Born for music
MEGHA RUPA
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A. Subba Rao, the Carnatic music exponent who passed away recently, was a pioneer of dasara padas
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RARE QUALITY Along with his unusual talent, Subba Rao was also capable of self-evaluation
A. Subba Rao was born to Sharadamma and Anantha Ramarao in 1923 as their only son. He was a man of unusual and rare talent. Recognised and encouraged by Gaana Visharada Bidaram Krishnappa initially, A. Subba Rao moved on to learn from Gaana Bhaskara K. Lakshmidas and Sangeeta Ratna Chikkaramarao, living a life immersed in music.
Early initiation
He started to perform early, at the age of 14 and has given thousands of concerts in the most prestigious Sabhas all over the country since then. He performed his last one at the ripe old age of 81 with unflinching clarity and energy. Along with a unique mastery over the compositions of the trinity, at a time when devaranamas by the Haridasas were only sung at the fag end of the concert that too in few numbers, A. Subba Rao was a pioneer by successfully rendering an entire concert of devaranamas. His sole intention was to popularise these compositions to which the masses could easily relate to. In this direction, he composed nearly 500 songs. "Tarakka Bindige" composed in raga Tilang is one of his most popular compositions.
"He was a very honest person. He once even gave up a concert because he wanted to watch cricket match and wouldn't be able to practise enough," says his son, lost in delightful reverie. At the prime time of his career during the 70s and 80s, he stopped singing at marriage halls and even rejected proposals by several famous cassette companies.
This is testimony to his disinterest for anything commercial. Music, for him, was purely a pursuit of his soul. He even listened to Hindustani classical and Western music, but always kept Carnatic music on a pedestal. Music came to him as naturally as speech. Coupled with his rare talent, was his meticulous sadhana and an ability to evaluate himself, which made him a complete musician.
Subba Rao had gained enough expertise to render an entire solo violin concert by learning and practicing, all by himself. He was a voracious reader and an orator in both English and Kannada. He has authored a popular book called "Harmonium Arunachalappa" in Kannada, along with many others that are left incomplete. He promoted jugalbandi concerts at a time when they were still new to that audience. He is the founder member of the Ganakala Parishat and also served the Sangeeta Nritya Academy. He was awarded with the Ganasudhakara, Gaanakala Tilaka, Gaanakala Bhushana, Sangeetha Ratna titles, to name a few.
Huge loss
It is a loss indeed that we do not have A. Subba Rao with us any longer. Very often, a distinction is made between living a "good" life and living a "long" one. But A. Subba Rao has clearly bridged this gap by living a life that had both-longevity and prosperity. He has been a pioneer in every walk. In his own personal life, he held strong principles and lived by them.
In his own family, he started a parampara of music and was an extremely caring guru for his students. To the Carnatic field in large, he reached out to the masses and rendered service for the cause of music. And as for the future of Carnatic Music, he envisioned dynamic youth who are strong in their values and ethics for the sustenance of this art.
With him gone away, it surely is a big void. That too, like his first guru Bidaram Krishnappa said to him, "born for music".
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