MK Ramasubramanian

Prominent critics and rasikas
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maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

MK Ramasubramanian

Post by maheshram »

Hello everyone, I am Mahesh, the son of Sri M.K. Ramasubramanian (Ramesh, MKR or KMR to most of you on rasikas.org). As the rasikas.org community has become an important part of my father's life, I thought I would take the liberty of sharing an important milestone with all of you.

Today, May 3rd, marks the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents - Ramesh and Nirmala were married on this day in 1964 in my mother's hometown of Coimbatore. We marked this special occasion here in New York today with a small archana at the Queens temple and followed up with a dinner for close friends and relatives in the area. I am sure that many of you will join me and my younger sister in wishing my parents many more decades of happy married life together. One of the most 'binding' effects in my parents' marriage has been the love of music which has been a constant nearly every day of their married life together.

When my sister and I were putting together a remembrance slide show presentation, we looked again at some of the old black and white photos from the wedding and in the process I found some gems that are relevant to the music aficionados here:

Image
The kalyana kutcheri - Semmangudi Mama, Kovai B.Dakshinamurthy and Palghat Mani Iyer

Image
Sorry this one is a bit blurry - In the foreground center is my father, and to his left, is my grandfather, late Sri K.S. Mahadevan
Directly behind KSM, sits Sri Sadasivam Mama (bespectacled) with Radha Mami behind him (partially obscured); Special credit and points to anyone who can identify the child smiling in front of both Sadasivam Mama and Radha Mami :)
BTW, M.S. Mami could not attend the wedding as she was recovering from a major surgery and could not travel to CBE;

Image
T. Rukmini singing the oonjal paatu to my parents (she sang Aparadhi Nanalla, the javali in Peelu)

Radha Mami also sang Upamugana in Yadukula Kambhodhi at the oonjal, but I could not find any photos of that moment ):

Image
One of my favorite photos - Smt MLV in the center, to her right Mrs. Vasan, and to Mrs. Vasan's right, T. Rukmini enjoying the wedding repast :-BD

Image
Finally, a photo of the 'newlyweds' taken today here in New York:

Hope you all enjoy these wonderful pieces of nostalgia as much as I did in 're-discovering' them! If I find any other great old photos, I will post.

Cienu Anna, please share these photos and the milestone with your mother. She was (and is) so much a part of that happy day and many others after this in my parents' lives.
Last edited by maheshram on 07 May 2014, 07:49, edited 1 time in total.

venkatakailasam
Posts: 4170
Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 19:16

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by venkatakailasam »

Best wishes to Shri MKR and his spouse ...

Fifty years of togetherness
That You've shared
Brings back to you memories of
Laughter, joy and contentment
which will be yours to share throughout
The years ahead of you!
venkat k

I have gone through it last year..and I could feel the joy of it...
Last edited by venkatakailasam on 04 May 2014, 12:42, edited 1 time in total.

Rsachi
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Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Rsachi »

Sri MKR,
MORE POWER TO YOUR PEN! More smiles to your life! More music to your soul!

mahavishnu
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by mahavishnu »

Best wishes, Sri MKR.
And Mahesh, welcome to the forum!

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

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by rajeshnat »

MKR sir , Mrs Nirmala ramesh
Best wishes on your 50th wedding anniversary. I just completely read the writings and reminiscences book of Shri KS mahadevan . Indeed a great family,shri mkr's mother Mrs KS Mahadevan has also learnt violin from the yesteryear famous violin vidwan-malaikottai govindaswamy pillai is also an interesting information. We all know about shri ks mahadevan. Certainly close to 120 years of traceable carnatic music heritage without any hearsay.Simply wow

All
The photos in chrome browser generally appears truncated right click on the photo and open in new tab to see the entire photo.

Mahesh -- welcome to the forum. Your appa's 80th birthday is just few years away.

PUNARVASU
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by PUNARVASU »

Shri MKR ,wishing you and your wife Mrs Nirmala, a very happy golden wedding anniversary. A big thanks to your son Shri Mahesh for sharing the precious photos from your wedding. I really love the photo where MLV Amma and others are enjoying the kalyANa sAppADu. And the oonjal photo is very nice.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by rshankar »

Ramesh Mama - best wishes for many, many more years of bliss! Please continue to entrall us with your memories.
Mahesh - Thank you for the wonderful pictures and the write-up. Narration must run in the family! And maybe you can persuade your father to turn his memories into memoirs - something we've been asking him to to for some time now.

Nick H
Posts: 9379
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Nick H »

maheshram, welcome and thank you so much for this.

Mr and Mrs MKR... congratulations and very best wishes for many more years, many more anniversaries and much more music.

Meeting up and talking with Sri MKR is a high point of Chennai December for me. His own musical 'performance' has added magic to at least two of our Rasikas.org international meetups.

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

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by arasi »

Nirmala and Ramesh,
Many more happy, healthy years of togetherness!

Mahesh,
Thank you for sharing these special pictures with their Rasikas.org pals :) Hope more are coming.
They look so sweet together in the wedding picture, and radiant in yesterday's picture in the temple :)

VK RAMAN
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:29

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by VK RAMAN »

May 50 turn into 75 with the same smile and charisma. Our Namaskarams to you.

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by maheshram »

Hi Everyone, thanks for the wonderful comments. I only made my parents aware of my post this morning, they were pleasantly surprised by all your comments!

But still no one has identified the smiling child in front of Sadasivam Mama...where are the detectives in our midst?

Rsachi
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Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Rsachi »

Smt Radha's daughter?

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by maheshram »

<<Smt Radha's daughter?>>

No, she was born after me so that would be a chronological impossibility...keep guessing!

Rsachi
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Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Rsachi »

Gowri Ramnarayan?

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by maheshram »

<<Gowri Ramnarayan?>>

Good guess, but incorrect...time for a hint: remember our custom of dressing young children sometimes in a "gender confusing" way..

Rsachi
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Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Rsachi »

Cienu. QED

vasanthakokilam
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Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Congratulations Sri.MKR and Smt. Nirmala. Mahesh, you did a great job in putting this together. Thanks. Great pictures indeed.

When I first read your question, my immediate thought was 'It has to be Cienu'! ( that is even before I saw the photo )

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by maheshram »

Cienu it is!!!

cienu
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Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by cienu »

At the outset congratulations to Ramesh Mama and Nirmala Mami on the occasion of the 50th wedding anniversary. :)
And thank you Mahesh for uploading the pictures bringing back past memories.
I showed them to Amma and she was extremely happy to see them. ! She conveys her congratulations to the young couple !
Amma also remembers learning Upamugana from Brindamma and she immediately sang the same when I mentioned that she had sung the same at the Oonjal ceremony.! Amazing memory.
Last edited by cienu on 05 May 2014, 08:51, edited 1 time in total.

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by maheshram »

Dear Chinu Anna, my parents are overjoyed to see your post. Your mother is and always has been a most special part of our family's lives...please also convey my namaskarams to her (she will know me as Ramji as you know). Has Aishwarya learnt Upamugana yet? If not, consider this as a special 'listener's request' ahead of her U.S. tour in the near future?!

thanjavooran
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by thanjavooran »

Shri Mahesh, welcome to the forum!
Shri MKR Avl,wishing you and your wife Mrs Nirmala, a very happy golden wedding anniversary. Pray Ayyappan to shower all HIs best to you and to all the members of your family.
With pranams,
Thanjavooran
05 05 2014

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Folks: Myself and my wife are simply overwhelmed by your messages of affection and goodwill.As my son rightly put it our interest in music has sustained our companionship all these years. Personally since I joined the forum,I have enjoyed the contributions--selfless and informative--by all of you.
Our lives have been enriched by our association with Music and Musicians from whom we have gained so much insights into art and its pursuit.
The next day after our anniversary, we attended a Violin Duet concert by the Lalgudi Siblings and GJR announced during the course of the concert to the crowd about our wedding anniversary and mentioned the long association with our two families--needless to say we were humbled by the gesture.
I must thank my parents--the late K.S.Mahadevan and my mother( Narayani alias Chinnani- 94 years old) for their encouragement of my interest in Music. My mother even today can recite all 32 Thyagaraja krithis in Thodi although she may not remember all our names--a gift from GOD!!
One of the pics my son posted showing MLV and Mrs Vasan and T.Rukmini--all of them were close to my mother although in terms of social class and stature we were nowhere near them--took the trouble to attend the wedding despite their engagements. My mother had the charisma to attract people(MLV loved my Mom's Vathal Kuzhambu and Badam Kheer--she had the sweetest tooth of all with the possible exception of Violinist Rajamanikkam Pilai who never travelled outside of Chennai without atleast one bottle of Horlicks with Therattippal and he was a Diabetic too!!!

The Music celebrity world that I grew up in and the relationships that my parents developed over the years with the erstwhile musicians have sustained our younger generation as well. When I was growing up,I never had time for participating in Sports because as soon as I come home chores will be waiting for me to "enagage" the visiting artiste(we hosted) with shopping,fetching groceries etc--I used to curse my fate--now I do not regret a wee bit because I would never have been a good sportsman but I certainly can lay claim to be a good listener and 'observer" of the cultural scene.

Once again thanks to fellow forumites for your good wishes and greetings!!!

There are so many stories

Govindaswamy
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Joined: 21 Feb 2010, 06:55

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Govindaswamy »

Re The KalyanaKutcheri please note that the violin vidwan was Kovai B.Dakshinamurthy s/o Balaganesa Iyer, flute vidwan. He was an AIR artist and a Telugu Brahmin and not a Pillai.
Govindaswamy

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by maheshram »

Dear Mr. Govindaswamy, Thanks for the correction. It was my mistake as my father had given me the correct name but I had transposed the Pillai suffix incorrectly. I'm grateful for you for pointing this out and I have made the change to the post now...

rasaali
Posts: 172
Joined: 05 Feb 2007, 10:08

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by rasaali »

Dear MKR Mama, Nirmala Mami,

Hearty congratulations on the wonderful occasion. Wishing you a lot of good health, music, happiness and 50+ more years together! Seeking your blessings too.

Dear Maheshram,

What a lovely tribute with wonderful! I am a nephew and disciple of Sri Kovai Dakshinamurthy. He is my father's first cousin. His father TK Balaganesa Iyer was my Chinna-thata.

I met your parents in 2010 at NY Shrutilayaa and they had mentioned about this wedding concert back then. I recall MKR Mama mentioning that this was perhaps the first time Sri BDM had played for Sri SSI and it happened due to the request of your family to have Sri SSI encourage the (then) young upcoming family friend of theirs. How fortunate I am to see the photo today! I will forward this post to my Guru's family.

Sincerely,
KVS Vinay

PS: You are not the first one to add Pillai to BDM's name. Helps that it matches the name of the kanjira legend! On a lighter once I was announced as disciple of Kovai Dakshinamurthy Pillai, an the main artiste quipped "Avar Dakshinamurthy, ivan thaan avar-oda pillai". :)

cmlover
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by cmlover »

Thanks Mahesh for letting us participate in a momentous occasion in MKR's life.
The pictures add colour to his musical journey as it brings us fond recollections.
MKR has briefly described his wedding in his memoirs at this Forum.
Now we get a visual treat. Thanks again and wish him many more years of wedded bliss!

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by rajeshnat »

rasaali wrote:Dear MKR Mama, Nirmala Mami,

Hearty congratulations on the wonderful occasion. Wishing you a lot of good health, music, happiness and 50+ more years together! Seeking your blessings too.

Dear Maheshram,

What a lovely tribute with wonderful! I am a nephew and disciple of Sri Kovai Dakshinamurthy. He is my father's first cousin. His father TK Balaganesa Iyer was my Chinna-thata.

I met your parents in 2010 at NY Shrutilayaa and they had mentioned about this wedding concert back then. I recall MKR Mama mentioning that this was perhaps the first time Sri BDM had played for Sri SSI and it happened due to the request of your family to have Sri SSI encourage the (then) young upcoming family friend of theirs. How fortunate I am to see the photo today! I will forward this post to my Guru's family.

Sincerely,
KVS Vinay

PS: You are not the first one to add Pillai to BDM's name. Helps that it matches the name of the kanjira legend! On a lighter once I was announced as disciple of Kovai Dakshinamurthy Pillai, an the main artiste quipped "Avar Dakshinamurthy, ivan thaan avar-oda pillai". :)
Vinay,
Was TK Jayarama Iyer violinist elder brother of TK Balaganesa iyer (I am assuming they are paternal cousin) . I never knew your chinna tatha at all , perhaps he got eclipsed by the flute mali magic which is what i heard in general when mali was playing .

Who was the main artist who wonderfully quipped "Avar Dakshinamurthy, ivan thaan avar-oda pillai". Was that TRS or DKJ . I guess apart from kanjira legend we also have a yazhpanam dakshinamoorthy pillai they say he is the PMI of thavil.

I hope MKR is ok with the detour , he would not mind as he is a master of detour. :-*

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Rajeshnat: Yr comments about detour--I do not mind at all--afterall given the exposure I have had over 60 years with Music celebrities,it is inevitable that a main story gets side-tracked by sub plots(like the KALKI style)--as I have written before Mudikindan Venkatrama Iyer was a past master--TKM likewise is a great raconteur prone to digression and when he narrates an incident with his characteristic impish humor he could getaway with outrageous remarks but none of the seniors would mind!!

Back to my wedding pics there was a pic--unique in the sense showing Semmangudi Mami listening to her husband's concert--even the SSI family does not have a pic-- the B and W pics--although carefully preserved by my wife have "aged"--will try to resurrect some of them and post it!! In the concert itself,SSI spends lots of time gently admonishing the audience to keep silent--In Coimbatore or for that matter any town in Tamil Nadu--wedding concerts tend to be noisy affairs-- his lament in Tamil "Engallukkellam romba Vayasu aachu--chitta neram amaidiyai irundu kettel anal engalai gaurava padittina madiri irukkum"(we are all old artistes--nt Kobai Dakshinamurthy!!--if you can keep quiet for a few moments and listen to the concert I will regard it as honoring me!!)--needless to say the "appeal" fell on deaf ears!!!
I would like to hear young forumites who may have developed close relationships with the likes of Ravi Kiran,TMK,Sanjay,Sudha,BJ,Sowmya et al to describe their experiences --hosting them,driving them around especially overseas. I am sure the younger musicians have no less fascinating tales to narrate. It might give us all perspective.
I myself have found it difficult(except with Ravi Kiran) to get "close enough" to these stars to understand what motivates them and their observations about life,events,people etc which the Seniors I had been exposed to freely shared experiences----(although in many of these occasions I was more a "fly-in-the-wall" rather than a "cackling geese"
I concede however with the multiplicity of media hungry for sensational content,that the present day musicians may be reticent lest an innocent remark spark needless controversies. In fairness if the "Seniors" whose stories I write about--had they been alive I would have been Persona Non Grata by now!!
Notwithstanding the above I still would like to know what the rasikas think of these artistes(not their music) just to add perspective to our narratives.

uday_shankar
Posts: 1467
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:37

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by uday_shankar »

MKR sir
A belated congratulations (I was away on vacation after Cleveland and a bit sporadic on following rasikas) and best wishes ! It was a pleasure meeting Smt. Nirmala in Cleveland. One day soon I will follow up on my threat to visit you in Flushing. When hanging out with you, unfortunately not enough in Cleveland due to my very brief appearances during breaks from work in nearby Pittsburgh, the passage of time is never noticeable. There's always the excellent singing, interspersed with priceless anecdotes and recollections. Perhaps a new resolution for you could be to give a Katcheri at Clevaland ? What say ?

jayaraman
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Joined: 13 Dec 2016, 10:19

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by jayaraman »

dear shri.MKR, to day I happened to see the posting by your son Shri.mahesh.

our humble greetings ( late of course) to you.

regards

jayaraman

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: MKR Milestone and some wonderful old pictures

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Thanks.
MKR

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

My Dad (sri MKR aka Ramesh) in musical action...

Post by maheshram »

Hi All, I wanted to share my father (MKR)'s performance on Smule, one initiated by my cousin who was visiting NYC from India. This is not CM so please excuse the post but I thought many of you would enjoy it anyway (note to moderator: if not appropriate to post here, please do feel free to move):

https://www.smule.com/recording/t-m-sou ... 595435512

Enjoy! (and give him your feedback) - btw he doesn't know I'm posting this 8-)

Purist
Posts: 430
Joined: 13 May 2008, 16:55

Re: My Dad (sri MKR aka Ramesh) in musical action...

Post by Purist »

Too good. Hats off to his zeal. Reminded me of C S Jayaraman .

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

Re: My Dad (sri MKR aka Ramesh) in musical action...

Post by arasi »

Mahesh,
Thank you!
chittiram arugAmaiyilE enRum pOl enbadAlE
ithiRanuLLa thandai eNbadilum isai ace thAnO?
sindai niRaikkudu--enRum pOlavar isaiyin inimai!
vindayEdidil? vAzhga isaiyODiruvarumE pallANDu :)

When the 'painting' is by his side--
Even in his eighties, he is an ace!
His singing fills the heart as ever
May they live long in musical mirth :)

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

Re: My Dad (sri MKR aka Ramesh) in musical action...

Post by arasi »

சித்திரம் அருகாமையிலே என்றும் போல் என்பதாலே--
இத்திறனுள்ள தந்தை எண்பதிலும் இசை ace தானோ?
சிந்தை நிறைக்குது என்றும் போலவர் இசை இனிமை!
விந்தையேதிதில்? வாழ்க இருவருமே பல்லாண்டு!

thanjavooran
Posts: 2972
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44

Re: MK Ramanasubramanian

Post by thanjavooran »

Shri Mahesh,
Thanks for sharing.
Perfect rendition. Great.
Arasi,
So your beautiful words too. No other honor wil aptly fit in
With wishes,
Thanjavooran
10 09 2017

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

Re: MK Ramanasubramanian

Post by rajeshnat »

Maheshram
Nice to hear your dad , i think this song is a way too low hanging fruit for your appa's capability. In smule is there any chance of say a violin and mrudangam accompaniments of his perennial favourite GNB . That should be your next smule post . I am assuming your appa may have touched 80 , pranams if he has . I talked with him last year for a long time , he has way too sharp musical intellect and it just shows with his cittiram pesudadhi - sabashmeena oops sabashmkr sir.

Nick H
Posts: 9379
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Re: My Dad (sri MKR aka Ramesh) in musical action...

Post by Nick H »

maheshram wrote: 09 Sep 2017, 06:17 Hi All, I wanted to share my father (MKR)'s performance on Smule, one initiated by my cousin who was visiting NYC from India. ... ... ...
Wonderful. I've heard him say that he has never had any formal musical training whatsoever. The fluid ease (not to mention beauty) of the voice here suggests that he might be a good example for the thread in which not loosing the voice is discussed!

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: MK Ramanasubramanian

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Dear all: Thanks for your comments.ARASI especially.It is GOD's grace that I am able to retain my voice at this age. Semmangudi Mama in my younger days used to introduce me as Jalatarangam Ramanayya Chetty--who I believe had a hoarse,husky voice .My voice was horrendous--no range,no weight etc.I used to be a joke amongst my elders. I cannot attribute this transformation to anything but GOD's Grace.I have made no special attempts to take care of the voice. In fact by my incessant,undisciplined singing(different sruthis,attempting imitations of different persons with different voices and unhealthy false modulations!!),I may have ruined my vocal chords!!,

The truth is I enjoy singing and have used it to mainly enhance my appreciation of what the professionals do.This has helped me in tolerance of a wide range of styles in singing.

I sincerely acknowledge the comments. During my niece's visit(she is an excellent singer Srividhya) she "coaxed" me into this and recorded two other songs--Tere Mere Sapne and Chaudvin Ka Chand---.In hearing them back,I had the same feeling that the famous erstwhile Violin Maestro Malaikottai(Tricky) Govindaswamy Pillai had when the ONLY recording he ever made(Disc) was played back to him. The anecdote.

It seems this was in the early thirties when all the Carnatic Musicians--Chembai,Semmangudi et al were into HMV recordings .(This story was told to my father by Semmangudi Mama). Sri.Pillai was being coaxed and cajoled by his admirers to record .Mr.Pillai steadfastly refused. But finally he relented and gave a recording. I do not remember the song. After the recording was completed the Gramophone Company(I think HMV) approached him with the Master Disc(before they could duplicate it) and presented to him. Mr. Pillai asked that the record be played back for him which the HMV executive did.Mr Pillai listened to it very keenly. Then he asks for the Disc to get a physical "feel" for the disc material allegedly. Then he breaks into(Vinyl records as we all know can be easily broken) 2 pieces. The HMV executive is shocked and asks WHY? Mr.Pillai's reply briefly paraphrased(as it is difficult to translate as SSI narrated it).
'THIS RECORDING HAS MINOR FLAWS AND YEARS LATER PEOPLE WOULD REMEMBER THE FLAWS AND WHATEVER REPUTATION I MAY HAVE GATHERED FOR POSTERITY FOR MY PLAYING BASED ON CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS AND ACCLAIM WOULD BE SET TO DOUBT .

NOW ONE CAN ARGUE THAT MR.PILLAI DID DISSERVICE TO HORDES OF LISTENERS THAT CAME AFTER HIS DEMISE--WHO NOW MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT A GREAT VIOLINIST HE WAS !! BUT MR.PILLAI WAS ALWAYS A VERY SINCERE HUMBLE TRUE NADOPASAKA AND DID NOT SUCCUMB TO THE PEER PRESSURES AND YEARNING FOR ROYALTIES !!

Now for the formats who have followed the careers of erstwhile artists,Mr.Pillai stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries with regards to THOZHIL DHARMAM"(Professsional Integrity) and true devotion to the Trinity(Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar's--SVB- book on the Post-Thyagaraja developments on celebrating the Thiruvaiyaru Aradhana) is a must read about how Mr.Pillai rose above the petty skirmishes amongst the various parties involved in the erection of the memorial etc. Incidentally, this book was written by SVB's son who is the Father-in-Law of our Entrepreneurial Forumite Udhay Shankar!!



By this anecdote I am not trying to elevate myself to Mr. Govindaswamy Pillai!!

Take it as "MEA CULPA"!!!

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: MK Ramanasubramanian

Post by rshankar »

Mama - I enjoyed your singing, and the expressions too (ungaL cittiramum pEsiyadE)! Although, I did not get the flavor of CS Jayaraman at all... :)
The song brought back memories of watching the movie Sabaash Meena in Pondicherry years ago in a 'Tent Theater' across the road from our campus and walking back at 2 AM....
Thank you for sharing!!

Can you share the Hindi songs as well?

narayan
Posts: 383
Joined: 05 Oct 2008, 07:43

MK Ramanasubramanian

Post by narayan »

maheshram wrote: 09 Sep 2017, 06:17 Hi All, I wanted to share my father (MKR)'s performance on Smule, one initiated by my cousin who was visiting NYC from India. This is not CM so please excuse the post but I thought many of you would enjoy it anyway (note to moderator: if not appropriate to post here, please do feel free to move):

https://www.smule.com/recording/t-m-sou ... 595435512

Enjoy! (and give him your feedback) - btw he doesn't know I'm posting this 8-)
Besh! Besh!
I have heard him many many years ago (30?) in New York and his spirit and musicality is as strong as it was then. Any one flourish in this rendering is enough to demonstrate this.
The thread says Ramanasubramanian instead of Ramasubramanian, but what's in a name?

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by maheshram »

The MKR story - my poor attempt to capture some aspects of my father's musical and rasika journey in words:

Backdrop: Writing about my father is emotionally difficult. I miss him dearly and nearly every moment is tinged with memories of him. But I also feel the pull to write about him as my tribute, reminisce through his eyes as best as I can. Selfishly, perhaps it will be therapeutic, but also answer some of your requests to learn more about him. If I have provided too much minutiae and detail please forgive me. You can imagine my mental state.

I’ll use some of @RSR and @rajesnat questions as touchstone points but I thought I’d organize in chronological terms and that will also help me to pace this somewhat.


Notes:
1) I will use initials often to save keyboard fatigue on long names.
2) Also I will refer to the great MS Subbalakshmi as “MS Mami” not MS Amma - this is not disrespect rather just how I knew her and called her all my life, and that’s how I remember her. Please forgive me.
3) Any mistakes are all my own.
 Any omissions are my fault.

Am thinking of the following structure:

-Antecedents and pre-birth history
-Birth and early childhood (up to age 18 or so)
-College years
-The 60's
-US - the 70's and 80's
-US - 90's to present
-Any miscellaneous anecdotes or thoughts i may be able to gather

Pre-Birth - Family History (aka why not Tirunelveli?)

RSR asked where in Thirunelveli my father was born? - in fact he was NOT born there although of course the family originally hails from there. In fact, the town of Kadayam barely features in most of our family members history after 1850 since my great-great grandfather emigrated from there in apparently not very happy circumstances. Kallaidakurichi, Pathamadai, and Palamadai later do feature more prominently but first Kerala is more prominent.

Even my GF KS Mahadevan (KSM dad) was born in Vaikom, Kerala in 1913. Why Vaikom? KSM’s father KP Subramania Iyer (KPS) was holding a post with the Maharaja of Travancore in those days as did his elder brother KP Vishwanatha Iyer (GF of Sangita Kala Acharya Kalyani Sharma of Mumbai, senior disciple of both SSI and Brindamma).

A brief side-note about  KSM’s father K.P.Subramania Iyer. KPS served under the Maharaja of Travancore, responsible for the Hindu religious endowments created by the  Maharaja who was the guardian of the temples in his kingdom. While KPS had ample opportunity to immerse in the music that was on offer in the court, he was a more literary type, ie could quote the entirety of Shakespeare plays by heart (even obscure Corialanus!). You can see his influence in my father’s writing style. Note: This seemingly inane trivia on birthplaces does have some later relevance as you shall see.

One of KPS’s sons was KS Mahadevan (my thatha) who as most of you know later became a music and dance critic, founding Secretary of Shanmukhananda Sabha, and editor of music publications. KSM planted some of the seeds for my father’s musical interests. At age 13 KSM moved to Madras from Kerala to pursue studies there at PS High School. There surrounded by music, my grandfather was spellbound by the creme de la creme of the day, from Naina Pillai (the legendary musician and guru for Smt. DKP Mama) onward. You can read about this period in my grandfather’s own words in this lovely piece that he wrote a couple of years before his death: http://carnatica.net/special/ksm1.html

His wife, my grandmother Mrs. Narayani Mahadevan (aka Chinnani Mami) was immersed in the finest music too. At a young age, she actually learned directly from the legendary Papa KS Venkatramaiah (father of the legendary, Papa Venkatramaiah, and great-great grandfather to today’s kanjira vidwan Anirudh Athreya!) This fact still blows me away since my GM only died in 2014 and actually told me about her stint with the great legend. My grandmother was married young as was common in those days and did not pursue her musical studies much but her kelvin gyaanam was superb. She also knew a stock of padams and javalis that were exquisite. (And of course she was the best friend of MS Mami). And boy could she could ID talent! Two side notes: I visited India probably in the early 80’s Paati took me quietly to DKP Maami’s house, upstairs and commanded Lalitha Mami to have a very young Nithyashree sing for me and my father. Needless to say, it was spellbinding. Many years later, Paati gave me a tape of Abhishek Raghuram singing (which I still have) at age 12 or so which she got from Palghat Raghu and said “he is the next great star, listen carefully to him”. (But enough of that digression).

The association with TNR started long before my father’s birth. TNR played for my grandmother’s eldest sister’s wedding a grand affair in Madras, and apparently it was a performance for the ages (so much so older vidwans apparently talked about it that way). The family had high esteem for his music, but also gave a wide berth to his proclivities. (There’s a story about that wedding and how TNR was kept sober for the jaanvasam night playing too which my dad probably shared in a thread somewhere once).

In parallel, in Tirunelveli, my grandmother’s brothers (MKR’s maternal uncles) were busy cultivating their own musical favorites. My maternal grand-uncle P.S. Subramanian was a well to do businessman and became an stalwart supporter of Semmangudi Mama (who knew a good patron as well as anyone!). Two younger maternal uncles rebelled against the elder brother (!) and became mad fans of MMI and GNB (this is from late 30’s to early 40’s). Later they would all take turns attempting to ‘brainwash’ my father to their favorites which only delighted my father as he could easily egg any of them on. But they all agreed on TNR as an epochal game-changer which explains my father’s early fascination with TNR - Appa related hearing TNR playing on the radio at a very young age even prior to meeting/hearing him in person.

To summarize, even before birth, my father has a father, mother , aunts, uncles who have a passion for the best music of the day and the good fortune to be soaked in it non-stop. So he was born under the ‘right star’ to be an ardent rasika.

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by maheshram »

MKR’s birth and early life - “Molded in Pathamadai, Curated in Bombay” (roughly 1938-1952)

My father MKR was born in 1938 in Coimbatore by luck. My grandmother was there for her delivery due to some other family circumstance. In fact, all 4 of us (Appa, my mother who hails from there, myself and my sister were all born in Coimbatore in the same nursing home. It was perhaps destiny that he left this mortal plane in the same city where he also met my mother, got married, and spent many happy days as a son-in-law with my late maternal grandparents, the well-known advocate N.S. Venkatasubbiar and his wife Lakshmi. But other than his birth there, Coimbatore was not a factor in Appa’s life until after his marriage.

And, in fact, immediately after my father was born, my grandfather K.S. Mahadevan and my grandmother, left the South to go to Calcutta to pursue an MS in Physics then a job writing for an Economic journal. My father and his elder sister Rajalakshmi (my Athai) were in tow as tiny tots. This takes us to the fateful meeting in 1940 between my grandparents and MS Mami and Sadasivam Mama during the shooting of “Savithri”, when Sadasivam Mama noticed a young man in a 9-yards sari walking with young children near the place where Mama/Mami were staying during the shooting. Mama, feeling Mami’s need for some South Indian female companionship, introduced the families together and my grandmother became a babysitter for the young Radha Mami, and the rest was history. That is also the beginning for the lifelong sibling-like affection between my father and Radha Mami.

With this much musical immersion around him, Appa was a sponge. He could identify ragams at age 3 onward, and at some wedding was made to demonstrate this to some vidwans by Semmangudi Mama much to Appa’s lifetime embarrassment (“I peaked too early!” in his usual humorous self-deprecation).

KSM’s stay in Calcutta was brief and other than meeting MS Mami and Sadasivam Mama and writing about economics during the Great Depression not that eventful. In 1942, KSM Thatha accepted a stable government job in Bombay (Matunga) and that began another fertile musical period for my father. His sister my Athai (Rajalakshmi) who is three years his senior was a gifted singer from an early age, winning numerous singing competitions and eventually an AIR graded artist. Athai learned both from local Bombay based teachers (see note below), but also learned from KVN and DKJ whenever they came to town, and my father while not learning was a sponge in those early days, trailing her to every class. More rich osmosis.

Then came one of the most pivotal periods in my father’s life. Due to some illness my grandmother suffered, my grandparents decided to send my father down to Trivandrum to stay with the paternal grandfather KP Subramania Iyer and his wife - this was c. 1946-47. They doted on my father and in Trivandrum, he was exposed to many more musical influences. Economic circumstances then forced KPS/wife back to Pattamadai in Thirunelveli (the maharaja was impacted by independence). Here is where my father was in frequent contact with the aforementioned uncles who each had their musical favorites - and to musicians who inevitably visited someone in the family during their kutcheri circuits. Surrounded by loving family and glorious music, my father remembered this as the best year of his life. To add to this, at the age of 8, he was promoted into the…6th standard! (The headmaster was a brilliant relative who must have seen something in my father to do this).

By end of 1947, my father and his sister returned to Bombay. Semmangudi Mama features more prominently in these years. Our family’s association with SSI Mama had its roots in a chance meeting in the 30’s with Musiri Mama - the aforementioned uncle, P.S. Subramanian was in a good post in Benares and it so happened that Musiri Mama and Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer were in town for some felicitation but starved for TN cooking. They heard that my grand-uncle had a fabulous cook (which was true). So they stayed with him and the bonding began from there. Later in Madras, Musiri Mama introduced SSI to my grandfather and others and they all became friends. This would be around 1936 or so before my father was born.

But back to the late 1940’s. Semmangudi Mama sent a young man in his early twenties to my grandfather KSM in Bombay with an edict to help the young man lay the seeds for a career teaching music there — since SSI deemed his voice not good enough but his vidwat and teaching acumen very high. My grandfather recommended him to many in the community and also had him teach his D (my father’s sister) all the popular varnams - my father could still sing every one of those 5 decades later via listening osmosis. That teacher was HAS Mani, aka Chellamani Mama, who many will know better as the father of singer Hariharan or the husband of Alamelu Mani (student of Brinda) or guru to Bombay Sisters pre-Musiri. Chellamani Mama passed away prematurely just after building up a vibrant school of disciples. To this day, the legacy of Chellamani Mama has influenced every generation of Mumbai-musicians.

As mentioned earlier, my Athai had enormous musical talent. Later, in the 50’s she learned many precious compositions directly from the young KVN Mama and young DKJ Mama both in Bombay and in Madras (whenever they came to Bombay, she would learn — and guess who was always listening??).

Semmangudi visited Bombay more often as well and my father got the very best of that. I’ll use his own words to describe the scene in 1948 or so: “Once in the late forties --I think 1948 or 1949(Forumites should pardon me if I am not specific about dates-- I never kept a diary--the date is irrelevant for this anecdote)--Mama had come to Bombay for the Shanmukhananda concert--Mama stayed with us in our small 600 sq. flat in Matunga --the concert was a struggle--the voice would simply refuse to cooperate-- Mama sang for about three hours and ended the concert without any fan fare--after he returned to our flat he had a light meal and asked the Sishya(I think it was TMT or Kedaram I cannot recall) to bring the Tambura(@ 9 P.M.--he started singing--the voice after the 3-hour sadhakam at the concert platform before had softened the rough contours. Boy did he sing--what kalpana swaram-- Karaharapriya--his favorite raga== Chakkani Raja followed by Shankarabaranam-- Bhava-laden-- the kriti was Bahu Meera-Veena Kuppier kriti--the charanam Neelavanyamu for neraval was out of the world/ The singing continued till midnight--the other tenants in the Building(we were in the top floor)--unfortunately were not musically inclined and came upstairs to complain and had to be pacified--the swara prastharam--the Pa Pa Pa Pa Dha Pa Pa Ma Pa Ma(the glide in the Ma Pa Mumma would be dripping with Bhava) ending with Pa Sa Pa still rings in my ears 60 years later!! Mind you the audience was just our family of four or five--Mama simply could not bottle up all the Kalpanas that his voice failed him at the concert platform earlier and did not need any coaxing on our part nor did he bother about the disturbance at that hour to the neighbors. “

Imagine at 10 years old hearing this in your own home. What I would have given to have been there!

This also raises another point @rajesh - you named several of the musicians in Appa’s Mt. Everest - TNR, Mali, GNB but Semmangudi Mama was undoubtedly on that lofty level for Appa (PMI, Lalgudi there too). How could he not appreciate how Mama blended the nadaswaram influence with his own rich lineage and adapted these techniques to create an unmatched vocal style despite an unsupportive voice!

Of course, Appa would easily admire many others - Musiri Mama for his gauravam, teaching ability and his clarion-like voice, MMI for the creativity, spontaneity and indefatigable energy despite handicap, DKP for her depth, discipline and scholarship, PSP for his dignity and amazing technique, TNK for his outstanding tonal quality, and of course Ariyakudi as an emperor, etc., etc. Appa would say “there’s no need to denigrate one to praise another” - he found unique aspects of joy in all of their music.

So this takes us up to the early 50’s. I’ll cover the next decade in my next post.

But also happy to take comments, criticisms or requests for info as well. Is this worthwhile? Or just too much?

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

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by RSR »

@43
@maheshram
Dear Sir,
Thank you. Where did he do his Engg course? Madras? Which year? Was he a frequent visitor to Kalki Gardens between 1945 and 1952? That is the period which fascinates me. Awaiting more instalments.
Best Regards.

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

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by SrinathK »

Oh please go on. I thought you were just getting started and we're eager for more.

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

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by rajeshnat »

maheshram wrote: 25 Jan 2020, 07:46 My maternal grand-uncle P.S. Subramanian was a well to do businessman and became an stalwart supporter of Semmangudi Mama (who knew a good patron as well as anyone!). Two younger maternal uncles rebelled against the elder brother (!) and became mad fans of MMI and GNB (this is from late 30’s to early 40’s). Later they would all take turns attempting to ‘brainwash’ my father to their favorites which only delighted my father as he could easily egg any of them on. But they all agreed on TNR as an epochal game-changer which explains my father’s early fascination with TNR - Appa related hearing TNR playing on the radio at a very young age even prior to meeting/hearing him in person.
.....
So this takes us up to the early 50’s. I’ll cover the next decade in my next post.

But also happy to take comments, criticisms or requests for info as well. Is this worthwhile? Or just too much?
Maheshram,
Roughly 5 years back i made up my mind that the vocal trinities are MMI SSI and GNB. How apt that your appa's 3 maternal uncles were taking each of these supernovas as their favourite.

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

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by rajeshnat »

Just few questions and trivia for you to build up bit more:
------------------------------------------------
1. Did SSI or any one else from that parampara used your appa for tuning any swathi songs atleast in way of minimal suggestion like say MKR saying tune it in saveri?

2. Did by any chance SSI take your appa to any music courses as a part time student in trivandrum? Your appa was given a nickname by Semmangudi i dont know when was it in trivandrum or madras.

3. Growing up and context switching from pattamadai (you have made a typo as pathamadai) to mumbai to trivandrum was quite a diverse experience . Kudos to your parents and grandparents who still kept a sustained nurture of deep CM.

4. Kudos to Mrs KS Mahadevan , if some one can spot a 12 year old Abhishek and give a tape and say that he is the future , that certainly talks about how she can find and spot out talent of high caliber.

5. Contextual Photos may be of help but no worries if you cannot find it.

6. Since you have chronogically grouped ,MKR sir's english and reading novels etc can also be tabled in that respective era. Or you can bring a seperate section as we move forward which is also a great idea, I am atleast looking at his english reading habits AND his big saga with publishing houses.

7. Personally it is a blessing that your appa went to Trivandrum to stay with his grandparents. Each of us donot get that long stint with grandparents , but your appa must have been immersed in pristine music. I went to my maternal grandfather ancestral home for few years to mayavaram in 1980s , that really shaped my listening to carnatic music more than my parents. THere are many many like that.

The best way to bring more fresh blood rasikas into CM is not taking a starter lecdem,or a diluted fusion but leave the kids for few years or few months in grand parents house. All of us usually have a liking to atleast our grandparents and take up their taste just blindly atleast till the age of 17 , that way your appa was immensely deep with CM.Not to say the least your appa's three maternal uncles who had MMI,SSI and GNB as favourites.

8. Mrs KS Mahadevan learnt violin with father of Papa venkataramiah whose name is srikantiah, I hope you read this post where MKR sir gives his own brief profile
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=15382&p=213002#p213002

Great Job Maheshram:
---------------------
Take your time and pause for atleast 3 to 4 days gap till you post the next biggie post .

You should always type it in notepad , save it and then move it in smaller chunks here so that you donot lose your thought process when you feel like writing .

YOu are doing a great job. IT is just like Marlon Brando(MKR Sir) God Father 1 is just over with you taking up as Al Pacino God Father 2.

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by maheshram »

While I gather my bearings for the next chapter I'll write, here's a video link to my Appa singing an alapana in Thodi a few months back in NY. The nadaswaram, GNB and SSI influences all clearly seen here:

https://youtu.be/VAMHfd7CQpM

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

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by rajeshnat »

maheshram wrote: 26 Jan 2020, 01:29 Most of you would have seen this but I love th is clip of Appa at Cleveland and the spontaneous appreciation from the great vidwans esp the senior ones Sri VVS and Suguna Mami.

Here's the video from Cleveland aradhana of Appa demonstrating vintage vidwans music surrounded by top vidwans that you both will appreciate:

https://youtu.be/Xf_gINa5QeY?t=263
In the above youtube link just hear 3 mins where you can hear MKR singing Ariyakudi(pantuvarali) + MMI(kamas) + GNB(kalyani).The texture of ariyakudi , mmi and gnb was fully there in MKR singing. I have just forwarded the link to that timeline.

https://youtu.be/Xf_gINa5QeY?t=284

maheshram
Posts: 51
Joined: 24 Jun 2013, 21:48

Re: MK Ramasubramanian

Post by maheshram »

Q for Admin or others: I have some amazing photos of my father with MS Mami, Radha Mami, Semmangudi, Nehru (!), etc. that I'm sure you would like to see.

What's the best way to share these in posts please? I recall being able to post them inline in the past but not sure that works anymore

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