Vanishing landmarks of Chennai

This was an article I wrote on 22nd August 2006 (Madras Day) when five heritage buildings were threatened. Of these, St Ebba’s has miraculously survived and is now looking beautiful with a fresh coat of paint. The others have gone.

 MM here stands for Madras Musings.

All fall down

What a birthday for a city! With just a week to go for the celebrations to begin, Madras that is Chennai has been given three, no make that four gifts and the number may keep increasing. All these are going to be spanking new buildings, full of concrete and glass if commercial or swank apartment blocks with swimming pools if residential. Some promise both in the same location. What more could the city want?

Unfortunately, they are all coming up on what would have been considered heritage sites had we only had a law to that effect. As for whatever stood there earlier, what of them? We at Madras Musings are mourning their passing even if very few others are concerned or bothered.

What follows is an obituary for those vanished/vanishing/ to be demolished structures that once defined the city.

1. Kardyl or the Bharat Insurance Building – In its heyday, shortly after it was completed in 1897, it was described as “a palatial structure… one of the sights of the city, making a far greater show than any other commercial buildings on Mount Road”. It was designed by JH Stephen of the Madras PWD for WE Smith, leading wholesale druggists, opticians, dealers in surgical instruments and also strangely enough in aerated waters for which there was a factory just behind the building. The main structure, described by the editor of this paper in a column as a symbol of “the losing battle for the city’s heritage” had a magnificent 60 by 40 ft showroom, besides rooms for doctors and dentists. A later treatise on the architecture of the city described it as reflecting a “multitude of styles”. WE Smith became a part of Spencers in 1925 and the building was bought in 1934 by Bharat Insurance. In time the triangular garden in the front of the building was built over by the Bharat Insurance Building which completely hid one side of the older structure from view. The building was let out to various tenants and in 1957, with the nationalization of insurance, LIC became the owner.

Poor maintenance was the building’s bane and gradually it was allowed to go to seed. There were difficulties with tenants even as the LIC attempted to get them evicted. The PWD gave a report in the 1990s that the building was under severe structural stress and needed repair immediately. LIC however chose to remain silent and let the building go from bad to worse, till recently when having succeeded in evicting most of the tenants, private tenders were finalized for the demolition. The actual work of demolition began early in the second week of August when part of the roof, the flattened peak and several sunshades were brought down.The demolition was however challenged in court by the Indian National Trust for Architectural and Cultural Heritage on August 10^th and the High Court of Madras granted an interim injunction staying the demolition till further hearing.

What does the city stand to lose if the building is allowed to be demolished? First, the structure is a landmark piece of architecture, symbolic of the city’s unique Indo Saracenic style. Second, its interior going by what is described in “Madras, the Architectural Heritage” by Kalpana and Frank Schiffer is rich with stained glass panels, decorated false ceilings, wooden staircases and ornamental cast iron work. In short it is a valuable piece of the city’s heritage which could have any number of alternative uses if only it was preserved. The LIC, which has taken pride in restoration of its heritage buildings elsewhere in country has however shown a complete lack of interest in this treasure of Chennai.

1. Gandhi Illam – This was a stately though medium sized structure that stood inside Government Estate just before Rajaji Hall. It was named Gandhi Illam when in 1969, it was converted into a museum devoted to the Mahatma’s life and was inaugurated on 2^nd October that year by M Karunanidhi the present Chief Minister. Over the years, the building suffered neglect and was declared to be a dilapidated structure a few years ago when the exhibits were shifted. This year, a mysterious fire broke out (as it often does in heritage buildings in Chennai, does it not) and the demolition of the structure was ordered at once. When a Madras Musings representative visited the site, the work of bringing the building down was already half way through. MM wonders as to what is to come up in its place? A modern day PWD monstrosity? Is this the way we pay homage to a building named after the father of the Nation?
2. The Oceanic – In its heyday it was the only competition to the Connemara and its main block was a classic example of the Art Deco style. Built by the MS Ramaswami Chettiar family in the 1950s it was a top notch hotel that even hosted visiting cricket teams, held UN conferences and played host to several film stars. It was also a choice venue for film shooting especially of the “curry Western” variety. In later years it lost its sheen and became a rather shady hang out. The Oceanic, ridden by litigation, was closed for the past two decades, but there was hope a couple of years ago that the Taj Group would take it over and reopen it after refurbishment and expansion. The negotiations were finalised and the Taj had even agreed to retain the Oceanic’s art deco style main block, but with a change in the Taj management, the deal was not concluded. Since then, highrise began eating into the Oceanic’s property on its fringes, but it was still a property with potential for an enterprising hotelier. There was talk of a fast growing city based budget chain of hotels taking the place on lease but that was not to happen. Last month the owner decided to cash in on the IT boom and convert the place into an IT park. The hotel was razed to the ground and when MM’s reporter visited the place only the ornamental arch at the entrance was left.
3. The Kapali Theatre – It was only a few weeks ago when the Man from Madras Musings reported that on RK Mutt Road, the only open space left was the property belonging to the Kapali Theatre, the first proper theatre to come up in Mylapore. It was inaugurated in 1939 by MK Thyagaraja Bhagavatar, then the reigning super star. It façade was a classic art deco structure, a style that most theatres adopted in the city. It is learnt that the Kapali, which had been closed owing to litigation has now been taken over by a builder who is looking at developing it into a commercial and residential complex. Demolition of the building has already begun. What amazes Madras Musings is the ease with which permission is granted to build large commercial and residential complexes on a road that is already buckling under the load of vehicles. The new development only promises to increase congestion in the area.
4. St Ebbas School – Benjamin Sullivan was in his time the “originator” of the Madras Post Office, Attorney General in the 1780s and later a Judge. His house and the property on which it stood, namely Sullivan’s Gardens was acquired in 1840 for Rs 20,000 by the Madras Diocesan Committee of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts and converted into a kind of seminary and “quasi college”. The St Ebba’s school which began in 1886 moved into this property which today stands on Dr Radhakrishnan Road.

The school which is doing noble service in providing education for girls from less privileged families in Mylapore, is finding the going tough living in a heritage building with several maintenance issues for which funds are always in short supply. MM learns that a fund for a new building has been started with a view to pulling down the old structure and building afresh in its place. This report is based on information with MM as the principal of the school was not available for comment.

While MM appreciates the need for renovation, it would urge the school to look at inviting experts in heritage restoration such as INTACH to step in and advise on what best can be done for the building and changing its interiors to keep the school abreast with modernity even while the façade of the building is kept intact. The school will not only be setting a noble example, it would also be retaining an airy and well ventilated structure, something which is a scarcity in most modern say school buildings.

That completes the latest round in the tale of the destruction of the city’s heritage. All this would never have come to pass had we a Heritage Act in place. It was only a few weeks ago when a former Mayor and present day Minister had stated that heritage structures must not be allowed to rot. MM was heartened by such a statement and still hopes for the best that an act will soon be passed. Needless to add, Madras Musings will continue to battle for it despite all such setbacks.

  

Sangita Vani Vasanthakumari

This article appeared in The Hindu in January 2008.

Sangeeta Vani Vasanthakumari

 

The Arts Academy, Purasawalkam, met on January 4^th 1954 at the Sir M Ct Muthiah Chettiar High School. The special programme was to confer the award of Sangeeta Vani on ‘young’ ML Vasanthakumari. She was all of 26 then. And present on the occasion was a formidable line-up of stalwarts.

 

The Hindu, reported on the event in its edition of 5^th January. The award comprised a scroll which bore the citation. Kumbhakonam Rajamanikkam Pillai, the eminent violinist was to give it to her. Presiding over the programme was Dr U Krishna Rao, Minister for Industries, Government of Madras. He was a man with a musical connection, for his brother Dr U Rama Rao had been the first President of the Music Academy, Madras. It was at his house, that MLV’s mother Madras Lalithangi had first met a Yogi from Karnataka and who taught her the songs of Purandara Dasa. These songs were to become an integral part of Vasanthakumari’s repertoire. In 1942, she helped her mother prepare a compilation of Purandara Dasa’s songs with lyrics and notation in Tamil, titled the Purandara Mani Mala.

 

According to The Hindu, “Dr Krishna Rao expressed appreciation of Srimathi Vasantakumari’s music and wished her a long and bright career”. In his speech, Rajamanikkam Pillai, as befitting his warm heart, became emotional and recollected that he had known MLV from childhood. This was no surprise for MLV’s parents Lalithangi and Ayyaswami Iyer kept open house for musicians. In fact Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer had sung for MLV’s cradle ceremony. The child had not surprisingly evinced an aptitude for music. Rajamanikkam Pillai remarked that “seeing her keen interest in music even as a child he had forecast a bright future for her as a musician and he was glad that she had come up to his expectations”. Indeed, it had been a rapid rise to stardom from the debut in 1941 at Bangalore where, standing in for her mother, she had been billed as Madras Lalithangi Vasanthakumari.

 

Among the attendees was C Rajagopalachari, then Chief Minister of Madras. He did not speak, but his presence prompted Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer to state that “he was glad that an appropriate sadas consisting of great vidwans and the Chief Minister of the State had graced the occasion and that it might well be called a Rajasadas”. Yet another star attendee was Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who was blazing a trail across South India that year and who, within the short while he had known her, had become a fan of MLV’s music. In fact, he was staying as her house guest, having simply invited himself in stating that a musician like himself could not think of staying with anyone else! Others attending the programme were Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, TL Venkatarama Iyer and of course the proud parents of MLV. It was rather tragically to be the last award that Lalithangi was to witness her daughter receiving and photographs taken on the occasion, which featured prominently in the Tamil magazine Gundusi, show her beaming with joy.

 

Two of the grand ladies of the world of music, C Saraswathi Bai and KB Sundarambal were present and both “paid tributes to Srimati Vasantakumari’s musical talents”. The citation was read out by Dr R Krishnaswami of the Arts Academy. This scientist who worked at Glaxo Labs was something of a legend in the field of Carnatic Music. A pillar of the Sadguru Sangeetha Samajam, Purasawalkam, he organised akhandams (24 hour non-stop singing) of Tyagaraja kritis under auspices of that body, ably supported by musicians such as Musiri Subramania Iyer, Dr S Ramanathan, S Rajam, Prof P Sambamoorthy and others. In later years, following an accident, he was to become visually challenged, but his lec dems on Tyagaraja kritis became famed the world over. It was he who encouraged TS Parthasarathy to bring out a Tamil translation of Tyagaraja kritis.

 

To come back to the awards function, the vote of thanks was proposed by MM Dandapani Desikar. A surprising absentee was MLV’s Guru, GN Balasubramaniam. Perhaps he was busy at one of his own performances or perhaps given the tradition of the times, it was not appropriate that a Guru be present when the disciple was being felicitated. Of course there can be no doubt that MLV had his blessings, for the encouragement he gave all his disciples is legendary.

 

The programme ended with a concert by ML Vasanthakumari. In later years, the Arts Academy and the award may have faded from public memory, but what stands out is the warmth displayed towards a talented youngster by all the seniors. Their faith in her was well justified for MLV was to become a stellar performer, becoming one of the greatest artistes in Carnatic music history.

 

Sriram Venkatkrishnan

The author can be contacted at srirambts@gmail.com

http://www.thehindu.com/fr/2008/01/25/stories/2008012551200600.htm

MS Subbulakshmi at the UN

The following is a link to my first article in The Hindu, written in September 2006.

http://www.thehindu.com/fr/2005/09/16/stories/2005091600270300.htm

The First Sangita Kalanidhi – TV Subba Rao

The First Sangita Kalanidhi

TV Subba Rao is not a well-known figure in the field of music today. But there was a time when this lawyer turned musicologist was a force to reckon with in Carnatic Music. He holds the record for being the youngest music personality to have ever presided over the Music Academy’s annual conference. He was also the first person to be given the honour. This article is a short record of his life.

Tirupasoor Venkata Subba Rao was born in 1891. His family owned the jagir of Aska and was hence involved in the sugar trade. Coming from an aristocratic background, he was exposed to the arts from very early on. He learnt music from Arantangi Vaidyanatha Iyer who belonged to the sishya parampara of Tyagaraja. Subba Rao graduated in law from the Madras University and enrolled as an advocate in the Madras High Court. Even as he practised, he found time to master the veena and the violin, besides doing in-depth research into the works of Purandaradasa, Kshetragna and Tyagaraja. He also had an extensive repertoire of javalis of modern-day composers.

Subba Rao was one of the founder members of the Music Academy. He had worked hard in arranging the Music Conference of 1927 which had led to the founding of the Academy. He became the first editor of its journal and held that post till his demise. He took active interest in the Academy’s proceedings and when the first conference of experts took place at the Senate House between 29^th March and 1^st April 1929, he was one of the main speakers. It was but natural therefore, that when the Academy met again at Mani Iyer’s Hall on Raja Hanumantha Lala Street, Triplicane between 18^th and 21^st April 1930, Subba Rao should be called upon to preside over the first day’s proceedings. He was only 39 and yet he conducted the proceedings with dignity, the presence of many senior vidwans not intimidating him in the least.

Subba Rao lobbied hard with the University authorities in Madras and with Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar to ensure that music was taught in colleges. This led to the introduction of music as a subject for the BA degree course in Madras University in 1928, with the Queen Mary’s College becoming the first educational institution to offer it. The same year, a music college was set up in Chidambaram by Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar which later became part of the Annamalai University. Subba Rao’s efforts also bore fruit with the Andhra University. In 1932, when the Madras Music Academy set up its Teachers College of Music, Subba Rao was the natural choice for Principal, a post which he held till his death. In 1942, when the Music Academy instituted the award of Sangita Kalanidhi, he along with all past Presidents of its Annual Conferences, received the same.

Subba Rao was an impressive personality, always clad in shirt, coat, dhoti and turban, his handle-bar moustache and his flowing locks of hair adding to his majesty. His home, on Royapettah High Road was open to relatives, musicians and friends and several noted performers such as Tiger Varadachariar and Mysore Vasudevachar stayed with him when they came to Madras. Once knowing full well that Tiger was sleeping inside within earshot, Subba Rao persuaded a visiting Vasudevachar to imitate the way Tiger sang. Unbeknownst to Vasudevachar, Tiger was listening in to the performance and later all three joined in the laughter.

In 1940, Subba Rao presided over the Music Section of the All-India Oriental Conference held at Tirupati. He also served as Vice-Chairman of the Southern Panel of the Music Audition Board of the AIR. He was made honorary Reader at the Madras University and was also Member, Music Board of the Annamalai University.

Subba Rao remained busy right through life, writing and presenting papers on music, several of which were published in the Journals of The Music Academy, Madras. His full-length articles on certain kritis of Tyagaraja such as alakalalla, giripai, ma janaki and etavunara are delights to read, so much is the wealth of detail they contain. He also penned portraits in words on Veena Dhanammal, Tiger Varadachariar and Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar. Some of his writings were compiled into a book titled Studies in Indian Music, which was brought out by Asia Publishing House in 1961. Sangita Kalanidhi, Justice of the Supreme Court of India and by then Chairman of the Law Commission, TL Venkatarama Iyer wrote the foreword. Today this book is absolutely impossible to get. It deserves a re-print.

TV Subba Rao passed away in 1958. His vast home was demolished later and his descendants built houses for themselves in the space where the residence once stood. Today the road leading to their houses is called TV Subba Rao Avenue. It is a small tribute to a man to whom music was verily the breath of life.

This appeared in Worldspace’s Shruti Channel in December 2007 – http://www.worldspace.in/worldspace/channel.php?channelid=16

Patnam Temples of Madras

Temples for the Town

The origins of the name Chennai are shrouded in mystery. And yet, two of the oldest temples of the George Town area bear it as a prefix leading to one theory that these temples gave the city its name. They are referred to as ‘Patnam’ (Town) Temples by the locals thereby giving credence to the belief.

The Chenna Kesava and the Chenna Malleeswara Swami Temples of George Town originally stood where the High Court is today. Records speak of their existence even in the 1640s and associate two of the city’s founders Beri Thimmappa and Nagabathan with the construction. The old Black Town (native quarter as opposed to the White Town of Fort St George) being in that area, the complex was used for public meetings as well. However post the French occupation of and subsequent eviction from the city between 1746 and 49, the British felt that Black Town ought to be shifted inwards and it moved to the present location which later became George Town.

The Patnam Temple complex was therefore razed to the ground in 1757 and the debris was used to construct a protective wall for the city. Realising that religious sentiments were being ruffled, the British in 1762 allotted space of 25000 sq ft in the new Black Town, on Devaraja Mudali Street for the construction of the temples. Manali Muttukrishna Mudaliar, the Chief Merchant of the East India Company and dubash (agent) of Governor Pigot, opened a subscription list for the building of the temples and donated 5000 pagodas (the then currency). The East India Company gave 1173 pagodas. Donations amounted to 15000 pagodas and construction began in 1766 and continued till 1780. The temples have close connections with members of the Manali family, one of the oldest lineages of the city, even today. Till recently, until congestion prevented it, it was customary for Chenna Kesava Perumal to be taken in procession to Manali Hostel on Govindappa Naicken Street for the annual spring festival. Now this is celebrated within the temple precincts.

This twin complex is unique for it has the Vishnu and Siva temples together, sharing a common compound wall. The Chenna Malleeswara Swami temple had a number of Devadasis attached to it till the dancing girl tradition was abolished in 1947. The Chenna Kesava Perumal Temple was known for the patronage it gave nagaswaram artistes, a festival of music in the month of July, exclusively dedicated to nagaswaram performances continuing even now, a good 300 years after it was initiated.

The Patnam Temples are airy, clean and extremely well maintained. Do they hold a message for the rest of the city?

uni uni Venkatesh

Mint Street, Madras

An article in India Today which I wrote on the subject. They first wanted 800 words, then 650 and finally 450:-). What finally appeared is another story altogether!

Mint Street is one of the oldest and longest thoroughfares of Madras that is Chennai. It stretches from Park Town near the Central Station to Washermanpet. In 1700 or so it was called Washers Street as the washers and bleachers employed by the East India Company for its cloth business, settled here. Many of these were Telugu speaking and following them came the middlemen or dubashes (men who knew two languages), largely Telugu speaking Komutti and Beri Chetties. The area to the west of this street became the home of Gujaratis, people from the Saurashtra region, very closely associated with the cloth trade. Their presence has been recorded here even in the 1740s. Shortly thereafter Marwaris too came, largely in the role of pawn brokers and money lenders. Mint Street was therefore virtually a street of Babel and has remained so till date.

The present name of the street came about in 1841/42 when the East India Company moved its coin making facility to this street. Later this became the Government Press which still functions. Next to the Press stood Crown Talkies, one of the city’s earliest cinema theatres, built by pioneering film maker Ragupathy Venkaiah. Today only its façade survives.

The publishing industry has had a long association with Mint Street. Arumuga Navalar, set up the Navala Vidyanupalana Press at 300, Mint Street in 1860. Among its first releases was an edition of the Tirukural, the work of the early Tamil scholar Tiruvalluvar. To the press is no longer there, but a sale depot run by the Navalar Trust continues at the premises. Another old press, still functioning is the Sastra Sanjeevani Press, founded in 1900. The Ananda Vikatan, one of the oldest surviving city magazines, operated from 244 Mint Street in its early days. The first editions of The Hindu, a tri weekly in the 1880s were printed at a Mint Street press.

Mint Street houses the Madras Progressive Union School (1888), The Hindu Theological School (1889) and the Thondaimandalam Thruva Vellalar School (1854). The last two were also venues for some of the earliest classical music performances in the city. The TTV School was where the Thondaimandalam Sabha operated and in the 1880s introduced the concept of ticketed concerts. The first Harikatha performance by a woman, C Saraswathi Bai, took place amidst protests from orthodox elements at the Hindu Theological on 22^nd February 1909 under the auspices of the Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, one of the oldest surviving Sabhas of the city. It was also in one of Mint Street’s 20 Ganesh temples that TN Rajarathinam Pillai, the nagaswaram legend gave his first performance in the city in the 1920s. The Ramar Bhajanai Koodam is an old hall in which bhajan sessions were regularly held till the 1950s

Today despite its rapid commercialisation and hustle and bustle it is worth hiring a rickshaw and going down Mint Street. A journey could take up to half an hour and early morning, preferably on a Sunday is recommended. You can see an amalgam of architectural styles –old Ramanuja Koodams (community halls) of the Chettis, old houses reflecting Rajasthani touches, some outstanding Jain temples, the old Post Office, a combination of classical Greek and the Raj’s Indo Saracenic and art deco houses of the 1930s. Even the Electricity Board Office has an elegant metal arch fronting it. Sadly today, it is the hideously modern which is making rapid headway. If you go in the evening, progress can be painfully slow, but you can taste some of the best kachoris, puris, samosas and chats all from roadside stalls which come up and do brisk business. All said and done, Mint Street teems with life.

Sriram V

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

Calcutta Gauhar Jan

This was the first article I wrote for Indian Express. That was in 2003.

A Tamil music book printed in the early 1920s, has a section devoted to the songs of Calcutta Gauhar Jan. The songs are all in Urdu and various North Indian dialects. Yet the words were written in Tamil script and set to notation so that Tamil speaking people could learn them. Such was the impact that this singer had made on South Indian audiences. At the other end of social scale, she had occasion to perform for the pleasure of the King Emperor, George V, when he visited India in 1911in connection with the Imperial Durbar in Delhi.

Calcutta Gauhar Jan was neither from Calcutta and nor was her original name the one by which she acquired everlasting fame. She was of Armenian stock and a Jew by birth. Her father was Robert William Yeoward, who worked in Azamgarh, UP and her mother Victoria. The child, born in 1873, was given the name Angelina. The passion for music and dance that Victoria had was not liked by her husband and when she took on a lover by name Khurshed, the couple separated. Victoria, Khurshed and little Angelina moved over to Benares, where the mother and daughter embraced Islam, taking on the names of Malka and Gauhar respectively. Malka, indulged in her love for the performing arts to the fullest and soon became one of the most famous courtesans of the city, taking on the name of Badi Malka Jan.

In 1883, Malka Jan and Gauhar Jan, moved over to Calcutta, then the second largest city of the Empire and cultural hub. Badi Malka Jan acquired a house on Chitpur Road and settled down. Her daughter was given the best training in music and dance and in 1888 gave her maiden performance at  the Darbhanga Court. She became the rage in Calcutta, with rich zamindars and officials vying for her favours even as she entertained them with her exquisite Kathak dances and her wide repertoire of songs from ghazals to dhrupads and keertans. She also composed using the pen name “Hamdam”. Thanks to her patrons, she became very wealthy.

In 1902, the Gramophone Company sent its representative Frederick William Gaisberg to India to locate Indian artistes and record their voices. He invited Gauhar Jan first and she obliged and was paid Rs 3000 for the effort.  At the end of the recording she was asked to announce “My name is Gauhar Jan” and this too was recorded so that engineers in Germany who did the copying from the master would not make any errors in giving credits. The “plates” arrived the next year and were in great demand all over India. Gauhar Jan’s fame spread she began to travel to various towns and cities of the country. In 1907 she performed at the Town Hall in Bombay. While there she would spend most of the day at the Mahalakshmi Race Course.

 In 1910 she travelled to Madras where C Gopala Chetty organised a concert of hers at the Victoria Public Hall. The concert netted a sum of Rs 4000. During this visit Gauhar Jan stayed with Salem Godavari, a famed singer and Devadasi who lived in Thambu Chetty Street, George Town. A dinner in her honour was organised by the legendary Veena Dhanammal, during the course of which she was presented with a sandalwood garland. Harrisons of Broadway did the catering and the bill came to Rs 1000. But that would not have seemed a great expense to Gauhar Jan, for had she not once hosted a party in Calcutta at a cost of  Rs 20000, in honour of her cat giving birth to a litter of kittens? Intrigued by the Carnatic style of music, Gauhar Jan learnt the song Bhajana parula (raga Surutti) from Veena Dhanammal and released a record of it. Her songs in turn were learnt by artistes such as Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar.

For all the public adulation she received, Gauhar Jan’s private life was not happy. She married her secretary, who proved unfaithful. The break up resulted in prolonged litigation. She then lived in Bombay with Amrit Vagal Nayak, a handsome star of the Gujarati stage for a few years during which she learnt several songs from him. He died suddenly, leaving Gauhar Jan prey to mental depression. Though she had earned enormously, she had given away considerable amounts to charities. Unscrupulous relatives tried to deprive her of what was left, taking advantage of her mental condition. After brief stints at Calcutta and Darbhanga, the royal invitation of HH Krishnarajendra Wodeyar IV of Mysore came like the proverbial balm. She became a Mysore State artiste and died there in 1930.

Thus ended the life of one of the most colourful artistes of the last century.

Shodasha Ganapati kritis of Muttuswami Dikshitar – a myth?

The following is the sleeve note I put together for a forthcoming CD on the subject:

The worship of Ganapati or Ganesa, the remover of obstacles is called Ganapatyam and is one of the six accepted modes of adoring the divine. The others are the worship of Shakti (Shaktam), Shaivam (Shiva), Vaishnavam (Vishnu), Kaumaram (Subrahmanya) and Sauram (Surya). The elephant headed God, is considered the foremost deity in the Hindu pantheon and he is usually propitiated before the commencement of any activity.

Ganesa is usually depicted in sixteen different forms. These being – Bala, Taruna, Bhakta, Veera, Shakti, Dwija, Siddhi, Ucchishta, Vighna, Kshipra, Herambha, Lakshmi, Maha, Vijaya, Nritta and Urddhva Ganapatis as per one version.

Muttuswami Dikshitar (1775/6-1835) composed several kritis on Ganapati, many of them being on the deity’s depictions in the corridors of the Tiruvarur temple. Over the years, a theory has arisen that he composed on the 16 forms of Ganapati listed above in his kritis on the deity at the Tiruvarur temple. This is however a myth for it is not possible to correlate his kritis with the 16 forms of Ganapati.

There are 27 kritis on Ganapati attributed to Muttuswami Dikshitar. Over the years, the exact songs that comprise the Shodasha Ganapati series have varied according to different schools. In some cases, songs composed at kshetras other than Tiruvarur have also been included. In the present album, the artiste has attributed this selection to  Tirupamburam Swaminatha Pillai, the eminent flautist, who hailed from the direct lineage of Muttuswami Dikshitar’s disciples. His father Natarajasundaram Pillai learnt music from Sattanur Panchanada Iyer who was a disciple of Shuddha Maddalam Tambiappa Pillai, a student of Muttuswami Dikshitar himself. The songs as per this listing are

Uchchishta Ganapatau–Ramakriya; Karikalabha mukham-Saveri; Gananathena–Arabhi; Gananayakam–Rudrapriya; Ganesa Kumara–Jhanjhooti; Pancha Matanga-Malahari; Maha Ganapatim–Todi; Maha Ganapatim–Nata; Maha Ganapate–Nata Narayanai; Sri Maha Ganapati–Gaula; Lambodaraya–Varali; Vallabha Nayakasya–Begada; Vatapi Ganapatim–Hamsadhvani; Sri Muladhara–Sri; Siddhi Vinayakam–Chamaram   and

Hasti Vadanaya–Navaroz.

Out of these songs, Karikalabha Mukham is, according to the lyrics, dedicated to a Ganesha temple on the banks of the river Kaveri. The exact shrine has not been identified though some scholars are of the view that the song is on Ganesha at Mayavaram. Similarly, according to TL Venkatarama Iyer the eminent musicologist, the kriti Siddhi Vinayakam was composed as a prayer to be sung during the Ganesha Chaturthi festival and cannot be attributed to a specific shrine. Among the others, only Uchchishta Ganapatau, Pancha Matanga, Sri Maha Ganapati, Vatapi Ganapatim and Sri Muladhara mention Tiruvarur (also known as Sripuram, Kamalalayam and Muladhara Kshetra) as the shrine where the song was composed. However, the songs Maha Ganapatim (both Nata and Todi), Maha Ganapate (Nata Narayani), Vallabha Nayakasya (Begada) and Hasti Vadanaya (Navaroz) are also usually attributed to Tiruvarur. The others are very difficult to place.

Also, the songs on Ganesa as composed by Dikshitar have not tallied with the iconic representations in the Shodasha series. Among the songs only the Maha Ganapati songs (all four of them on the eponymous form of Ganapati), Uchchishta Ganapatau (Uchchishta Ganapati) and Siddhi Vinayakam (Siddhi Ganapati) can be attributed to specific Ganapati versions. There are however songs dedicated to Heramba Ganapati (Herambaya in raga Athana) and Shakti Ganapati (Shakti Sahita in Shankarabharanam) which are outside the present selection.

However, regardless of the listing, the songs are an interesting collection and show Dikshitar’s eye for detail, local lore and iconic features, all put together in the most delectable music. Uchchishta Ganapatau for instance goes into graphic details of the deity and the forms of tantric rituals that were practised at the shrine. Vatapi Ganapatim, Sri Muladhara and Pancha Matanga carry detailed descriptions on how the deities are depicted at the temple. The song Sri Maha Ganapati has details of the local legend in Tiruvarur as per which Ganapati at this shrine helped Sundaramurthy Nayanar certify the quality of gold that Lord Shiva had gifted him, to a group of disbelieving goldsmiths. The shrine for this deity, as mentioned in the song is on the banks of the Kamalalayam Tank. This song, is along with Balasubrahmanyam (Surati), usually sung before the rendition of the Kamalamba Navavarana Kritis.

The songs have mainly been used as opening pieces. Most of them are rendered at a brisk pace, though it is believed that Vatapi Ganapatim was a slow paced song till Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan changed the tempo. This was not approved of by Subbarama Dikshitar, Muttuswami Diskhitar’s grand nephew and author of the monumental Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini, but the style came to stay. Interestingly, not all the Ganesa kritis of Muttuswami Dikshitar find mention in Subbarama Dikshitar’s Pradarsini.

While many of the songs are rarely heard on concert platforms, some were made truly famous by some artistes. Karikalabha Mukham was often presented as a main piece by GN Balasubramaniam. Semmangudi used many of the kritis such as Siddhi Vinayakam, Maha Ganapatim (Nata) and Vatapi Ganapatim as opening pieces. MS Subbulakshmi often sang Sri Muladhara and Sri Maha Ganapati (Gaula). Her rendition of Vallabha Nayakasya was also well known, though Madurai Mani Iyer made the song his own. MLV opened many of her concerts with Gana Nayakam though in one memorable Vinayaka Chaturthi concert at a Madras temple she sang Siddhi Vinayakam as her main piece. The Nata Narayani song was a favourite of Madurai Somu. Hasti Vadanaya was a rare piece in the repertoire of Brinda and Mukta which they learnt from Tirupamburam Swaminatha Pillai. .

The songs, are worthy of deep study and perhaps one day more clarity may emerge on the grouping and its constituent pieces.

  

Excerpts from The Devadasi and The Saint.

The Indian Express carried excerpts from the book I wrote on Bangalore Nagarathnamma. Here is the link to that article.

 http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayItems.asp?id=SEH20071206071001&eTitle=Cover+Story&rLink=0