100 years of masterly music
MALA KUMAR
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It all began with a group of music lovers going from house to house collecting funds to bring good music to Bangalore. A hundred years later, the Gayana Samaja stands proud as a pioneering organisation
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HALL OF FAME The Gayana Samaja auditorium that has been the venue for many memorable concerts
The mind wanders even while sitting and listening to divine music coming from the Hyderabad Brothers. I think of the '60s when as a little girl in pavadai-chokka, I accompanied my grandparents to Gayana Samaja. The place smelt of Kanjeevarams pressed between sandalwood powder sachets, just-blooming mallige, vibhuti and faintly dusty jamakana. Even for a restless kid, this was peace and harmony. Today, hundred years after a school headmaster and his associates conceived the Samaja, harmony is still evident at the concluding session of Bangalore Gayana Samaja's 37th Music Conference held to mark its centenary.
"Music was an all-consuming interest," says a senior Bangalorean who continues to quietly serve musicians even today. "We never tired of going from house to house to collect funds to get artistes to Bangalore. The late C.V. Natarajan introduced Bade Ghulam Ali to Bangalore in spite of stiff opposition both because the grand old man was a Hindustani singer, and because he was expensive!" Connoisseurs like the late V.T. Sreenivasan worked hard to arrange a concert of M.S. Subbulakshmi in the late '40s. MS donated Rs. 40, 000 towards a building for Gayana Samaja.
Samaja President H. Kamalnath
In the days before cassettes and CDs, when music could only be heard live, it was the enthusiasm of selfless music lovers that brought the best of classical performers to Bangalore through the Gayana Samaja. When Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer was invited to Bangalore, C.V. Natarajan brought him and his veena all the way from Karaikudi by car. It is with efforts like these that the Gayana Samaja has grown to its present stature.
Humble start
When the Gayana Samaja was started in 1905, it did not have a building of its own. Music concerts were held at the Ekambara Sahuji Hall in Chikpet or in the Hall of the London Mission High School whose headmaster K. Ramachandra Rao played an important role in the formation of the Samaja. In the early twenties, the venue was changed to the old Sanskrit College Building. The Samaja office was in a rented building in Chamarajpet. As music flowed, so did the translucent `Purdah' that demarcated the seating areas for men and women. In 1926, the Sanskrit College hall was demolished to pave the way for Vani Vilas Hospital.
Madurai T.N. Seshagoplan who was felicitated during the recent celebrations
The Samaja's activities were shifted to Shankaraiah Hall, which was constructed specially for Gayana Samaja by the then Chief Justice K. S. Chandrashekhara Iyer. In 1962, Gayana Samaja was able to afford a building of its own, thanks to the late S.M. Ramakrishna Rao, grandson of the illustrious Sajjan Rao, who was instrumental in getting the present land for the institution. The Samaja started with the initial membership of 100 and now has grown to 1700. "We have limited the membership, because the Hall can comfortably accommodate only 700 people," says Samaja President H. Kamalnath.
Says retired Assistant Director of Public Instructions Ananda Rao: "I'm probably the oldest member with a 50-year membership. In those days, the kutcheris used to start on Sundays just before the rahukaala, and used to go on for hours! Mridangists used to carry two mridangams, one especially for the pallavis! We used to come on cycles.
There used to be pin-drop silence as greats like Alathur Brothers, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, Chittoor Subramanium, Brinda-Mukta-Abhirami, Vasantha Kokila, MLV and MS performed. They used to take any number of requests," says the rasika, who is now also associated with the Jayarama Seva Mandali and Devagiri Sabha.
Says renowned vocalist Neela Ramagopal: "Gayana Samaja is the place where all the great masters performed. Will we see more masters on this stage?" The calm surroundings of Vishveshpuram, and the sparse traffic then made the use of microphones redundant. But as the city and the chaos grew, the auditorium had to be renovated, and in 1992, this happened. "We upgraded from jamakhana to chairs, set up a good acoustic system and improved the quality of the building," says Kamalnath.
Monthly magazine
In the recent past, the Samaja has seen the launch of Gayana Samrajya, the monthly magazine and the introduction of a special award called Gayana Sarvabhouma. So far, only Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Dr.M. Balamuralikrishna have been conferred this award.
R.K. Srikantan who was honoured last year
At the end of the 37th Music Conference, the institution felicitated Madurai T.N. Seshagoplan with the title Sangeetha Kalarathna. The Samaja also felicitated several artistes for their contribution towards the arts — V.V. Srivatsa (musicologist), P. Sundareshan (vocalist), B.K. Chandramouli (mridanga vidwan), Kanaka Swamy (vocalist), P.G. Srinivasa Murthy (journalist and art critic), Geetha Ramanujam (play production), and Shakuntala Narasimhan (journalist and Hindustani vocalist).
In the Centenary year, the Samaja has planned a list of activities apart from concerts and lecture-demonstrations. "We will be publishing a compilations of all the lectures, and a book on the history of Gayana Samaja. We also want to put all the recordings of concerts and lecture demonstrations on cassettes and CDs, bring out a souvenir and expand our library. An interesting project for the benefit of listeners will be an alphabetical compilation of all compositions along with the respective raga, taala, and composer," promises Kamalnath.
"We feel happy when people say they are able to render a composition better when they are on the Gayana Samaja dais than they do in other places!"
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