Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

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Shivadasan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:52

Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by Shivadasan »

It appears that there is not much information available about Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. Can anyone find out some information about him and his life ? I request particularly, Sri Pasupathy and Ravisri to give us some inputs.

SrinathK
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by SrinathK »

For a start, check out the book "Carnatic summer" by V. Sriram.

rajeshnat
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

Incidentally we had a thread defined as maharajapuram which got later renamed as maharajapuram santhanam. Quite a lot of info between santhanam, MVI got mixed up.
Sangeetha bhoopathi MVI has very few recordings, there is that famous 1956 MA , see the songlist , extraordinary verve.
http://mio.to/album/10-classical_carnat ... demy_1956/
You must hear that recording, I have it with me somewhere . THe mridangist krishna iyengar must have had a hair line fracture. Extra ordinary manodharmam, with that recording you can trace a bit of how santhanam , ssi , mmi (to an extent)have taken a bit of MVI
Last edited by rajeshnat on 31 Aug 2013, 22:33, edited 1 time in total.

cacm
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by cacm »

MMI was a VERY BIG FAN& FOLLOWER OF MVI; The reverse was true also. If you listen to MOHANAM one can easily see it. I have listened to BOTH when they waxed eloquent about each other. Actually S.Rajam who learnt from both said in a meeting I arranged that MMI asked him to listen to MVI to learn& follow HOW MVI gave his korvais. Also MVI used to visit S.Rajam's house in Nadu Street to listen to Kumara Ghandharva and othe N.Indian musicians esp. BHOOP before starting for his own concert! May be this shd. be in the section of N vs S.iNDIAN MUSIC!....VKV

rajeshnat
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

This post below is a copy of the post that was put in maharajapuram thread - in 2010. Let this stay in MVI thread.
==============================

Interesting Incident that I heard thru grapevine about the jAmbhavAn MaharAjapuram Vishwanatha Iyer (MVI) in the context of swati tirunal navarathri mantapam concert.

A long time before when MVI was somewhere in Tanjore district,at that time his sishya SSI being a principal of the swati tirunal music college wanted to get more sanmAnam (fame and money) to MVI . So MVI was invited much before the concert date in Trivandrum by SSI and he was given a semi-royal treatment . It was and is customary to sing only Swati Tirunal krithi's and SSI knowing that MVI does not know Swati Tirunal krithis , arranged his prime disciple TM ThyagarAjan (TMT) to teach krithi sahityam of Swati Tirunal to MVI.

TMT,as per SSI's instruction used to visit on the first day to MVI's guest house and wanted to help MVI to learn few sahityam of Swati Tirunal . MVI excused saying "today my throat is not good ". The next day TMT again went for which MVI said "In kerala it is raining and is not conducive for my throat , I would prefer the sunshine of Tanjore". TMT the junior sishya was caught in between SSI's instruction and MVI's reluctance. The days rolled by and MVI just gave excuse after excuse.Not sure if he learned even one.

The D Day rolled. The crowd thronged to hear MVI , known for his manOdharmam . SSI and travancore royal family were present . MVI started with a hamsadhwani . He sang a detailed pantuvarAli alApanai . Most were expecting Swati Tirunal's sArasAksha or saraseeruha . But MVI sang one of his favourite siva siva yenarAdha , a thyagarAja's composition .

Then a detailed arAbi alApanai was sung. The audience expected Swati Tirunal's narasimha, but MVI sang a detailed ThyagarAja's joota murAre. He went on and on without singing even one krithi of Swati Tirunal . I am told that the travancore royal family got up and left some time during the concert (pantuvarAli???).

Incidentally at the end of the concert SSI went to MVI and said "You could have sang sArasAksha in pantuvarAli" for which MVI replied sArasAksha and siva siva yenerAda are just one and the same.The bottomline , one can see MVI's love of ThyagarAja krithi in one side of the spectrum or one can spot him as he was very adamant in not even singing one Swati Tirunal composition and breaking the tradition . Certainly to me MVI had his own individuality and ways to protest .

Note: I may have not got the krithis absolutely right and not sure about when MVI said to SSI about both pantuvarAli(T and ST) are same ,but this incident is true.If some one can add color and bring more authenticity claims , please do that.

SrinathK
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by SrinathK »

From V.Sriram's book, MVI in his early years had an incredible voice and could sing in F# (4.5 kattai) and at unbelievable speed. His raga alapanas had incredible imagination (look at his elaboration of Ataana). However he also got influenced by not so favourable company at some time and got into some bad habits -- he temporarily lost his voice at one point -- after which Ariyakudi regained his top spot for good. However he recovered most of his voice (it had gone husky and he had lost his range in the lower octave -- all the recordings I have show that he was just able to sing at shadja). He didn't lose his brighas or his speed or the range in his upper octave though and used it to his full effect. His ragas and svaras were always fresh. His raga singing especially could always keep bringing out fresh dimensions and he would sing ragas to the limit of their acceptable boundaries. He even borrowed Hindustani touches into CM ragas and that's how he developed his unique style of mohanam.

However his fresh imagination meant that he never sang a krithi the same way twice and always kept improvising different sangathis every time making it difficult to students to learn. He would get impatient with his students if they didn't immediately grasp his lightning flashes. On top of it, his memory was notorious and he once took one song of Tyagaraja in Harikambhoji till the anupallavi and then sang the charanam of another krithi of the composer instead due to a memory slip!! When Santhanam once chided him for that, he was supposed to have said that it didn't matter because both songs were in the same raga and tala and by the same composer and both were anyway on Lord Rama only!! Once, to explain repeating a krithi quite often, he picked someone in the audience, looked at him in the eye and said that he had been requested to do so by that person!

In concerts, he went wherever his music took him and it was all spontaneous. Being totally dependent on his moods, audiences would have to wait till he managed to settle into the "singing mood", but the music was well worth the wait. Once he was in form, the organizers would immediately put up the notice outside the hall and it was not long before the hall would be filled up. On one occasion he kept twiddling his buttons till K.B. Sundarambal got up and asked him is he was in control of his voice or the other way round. That did the job and soon he was in full flow!

My grandfather lived at Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer's house in his early days (one of his aunts was USI's daughter in law and his cousins were his grandchildren) and he would tell me how Semmangudi and MVI would come to offer their respects. If MVI over improvised his sangathis to the point where the original sangathis were forgotten (or had a memory slip), USI would simply say, "Iyerval appadi padalai..." (Tyagaraja did not sing like that). USI was a disciple of Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer and a gentle but very competent teacher and had a huge repertoire of krithis even though he had not learnt to read or write and he was amazing in singing Kharaharapriya. In later years USI would often sit with the tanpura and if his voice was not well on the day would simply sing everything in his mind while strumming the tanpura. My grandad remembers how his eyes would be full of tears when he sang emotive lines like "Raa raa devaadi deva raa raa mahaanubhaava" (Ela Nee Daya raadhu). My grandad still has a picture of USI in his lockers. He also told me that MVI's imagination was truly legendary and in later years his voice couldn't keep up with his racing mind and that when he was really in the mood, everyone else would be left gasping behind.

In later years MVI remembered few songs in full and often repeated numbers or forgot lyrics, but his alapanas and svaras and neravals were always ever fresh so his audiences were never subject to any monotony. He was also very greatly devoted to Tyagaraja and LGJ has spoken about his remarkable imagination and that just the name of Tyagaraja would bring tears to his eyes. He was also very encouraging of accompanists and if violinists played any particular phrase he liked he would be thrilled and pour praise and "besh besh" on them. There is this one recording of Ilalo Pranatharthi where i think the violinist is TNK and MVI is very appreciative at the end with a shower of "sabhash! sabhash!"...

My grandad also remembers a concert of how when LGJ was first called to play for MVI, MVI had first started easy, but soon realized his accompanist was no ordinary "boy" and so went into top gear with his imagination in full play, but LGJ followed him wherever he went and at the end of the concert he got a big pat from the maestro. He was only around 20 then and such early successes with stalwarts would carry him forward a long way. Incidentally before this, LGJ had played for Maharajapuram Santhanam at the request of the maestro and that in turn marked the beginning of their association which would continue till MS's passing away in a car accident in '92.

There are not that many recordings of MVI, but everything I said can be seen in what is there. His style of singing ragas would have allowed him to explore long and intricate phrases and sing very expansive and fresh alapanas. And he was tremedously fast -- you can see where GNB got his Raghuvara touch from. MVI's version of Kanakanaruchira is the one that's most popular now I believe (although MS has sung the older long version). Among his rendition of krithis, he shifted the eduppu of some songs to 1/2 or 3/4 or 1+1/2 (Deshaadi) so that the gap added a certain rhythmic punch and this was adopted by many musicians.

My grandad also told me that though Santhanam was an outstanding musician, it was MVI's elder son (??) who was truly an unbelievable talent with a divine voice who could have left everyone else far behind, but for whatever reason "lost his way" and went into obscurity. However I only have a vague recollection of having heard this. Does anyone know his name?

MVI also in his later days shifted to Tiruvaiyaaru to be close to the samadhi of Tyagaraja and stayed in the house of Tyagraja's brother for a while, but old age meant he had to be persuaded to come back to Madras eventually. He was also famous for plenty of censored and punny jokes...

There's another article on him at Carnatic Corner here : http://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles/mvi.txt

thanjavooran
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by thanjavooran »

His name is Shri Kothandaraman. In 1960 or 61 Shri Thirumalai Bhagavathar an Harikatha exponent close associate of MVI who stayed in our room for a program at Nagapattianam located this man and brought him to our place. After enquiries he was asked to sing Mohanam. Though his voice was not cooperating he sang very well. I have heard his concert also in a marriage reception at Nagapattinam. Very good Patanthiram but for his affected tone. Later Bhagavathar told us that as he was not taking care of his family due to bad company was disowned by MVI. I am sharing this since SrinathK has mentioned about this Vidwan. After that nothing is heard about him.
Thanjavooran
01 09 2013

rajeshnat
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

Short documentary of MVI(few snippets of mohanam, kamas of MVI in background just gives me goosebumps)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBIyms1jjks

rajeshnat
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

mahavishnu wrote: I would be very curious to hear Santhanam's version of the bhairavi swarajati to see the subtle differences in his treatment of it compared to SSI. I imagine that Santhanam's version was probably more closely related to the Umayalpuram school. Perhaps we could start a discussion in the Vidwans thread on Viswanatha Iyer/Santhanam about the variegated differences (to use a genetics term) in this school post MVI.
Mahavishnu
I have heard the swarajathi sung by santhanam in a casette of shyama sastri . Since I put this point just few points on that:

# I would humbly say semmangudi mama has taken a lot of MVI in a dimension that santhanam has perhaps decided to consciously skip. Though few early recordings of santhanam may negate (pre 1980 days where I found santhanam going with GNB), I think santhanam arrived at a comfortable madhyamakala pitch and most of his numbers were centered on that pitch with more + in sowkhyam and a little - in carnatic aggression. Whereas MVI sang (with even the limited recording that we have), with a real sense of gay abandon,Semmangudi mama has taken a lot of MVI where there is a little measured sense of gay abandon in his considerable spread of krithis . In short I am assuming both santhanam and semmangudi were remarkable in their musical acumen in taking what is best from MVI and more importantly leaving what they could not from MVI. To an extent even MMI has taken few musical astuteness from MVI , though he was only his manaseega guru. I am personally indebted to MVI to produce three remarkable musicians of CM- semmangudi, maharajapuram santhanam and madurai mani and their extended sishya parampara.


# On a side note when you say santhanam is related more to umayalapuram school, i need more inputs on that . Apart from belonging to direct sishya parampara of T thru umayalapuram swaminatha iyer, the only thing I am sure is umayalapuram branched as two distinct schools- namely maharajapuram and semmangudi schools (predominantly). I cannot really point out specifically what is umayalapuram school apart from the heritage that came thru birth. I am all ears on that- throw more insight on that.

mahavishnu
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by mahavishnu »

Rajesh, from what I understand much of what we know today as the MVI school and the more pedagogically evolved SSI version of it, came from directly from Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer, his established codification of sangatis and his unique interpretation of the SSP. USI excelled as a teacher, just as Patnam, Poochi and others did. However, from what I understand, USI had a different approach compared to other Tyagaraja sishya parampara descendants.

For e.g. the article by V. Sriram in the Hindu makes the case for how (http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/08/27/stor ... 120400.htm)

"Surprisingly, for a man of orthodox views, Swaminatha Iyer appears to have been unconventional in some ways. He was of the view that the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini and such similar texts have several conflicts inherent in them. He also felt that the importance of these works was limited to “full information on conventions and practices, which have been followed from time to time…but since their day great changes have taken place.” He, therefore, felt that new works on music ought to evolve. Swaminatha Iyer was also clear that “a strict adherence to the sastraic principles and laws of music is neither easy to achieve nor likely to be appreciated by all lovers of music.”

Apart from his established sangatis that MVI and SSI followed, it was also this world view that allowed them to be creative in establishing their own individuality in Carnatic music.

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

A couple of points:
1.MVI and Semmangudi Naryanaswamy Iyer(SNI)-SSI's cousin and son-in-law of Violin Maestro Thirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer) -- were both contemporaries(MVI was a couple of years younger) and disciples of Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer(USI).I understand from SSI sources that his cousin Narayanswamy Iyer was instrumental in asking SSI to learn under MVI. As such there is not much evidence of SSI himself learning from Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer directly although given the fact that USI lived till the early forties and SSI himself being in his Mid Thirties and active on the concert circuit may have learned some kritis from USI .Personally in all my personal chats with SSI,he always mentioned frequently Gottuvadyam Sakarama Rao and MVI occasionally but never mentioned USI although he had high regard for USI.The "School" although belonging to the Thyagaraja Parampara eschewed some of the Vivadi Raga Kritis of the Saint --patronised mostly by the Walajapet-Naina Pillai-Chittor schools. My view(without any rigorous poof I might add!!) is that the Umayalpuram Sundara and krishna Bhagavathar brothers came in the later stages of the Saint's Sishya hierarchy ( whereas the Walajapet Bhagavathar was one of the earliest disciples of the Saint and these Vivadi swara krithis like Vinatha(Vivardhini),Evarunna(Malavsri I think!!--forget the ragam!!) Nannukanna Thalli (sindukannada) Sadamathim(Gambhiravani),Paritapamu(Manohari),Lavanya Rama(Poorna shadjam) may have been composed by the Saint in his early days and perhaps may have eschewed these Vivadi Raga kritis as he grew older. This may explain why the Dhanammal school(a friend of Naina Pillai and perhaps could be traced to WVB) propagated some of these kritis(One of my pet wishes has been if somebody could document the time periods--atleast in decades if not in years-- which kritis of the Saint were composed in in which decade of his life-- and if we could juxtapose the lives and times of the extensive lineage of disciples of the Saint--we could account for how the kritis got propagated. Given that the Saint lived till his eighties and is reported to have been inspired to compose from his early forties(a span of 4 decades),it is not inconceivable that he had several batches of disciples young and old and each would propagate what they learnt during THEIR active years of apprenticeship.

I remember reading from T.S.Parthasarathy's research that Walajapet Venkatramana Bhagavathar (WVB) had maintained a diary scrupulously but somehow the diary abruptly stopped(no explanation given).If the whole diary was to be available that could throw some light.WVB lived till his nineties(and was highly regarded by the Saint not only as a disciple but also as a good friend --there must have been a significant amount of overlap that aided their friendship. WVB must have been aware of the other direct disciples of the Saint(like the Umayalpuram brothers). It would be fascinating to read whether there was any interaction between the earliest disciple(WVB) and the (last disciples) Umayalpuram brothers. During the same period several notables like Patnam Subramani Iyer,Maha Vaidyantha Iyer(disciples of the Saint's first disciple and cousin Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbier.
The point of this 'exhausting" digression is that in the post trinity period there was strict adherence to the distinct schools--likewise a case can be made for MD's disciples/schools and the evolution of those kritis . Such adherence seldom seems to have been questioned by their wards-not to say they were right or wrong .At the same time given the recency of the Trinity(at that time in the late Nineteenth century) all these "disciples" had composed extensively although one would think they would first exhaust learning their Guru's kritis first before embarking upon their own compositions and yet were not excoriated by the trinity's Purists!!!

cacm
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by cacm »

I am EMBOLDENED to write my own personal interactions about MVI tho' it is not going to be profund or knowledgeable about his music! When I was around 17 a gentleman with an umbrella and humming a tune in Mohanam in Hindusthani style showed up at our house in Tambaram and asked for Bhagirathi Narasimhan a tenant in our house& a good selftaught Veena player who had played on AIR a few days ago. MVI had shown up to congragulate her personally after getting her addresss from AIR! He complemented her on her Simmendramadhimam & they discussed nuances well beyond my level!...In a couple of years S.S.Venkataraman & I who were MMI rabid fans & regular visitors to MMI'S house opposite Nageswara Park asked MMI about MVI. He was tremendously excited and discussed for about half an hour about MVI'S MUSIC!MMI said SEM & he used to take the Mofussil bus 90 miles to hear MVI! He was all excited & agog with the BEST RAVAi SREERAM of any musician he had heard(MVI) & SAID HOW HE STUDIED how perfectly he gave his KARVAIS. S.Rajam has spoken about this in a meeting I organised too!. Many years I was lucky to discuss this with SEM (at Cleveland V.V.Sundaram's house on an OONJAL) & SEM SPONTANEOUSLY demonstrated MVI'S Brilliance & Expertise!....Towards the end of his career he would just use his hands & fingers and LGJ would play the violin & the audience would be spell bound! We used to visit LGJ REGULARLY also ( He used to live in 137 jones st in Saidapet) & LGJ taught us how to follow MVI'S hand gestures etc but while we got the idea we could not grasp the nuances! One of my cricket mates Vedantham Srinivasan (who has taught lots of Padams&Javalies to today's leading musicians) used to PERFECTLY give concerts using MVI'S HAND GESTURES IN SLIP POSITION in cricket & we used to miss lots of catches...Lastly M.Santhanam used to just come& watch cricket practice in T'NAagar with classmates of mine. MVI would come out & ask him why he was wasting his time like this when he shd. be practising music instead. M.Santhanam was actually practising music while watching the cricket.....I only wish I had better knowledge level to interact intelligently with those GIANTS....VKV

annamalai
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by annamalai »

There is a classic book by SYK - Memoirs of a mediocre man" SYK has interesting anecdotes of MVI's music and also the old Sruti magazine issue dedicated to MVI.
I feel MVI and SSI are fundamentally different musicians - MVI's voice much more nimble and rapidfire briga phrasings etc. and was even called Pushpavanam Junior;
Whereas, SSI's music is an amalgamation of several musicians and styles and he had incorporated more of the nadaswaram style in his music (listening to the greats of the Tanjore belt - Keeranur brothers, Tiruvveezhimizhalai brothers, ...). He had such a huge repertoire of Dikshitar krithis (learnt from other sources ?).

sivachinta1965
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by sivachinta1965 »

Dear Rasiaks

Is Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer one among the 4 singers lsted by Ranga Ramanuja Iyengar, in his book 'Musings of a Musician', as ' the musicians who lost their ways!'?

Sivaprasad

RaviSri
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by RaviSri »

MKR wrote:
The "School" although belonging to the Thyagaraja Parampara eschewed some of the Vivadi Raga Kritis of the Saint --patronised mostly by the Walajapet-Naina Pillai-Chittor schools. My view(without any rigorous poof I might add!!) is that the Umayalpuram Sundara and krishna Bhagavathar brothers came in the later stages of the Saint's Sishya hierarchy ( whereas the Walajapet Bhagavathar was one of the earliest disciples of the Saint and these Vivadi swara krithis like Vinatha(Vivardhini),Evarunna(Malavsri I think!!--forget the ragam!!) Nannukanna Thalli (sindukannada) Sadamathim(Gambhiravani), Paritapamu(Manohari),Lavanya Rama(Poorna shadjam) may have been composed by the Saint in his early days and perhaps may have eschewed these Vivadi Raga kritis as he grew older.
Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavathar and Veena Kuppayyar were the earliest disciples of Thyagaraja.and these Vivadi swara krithis like Vinatha(Vivardhini),Evarunna(Malavsri I think!!--forget the ragam!!) Nannukanna Thalli (sindukannada) Sadamathim(Gambhiravani),Paritapamu(Manohari),Lavanya Rama(Poorna shadjam) may have been composed by the Saint in his early days and perhaps may have eschewed these Vivadi Raga kritis as he grew older
Only Gambhiravani is a vivadi raga being a janya of Naganandini, the 30th mela. The Vivardhini song is vinavE O manasA and it is not a vivadi raga. It is a janya of 29th mela Sankarabharanam. Nor is Malavasri in which Thyagaraja composed Evarunnaru Brova (in praise of Lord Panchanadeesha) and ennALLu tirigEdi. Malavasri is a janya of 22nd mela Karaharapriya. Dikshitar has composed mangaLAmbAyai namastE in Malavasri. Sindukannada too is not a vivadi raga. It is a janya of 28th mela Harikambhoji. And so is not Manohari which is again ajanya of 22nd mela Karaharapriya.

Actually many of the vivadi ragas were eschewed by the Umayalpuram school as also the Walajapet school. Naina Pillai himself changed many of the vivadi swaras into shuddha swaras under the belief that such ragas were dOShAs. It was only the Thillaistanam school that maintained the purity of the ragas, including the vivadi ones. It might interest people to know that in the Wallajapet list of Thyagaraja songs, a copy of which the Music Academy library has and which I have seen, there are a few surprises. ‘chEtulAra sringAramu’ is lsited as Natabhairavi. sattalEni dinamu which many sing in Naganandini is listed as sAmantA, the janya of Naganandini. There is also a kriti inManji, the name of which I forget now. It might surprise many when i say that ragas like nATa, varALi etc are not being properly sung, especially the Pancharatnams. The vivadi swaras are not being intonated properly, especailly the G in Varali and the R in Nata..

Many ragas were changed. Everyone knows about jnAnamosagarAdA which is actually in ShadvidamArgiNi but changed to pUrvikalyANi by the Umayalpuram people. The Umayalpuram brothers were the last and youngest disciples of Thyagaraja. Some scholars have averred that they never learnt from Thyagaraja but from his cousin Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbayyar. But it is a fact that MVI and SSI did not stick to the Umayalpuram versions of various songs. Both had difficulties in voice and had to adjust their singing to the limitations that their vocal chords imposed upon them. Many a song lost authenticity because of these. Many subtle anuswaras in these songs were also lost. Luckily the Wallajapet school have kept at least some of these subtleties in tact and which we have in Brinda-Mukthas’ recordings.
Palakkad Rama Bhagavatar learnt fro Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer and USI is supposed to have taught him many songs in dEshAdi tala. And that is how he used to sing those songs, never changing them to Adi which all other schools/musicians did. Even now one of his daughters has a notebook where these songs are noted as dEshAdi. I feel Rama Bhagavatar must have kept the Umayalpuram pATam intact.

Paritapamu in Manohari was one of the two last compositions of Thygaraja wherein he mentions the promise Lord Rama made to him that He would take him (Thyagaraja) in 10 days. The phrase padi pUTalapai occurs in both songs. So here we have an approximate date. Both Giripai and Paritapamu were composed betweeen say December 25th 1846 and January 5th 1847. Thyagaraja attained Samadhi on January 6th.
(One of my pet wishes has been if somebody could document the time periods--atleast in decades if not in years-- which kritis of the Saint were composed in in which decade of his life-- and if we could juxtapose the lives and times of the extensive lineage of disciples of the Saint—
I have done it for a handful of kritis. Will explain later. About Paritapamu and Giripai i have written above.
perhaps may have eschewed these Vivadi Raga kritis as he grew older.
I think not. There are some beautiful kritis of Thyagaraja in beautiful vivadi ragas.

rajeshnat
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

MK wrote: (One of my pet wishes has been if somebody could document the time periods--atleast in decades if not in years-- which kritis of the Saint were composed in in which decade of his life-- and if we could juxtapose the lives and times of the extensive lineage of disciples of the Saint
RaviSri wrote: I have done it for a handful of kritis. Will explain later. About Paritapamu and Giripai i have written above.
Ravisri,
Looks like you may have a lot of content to write ,you should write all of that in thyagaraja thread .
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... &start=200

mahavishnu
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by mahavishnu »

Only Gambhiravani is a vivadi raga being a janya of Naganandini, the 30th mela. The Vivardhini song is vinavE O manasA and it is not a vivadi raga. It is a janya of 29th mela Sankarabharanam. Nor is Malavasri in which Thyagaraja composed Evarunnaru Brova (in praise of Lord Panchanadeesha) and ennALLu tirigEdi. Malavasri is a janya of 22nd mela Karaharapriya. Dikshitar has composed mangaLAmbAyai namastE in Malavasri. Sindukannada too is not a vivadi raga. It is a janya of 28th mela Harikambhoji. And so is not Manohari which is again ajanya of 22nd mela Karaharapriya.
Thanks for your clarifications, Ravisri. This part of MKR's statements were confusing to me. And Sindukannada was actually a staple in the MVI/SSI concert repertoire. There is even a now-famous video of SSI singing this with BMK on the viola that it making its rounds on youtube.

RaviSri
Posts: 512
Joined: 10 Apr 2011, 11:31

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by RaviSri »

rajeshnat wrote: Ravisri,
Looks like you may have a lot of content to write ,you should write all of that in thyagaraja thread .
Yes, I have written in the Thyagaraja kritis thread.

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... 49#p247249

venkatakailasam
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Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 19:16

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by venkatakailasam »

Image

Concert 261-Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

His Birth day to day….

Listen at:

http://myblogkumara.blogspot.in/2014/07 ... rt-ix.html

01._evari_bOdhana_-_AbhOgi_varNam
02-mEru_samAna_dhIra_varadA-mAyAmALavagauLa
03-vADEra_daivamu_manasA-kAmavardhini
04-sAdhincenE_O_manasA-Arabhi
05-rAgam_tAnam_pallavi-kAmbOji ( 58mts)
07-vinAyakuni_valenu_brOvavE-madhyamAvati
08-subrahmaNyEna_rakSitOham-shuddhadhanyAsi
09-marivEre_dikkevarayya-shaNmukhapriyA
10-yOcana_kamala_lOcana-darbAr
11-lAvaNya_rAma_kannulAra-pUrNashaDjam
12-Slokam-Ragamalika
13-Inimel-Bhairavi-Padam
Constructed concert...

The Above image is not related to the concert

SrinathK
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Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by SrinathK »

I have been a huge fan of Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer's music ever since I heard his elaboration of Atana and wondered what kind of imagination must have been behind his ragas and swaras and what a force of nature he must have been in his prime time. His voice, even in old age could handle the fast tempo like it was built specifically to sing anything his mind wanted.

Vishwanatha Iyer's recordings were a favourite of my grandfather's. He had attended many of his concerts and would swear by his ragas and swaras and shlokas as well as all his sense of humour and stage mannerisms and how he would profusely appreciate it if any of his accompanists played anything he liked. Raw and spontaneous is what it was.

I found a remarkable recording of his Thodi RTP -- no wonder GNB strummed the tambura for MVI -- he definitely imbibed a lot from MVI and combined it with his own remarkable imagination and talents. Those brighas !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agTt4mmXgZQ&t=577s

varsha
Posts: 1978
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by varsha »

I have been a huge fan of Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer's music
you have great company
at 3.05 mts
https://archive.org/details/SomusTributeToMvi

mahavishnu
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by mahavishnu »

What a gem!

ratanabhinav
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by ratanabhinav »

RaviSri wrote: 12 Sep 2013, 12:59 MKR wrote:
The vivadi swaras are not being intonated properly, especailly the G in Varali and the R in Nata..

Could you please provide recordings of the above mentioned 'proper' intonations ? Thanks in advance.

ratanabhinav
Posts: 314
Joined: 22 Jun 2016, 22:58

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by ratanabhinav »

Only Gambhiravani is a vivadi raga being a janya of Naganandini, the 30th mela. The Vivardhini song is vinavE O manasA and it is not a vivadi raga. The vivadi swaras are not being intonated properly, especailly the G in Varali and the R in Nata..


[/quote]

Could you please provide recordings of the above mentioned 'proper' intonations ? Thanks in advance.

ratanabhinav
Posts: 314
Joined: 22 Jun 2016, 22:58

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by ratanabhinav »

RaviSri wrote: 12 Sep 2013, 12:59 The vivadi swaras are not being intonated properly, especailly the G in Varali and the R in Nata..

Could you please provide recordings of the above mentioned 'proper' intonations ? Thanks in advance.

RaviSri
Posts: 512
Joined: 10 Apr 2011, 11:31

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by RaviSri »

BMK's and Vedavalli's recording of the varALi Pancharatnam of Thyagaraja where they have intoned the G properly is available in youtube. Just google and find out. As for nATa I don't know of any recording that authentically protrays the nATa R.

ratanabhinav
Posts: 314
Joined: 22 Jun 2016, 22:58

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by ratanabhinav »

RaviSri wrote: 28 Nov 2017, 18:39 BMK's and Vedavalli's recording of the varALi Pancharatnam of Thyagaraja where they have intoned the G properly is available in youtube. Just google and find out. As for nATa I don't know of any recording that authentically protrays the nATa R.
Thank you so much for pointing it out for me !
Arikayudi used to sing nattai like this
https://youtu.be/lo-EFSHC3f8
is this what you were talking about ?

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by SrinathK »

A Maharajapuram joke (from http://www.maharajapuram.in/jokes.htm)

"...A sishya of Viswanatha iyer was singing in a marriage concert, where Viswanatha iyer was present. The sishya sang “Poorvikalyani” and came upto neraval “Mathurapuri Nilaye Mani Valaye” in the song “Meenakshimemudam” and did not budge an inch from the lines “Mani Valaye”. Viswanatha iyer read him correctly and asked the bride’s father to pay the agreed sum instantly so that he may proceed further in the concert.

“MANI VALAYE” – MEANING THAT “THE MONEY HAS NOT COME”..."

No wonder they're unprintable...

kvchellappa
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Joined: 04 Aug 2011, 13:54

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by kvchellappa »

ratanabhinav wrote: 28 Nov 2017, 21:32
Arikayudi used to sing nattai like this
https://youtu.be/lo-EFSHC3f8
is this what you were talking about ?
'Video unavailable'.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by SrinathK »

An album of MVI, all 4 items are incredible. I had this as a cassette.

http://www.kosmikmusic.com/home/Detail/ ... collection

MVI's manodharma is just unbelievable when he's on form. I mean check out this aTHANA :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzhp7NE-LHY

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

Srinath,
I am assuming you must have listened the most famous full length concert of MVI and santhanam , 1956 concert the start of aabhogi varnam gives me goosebumps . Hear the energy and ferrari ride brigas for the first four numbers aabhogi(evari bodhana with maruva rapid fire swars), then siva siva enaradha and that uphill jagadanandakA (nattai) and ilalo (atanA).Real confidence Just refer thread #3 here , that recording is still there

All,
In general i think the advantage of two singers singing gives that distributed energy and extra punch . If you hear the few concerts of MVI ,MVI decides abruptly not to sing sahithya any time at his discretion , the cub maharajapuram santhanam holds the skipped sangathi and continues . After a round of recoup and rest MVI attacks and santhanam stays silent . This kind of duo worked well for MVI-Santhanam , Santhanam- Ramachandran , Semmangudi- TMT, GNB-TR Balasubramaniam, MMI-Vembu Iyer . The punch and rapid fire is possible only with extraordinary lung support from supporting vocalist . In today's world Trichur brothers bring that extra sheen, RagA (especially GAyathri is like santhanam and ranjani is like ramachandran of 1990s)

Not to put these celestial greats like SSI , MMI , GNB and MVI etc, their standalone quotient is even higher , but over the years i seem to have more fascination and awe for the standalone vocalist like TRS(Lord Hanuman vArisu) and of late a later era TNS and then this era with Suryaprakash,Abhishek ,Sanjay , TNS Krishna and even few female musicians who bring such unmatched speed and excellence with podi brigas especially in swaras,alapanas and neraval with freewheeling run . They are all standalone vocalist. Even my childhood first hero maharajapuram santhanam had enough voice rest till midpoint of the concert . There is one famous recording of santhanam-ramachandran where santhanam only sings mahaganapathim then ramachandran manasasmarami, in 1956 concert (post #3 in this topic)you hear MVI singing jagadA.... then santhanam nandakAragA .... in nattai . So much of voice rest for the main vocalist and he comes with power and more ideas, as such ideas need voice power . Singing Standalone Vocal is actually olympics whereas singing as duo is just asian games.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by SrinathK »

rajeshnat wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 21:23 Srinath,
I am assuming you must have listened the most famous full length concert of MVI and santhanam , 1956 concert the start of aabhogi varnam gives me goosebumps . Hear the energy and ferrari ride brigas for the first four numbers aabhogi(evari bodhana with maruva rapid fire swars), then siva siva enaradha and that uphill jagadanandakA (nattai) and ilalo (atanA).Real confidence Just refer thread #3 here , that recording is still there
Yes. I have this concert. Considering what MVI could do on a good day with an old and recalcitrant voice, he must have been a force of nature in his prime. His raga essays are special for their organic rAga bhAva.
rajeshnat wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 21:23All,
In general i think the advantage of two singers singing gives that distributed energy and extra punch . If you hear the few concerts of MVI ,MVI decides abruptly not to sing sahithya any time at his discretion , the cub maharajapuram santhanam holds the skipped sangathi and continues . After a round of recoup and rest MVI attacks and santhanam stays silent . This kind of duo worked well for MVI-Santhanam , Santhanam- Ramachandran , Semmangudi- TMT, GNB-TR Balasubramaniam, MMI-Vembu Iyer . The punch and rapid fire is possible only with extraordinary lung support from supporting vocalist . In today's world Trichur brothers bring that extra sheen, RagA (especially GAyathri is like santhanam and ranjani is like ramachandran of 1990s)

Not to put these celestial greats like SSI , MMI , GNB and MVI etc, their standalone quotient is even higher , but over the years i seem to have more fascination and awe for the standalone vocalist like TRS(Lord Hanuman vArisu) and of late a later era TNS and then this era with Suryaprakash,Abhishek ,Sanjay , TNS Krishna and even few female musicians who bring such unmatched speed and excellence with podi brigas especially in swaras,alapanas and neraval with freewheeling run . They are all standalone vocalist. Even my childhood first hero maharajapuram santhanam had enough voice rest till midpoint of the concert . There is one famous recording of santhanam-ramachandran where santhanam only sings mahaganapathim then ramachandran manasasmarami, in 1956 concert (post #3 in this topic)you hear MVI singing jagadA.... then santhanam nandakAragA .... in nattai . So much of voice rest for the main vocalist and he comes with power and more ideas, as such ideas need voice power . Singing Standalone Vocal is actually olympics whereas singing as duo is just asian games.
Interesting. I confess I have not yet started listening to TRS seriously. Maharajapuram Santhanam was also the first vocalist I ever heard as a kid.

Pratyaksham Bala
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »


RSR
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Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by RSR »

https://youtu.be/1YRq4mvd9N4

Maharajapuram Viswanatha iyer
full concert
RTP in Mohanam
upload by kalidas
===================

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by RSR »

in continuation of p-34
MVI was born in 1896
He would have been 63 years young then
when he gave this concert in 1959

---------------------
Song list provided by the uplosder
K.S.KALIDAS
--------
edited slightly to indicate the duration of each piece.

As Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer was very fond of Mohanam and famous for that raagam, this concert may be of interest as the RTP is in Mohanam.
-------
@ganesh.mourthy may be interested
----
said to be 1959 MUSIC ACADEMY CONCERT
========================

00:00:00 Varnam - Begada - Adi
30 mins
----
00:30:00 Siva Siva Siva - Pantuvarali - Adi
41 mins
-----
00:11:36 Orajupu - Kannadagowla - Adi
7 mins
------
00:18:23 Emitova - Saranga - Adi
4 mins
------
00:22:40 Maarubalka - Sriranjani - Adi
10 mins
------
00:32:30 Tsaalakalla - Arabhi - Adi
15 mins
-------
00:47:30 Evarunnaru - Malavasri - Adi
4 mins
--------
00:51:09 Ilalo Pranatarthi - Atana - Adi
10 mins
-------
01:01:25 Ksheenamai - Mukhari - Adi
17 mins
--------
01:18:20 Brochevarevarura - Kamas - Adi
12 mins
--------
01:30:13 Jagadanandakaraka - Nattai-Adi
10 mins
--------
01:40:40 Kana Kana Ruchi - Varali - Adi
21 mins
--------
02:01:28 Tatvameruga - Garudadhwani - Tisra Ekam
3 mins
--------
02:04:22 RTP - Mohanam - Adi - TANI
38 mins
--------
02:42:56 Hare Panduranga
3 mins
-------
02:45:09 Viruttam - Ragamalika
12 mins
--------
02:57:38 Kanda Guha
2 mins
--------
02:59:57 Neerajadala Nayana - Maand - Adi
2 mins
--------
03:01:58 Adi Neepai Marulu - Yamuna Kalyani - Adi
3 mins
---------
03:04:51 Krishna Nee Begane - Yamuna Kalyani - Misra Chapu
3 mins
--------
03:08:08 Tillana - Chenchurutti - Adi
3 mins
---------
03:11:24 Mangalam
=======================================

arasi
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Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by arasi »

Image

As always, thanks to Pasupathy. Besides treasures from tamizh writings, he brings along to us sangeetha sangathigaL, which he gleans from worthy magazines of old times. Here is a write up about Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer from the weekly SWADESA MITRAN, dated 23 December 1945.

SANGEETHA BHUPATHI'S GOLDEN JUBILEE

'pugai naDuvinil tI iruppadai bhUmiyil kaNDOmE'

The above quoted line from Bharathi's truth-laden song well describes the musical journey of Viswantaha Iyer. He is a shining star in the firmament of CM. It's best to describe his music as an aesthetic musical garden. By planting fragrant flowering plants in it and nourishing them with his imagination, he has become a front line musician of mark. One cannot forget that. Yet, rasikas are aware that his life went off track at some point and was obscured by a fog as it were. Though the lamp was somewhat dimmed, it did not fail to glow. It's glowing bright again!

MV's special gnyAnam and imaginative prowess cannot not be questioned. We optimists who believed in his resurgence made it a point to go to every one of his concerts in every possible venue. It didn't take long for him to prove us right.
In early January, his music flooded TiruvallikENi Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha hall. The hearts of rasikAs jumped up with joy. They couldn't contain themselves. While writing about that concert, this magazine strongly suggested the choice of MV for presiding over the Madras Music Academy's 19th conference this year-- adding that the title of Sangeetha Kalanidhi for him would be most appropriate. It also emphasized listeners' zeal over his music.
The time has arrived! Sangeetha Bhupathi Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer is going to preside over the Vidwat Sabha which convenes on the 22nd of December. The SK award will enhance his stature. Many do feel that he should have been awarded the title much earlier. Still, how apt it is that it's happening this year! When we get to be fifty or when institutions reach that year of establishment, we call it a golden jubilee year. That way, since MV now is fifty, this award is most fitting this year.

When this golden year blossoms into one of more fame for him, it's but apt for rasikas to know his biography:
MV was born in TirukkoDikkAval-Maharajapuram in Tanjore Dist, what's considered the cradle of CM. He was one of the children of Rama Iyer who was well-known for his ability to charm listeners with his lakshya sangItam.
The child was born on the 15th of September, 1896. Rama Iyer's other sons were Rajam, Vaidyanathan, Mahalingam, Krishnamurthy, along with three daughters. Though the father excelled in music and loved it, he didn't make it his profession. No wonder, the sons and daughters inherited his gift. Each and every one of them was gifted in music.
Viswanathan who had a crystal-clear voice, thirsted for more music when he was eighteen. Focusing on music with his innate gift, he was outstanding even at the age of thirteen.

Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer to this day is a beacon of music and is a living testament to music. MV started his gurukulam with him. It greatly helped his innate gift to learn from such a veteran in the field. The learning continued with ghaTam/vocal vidwan Rangapaiyer. Within two years, MV was concert-worthy. At the age of fifteen, his concert debut happened in KuDaivAsal near Kumbakonam.

MV has a flawless voice. He is a prime example for brighAs singing, his voice generating them like ceaseless sparklers
shining brilliantly and with such beauty. His voice can produce any kind of sangathis and piDis effortlessly. Thus, when his imagination takes flight, they emanate like lightening from him. Initially, he was singing at 4 or 4 1/2 kaTTai Sruti. it has come down in the course of years. Yet, how pleasing and filled with sukha bhAva it is!
Even when Konerirajapuram Vaitha, Ramnad PUchi Srinivasa Iyengar and Madurai Pushpavanam were all the shining stars, young Viswanathan glowed along with them in the forefront.

His voice has energy and strength to it. Not just seasoned listeners, but anyone interested in music is drawn to his singing . Similarly, he's attractive is his appearance. Just when you are taken unawares by his myriad imaginative forays,
his handsome face disperses varied facial expressions with the aid of his lively eyes. A mischievous smile plays on his face, always. In essence, all these are pleasing qualities in a singer. To challenge his accompanists pleases him no end. He is pleasant at all times, wherever you meet him. Noting all this, a film producer made him an offer to act as vEdiyar in the movie NandanAr. There were discussions among rasikAs about this. Was it a good move, they wondered. Still, once the film was released, their doubts were dispelled. Fans can't ever forget his singing 'pODA paRaiyA' in MOhanam and 'nARpadu vEli naTTAGavillai' in kEdAra gowLa.

His abounding expertise in music, an amazing crystal-clear Sruti-aligned voice-one which can 'speak' all that it wants to. With him, nothing stays the same with each concert: naDai, unbelievable manOdharma, on the spot spontaneity to suit the moment, unimaginable imagination which can engulf and enchant the listeners--these are the hallmarks of MV's music. For about thirty five years, SrimAn Viswanatha Iyer has been steeped in his singing while serving at the altar of CM.

A few years ago, seasoned listeners in Tanjore Jilla gathered together at Nannilam, headed by T. Chidambaram and Rangachari to confer upon him the title of Sangeetha Bhupathi.

Now, his presiding over the Madras Music Conference pleases vidwans and rasikas alike. We are confident that under his leadership the conference would help keep the quality in our music and also would encourage the growth of it.

Pasupathy
Posts: 7868
Joined: 26 Jan 2013, 19:01

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by Pasupathy »

Thanks, Arasi , for the lovely translation.

Here's the original article for those interested.
http://s-pasupathy.blogspot.com/2021/09/1934-290.html

The author is ' Neelam' ( Neelamegam), the famous music critic. He was also an Assistant Editor in the magazine. He was a pioneer in many respects. He was responsible for publishing kritis of many vaggeyakara-s with Tamil meanings and notations in Sudesamithran.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

Arasi
Wow super . You have also put an image .Hmmmm. If you can edit the above lovely post with a whitespace line between lines , MVI will look as charming as his extraordinary mohanam. White space like between altar of CM and a few years ago.

His abounding expertise in music, an amazing crystal-clear Sruti-aligned voice-one which can 'speak' all that it wants to. With him, nothing stays the same with each concert: naDai, unbelievable manOdharma, on the spot spontaneity to suit the moment, unimaginable imagination which can engulf and enchant the listeners--these are the hallmarks of MV's music. For about thirty five years, SrimAn Viswanatha Iyer has been steeped in his singing while serving at the altar of CM.

A few years ago, seasoned listeners in Tanjore Jilla gathered together at Nannilam, headed by T. Chidambaram and Rangachari to confer upon him the title of Sangeetha Bhupathi.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by rajeshnat »

Nannilam is a suburb of tiruvarur . Infact within nannilam is a smaller hamlet called nalamangudi.My paternal grandfather roots are there, also musician like aruna sairam and also K Balachandar ,the ace director is from that village. Good to hear that this title sangeetha bhoopathi is given to him at that place.

Vishwanatha Iyer created 4 miracles ,semmangudi was partially his sishya. GNB and MMI had a heavy manaseega influence and ofcourse Santhanam.

MVI never gives any return space for ever with the violinist , his manodharma is so engulfing with ideas , he just wanted to sing with only lakshya gyanam.

Thank You Arasi with your lovely translation , keep it coming with edited whitespace, inclusive of the above post correction. I am assuming you are going to go to next vidwan/vidushi with your translations . Hope it turns out as interesting as Yadugiri ammal - bharathiyar slice.

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by RSR »

ref-p-36
Welcome @arasi Madam...We all missed you. Fine , flowing translation.
May I request you to translate the article on VeeNa Shanmugavadivu ,Smt.MS 's mother, available in Dr.Pas's blog site?

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by arasi »

Please see the son's thread to get more of a feel for the father's music and of course, the son's. I have translated an interview from an old issue of Kalki by Charukesi just now.

Pasupathy
Posts: 7868
Joined: 26 Jan 2013, 19:01

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by Pasupathy »

arasi wrote: 20 Feb 2022, 22:32 Please see the son's thread to get more of a feel for the father's music and of course, the son's. I have translated an interview from an old issue of Kalki by Charukesi just now.
Arasi's translation can be seen at:
viewtopic.php?p=375115#p375115

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by arasi »

What serendipity! I just found a super, one of those beautifully put together classy documentaries on the master on You Tube.Thanks to the benefactor who brought it along. It was from Door Darshan. Rajesh/others, could you please post it here?

I was swept away with a gandharvA's voice, virtuosity, fluidity and the unimaginable zest and zeal of a genius in the true sense unroll in front of me.
In my childhood, how he seemed so special to me, appealed to me, though I had no clue about his prowess!
Please watch it and be awash with such great music and montage. Subbudu has been a force in bringing it to the screen. The documentaries were works of art from my days and you see it here! And the temples!
The son and saha sishya (!) Semmangudi frame it all so well with their thoughts about him.

In Credits, I see in VOICE, TM Krishna's name. Does it mean he lent his voice for the young MV singing in the film?
Last edited by arasi on 22 Feb 2022, 07:15, edited 1 time in total.

Pasupathy
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Joined: 26 Jan 2013, 19:01

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by Pasupathy »

Sangeetha Bhoopathi Vidwan Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer- A Documentary
https://youtu.be/EM0eL9JbEvI

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer

Post by RSR »

Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer - Select 78 RPM Recordings

Nadabhrunga
==========================
https://youtu.be/dj9BKMsFE9w
-----------------------------------------------


Nadabhrunga takes great pleasure in sharing from the archives select 78 RPM Disc recordings of Sangita Kalanidhi Mahavidwan Sri Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. These recordings were released in the 1930's and 1940's by Hutchins & Co., Madras. We invite our listeners to partake in the musical feast from a bygone era.
=================================

1. samaja vara gamana - hindo?a - adi - tyagaraja [00:00]
2. rara sita rama?i manohara - hindo?avasanta - rupakam - tyagaraja [03:25]
3. raghuvara nannu - kamavardhini - adi - tyagaraja [06:50]
4. ko?i nadulu dhanu?ko?ilo- to?i - adi - tyagaraja [10:11]
5. sundari ni divya rupamunu - kalya?i - adi - tyagaraja [13:35]
6. grahabalamemi - revagupti - adi - tyagaraja [20:14]
7. sita vara sa?gita jñanamu - devagandhari - adi - tyagaraja [23:35]
8. manasu svadhinamaina - sa?karabhara?a - misra capu - tyagaraja [26:58]
9. kaddanu variki kaddu - to?i - adi - tyagaraja [33:27]
10. paramukhamelara - suru??i - adi - tyagaraja [40:14]
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11. kulam tarum celvam tandi?um (viruttam) - ragamalika - tiruma?gai a?var [46:46]
12. adanuriloru vediyar ku??e - jheñjhu??i - adi - Composer unknown [53:20]
13. tiruve en celvame (viruttam - selection from "ava?utu?ai tirutta??akam") - harikambhoji - appar [56:43]
14. k???a murare - kalya?i - adi - Composer unknown [01:00:08]
15. sa pasyat kausalya vi??um - jaunpuri - adi - pañcapakesa sastri [01:03:30]
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