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Section Synopsis
NEWS & NOTES
Special Award for Lalgudi
From the Music Academy
-S. JANAKI
Violin maestro Lalgudi G. Jayaraman was honoured with
the Special Lifetime Achievement Award by the Music Academy on 9th March
in Chennai. It was a grand event with VIPs gracing the occasion both on
stage and in the audience, in a hall bursting at the seams. The celebrations
commenced on an auspicious note with mangala isai by Mambalam M.K.S. Siva
who included Lalgudi's tillana in his nagaswara presentation. The menu was
long and varied. From the invocation by Bombay Jayashri, to an interesting
multimedia presentation on Lalgudi Jayaraman, the event was peppered with
so many speeches and felicitations that the last offering — an episode from
the famous dance-drama Jaya Jaya Devi (music composed by Lalgudi Jayaraman/
dance choreography by Rhadha) was staged well past the scheduled time.
Nevertheless, it was a special function in which not only was the awardee
very special, but the one-time award, the chief guest and the occasion too
were special — the Music Academy organised it in connection with its 80th
anniversary. As its President N. Murali said, the Academy was honouring
a legend and a colossus for his monumental contribution to Carnatic music,
and in doing so was "seeking to erase a mistake and aberration". He was
of course referring to the non-conferment of the Sangita Kalanidhi on the
maestro.
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SNA's Kathak fest in Jaipur
- NANDINI RAMANI
Kathak Mahotsav was organised in Jaipur in March by Kathak Kendra, a constituent
of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, in association with the Jaipur
Kathak Kendra. SNA Secretary Jayant Kastuar (senior disciple of renowned
Kathak exponent the late Durga Lal) had chosen an interesting array of performers
for the festival. The mahotsav featured some brilliant artists (both men
and women), who deserve wider recognition and for whom SNA provided the
right forum through this mega event.
The Akademi Ratna Sadasya (Fellow of SNA) award was presented to Prof. Mukund
Lath, eminent scholar in the field of performing arts, at a private function
as he could not attend the award ceremony at New Delhi in February.
The Governor of Rajasthan, S.K. Singh inaugurated the five-day Kathak festival
at Ravindra Manch. In his welcome speech, Jayant Kastuar conveyed to the
Governor, a message from Dr. Ram Niwas Mirdha, Chairman, SNA, assuring support
to the Jaipur Kathak Kendra in all its endeavours in the years to come.
Kiran Bhatnagar, Director, Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, and Renuka Mathur,
Kathak Kendra, Jaipur, also spoke on the occasion.
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IMS
seminar on trends in musicology
-A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
A seminar on trends in musicology was organised by
the Indian Musicological Society (IMS), Mumbai, at the National Centre
for the Performing Arts (NCPA), in Mumbai early this year. It was inaugurated
by B.S. Lalli CEO, Prasar Bharati. IMS President Arvind Parikh said
in his welcome address that the annual seminars of IMS are research
oriented.
Lalli, in his inaugural address, traced the tradition of scholarly research
from the time of Bharata. He emphasised that the topic and the papers
were more relevant in the modern context when universities and colleges
were focussing on a research degree Ph.D. and on research projects in
M.A., and M. Phil. degrees.
The seminar commenced with lectures by Prof. Ashok Ranade, eminent musician
and musicologist, and Prof. Rokus de Groot, Dept. of Musicology, University
of Amsterdam. Dr. Wim Van Der Meer was the moderator of the session.
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Unbound
beats in the Capital -NANDINI
RAMANI
Odissi dancer Ranjana Gauhar's Utsav Educational
and Cultural Society recently organised a two-day festival of dance
and music in the Capital, titled "Unbound beats of India". The event
which had artists from India and abroad, was supported by ICCR, ONGC
and the central Sangeet Natak Akademi. As envisaged by Ranjana, the
festival reflected the "unbound sharing and caring" efforts of the organiser
by bringing together artists of renown like Pratibha Prahlad, and Ramli
Ibrahim from Malaysia with lesser known yet dedicated performers like
Chitralekha Bolar (Bharatanatyam) from the U.K. and Durga Arya (Kathak)
from Germany. Ranjana Gauhar also performed during the festival.
The festival opened with a brief recital on the Didjeridu, an ancient
instrument of the indigenous people of Northern Australia, by Ameet
Gauhar from the U.K. He attempted to accompany Indian instruments like
the sitar, tabla, flute, electric guitar and keyboard. It created a
meditative mood.
Dignity, grace and subtlety in abhinaya marked the Odissi performance
of Ranjana Gauhar. Her depiction of 'Bhasma anga' in the song Visweswara
darsana of Swati Tirunal, and the shy Radha for a traditional Oriya
song, were very impressive.
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Ramadasa's
375th jayanti at Bhadrachalam
-GAYATRI SUNDARESAN
The 375th jayanti of Bhadrachala Ramadasa was celebrated
with fanfare in February at Bhadrachalam, Andhra Pradesh. The Devasthanam
of the Sree Seeta Ramachandramoorti temple began conducting this utsavam
in an elaborate manner about five years ago. Veteran Carnatic musician
Nedunuri Krishnamurthy's organisation Nada Sudha Tarangini joined hands
with the Devasthanam last year.
Nendraganti Krishna Mohan, Chairman of Sri Chakra Cements and an ardent
devotee of Lord Rama, who has been sponsoring the event promised lifelong
support. All the guests were housed at Seeta Nilayam, a choultry built
by him for the use of pilgrims. The hospitality was impeccable. The
personal presence of Krishna Mohan and his family added warmth, making
everyone feel at home.
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more
COVER
STORY
Vijay Siva
The Complete Musician
-V. RAMNARAYAN
The venue is a small Vinayaka temple inside a "senior citizens resort" an
hour's drive from Chennai on the East Coast Road.
The day's entertainment at nearby amusement park MGM over, peace reigned
over the resort, where Vijay Siva, R.K. Shriram Kumar and J. Vaidyanathan
rendered appropriately devotional music before Lord Ganesa on his birthday.
The musicians were seated on the floor outside the temple and the audience
sat around them. There was no amplification, and there was a serene atmosphere
that made for quiet contemplation and introspection of a kind often missing
in the concert halls of the city.
Cut to the Music Academy. The December season is in full flow. The star
vocalist of the evening is indisposed and forced to pull out at the last
moment. Where do the desperate organisers turn, to fill the gap in the schedule?
Vijay Siva. A star in his own right, he agrees readily, not making a fuss
about advancing his concert by a couple of days and interfering with his
preparation. This happens more than once, in successive years, if memory
serves us right.
A cool morning, under the trees, outside a smallish mandapam, post lunch.
The occasion, the silver wedding anniversary of a friend. Someone requests
Vijay to sing a song for the couple and other family members. No one expects
him to respond with any seriousness, but eyes closed, he gets into the right
frame of mind, as if he were performing for a paying audience. A slow, meditative
alapana begins, and expanding, fills the minds and hearts of those straining
to absorb the sound in the midst of the traffic noise nearby. Then follows
a full-fledged kriti, with exquisite manodharma of the right proportion,
appropriate to the occasion. Eyes mist and the audience grow quiet in emotion.
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SPOT LIGHT
Music of the North East
A variety of influences
-MITRA PHUKAN
One of the defining features of the North East of India is its geographical
location. Lying as it does between the great landmass of the rest of
the Indian subcontinent to its West, and the Far East, it is a place
that has, through history, been a civilizational crossroads. The great
river systems of the valley of Assam have facilitated the entry of influences
from a once-undivided Bengal , and through it, from the rest of India.
On the other hand, the paths and passes across dense jungles and high
mountains have brought in influences from Tibet, China, Myanmar, and
further afield, from Thailand, Indo-China and even beyond.
The region has been remote and difficult to access from the rest of
India. As a result, change, especially cultural, has been slow to come
here. The great historical migrations have brought in the cultures of
the places of the migrating people, but these have, till recent years,
been relatively untouched by the influences of contemporary times. This
is especially true in areas such as language and music. The latter,
especially, comes with the migrating peoples as a memory, and nostalgia.
The traditional music is cherished through generations, though parallel
music systems grow over time as well.
The interesting thing about the music of the region is its heterogeneity.
Each state has a wealth of diverse musical traditions, which co-exist
in happy harmony with newer kinds of music. The North East, an anthropologist's
delight with its multiplicity of tribes and cultures, is also an ethno-musician's
paradise.
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HERITAGE
Sangeeta Sthalam-s
Swamimalai - SRIRAM.V
Legend
The fourth of the six principal shrines (Aru Padai Veedu) of Lord Subramania
in Tamil Nadu is at Swamimalai or Tiruveragam, located three miles from
Kumbakonam. Legend has it that Subramania once asked Brahma the meaning
of Om, the pranava. As Brahma was unable to give a satisfactory reply,
Subramania had him clapped in chains and assumed the role of the creator
himself. On coming to know of this, Siva asked his son if he knew the
meaning. Subramania offered to explain it to Siva if he would accept
him, Subramania, as his guru. Siva acquiesced and placing his son on
his shoulder, had the supreme truth whispered into his ear. Subramania
became preceptor to his own father and was therefore referred to as
'Swami Natha'. The temple in this sthalam commemorates this celestial
event.
The temple
The Swamimalai temple is on a man-made hillock. A small shrine, it can
be covered in an hour. Three sacred tanks — the Vajra, Saravana and
Netra pushkarini-s — surround the temple. Another water body, the Kaveri,
flowing a short distance away, is also associated with the temple.
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TECHNICALLY
SPEAKING
The abstract art of raga
- LAKSHMI SREERAM
Dr. N. Ramanathan recently gave a talk on "The concept of raga"
for the IIT Music Club. Prof. S.R. Janakiraman's talk on the significance
of raga classification schemes, and Dr. Hemalatha's talk on raganga
raga-s in Muthuswami Dikshitar's compositions were the other two
in a series of three lectures.
Dr. Ramanathan took up well known compositions in Anandabhairavi
for analysis to arrive at what it means to say that they are all
in the same raga. One thing about the songs is that all of them
have the same notes or swara-s occurring in them and secondly, common
phrases. There are also some phrases that occur in only one or two
of the songs and not in the others. A raga, he said, is a summation
or collection of these characteristic phrases that the songs and
also alapana, tanam, etc. in the raga, share. He also noted that
a similar analysis taken up in another raga might lead to slightly
different conclusions.
Akshara and matra
- K.S. KALIDAS
My friend and long-time co-contributor to Sruti, B.M. Sundaram,
has raised the confusion prevailing in the minds of musicians as
well as the public on the use of the terms 'akshara' and 'matra'
(see Sruti Box, Sruti 283). The few books available on tala schemes
add to the confusion and there does not appear to be a convinc-ing
old treatise on the subject.
It is customary to talk of a tala containing a specific number of
akshara-s which are further sub-divided into matra-s. My guru, Palani
Subramania Pillai used to mention, while talking of 'eduppu' or
'graham' of a line in a kriti, as one or 1-1/2 akshara before or
after the 'sama', depending on whether it was 'ateeta' or 'anaagata'.
Sometimes he would also use the words four or six matra-s (or even
simply 4 or 6) before or after 'sama' to mean the same thing. Much,
much later, the late M.N. Kandaswamy Pillai also gave the same interpretation
to a pointed question.
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OBITUARY
Vijay Tendulkar: unflinching gaze
-SHANTA GOKHALE
Vijay Tendulkar who passed away in Pune on 19th May 2008, delivered
the keynote address for the biannual all-America convention of Marathi
speakers five years ago. He spoke not about literature, drama or
cinema but about the virtues of charity, generosity and kindness.
He argued that more often than not, charity was motivated by self-interest.
When the giver gave his name to his gift, he was telling the world,
look how charitable I am. The same was true of those who did favours
to others expecting them to be obliged forever. Such charity and
such favours were better not done. It was a profoundly purist viewpoint
which did not go down too well with many of his listeners. Some
people suggested snidely that the speaker was likely not to be a
practitioner of what he preached.
The fact is that Tendulkar was not preaching. He was merely stating
facts as he saw them. He was not preaching because it was not his
practice to preach. A preacher, by the very act of preaching, puts
himself above those to whom he is preaching. Tendulkar never did
that. He always counted himself as one amongst many. He observed
himself as he observed others. His autobiographical writings are
evidence of his total honesty and candour in speaking about himself.
The author is a well known theatre
critic, writer, translator, playwright and columnist
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RECORD
RACK
VEENEYA BEDAGU. Compositions of Veena Seshanna. By D. Balakrishna.
CD. [Vara Enterprises, Bangalore. Rs. 70.]
- P.V.K
Sarasijakshi – Kedaram
Rama ninnu –Anandabhairavi
Swarajati – Sankarabharanam
Tillana – Kanada
Tillana – Khamas
Tillana - Chenchuritti
Accompanists:
C. Cheluvaraju – mridanga, Ranganatha Chakravarti – ghata.
The Mysore style of veena playing reached its zenith during
the excellent concerts of the late V. Doreswamy Iyengar. His
split fingering technique with 'viraladi-s was a treat for the
ears. His style is being continued by his talented vainika son
D. Balakrishna. In this CD, Balakrishna has chosen to play six
compositions of the great master Veena Seshanna.
Three CDs on Rama
RAMA RASAANUBHAVAM - By veterans
— "legends and doyens of Indian classical music".
RAMA BHAKTI SAMRAJYAM - By
Carnatica Brothers.
SRI RAMA VAIBHAVAM - By "young
stars".
[Smt. Alamelamma Patel Narayana Iyyengar Trust,
Bangalore.
Email - apnitrust@gmail.com
Rs. 150 or US$ 8 each.]
- S. SIVARAMAKRISHNAN
The three separate albums featuring a variety of compositions
on Lord Rama offer a "kadambam of kriti-s" more so because
two of them contain renderings by select artists old and
young.
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REAR WINDOW
Voyage to India- SASHA-ALEXANDRA
DENISSOVA
Two decades ago, I started witnessing a blend of two cultures, Russian
and Indian.
The first to teach Bharatanatyam to Muscovites, my guru Nirmala Ramachandran
founded a school there called "Nirmala" in 1987. The school works under
the leadership and guidance of a truly dedicated dancer, Irina Borisovna
Latenseva, the seniormost disciple of Nirmala Ramachandran. Last year
it celebrated its 20th anniversary. Now called the Nirmala School of
Theatre & Dance, it was the first to be recognised by the Russian government.
Its students not only perform in different parts of Russia but also
undertake dance tours to other countries.
Nirmala Ramachandran visited Moscow again in 1997 to conduct workshops
which in turn helped the students to stage the first Indo-Russian dance-drama,
Kuravanji. Later the students took up the challenging job of applying
the technique and style of Bharata-natyam to The Sleeping Beauty. This
was staged in Moscow in 2005. The enthusiasm, dedication, and patience
of this talented group of dancers has helped them to bring the cultures
of the two great countries, India and Russia together
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BOOKSHELF
SANKARA MENON "Purushothaman". Edited by G. Sundari.
[Indu Jayanthi Varma for the People for children Foundation, Chennai. Paperback.
Pp. 284. Rs. 200.]
- CAVIARE
For lovers of the fine arts, Sankara Menon, along with Rukmini Devi,
personified Kalakshetra. He was her right hand, he solved problems for
her and he was in charge of administering the various sections of Kalakshetra
while being a part of all its activities. After Rukmini Devi's demise
he became Director of the institution and persuaded the Government of
India to take it over by a special enactment. He was associated with
it till his passing away. This book, brought out on his birth centenary
in 2007 and mostly full of tributes from his students and co-workers,
seeks to show how he fully deserves to be called a Purushottaman, eminent
among men.
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PhotoNews
The World Dance Alliance - Karnataka Chapter was launched on 28th April 2008, at Seva Sadana Auditorium in
Bangalore. It was inaugurated by eminent personalities in the field of dance — Sunil Kothari, Vimala Rangachar and
B. Bhanumathy.
Veteran artists — Bharatanatyam exponent and guru M.K. Saroja, and Hindustani vocalist Girija Devi were
honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by Legends of India, on 22nd May in New Delhi.
The awards were presented by Lt. Governor of Delhi at a ceremony held at the Ballroom of The Park on Parliament Street.
A biopic on the life and times of Guru Saroja, penned and published by Ashish Mohan Khokar of Ekah Bios was also
released. Shanta Serbjeet Singh received the first copy and introduced the book. The book was released on 31st May
in Bangalore, and a film on Guru Saroja was also screened. The 10th anniversary issue of 'attendance'
(the dance annual of India 2007) was also released on the occasion.
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