KaRRadum Suttadhum- IV
There were few interesting articles in the souvenir.
I would like to reproduce some finer points to those who could not access to this.
1. Article about MS Subbulaxmi – V.Narayana Menon
When she was awarded sangeetha kalanidhi in 1968, Mr.VK Narayana Menon, eminent scholar and the then secretary of Sangeet Natak Academy made an interesting report:
MS has a long list of “First” to her credit to which should now be added the distinction of being the first woman to be honoured with the Presidentship of the Music Academy and the title of Sangeetha kalanidhi. A classical musician’s appeal is to the limited few, but the great mass of people turn away from him. On the other hand, a popular star may have a fantastic following among the masses but may be anathema to the pundits.
Subbulakshmi’s reputation cuts across such musical boundaries. If an artiste steps out of the domain of high seriousness and steps out gracefully, there is no impingement on integrity. Compromise come in only when one tempers with great works of art or great concepts and streamlines them or sentimentalizes them for popular consumption. Subbulakshmi does not do that. It is a kind of inverted responsibility.
Hari tuma Haro – Gandhiji’s wish: This was one of the bhajans; Gandhiji was desperate MS to sing. When MS wanted someone else to sing as she did not know, Gandhiji said that he would rather hear Subbulakshimi speak It rather hear Subbulakshimi sing it.
This was on October 1. That night Sri.Sadhasivam sat up late and assisted by or two composers friends, set the beautiful words to music. It was 2 a.m, when the recording was finally completed at the Madras A.I.R. and ready to be flown by the morning plane to Delhi.
Three months’ later, after Gandhiji’s death, when the same recording of “hari tuma Haro” was played over the air, MS was completely overcome with emotion. MS has got that elusive indefinable gift which few possess and which alone can transform a song into a thing of magic.
Sarojini Naidu while introducing MS through the character Meera said. “I commend Subbulaxmi to the people of the North.. I want my living words to go to the uttermost corners of the world so that people may realize how one great woman artiste in India has been able to move the hearts of millions of men and women by her songs.”
2. Music Academy’s Foundation stone – V. Sriram Article
60 years passed since Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for the Music Academy’s proposed auditorium. The foundation stone, a handsomely inscribed slab of granite is on the southern face of the auditorium’s outer wall. The silver trowel that Nehru used to fix the stone in place is one of the precious artefacts of MA.
T.T.Krishnamachari referred to the money collected till then for the project – Rs. 1.60 Lakhs and thanked all “our friends and the lady who has b her innumerable benefit concerts helped many an educational and cultural causes in this country.
An interesting incident that was spoken for the long in hushed whispers in the corridors of MA. It was a small incident that took place during the inauguration. It was then popular and still is somewhat a prevalent practice, to pin floral badges made of silk on the organizers of any event and the important guests in attendance and of course, the task of pinning the guests was entrusted to various volunteers.
Here comes the interesting part of this…. The honour of affixing the badge on the PM fell on a middling income tax lawyer. In his enthusiasm, the man did with such a force that the safety pin at the rear of the badge pierced not only the Prime Ministerial Jacket but also his chest. Nehru, however, all grace and brushed the matter aside.
After the function, he and his entourage crossed Cathedral Road on foot to TTK’s residence for dinner. The pinprick was forgotten, but not before K. Srinivasan of The Hindu, then Vice president of the Academy had in a subsequent meeting of the executive committee railed against the “unbecoming behavior of certain people” This was duly documented and survives in the Academy archives.
3. Presidential Address of Sri.Sanjay Subramanyan:
Sanjay is a great artist and Iam his big fan and so, love to bring some of his anecdotes from his speech “My parents wanted me and my siblings to learn music so that we could appreciate and enjoy this wonderful art form” One of the most important aspects of singing is the ability to understand the note or swragnanam as it is known.
The knowledge of the swara gives a better understanding of what one is singing and learning to play an instrument is a great advantage in this respect. Learning and singing compositions in a disciplined manner contributes immensely to successful performance. If the raga occupies primacy in Indian classical music then the composition provide the window into the raga lakshanam.
It is necessary to sing a composition at least 50 times before you can sing it on stage. The finish and sheen that the song acquires when practiced in this manner is unmatched. Singing with abandon is another important aspect of public performance.
Whilst introspection is a sign of maturity, the spirit of freedom connects you to the listener instantly. Just as how education has been structured to include primary, secondary, graduate, masters and doctoral studies, so too it is in music. Sometimes, it was shown and you had to slog it out at home on your own to master the skill sets.
My Guru Shri. KSK also encouraged me to teach music. Tiruvalangadu Sundaresa Iyer once said about the Mridangam Vidwan Pazhani subramaniya pilla- “Palani will sacrifice himself in a concert” Freedom is in the mind not in the material. Restriction breed creativity.
Singing in your mother tongue can change the very aesthetic of the music right from the way the words are articulated to the motivation of musical phrases to suit the meaning and comprehension of the lyric.
He concluded: The writer William Faulkner in his 1949 Nobel acceptance speech said “ this ward is only mine in trust” I would like to thank this award to all great masters who have enriched this art from with their brilliance and generosity and all you rasikas for accepting me and my music…..
Thank you. End of Sanjay’s speech
To conclude from my words: As MS is still in our heart, Sanjay has made this great Carnatic music enliven in our hearts. Thanks to all stalwarts for giving this impeccable music and make us proud to be a passionate CM lover
There were few interesting articles in the souvenir.
I would like to reproduce some finer points to those who could not access to this.
1. Article about MS Subbulaxmi – V.Narayana Menon
When she was awarded sangeetha kalanidhi in 1968, Mr.VK Narayana Menon, eminent scholar and the then secretary of Sangeet Natak Academy made an interesting report:
MS has a long list of “First” to her credit to which should now be added the distinction of being the first woman to be honoured with the Presidentship of the Music Academy and the title of Sangeetha kalanidhi. A classical musician’s appeal is to the limited few, but the great mass of people turn away from him. On the other hand, a popular star may have a fantastic following among the masses but may be anathema to the pundits.
Subbulakshmi’s reputation cuts across such musical boundaries. If an artiste steps out of the domain of high seriousness and steps out gracefully, there is no impingement on integrity. Compromise come in only when one tempers with great works of art or great concepts and streamlines them or sentimentalizes them for popular consumption. Subbulakshmi does not do that. It is a kind of inverted responsibility.
Hari tuma Haro – Gandhiji’s wish: This was one of the bhajans; Gandhiji was desperate MS to sing. When MS wanted someone else to sing as she did not know, Gandhiji said that he would rather hear Subbulakshimi speak It rather hear Subbulakshimi sing it.
This was on October 1. That night Sri.Sadhasivam sat up late and assisted by or two composers friends, set the beautiful words to music. It was 2 a.m, when the recording was finally completed at the Madras A.I.R. and ready to be flown by the morning plane to Delhi.
Three months’ later, after Gandhiji’s death, when the same recording of “hari tuma Haro” was played over the air, MS was completely overcome with emotion. MS has got that elusive indefinable gift which few possess and which alone can transform a song into a thing of magic.
Sarojini Naidu while introducing MS through the character Meera said. “I commend Subbulaxmi to the people of the North.. I want my living words to go to the uttermost corners of the world so that people may realize how one great woman artiste in India has been able to move the hearts of millions of men and women by her songs.”
2. Music Academy’s Foundation stone – V. Sriram Article
60 years passed since Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for the Music Academy’s proposed auditorium. The foundation stone, a handsomely inscribed slab of granite is on the southern face of the auditorium’s outer wall. The silver trowel that Nehru used to fix the stone in place is one of the precious artefacts of MA.
T.T.Krishnamachari referred to the money collected till then for the project – Rs. 1.60 Lakhs and thanked all “our friends and the lady who has b her innumerable benefit concerts helped many an educational and cultural causes in this country.
An interesting incident that was spoken for the long in hushed whispers in the corridors of MA. It was a small incident that took place during the inauguration. It was then popular and still is somewhat a prevalent practice, to pin floral badges made of silk on the organizers of any event and the important guests in attendance and of course, the task of pinning the guests was entrusted to various volunteers.
Here comes the interesting part of this…. The honour of affixing the badge on the PM fell on a middling income tax lawyer. In his enthusiasm, the man did with such a force that the safety pin at the rear of the badge pierced not only the Prime Ministerial Jacket but also his chest. Nehru, however, all grace and brushed the matter aside.
After the function, he and his entourage crossed Cathedral Road on foot to TTK’s residence for dinner. The pinprick was forgotten, but not before K. Srinivasan of The Hindu, then Vice president of the Academy had in a subsequent meeting of the executive committee railed against the “unbecoming behavior of certain people” This was duly documented and survives in the Academy archives.
3. Presidential Address of Sri.Sanjay Subramanyan:
Sanjay is a great artist and Iam his big fan and so, love to bring some of his anecdotes from his speech “My parents wanted me and my siblings to learn music so that we could appreciate and enjoy this wonderful art form” One of the most important aspects of singing is the ability to understand the note or swragnanam as it is known.
The knowledge of the swara gives a better understanding of what one is singing and learning to play an instrument is a great advantage in this respect. Learning and singing compositions in a disciplined manner contributes immensely to successful performance. If the raga occupies primacy in Indian classical music then the composition provide the window into the raga lakshanam.
It is necessary to sing a composition at least 50 times before you can sing it on stage. The finish and sheen that the song acquires when practiced in this manner is unmatched. Singing with abandon is another important aspect of public performance.
Whilst introspection is a sign of maturity, the spirit of freedom connects you to the listener instantly. Just as how education has been structured to include primary, secondary, graduate, masters and doctoral studies, so too it is in music. Sometimes, it was shown and you had to slog it out at home on your own to master the skill sets.
My Guru Shri. KSK also encouraged me to teach music. Tiruvalangadu Sundaresa Iyer once said about the Mridangam Vidwan Pazhani subramaniya pilla- “Palani will sacrifice himself in a concert” Freedom is in the mind not in the material. Restriction breed creativity.
Singing in your mother tongue can change the very aesthetic of the music right from the way the words are articulated to the motivation of musical phrases to suit the meaning and comprehension of the lyric.
He concluded: The writer William Faulkner in his 1949 Nobel acceptance speech said “ this ward is only mine in trust” I would like to thank this award to all great masters who have enriched this art from with their brilliance and generosity and all you rasikas for accepting me and my music…..
Thank you. End of Sanjay’s speech
To conclude from my words: As MS is still in our heart, Sanjay has made this great Carnatic music enliven in our hearts. Thanks to all stalwarts for giving this impeccable music and make us proud to be a passionate CM lover
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