ENCORE
TNR at AIR
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The first Carnatic musician to perform at its new premises, Rajarathinam Pillai shared a special rapport with AIR.
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STAR PERFORMER: T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai
The All India Radio building on Kamarajar Salai (formerly South Beach Road) is a Chennai landmark. AIR moved to these premises on July 11, 1954, when construction of the annexe was completed prior to the main building being constructed. The Hindu, announcing the date of inauguration in its issue of July 8, 1954, stated that "press representatives were invited to view the building" and gave details of the "the studios, five in number, all on the ground floor on either side of a central corridor."
The report stated that the "two main music studios are on the western side of the corridor with the Control Room in between them. The studios have been provided with exhaust and air conditioning to keep them cool and comfortable. A room adjoining the studios will be used as a waiting room for the artistes who come to participate in the programmes."
The first to perform
The first Carnatic artiste who performed at these new premises was Tiruvavaduturai N. Rajarathinam Pillai (TNR), the legendary nagaswaram maestro. It was to the strains of his nagaswaram that the new buildings were thrown open. Reporting on the inauguration of the buildings on July 11, The Hindu's issue of July 12 stated that "the programmes in the first transmission for the day commenced at 6.45 a.m. from the new studios with a short alapana in thodi ragam on the nathaswaram" by the maestro.
TNR and the radio were no strangers to each other. Among the earliest artistes to have begun recording for the radio, his performance with the tambura (and not the othu) for the drone is a delight that is often broadcast even today by AIR. He was besides a talented singer as well, and AIR made use of this less well-known side to his talents.
Writing about a vocal performance of TNR that had been broadcast on December 15, 1939, N.D.Varadachariar, the eminent "Emden" vakil, states in his diary, "Rajaratnam, the famous nadaswaram player, sang on his voice marvellously over AIR this night. He excelled in Thodi, Kharaharapriya and Kalyani in particular." In the 1950s, TNR was to also give a detailed interview to AIR Tiruchi station where he spoke of his early life, his gurus and also his views on Carnatic music.
As the king of the nagaswaram, TNR expected himself to be treated as royalty would have been, had they deigned to visit AIR. A typical TNR entourage involved one of his wives, his accompanists and a couple of helpers one of whom was exclusively in charge of the snuff-box.
T. Sankaran, renowned music historian and Veena Dhanammal's grandson, recollected later that TNR would arrive at least six hours before the scheduled recording time at the premises of AIR. Keeping him in a musical mood during the waiting period was always a challenge, till Sankaran, who was working for AIR, found a way. TNR worshipped Bismillah Khan and his shehnai and so AIR staff would play record after record of Bismillah Khan to keep TNR happy. He would then proceed for the recording and perform in the most brilliant fashion.
An aerial view of the AIR building in Chennai.
Another challenge
Getting TNR to give his list of songs for a performance was yet another challenge. S. Rajam, the multifaceted musician, recollects that when asked, TNR would list out the ragas meticulously but would change his mind once inside the recording room. The song list was rarely ever given and TNR would invariably ask Rajam to fill in whatever he felt was appropriate!
However, the officials would wait for the recording to be over and then fill in the details. He would suddenly demand the tambura for the drone in place of the othu when his contract would stipulate otherwise. Here again, T. Sankaran found a way out. He would offer to strum the tambura and TNR would immediately opt for the othu. Such was his respect for Dhanammal that nothing would make him have her descendant keep the pitch for him.
TNR's last public performance, which happened in the first week of December 1956, was for AIR. True to nature, he turned up at 6 a.m. at the studios and demanded to know where the officials were. They were duly rounded up and rushed to the studios, where TNR in his usual style demanded to know what they were doing in bed when he himself was up and about. The raga Saveri was selected by him for the programme but half way through the rehearsal, he decided to switch to Varali and gave a top-notch performance, as usual. The great artiste passed away on December 12. AIR keeps his memory alive by occasionally playing his recordings even now.
SRIRAM VENKATKRISHNAN
(The author can be contacted at srirambts@gmail.com)
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