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CHAT CORNER
‘Music is the finest of fine arts’
Only music can liberate this society fettered by religion, caste, creed and race and can help one attain mukthi too .
Neyveli Santhanagopalan
N
eyveli R. Santhanagopalan has named his house ‘Periyaval Pichai,’ which speaks volumes of his bhakti for Paramacharya, whose portraits adorn the walls of the rooms. A vidwan, who enthralled the learned audience with his ‘Kanakku Vazhakku,’ has reinvented himself, laying importance on sowkhyam.
Childhood...
My father, who was with NLC, Neyveli, was a veena player. When I was four, I remember listening to Chembai’s ‘Vatapi’ on AIR regularly. I could imitate his style. My mother taught me a few kritis. AIR and my mother, therefore are my first Gurus. Chembai’s nephew, Chembai Ananthamani Bhagavathar settled down in Neyveli and I came under his tutelage. My first concert was for the Kerala Kala Samithi, Neyveli, with my guru on the sruti box. After his premature death, I joined Srirangam Ranganathan of Pondy AIR. He knew more than one thousand kritis and used to frequent Neyveli on weekends for classes. His notations were print like. Being with him during his practice sessions at violin vidwan Venkatasubramanian’s house increased my thirst for Carnatic music. I also won the Government of India scholarship.
Neyveli days...
Every house was buzzing with religious and cultural activities. I was responsible for the reception of vidwans whenever they came to perform for Geethapriya, a music forum, there. Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan’s concert inspired me to seek his guidance. He insisted that I complete my education. I secured the first rank (district level) in the 10th. Later, I joined B.Sc Physics in DG Vaishnav, Chennai. Lab hours used to be music hour of sorts with Kalyani and Khambodi raining.
Stint with Maharajapuram...
Having been acquainted with him at Neyveli, I felt at ease when I went to his house and sang ‘Sree Rama Saraswathy,’ rendered by TNS sir, which I had learnt from an audiocassette. He was quite impressed and asked me to accompany him for a concert at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, that week. For a year, classes began at 5 a.m. and went on through the day.
On joining Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan…
Whenever he visited Chennai, I would skip my classes and be with him till his return to Madurai. Once, he taught me for eight hours, unmindful of his concert the next day at The Music Academy. He was a complete musician who had expert knowledge of related subjects. After listening to my concert, he asked me to go with him to Madurai, to be under his direct guidance. Thanks to him I got a part-time teaching job in music at the Vikasa School. He taught me about 30 small kritis in a single day, to enable me to teach the kids at the school. His guru bhakti was amazing.
A friend, philosopher and guide...
Thanjavur Sankara Iyer, a prolific composer, made me realise that music is a form of social service. He believes that it can liberate society fettered by religion, caste, creed and race and can help one attain mukthi too. He is a person capable of making people give their best.
The sixth guru…
Vellore Ramabhadran has imbibed various styles of vidwans whom he had accompanied such as Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, Semmangudi and Mali to name a few. Hearing him sing slokas, ragas and kritis was a big surprise. His association made me comprehend that one should have an open mind to learn new things. He personifies Lakshiya Gnanam.
The Tiruppugazh association...
Sadhuram Swamigal taught me Tiruppugazh. My wife comes from a family that has dedicated itself to Tiruppugazh. Vadapalani Sambandham who was running the Tiruppugazh Sabha wanted sangeetha vidwans to sing the hymns. Many senior vidwans were involved in it in the earlier years. Only after my involvement with the sabha did I realise that one can perform a full-fledged concert with Tiruppugazh. ‘Thodi’ Kannan of the sabha gave a kirtana format to some of the verses (he sings ‘Kalanidathanugadhey’ in Bilahari). During one of the festivals, when Delhi Raghavan, Tiruppugazh exponent, was being felicitated, two peacocks flew in and remained on the stage till the end. Only after singing the ‘Mayil Viruttam,’ did they fly away.
Music school, disciples...
I felt blessed when TNS sir inaugurated my music school, ‘Nadha Patasala,’ with his concert and Lalgudi (Jayaraman) graced the function. Ajay Namboodri from Kerala, Ravi Bhat from Mangalore and my disciples who have settled in Chennai are also part of my teaching system.
I am ready to teach students who are at a higher level of learning. Sriram Parthasarathy, Chinmaya sisters, Srividya Venkatachalam and Nandini Ramamurthy are my disciples on the concert circuit. Sriranjani, my daughter, has just begun performing.
Of music and musicians...
The River Ganges on her course from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, flows into several thousands of villages. A musician’s journey should also be like hers. As Mahaperiyaval said, music is the only medium that can redeem man and make him realise parabrahmam. Music is the finest of fine arts and discipline the most important aspect of music.
V.BALASUBRAMANIAN
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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