Devoted to the guru
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
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He was so dedicated to Semmangudi that V. Subrahmaniam never sought fame as a solo singer.
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Photo: R. Shivaji Rao.
V. Subrahmaniam.
Family music teacher Sankara Bhagavatar had his own method for the boy. Every music lesson was structured like a kutcheri, with the guru playing kanjira to firm up the student's sense of tala. Bhagavatar's voice was poor. So he demanded greater clarity in the disciple — the upper shadja had to have the same tonal quality as the lower.
One day, the boy's classroom Khambodi attracted a visiting musician. He advised the boy to increase his pitch, project better, avoid hazardous phrases, and invited him to perform at the Trivandrum Music College, which he headed. Later, the maestro said, "Come and learn from me." That was the beginning of the decades-long association between Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and young
V. Subrahmaniam — to be known in later years as `Nirlon ' Subrahmaniam, the prefix a reference to the company that employed him.
With a high court judge and Diwan of Travancore for his grandfather, and a lawyer father who served as secretary to the government and advisor to the Maharaja, Subrahmaniam's paternal family did not see music as a career. The maternal side had a grandfather singing padams, a mother trained in music, and a performer cousin. Sister Nagalakshmi Lakshmanan accompanied T. Brinda in concerts.
At age four, Subrahmaniam was so music mad that he was smuggled into an antechamber to hear a barred-to-children palace recital. He identified ragas, and held his own with a vocally trained cousin. Himself a rasika, the father arranged formal lessons for the son.
Apprenticed in Mercantile Bank in Bombay, the young man came to Madras in 1958 to join India Cements, and continued lessons with Semmangudi, then back in the city.
Semmangudi's long innings saw many vocal accompanists. But from a chamber recital in 1966, Subrahmaniam remained the guru's mainstay for 36 years.
Bears Semmangudi stamp
Why did the guru rely on him so much? "I didn't change the pataanthara even by a fraction. Even today, I don't change sangatis to suit my students' abilities. We can show our manodharma skills in ragam and swaram, not in kritis." Subrahmaniam's improvisation too bears the Semmangudi stamp, not as imitation, but through assimilation.
He singles out Semmangudi's kriti preparation as awesome. Referring to theoretical texts to ensure accuracy, he notated it meticulously and taught it to disciples. He inaugurated the piece only after internalising it by repeated singing at home.
Here wife Kripa interpolates, "For Mama, music was not a profession, it was upasana, worship."
Subrahmaniam's first concert in 1953 was followed by more chances including an early prestigious slot at the Navaratri manadapam with royal approval. As the sishya matured, his raga alapana began to be appreciated by the fastidious guru. Yet, Nirlon Subrahmaniam did not become a regular solo performer. Why? "My generation began to sing when the stalwarts were stars. When they retired, the younger group had already arrived. Personally too, I've never asked for concerts, I even suggested that my slot should be given to a professional musician. Mistake. The Musicians' Guild passed a resolution not to accompany non-professionals. Yes, I did feel sorry about missing the bus — after retirement." As an office bearer he was kept off the stage at the Madras Music Academy. A second chance came after a gap of 21 years.
Ten years ago, vidwan P.S.Narayanaswami started sending him students, insisting that Subrahmaniam should pass on the wealth he possessed. He does not allow tapes in the class. It has to be direct learning for focus and precision.
His biography of Semmangudi commissioned by the Sangeet Natak Akademi remains unpublished. He has lost the copy of the text, and the zest to do it again. Subrahmaniam presents lec-dems, and has recorded 30 ragas for reference. He would also like to record authentically for posterity the vast repertoire gleaned from Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Will he get the necessary assistance to fulfil what he perceives to be his responsibility towards the art he has practised?
(A fortnightly spotlight on music gurus, musicologists and representatives of different schools, who have enriched Carnatic music.)
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