raga name evokes images of the sun as well as the moon! The raga itself is a favourite of Saint Thyagaraja, with well-known krithis. The song Nirvadhi Sukhada is a special one. It is very popular with instrumentalists who render it at breathless speed. But here, Vid. Gopalakrishnan has created a wonderfully evocative mood and for the first time we feel like contemplating the meanings of the lyric. And the line śaṅkarādi gīyamāna sādhu mānasa susadana captures the Saint Composer’s sentiment about Rama. According to him, Rama is worthy of worship and therefore is the subject of his own songs: Rama is unparalleled in grandeur, grace and capacity to instil devotion. Lord Shiva himself sings Rama’s glories. And Rama dwells in the hearts of his devotees. No wonder that in the Ramanavami festivals at Parvathi, we have had a continual flow of wonderful music full of songs dedicated to Rama by so many stalwart musicians.

Pallavi

niravadhi sukhada nirmala rūpa
nirjita muni śāpa
Anupallavi
śaradhi bandhana nata saṅkrandana
śaṅkarādi gīyamāna sādhu mānasa susadana
Charanam
māmava marakata maṇi nibha dēha
śrī maṇi2 lōla śrita jana pāla
bhīma parākrama bhīma karārcita3
tāmasa rājasa mānava dūra
tyāgarāja vinuta caraṇa

Meaning:

O Lord who confers unceasing comfort!
O Lord of blemish less form!
O Lord who removed the sage's curse (on Ahalya)!
O builder of the causeway on the Ocean!
O Lord saluted by Indra!
One sung about by Siva and others, abiding in the hearts of pious people!
Please protect me, O Lord with emerald-like body!
One enamored by the precious Lakshmi!
O Nourisher of dependants!
One with terrifying prowess!
O Lord worshiped by the very hands of Bhima!
O Lord far-removed from people given to
inertia (darkness) and passion (action)!
O Lord whose feet is praised by Thyagaraja!

( Source: sahityam.net )

The concert features an expansive Abheri and the krithi Bhajare Re Manasa Sri Raghuviram of Mysore Vasudevacharya. The flute maestro is in a mood of creative exuberance as he develops the raga, the song and then embarks on an array of raga-malika swaras at the end of the song. This is like a shahi bhojan with a series of unexpected delicacies! The violin, mridangam and ghatam accompaniment are very good, too.

Details : Concert held on 7-4-1977 during Ramanavami at "Parvathi"

K.S.Gopalakrishnan ------- Flute
Chalakudy Narayanaswamy ---- Violin
Tanjore Upendran ------- Mridangam
M.A.Krishnamurthy ------- Ghatam

Song List

01 Niravadhi Sukhada – Ravichandrike- Thyagaraja *** 02 Manavinalakincha – Nalinakanthi - Thyagaraja *** 03 Abheri Raga *** 04 Bhajare re manasa-Abheri – Mysore Vasudevacharya Ragamalika swaras (Dwijavanti, Shekharachandrika, Mohana,Hindola, Bageshri, Sindhubhairavi) *** 05 Karunai daivame –Sindhubhairavi – Madurai Srinivasan *** 06 Cheline netlu Javali - Paras - T Chinniah *** 07 Ramgovind Hari (?) Kabir Bhajan –Desh *** 08 Thiruppugazh- Hamsanandi *** 09 Tillana –Kamach -- Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer *** 10 Mangalam ***

Doyen Vid. Prof. Mysore V. Ramarathnam – A Remembrance

In our desire to be true to many things over a very large landscape, we as a team sometimes come up short in featuring some very respected personalities who may have done exemplary things to a community or have contributed their might in the field of music.

It was during our recent post of the reverential Vidwan Dr. R.K. Srikantan, that we happened to reflect on some of the great difficulties that we have often had to run into in making available a concert. One realized that one could not do a full concert posting on many, due to not having recordings, or to having lost many that were there, over time.

Even though memories of GNB, Chembai and the Alathur brothers used to resonate so high with members, one was not able to post even a single concert on them that was performed in "Parvathi". Similarly, though we have mentioned T. Chowdiah several times, we have been hard put in playing even two or three of his recordings. Then, there is the whole list of Karnataka musicians, who have always been such constant fixtures in a continuous life with “Parvathi”, such as Titte Krishna Iyengar, M.A. Narasimhachar, R.N. Doreswamy, Flute B.N.Suresh, V. Deshikachar (in a long list); on whom we have never been able to do a sufficient posting.

Somewhere, we also missed out, previously, in expressing our gratitude to Prof. V. Ramarathnam who passed away on November 15, 2008, at a grand age of 91.

Reproduced below is a rare and historical photograph that once used to adorn the "Parvathi" walls. For the sake of accommodations to this blog, and to display the faces of the Vidwans in a magnification, we have seen fit to split the large photograph into two halves.

1939: This Photo is an "at home" celebration given by K.Puttu Rao at his Mysore residence 'Parvathi' to felicitate T. Chowdiah on being conferred with the title 'Sangeeta Rathna' in the company of all the leading musicians of the day. [ Vidwan Ramaratnam can be seen in the bottom picture, standing second row from top, third from right ]

In such circumstances we turn to Sri Srikantiah on his thoughts:

“ Vidwan V. Ramaratnam was closely associated with me ever since he landed in Mysore city under the Shishya vritti of Sangeeta Rathna T.Chowdiah, who was our family friend.

Prof. Ramaratnam used to be in touch with all the great artistes in Carnatic music like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Alattur Brothers, Musuri Subrahmanya Iyer and others, and learn many fine compositions from them. He was always eager to enrich his knowledge in Carnatic music.

I had the privilege of honoring him during our Silver Jubilee Sri Ramanavami Music Festival in the Year 1994. "

" Prof.Ramaratnam had a very long and distinguished music career in his life. He served as the Vice-Principal of Ayyanar College for 20 years, Principal of Mysore University Music College for 12 years, and presided over the 14th Music conference of Bangalore Gayana Samaj. He gave many Music concerts in every music sabha getting great acclaim from music rasikas.

Ramaratnam has also brought out many valuable carnatic music publications for the benefit of music students. There was abundant depth in his music knowledge.

It is very unfortunate that recordings of his performances at 'Parvathi' are missing, along with a few other valuable recordings. ”

We are also extremely glad for Prof. Ramarathnam having brought out his own reminiscences and for having narrated such a beautiful history of Mysore during his times.

Doyen Vid. R. K. Srikantan – A Remembrance

1994 Ramanavami Concert of Vid. R. K. Srikantan at Parvathi, Mysore

Contributed by R. Sachi

1972: Vidwan R.K. Srikantan in “Parvathi”
With: Vid. T.A.S Mani (Mridangam), Vid. Anoor Ramakrishna (violin)

We offer our respects and prayers for the doyen of Carnatic music, Vid. R. K. Srikantan, who passed away this week in Bangalore. As a mark of our respect, we share an excellent vocal concert of his from 1994. His voice, repertoire, and vidwat on display in this concert, when he was already 74 years of age, are truly noteworthy.

Mr. Srikantiah’s Reminiscences

" I knew Vid. Srikantan from 1950’s. As a young musician, along with his brother, he used to visit our house to meet and learn from the masters like Musiri and Semmangudi whenever they stayed with us in Mysore. He went on to take up employment in AIR, Mysore. He performed and taught Carnatic music for seven decades. He was full of encouragement to young musicians of Karnataka. His leading disciple, Vid. M.S. Sheela, has perfomed a few times in Parvathi.

Vid. Srikantan received acclaim and awards from all over the world, though belatedly. It is remarkable that he continued to perform and teach well into his nineties. His passing is a great loss to the world of Carnatic music."

Concert Details

R.K Srikantan ..... Vocal
R.S. Ramakanta......vocal support
Mysore Manjunath...violin
P.G.Lakshminarayan....mridangam
G.S.Ramanujam.......ghatam

on April 26, 1994 during Ramanavami.

Song List

01 Chalamela (Varna)-Durbar- Tiruvottriyur Thyagayya *** 02 Kamalambike - Nata –Jayachamaraja Wodeyar *** 03 Undedi Ramudu –Harikamboji- Thyagaraja *** 04 Rama ninnu - Anandabhairavi – Veene Sheshanna *** 05 Paramatmudu –Vagadheeshwari –Thygaraja *** 06 Kalyani Raga *** 07 Varava kodu enage- Kanaka Dasa *** 08 Eti janma –Varali – Thyagaraja *** 09 Bhairavi Raga *** 10 Olaga Sulabhavo-Vyasaraya *** 11 Hare Venkatashaila – Sindhubhairavi – Sripadaraja *** 12 Nadupai – Madhyamavati- Thayagaraja *** 13 Mangalam***

Carnatic vocal music - a grand idea

Vid. O. S. Thyagarajan – Ramanavami 1995

An R. Sachi Text

We are happy to present a fine vocal concert by Vid. O. S. Thyagarajan from the 1995 Ramanavami festival.

Every time a responsive rasika listens to good vocal Carnatic music, he cannot help wondering what a grand idea it represents in terms of a musical experience.

To begin with, its melodic canvas gracefully spans three octaves. A good vocalist has to sound melodious over a range. The tambura drone provides a vibrancy to the silences as well as the sounds throughout. The prayerful words take us right away to a different world of thoughts and sensibilities. Add to that the power of rhythmic structure and the accompaniment of a good violin and mridangam: a well presented vocal Carnatic music concert turns out to be a magnificent experience. And when a vocalist maintains that level for well over two hours, it speaks of mastery. We are reminded of all this when we listen to this very good concert of OST.

OST sets the stage with a beautiful rendering of Thyagaraja’s Meru Samana.

Everything about this song is grand- Mayamalavagowla, one of the grandest ragas in the Indian classical system (= Bhairav in HM); the tempo of the song that treads a regal pace; and the theme of Rama’s exquisite appearance. As the song progresses in this concert, we notice the excellence of the vocalist’s and violinist’s manodharma and attunement. The mridangam of Vid. Ganesh is also very responsive. We are surely going to have a grand concert. As they sometime advertise, “Satisfaction Guaranteed”.

After more Thyagaraja songs, OST takes up Kaddanuvariki as the main item with elaborate raga alapana, song rendition, and niraval and swaras. Vid. Nagaraj’s violin speaks eloquently and very melodiously throughout. Todi is a raga without parallel in terms of depth, musical possibilities and suitability for vocal rendering. In this song, Thyagaraja makes a point how a good musical rendition can be a grand devotional offering. So he hints that if you invoke the lord in the right way, He will surely appear to give you a grand experience.

( Both lyrical translations quoted above are from
The Spiritual Heritage of Thyagaraja )

Concert Details

Parvathi Ramanavami 1995 Mysore held on 16-4-95.
O.S.Thyagarajan ----- vocal
Mysore Nagaraj ---- violin
K.R.Ganesh ------ Mridangam

Song List

01 Meru samana- Mayamalavagowla-Thyagaraja*** 02 Sri Rama Padama-Amrutavahini- Thyagaraja *** 03 Ranjani Raga*** 04 Durmargachara-Thyagaraja *** 05 Orajoopuchu –Kannadagowla- Thyagaraja *** 06 Todi Raga*** 07 Kaddanu variki-Thayagaraja *** 08 Sloka-Sri Raghavam – Sahana –Vandanamu- Thyagaraja *** 09 Neene Anathabandhu – Shubhapantuvarali - *** 10 Uyyalaloogavayya – Nilambari- Thyagaraja *** 11 Mangalam***

Vidwat and Manodharma in the Carnatic Tradition

Vid. Saketharaman, K Puttu Rao Memorial Festival 2013

Narration by R. Sachi

We are happy to share with rasikas an excellent concert of the young vidwan Saketharaman from the 2013 festival.

As Jon Higgins once explained why he chose to learn and sing Carnatic music, our classical tradition seems to clearly emphasise first and foremost Vidwat and Manodharma. The voice is important of course but comes as a secondary attraction. This thought comes as we listen to Vid. Saketharaman. He has developed a strong vocal style with the energetic Manodharma of a Semmangudi and the solid classical vidwat of the Lalgudi bani. A professional “techie” ( M. Tech in software engineering), he also performs as a top artiste on the radio, TV and all major music festivals. He is one of the foremost disciples of the legendary maestro Vid. Lalgudi Jayaraman.

Wikipedia: Saketharaman's mother, Vijaya Santhanam, is a postgraduate in Chemistry and an ardent follower of Shri Shri Krishna Premi Swamigal. His father, Santhanam, is a Chartered Accountant. His elder sister, Vishaka Hari is a well-known Harikatha exponent. His wife, Vidhya, is a doctor. The couple reside in Bangalore.

Coming to the present concert, the two major pieces are an elaborate Brindavana Saranga (“Ranga Puravihara”) and Shanmukhapriya (“Marivere”). The way Vid. Saketharaman presents Brindavana Saranga is fascinating. It is very Carnatic and yet brings out all the rakti in this raga which composer Muthuswami Dikshitar imported from the north of the Vindhyas into Carnatic tradition. Vid. Nagaraj, a stalwart accompanist on the violin reigning at the top for some decades now, wields the bow to further that exotic feeling invoked by this very appealing raga.

Shanmukhapriya is the main piece. Lasting over an hour, it gives an extremely wholesome feeling. This raga seems to have been a favourite of the guru Vid. Lalgudi Jayaraman, and you will find his splendid RTP in the Parvathi archives. A raga with limited representation of compositions from the Trinity, it has found very high popularity thanks to the efforts of post-trinity composers starting with Sri Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer. The raga features at the top among choices for RTP and major krithi renditions in almost every other concert these days. Vid. Saketharaman brings his stamp of manodharma and paints a very evocative canvas of this raga. Vid. Nagaraj is also in his element. The percussion duo of Vid. Ravishankar and his brother Shashishankar have added lustre as usual to the concert.

Sri. K. Srikantiah in his valedictory speech at the conclusion of the third annual Puttu Rao festival, thanks the audience for their enthusiastic support and also compliments the young Saketharaman for his brilliant Shanmukhapriya, especially the unique swarakalpana. Mr. Srikantiah also compliments the highly successful Nagaraj and mentions how he gave him a break by featuring him with Yesudas some 25 years ago.

Concert Details

Saketharaman ----vocal
M.Nagaraj ------violin
B.Ravishankar ----Mridangam
B.Shashishankar----Ghatam
on 4-9-2013 during K.Puttu Rao Festival, Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore

Song List

01 NeeveGatiYani-Lalgudi Jayaraman-Nalinakanti Varnam*** 02 Pranamamyaham -Vasudevachar-Gaula*** 03 RangaPuraVihara-Muthuswami Dikshitar-Brindavanasaranga*** 04 Toli janma-Thyagaraja-Bilahari*** 05 MarivereDikkevarayya-Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer- ShanmukhaPriya*** 06 KandenaGovindana-Purandara Dasa-Chandrakauns*** 07 Enna Tavam Saidanai-Papanasam Sivan-Kapi*** 08 Sri. KS Speech*** 09 Tillana-LGJ-Shivaranjani***

Music's Bylanes VII: Sweet Notes

It has been our practice for a while, that as we wait for our team members to prepare a concert, we offer you insights into some peripheral themes in connection with “Parvathi”.

Somewhere, in our belief system, raised as we were, we have this tendency to adulate a past. As time moves on, we still like to keep tabs on some of the great ones that were once with us in a contribution of our Heritage.

Lest people get bored in these times of things that are not quick, we offer you our thoughts encapsulated only in the form of some short notes.

The very much revered MS once again caught our eye amongst many assorted “Parvathi” collections.

When you consider, it is rather strange that any American film director, in those days, would make a journey to Madras to make films, let alone one not in one’s native tongue (English), but also without knowing anything of an other’s customs or ways of life given worlds away. But this is precisely what happened when a man called Ellis R. Dungan picked himself up in moving himself all the way from a Barton, Ohio to India in 1935.

Besides an amazing directing debut in Sathi Leelavathi which cast a future Chief Minister and swashbuckling hero M.G. Ramachandran for the first time, he also directed a movie called Meera with M.S. Subbalakshmi, creating a sacred trough called “Meera Bhajans” which made many a South Indian family to hold MS dear to their heart for the rest of their lives.

In Dungan’s bag was also a much heralded direction of Carnatic Music’s greatest pairing MS-GNB in “Shakuntalai”. This was under the banner of Royal Talkies, a Subbulakshmi and husband T. Sadasivam’s own venture into films. As everyone knows the movie was a runaway success and created an aura of its own for MS and GNB, even to this day.