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ENCORE

At the inauguration: Kumararaja Muthiah Chettiar (centre left) and T.S. Sabhesa Iyer (right).

Below this was a paragraph in his praise penned by his disciple C.S.Iyer, retired Accountant General of India. Iyer had been informed of Sabhesa Iyer’s passing by Musiri Subramania Iyer, who was present in Chidambaram at the time of the death. C.S.Iyer based his tribute on a letter Sabhesa Iyer had written him on December 22, 1942. The Music Academy that year had instituted the Sangita Kalanidhi award and had decided to confer it in retrospect on all those musicians who had presided over its conferences from 1928 onwards.

The awards ceremony was held on January 1, 1943, but Sabhesa Iyer, who had presided over the 1934 conference, could not make it. In 1941, he had become immobile and in a letter authorised C.S.Iyer to receive the award on his behalf. A copy of the letter survives in the Musiri Subramania Iyer Collection, lovingly preserved by his grand-nephew S. Thyagarajan. Let us read what Sabhesa Iyer has to say about himself:

“I was born in 1872 in Tiruvayyaru. I became the disciple of the maestro Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan in my 10th year. Sambasiva Iyer, my father, was a talented violinist and provided accompaniment to Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer in his concerts. Sri Muthiah Bhagavatar became my father’s disciple from his 8th year. After my father’s demise in 1893, he trained under me for a few years.

“My grandfather Sri Sabhapati Sivan was a disciple of Sri Tyagaraja Swamigal. His father Pallavi Doraiswami Iyer was a musician and composer in the Thanjavur Rajah’s Court. He was famed as a veena artiste also.

“In 1905 I came to Patnam (Madras). Sri Musiri Subramania Iyer became my disciple in 1920 and learnt from me for nine years. In 1929, I became the first Principal of the Music College established in Annamalai Nagar (Chidambaram) on 11th May that year. I was in that post till 1937. I was President of the Music Academy’s Conference in 1934.”

There are besides this, some other details on Sabhesa Iyer and his ancestors:

Padinaindu Mandapam, or the street of fifteen pavilions, is in Tiruvaiyaru. At the instance of King Tulaja II of Thanjavur, Rama Brahmam, Tyagaraja’s father, was entrusted the responsibility of distributing the houses on this street to learned Brahmins who specialised in Varuna Japam, the chant that induced rain. One of the families that benefited from this munificence was that of Nayam Venkatasubba Iyer, a vainika in the Thanjavur Court. His grandson was ‘Pallavi’ Doraiswami Iyer. He was a vaggeyakkara also, composing songs with the mudra ‘Subramania.’ He was also a talented painter and did watercolours for the themes of his songs. Some of these have survived and are with his descendants.

Sabhesa Iyer was one of Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer’s three famous disciples, the other two being Pazhamarneri Swaminatha Iyer and Vasudevanallur Subbaiah Bhagavatar.

Sabhesa Iyer was the one who made Vaidyanatha Iyer’s 72 melaragamalika famous, so much so that many thought it was his own composition! Over the years, his style of doing niraval for songs became famous and this is what Musiri imbibed in particular and made his own. As for his talents as a teacher, we can only quote C.S.Iyer – “He was indeed the pattern of a real Guru who gave all his knowledge to his pupils.” Sabhesa Iyer was one of the early supporters of the Tyagaraja aradhana, active in it till the 1930s.

Musiri in his letter in English to C.S.Iyer said this of his Guru: “Music world has been often poorer by the death of eminent Vidwans but the passing away of our illustrious Guru makes the music world almost bankrupt. His lucid renderings of grace and grandeur of many masterpieces are no more to be heard hereafter. Perhaps the Almighty Lord was too jealous…!”

Musiri was a great admirer of Charles Dickens and so signed off with a Micawber like flourish. The epistle ends with “I remain, yours in affliction, Musiri Subramania Iyer.”

To a great Guru, his disciples are perhaps the greatest testimonials and with students like Muthaiah Bhagavatar (who predeceased him in 1945), C.S.Iyer and Musiri to carry the torch forward, Sabhesa Iyer ranks among the best in Carnatic Music.

(The author can be contacted at srirambts@gmail.com)

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