Violin as his medium
SULOCHANA PATTABHI RAMAN
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Among the all time violin greats, Tirukkodikkaval Krishna Iyer occupies an exclusive slot.
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Tirukkodikkaval Krishna Iyer.
The Western violin was introduced as an accompanying instrument in South Indian concerts approximately in the year 1800. The four strings exuding rich tonal quality, the bowing that facilitates continuity of sound and enables the singer to align with the sruti, and the plain finger board that helps gamakas to be played with ease and accuracy, were some of the positive features that made the violin an integral part of the concert team.
It gradually stepped into the shoes of the veena which till then had provided support to the main performer. It was due to the enthusiasm and vision of great luminaries like Baluswami Dikshitar (1786-1858) that the potential and merit of the violin was brought to focus. Their diligent, dedicated concentrated efforts to adapt the violin to be in tune with the demanding art of Carnatic music were mainly responsible for the violin to enjoy such an enviable status in the kutcheri format. Among the all time greats on the violin, Tirukkodikkaval Krishna Iyer occupies an honourable, exclusive slot. He was born in the year 1857 at Maratturai in Thanjavur district. His father Kuppuswami Bhagavatar's ancestry was identified with the Bhagavata Sampradaya and music. Bhagavatar was a renowned exponent of Harikatha and a polyglot highly proficient in several languages like Sanskrit, Tamizh, Telugu, Marathi and Kannada.
Krishna Iyer had his early training under his father and later from Kothavasal Venkatram Iyer, the famous composer of tana varnams. Since Iyer's recalcitrant vocal chords did not cooperate for sustained oral musical outputs, he thoughtfully chose the violin as his medium of expression for his extraordinary artistic talent and awesome manodharma. He achieved greatness in the realm of South Indian music not by accident or chance, but strictly because of his tireless, assiduous practice day in and day out. The Sarali varisais, varnams, swara exercises in different degrees of speed in four sthayis, mastering the purity of the plain notes and also relevant gamaka oscillations during his early morning practice sessions were his staple diet for the day. The Kalyani and Bhairavi Ata tala varnams by Pallavi Gopala Iyer and Pachimiriyam Adiappaier respectively, and the tana varnams in Begada and Saveri set to Adi tala were included in the agenda religiously.
As an accompanist, he was unrivalled as he sincerely strove to make the whole programme a success and not ever trying to steal a march over the main artiste. His brilliant support stimulated the singer's creative instincts lifting the level of the performance to significant heights. Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan whose musical genius came to the fore in his 72 melakarta ragamalika (a splendid, scintillating gem in the repertoire of carnatic music), and other legendary titans like Patnam Subramania Iyer and Sarabha Sastrigal were delighted to have his company on the stage. There were also lesser mortals who felt weighed down by the sheer magnitude and magnificence of his colossal virtuosity who found it trying to hold their own in the face of such Olympian superiority. He was an Atlas who powerfully held the pillars of the musical universe aloft. His solo efforts were the ultimate in melody, bhava, technique, classicism and accuracy in rhythm. He was never one to sacrifice sublime, aesthetic `nada' at the altar of rhythmic pyrotechnics, and vocal acrobatics in raga alapanas. His violin literally sang the sahitya of the songs, and his innovative mind was such that a same raga prayoga would reflect different hues and moods every time he chose to play it.
His elaboration of raga Saveri for more than four hours left the audience spellbound and inundated with mellifluent music at the kutcheri in the Dasara festival at Kakinada. Krishna Iyer became the chief of the Tiruvaduthurai Mutt and was accorded much respect in the royal courts of Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram and Mysore.
To Krishna Iyer, music was a consuming passion to be pursued with a searing intensity, internalising each and every micro facet of the many-sided art. It is to his credit that notwithstanding his remarkable musical achievements, he found the time and will to conscientiously discharge his duties as the village munsiff of Tirukkodikkaval.
His disciples included his eldest son Ramayyar, Ramaswami Iyer (guru of Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai), Semmangudi Narayanaswami Iyer, and Mylapore Venkatarama Iyer. The passing away of Krishna Iyer in 1913 at the comparative early age of 56 left irreplaceable emptiness and sorrow in the hearts of his numerous admirers.
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