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The charm of Ariyakkudi
SRIRAM VENKATKRISHNAN
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In keeping with his reputation for bringing good luck to any enterprise with which he was associated, the Shanmukhananda Sabha too prospered…
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Auspicious: Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar
It was a day of fulfilment for the Carnatic music-lovers of Bombay. The Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha, had for years been conducting music programmes at the hall of the South Indian Education Society’s High School, the Poddar Col
lege and the Indian Gymkhana grounds. Their dream of a hall of their own had resulted in many of them seeking donations from corporate houses and individuals and on August 24, 1963, the Sabha’s own auditorium was being inaugurated.
The Hindu, reporting the next day noted that the Governor of Maharashtra, Vijayalakshmi Pandit had formally declared the “multi-purpose cultural hall” open by lighting a kuthuvilakku. In her speech she paid tributes to “the South Indians for preserving the beauty and integrity of music and maintaining the lead in the musical field while in other parts of India, it had been neglected.”
Harbinger of success
The man who stole the show, however, was Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar. The doyen had given the inaugural performance for the Shanmukhananda Sabha in 1944, accompanied by Papa K.S. Venkataramiah on the violin and Palghat Mani Iyer on the mridangam. Ariyakkudi, like Semmangudi after him, was believed to be the harbinger of success and was always in demand for inaugurating Sabhas. He had done the same for the Rasika Ranjana Sabha in Calcutta and the Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha (Vani Mahal) in Madras.
In keeping with his reputation for bringing good luck to any enterprise with which he was associated, the Shanmukhananda Sabha too had prospered and having merged with the Fine Arts Club in the interim had blossomed into a major cultural institution. And now Ariyakkudi was back, this time with T.N. Krishnan and Palghat Mani Iyer, to witness the inauguration of the auditorium. It was also the year when Ariyakkudi completed 50 years of service to music. Earlier in the year there had been a grand function to mark this at the Rajaji Hall in Madras. Now, Bombay residents were celebrating it in a like fashion.
S.G. Barve, Maharashtra’s Finance Minister, in his speech said that Ariyakkudi was a “great ornament of the south who had done yeoman service to the cause of music.” He went on to add that “the people and the Government of Maharashtra took pride in associating themselves with the function and wished Ariyakkudi many more years of meritorious service in furthering people’s interest in music.”
The new Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai.
An honoured invitee was Raja Sir M.A. Muthiah Chettiar whose native village of Kanadukatthan being close to Ariyakkudi remarked that he was particularly happy to felicitate the singer as he came from a village close to his own ancestral home. By then Ariyakkudi and the Chettinad family had evidently mended fences, their differences of opinion over the Tamil Isai issue having been forgotten. Palghat Mani Iyer, T.N. Krishnan, and the president of the Sabha, T.V. Ramanujam, all spoke in praise of Ariyakkudi.
In his speech, Mani Iyer remarked that during his long career, Ramanuja Iyengar had not once deviated from purity and this was due to the grace of Tyagaraja. K. Sundararajan, Secretary of the Music Academy, Madras, recited a verse extolling Ariyakkudi’s virtues. Forty-seven cultural organisations and individuals presented floral tributes, shawls and silk pieces to the singer.
The Shanmukhananda Sabha then presented a formal address to Ariyakkudi which was read out by its Secretary, Seshadri. “A bowl in gold and silver, with the ten avataras of Maha Vishnu and a portrait of Tyagaraja engraved on it, were presented to Sri Ramanuja Iyengar by the Sabha” noted The Hindu.
Ariyakkudi in his speech said “that whatever he was today he owed to Sri Thyagaraja. He congratulated the Sabha for putting up such an imposing structure.” A concert by the doyen followed where it was noted that he sang every piece that was requested by members of the audience.
The Shanmukhananda Sabha moved from strength to strength after this. Its magazine Shanmukha was widely read and was edited by veteran critic K.S. Mahadevan. A series of committed presidents and office-bearers made the Sabha a name to reckon with.
A devastating fire swept through the premises in February 1990 and it was left to the committee members to ensure the building rose once again, Phoenix like, from the ashes. The new hall was completed in 1998 and is called the Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrashekharendra Saraswathi Auditorium. It is once again a multi-purpose building with a music school and other facilities in it. When it was completed, there was no Ariyakkudi, but the veteran’s reputation for good luck has ensured that the Sabha overcame all its challenges.
(The author can be contacted at srirambts@gmail.com
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