Master of twin arts
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
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Music and painting — S. Rajam pursued both with passion.
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``They say that people who can't get concerts get into theory. But I studied theory to apply it in practice."
PHOTO: S. R. RAGHUNATHAN
S. Rajam.
Kolhapur 1933. Baburao Pendharkar is in charge. The camera rolls. Light reflectors beam upon the 14-year-old-boy. His costume wilts, but his high-pitched song is melody-perfect. Suddenly, a cloud wafts by. ``CUT!" shouts the director. The lengthy sequence has to be shot all over again.
This early talkie, ``Sita Kalyanam," has Sundaram Iyer from Madras playing Janaka to daughter Jaya's Sita, with his eldest Rajam essaying Rama. Younger son Balachander plays kanjira under the baton of music director Papanasam Sivan.
Rajam's photograph in The Hindu, for winning first prize in a music competition, became the family's passport to this celluloid dream.
Encyclopaedic knowledge
At age 87, Sundaram Rajam shares with students his encyclopaedic knowledge of the two arts he has pursued: Carnatic music and painting. In both he adheres to the strict classicist school. His telephone-mobile-computerless home in Nadu Street, Mylapore, follows a meticulous schedule. Go up the squeezing stairs into a room full of yellowing books, pigeonholed manuscripts, hard benches and easy chair — you are back in old Madraspattinam.
Great grandfather Srivanchiyam Subbarama Iyer composed Tamil padams, lost to posterity. As Principal of Zamorin College, Calicut, the grand father (nicknamed Lady Vaidyanatha Iyer for his winsome looks) was devoted to education. Advocate father Sundaram Iyer was known for his writings in The Hindu, and for his understanding of music. S. Ramanathan, M.D.Ramanathan and K.V.Narayanaswami sought his thinnai for advice. No wonder young Rajam acquired a love of such sharp-probing, self-improvement driven sessions, and a dislike of music-on-show. Hearing the chamber recitals of Veenai Dhanammal strengthened this predilection.
After sarali varisai from Ganesha Iyer, the child graduated to Ambi Dikshitar's magnificent patanthara. ``At ten I didn't realise how magnanimous he was in teaching not only from his own, but Tyagaraja's parampara as well. His Suddhadhanyasi prayogas in `Enta Nerchina' were stunning! His Ahiri was not for concert platforms. Fast food is all right as you scramble to work. For dinner at home you want the genuine stuff."
The child Rajam had the privilege of learning Papanasam Sivan's kritis from the composer himself. ``When he sang you had to fill in the blanks intuitively!" he laughs. His veneration for Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar lights up his description of the veteran's perfectionism. ``I cherish those notebooks, where he notated every song starting with the raga's arohanam and avarohanam." Though known to hoard gifts and medals in crowded almirahs, Iyengar did once part with a pen to reward young Rajam.
Madurai Mani Iyer opened Rajam's eyes to fascinating possibilities in vakra and varja ragas, and to use kalpanaswaras as the blueprint for structuring ragas. A singular influence came from Mylapore Gowriamma, the great sadir artiste attached to the Mylapore temple. Rajam demonstrates her mudras as he explains that she never taught a padam minus the abhinaya. ``So you never forgot the bhava."
The boy's short cut to school was through the temple where he watched Gowriamma's navasandhi everyday, with nattuvanar and mridangam player following her as she danced. ``In her simple sari over pyjamas, she looked like a bronze figure come to life!"
Style of his own
The boy managed to craft a style of his own, and not blindly copy the mentors. His kutcheris began at age 13, with harmonium and kanjira accompaniment from younger brother Balachandar, who later went on to prove his own genius on the veena.
At the Madras School of Arts, Rajam studied painting, porcelain, wood and metal crafts, and developed a distinct style to represent deities, music composers, saints, and themes like Muthuswami Dikshitar's navagrahas or Swaradevatas in Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavatar. His drawings of Pallava, Chola, Ajanta and Sigiria frescoes are veritable treasures now, since the originals have been severely damaged due to careless exposure.
As Music Supervisor in AIR, Rajam was assured of radio concerts and broadcasts of music lessons. He could design special programmes on rare compositions, vaggeyakaras of many periods and stylistics. He has set to music not only Thevaram and Thiruppugazh, but also kritis by contemporary lyricists like Periasami Thooran. A member of the Music Academy's Experts' committee and contributing editor for over two decades to the music and dance magazine Sruti, Rajam is an authoritative participant in music seminars.
Retirement found Rajam more active. ``Since I was not on the kutcheri beat I didn't have to endlessly repeat the same popular songs. I learnt, taught and composed a lot. They say that people who can't get concerts get into theory. But I studied theory to apply it in practice." We can cite Rajam's recordings of the 72 melakarta kritis of Kotiswara Iyer as a notable example of this approach.
Rajam observes that modern art has no background, grammar or philosophy. ``So it doesn't lead to anything." Similarly, he believes that the philosophy of music has to be internalised. He concludes: ``The goal of the fine arts is to project the true culture of the land. Let's ask ourselves — are we going in that direction?"
(A fortnightly spotlight on music gurus, musicologists and representatives of different schools, who have enriched Carnatic music.)
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