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Crowning glory
SADANAND KANAVALLI
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Saxophone King Kadri Gopalnath has many firsts to his credit; beginning with adapting a western instrument to Carnatic music
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Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
MANY CREDITS Kadri has done extensive experiments in fusion music
Indian classical music is a veritable ocean. Even if thousands have been churning it, priceless jewels keep popping up. Many have successfully experimented and widened Indian musical horizons. They have harnessed several western instruments to Indian
music. They have Indianised them so well that they are no longer thought of as alien. Harmonium, guitar, clarionet, mandolin, violin, saxophone are such instruments. The Indian musical talent has absorbed them unto itself. Each of these instruments has thrown up giants. Take for instance the violin. The Carnatic system has Lalgudi Jayaraman, T.N. Krishnan, L. Subramaniam, L. Krishnamurthy etc. The Hindustani system has V.G. Jog, N. Rajam, Sisir Kanara Choudhary, Kala Ramanath and so on. There is M.S. Gopalakrishnan who is adept in both styles. The guitar has Brij Bhushan Kabra and Vishwa Mohan Bhat. Vishwa Mohan Bhat has adapted it and named it Mohan Veena and even went on to win the Grammy Award. Banned for several years by AIR, the harmonium has proved its inevitability as an accompaniment. It has also proved its worth as a solo instrument. Stalwarts like Puttaraj Gawai and Rambhau Bijapure and their disciples have endeared the harmonium, to singers and listeners alike. For clarionet, you have Narasimhulu Vadavati. For mandolin, you have U. Srinivas whose name has become integral with it in that he has come to be called Mandolin Srinivas. Likewise, Kadri Gopalanth’s name is inextricably linked up with saxophone. Born in 1950 in Mangalore to Thaniappa and Gangamma, Gopalnath started training in the nadaswaram under his father at the tender age of 10. But destiny held some other instrument in store which was to make him immortal. How he turned to the saxophone makes an interesting story. “I first listened to it in 1965 in the Mysore Palace Orchestra. It was love at first sight. Thrilled by its vibrant notes, I decided then and there that it was the instrument for me.” He plunged headlong into practicing it and has never looked back. His path was none too easy. “First I had master production of the swaras from this intricate instrument. Then I had to co-ordinate them to suit the raga on hand and its mood. And weave embellishments like meends and gamakas into the raga pattern. No easy task, since you have meend in Indian music only. And the western instrument that the saxophone is, it doesn’t lend itself to production of the meend.” Kadri Gopalanth struggled with the saxophone for hours on end for well-nigh 20 years to bring out the nuances of Indian classical music. The outcome of his perseverance has been he has come to be recognised as Saxophone King.
“I used to play the saxophone on occasions like weddings and fairs. I learnt Carnatic singing from Guru Gopalkrishna Aiyer”. Gopalnath has put it to good use in playing the saxophone. “My debut on the concert platform was in 1976. At the Chembai Memorial Trust, Chennai. An honour, indeed. It was a resounding success.” And the resounding has followed him wherever he plays. He has been having a string of concerts at home and abroad. He is a big draw at any concert. Globetrotting has been as easy for him as flitting from Bangalore to Mysore or from Hubli to Dharwad for that matter. He has performed in Switzerland, England, America, Canada, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Bahrain, Qatar, Muscat, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Not content with mere Carnatic music on the saxophone, Kadri has done extensive experiments in fusion music. He ranks with the likes of Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Jasraj, Zakir Hussain in popularising Indian music in the West. A high quality fusion musician that he is, Kadri Gopalnath has participated in Jazz Festivals at Prague and Berlin. He had the distinction of taking part in the International Saxophone Festival held at Latvia in 2003, as also the rare honour of playing at the Golden Jubilee Coronation of Queen Elizabeth of England. He is the first Carnatic musician to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London on invitation from the BBC, Kadri Gopalnath has toured England in duet concerts with the celebrated saxophonist Evan Parker. He has collaborated with renowned Jazz Flautist, James Newton of U.S. for a fusion album called Southern Brothers. The theme was global peace and harmony. Kosmic Music has brought out in four volumes Kadri Gopalnath’s blockbuster fusion album, “Dream Journey”.
Would films leave him alone? He is in demand. K. Balachander, the great Tamil film director used Kadri’s saxophone for his film “Duet”. With the talented A.R. Rahman as music director. But as usually happens with many, Kadri hasn’t lost himself in the glitter of film music. His first love, however, has always been classical music. Kadri is the first Carnatic musician to get A top grade from AIR in 1997. In 2004, the Padmashri and followed by the Central Sangeet Natak Academy Award. And on its heels in 2006, Honorary Doctorate from Bangalore University. Kadri is also the recipient of Kalaimamani from Tamil Nadu Government and Rajyotsava Award from Karnataka Government. He was given Purandara Award in February 2008 and on March 13, 2008, he is going to be conferred the Puttaraj Samman at Dharwad. A new feather in his crown. In Kadri’s view: “Puttaraj Samman has been conferred on nine stalwarts before me. To me, the Samman is a blessing from the saint-musician Dr. Puttaraj Gawai.”
The credit for raising the saxophone to the status of the Mangala Vadya is all Kadri Gopalanath’s. In order to perpetuate the glorious tradition he has built up, Kadri has been training hundreds of disciples. About 25 of his disciples are notable performers today. “Should the Government of Karnataka gift me a site, I have a dream of running a free saxophone education centre.”
(Kadri Gopalnath will be felicitated on March 13, at Dr. Mallikarjun Mansur Kala Bhavana, Dharwad, 6 p.m.)
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
