Rajagopalan: Multifaceted personalities of the Rasikas forum

[rajeshnat]

Ponbhairavi -Rajagopalan sir

Possibly there is much more to talk about you and your translations. I am just kickstarting this in a seperate thread, so that we can discuss more about your thoughts and your translations here in this thread, and not continue in the other thread.

The below url is the translation of ponbhairavi's french literature
http://frenchliterature.angelfire.com/

[arasi]

Rajesh,
Very good of you to introduce ponbhairavi to those who do not know him. His translation of French poetry into tamizh is noteworthy. You can find them in the KavidaigaL thread also.

[nadhasudha]

Rajeshnat - I have several articles written by him which I will be posting in this thread as you are interested - mostly music related both in Tamil and English (I am his daughter). To start with here is an article he wrote for GLAC (Great Lakes Aradhana Committee) when he visited Detroit in 2007 reviewing the book Voices Within by TM Krishna and Bombay Jayashree. Sadly other than the love of music which I seem to have inherited from him, I did not inherit his linguistic skills. So my posts here will not be as eloquent as his. Bear with me

Book Review: "VOICES WITHIN CARNATIC MUSIC "
A rainbow in the Carnatic Music firmament  by Prof. V. Rajagopala Iyer
                 VOICES WITHIN is a book about seven great Carnatic music maestros by two busy musicians, Smt Bombay Jayashri and ShriT.M. Krishna with the collaboration of another professional. Did I say a book? No it is not merely a book, it is a glorious memorial, a majestic monument, a magnificent museum throbbing with life at every turn when we go through, dedicated to Carnatic music. Rare photographs which bring the ever-green stalwarts alive on top quality paper, aesthetic designing, unbelievably remarkable printing proclaiming with justifiable pride "printed in India”, gorgeous visuals matched by an elegant and vivid language of the descriptive text, all these combine to make it a precious treasure. It is indeed a marvel that black and white photographs taken early in the last century could be made to look so splendid and life-like against pitch dark black background which prevails throughout this book. May be the jacket cover  could have been in a brighter hue but then perhaps it may not be a reflection of the depth of the mourning over the loss to the music world. 
                The book opens up with an old map of south India. It would have  been  appropriate  if a new map , let us say a musical map( on the analogy  of political map, physical geography map,  economic map ,railway map etc...)has been drawn  highlighting the places of origin which remain inseparably attached  to the names of musicians till date.
                The section "those were the days" vividly recaptures the cultural background settings of yesteryears  living ,namely the puja room, the old furniture, the oonjal,  the bamboo rafters of the low roofed houses, the well, the authenticity of the clothes of the people, the concert platform, the marriage ceremony, the deity procession(albeit  in a cinema  scene) and to cap it all  Silpi's remarkable sketch of temple premises which were the nerve centre  of the cultural life ; everything makes us wonder what a meticulous selection! Everything justifies Matrka's avowed aim to "celebrate and showcase the richness of Indian Art and Culture" The judiciously worded text  unfolds the important events of the maestros' life and struggle, achievements and deceptions, strength and weaknesses in an incisive manner without indulging in known biographical details which would have been boring. The end of the chapter graphically recalls the landmarks of the Musician's life in a dated life-line punctuated by the moments of their occurrence.
               "From the Heart” are accolades from the authors but it is not specified which one of the three. All the same it is of no consequence as they are so general that they can be anybody’s including any reader.
                The book claims that "Voices within" is "a salute to seven gifted inspiring Carnatic musicians..." What about the others? The authors have naturally anticipated this obvious question and here is what they say (page 149):"Along with these seven maestros were many other towering music personalities each great in their (his?) own way; their names glitter across the pages  of the book" Do they really feel that this "glitter " is relatively enough for their stature? Let us hopefully assume that Matrka has made a beginning with these seven and would follow it up with the others.
                 Could they not have added some more names; why restrict to only seven? For this question also the book provides an answer: “seven is a magic number in Carnatic music “Though it does not elaborate, it means the Sapta swaras,the Sapta talas the majestic misra nadai etc.. We can go a step further and extend it to the visual perceptions because if music is oral and aural the BOOK on music is visual and the visual spectrum is made up of seven magnificent colors which combine together to form the rainbow, a splendid treat to the eye in a drizzle- soaked horizon. As the French poet Charles Baudelaire says, the pleasures of the senses are fused in an inseparable combination: “The perfumes, the colors, and the musical notes correspond to each other ..."   If only we could smell the aragaja thilakam at GNB's forehead says the book. A book such as this one ,as the rainbow in the sky , does not  appear often.
                 After  going through this book, we do have  an insight into the life , achievements and the genius  of the seven musicians But at the same time one  cannot help getting the impression  that the Guru-sishya relationship prevalent in those days and the impact of the Bhakthi  component on the life and art  of these maestros , both of which were the indispensable ingredients of our cultural heritage, have not been  adequately brought out the lone exception being a photo of GNB in his puja  room ). Art for Art's sake is a western concept. According to Indian culture, music or as a matter of fact any fine art, being a divine gift, is a form of worship of the Divine, at least in those days if not to-day .Sangeetha "SASTRAMU" bakthi vina ? Or is it a "secular" approach of a book which aspires for international readership?
                Finally the price of the book at Rs 1900 (despite the sponsorship of various agencies) is remindful of the new century. Well Carnatic music nowadays is not cheap though the greatest among the greats lived in penury as they did not know or did not want to encash their talent.
               To sum up, this book is a seven gems-studded necklace to adorn the ivory mannequin near the coffee table of the NRI December visitor--owner's pride- visitor's envy--and not the simple "7 kal Besari" for the nose of the turmeric fragrant face of the Goddess at the altar of Carnatic music. Probably this is also what Matrka means when its founders say that they want to "showcase the richness of the Indian Art and Culture.” 
           
(Prof V. Rajagopala Iyer a linguist, dramatist and a carnatic music enthusiast has published 3 books and numerous articles in Tamil,French and English. He has been the principal force behing Bhairavi, a carnatic music sabha in Puduchery, India for the past 30 years and is the father of GLAC Vice President, Lalitha Ravichandran)

[MV]

Wow... I have no words:))

[CRama]

I am struck with awe at his achievements. I am iin Pondichery for a week. I would like to meet him and Pratyaksham Bala Sir if it is not a botheration for them. I do not know their phone nos. i am giving my phone no. If they can call me, I will be much thankful. My Phone no. 9445070656.

[nadhasudha]

CRama,

I tried sending you an email through the forum - It errors out every time I try sending it. Please let me know your email id and I will send you his contact information.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

What can I say after being a forumite for barely 2 years--each day brings me a fresh insight into people who thro their silent contributions have made CM richer--My humble pranams to Scholars like Pro, Rajagopalan(aka Ponbhairavi).

ENTHARO MAHANUBHAVULU ANTARIKI VANDANAMU!!!

[arasi]

CRama,
Yes, I've had the same problem in the past, in trying to send you mail

[PUNARVASU]

Shri PonBhairavi, my humble namaskarams to you!

[mahavishnu]

Nadhasudha, I had no idea that you were the daughter of Sri Rajagopalan. Another illustrious father-daughter pair on rasikas.org!

Thanks for posting the review of Voices within. I got the book on my last trip to India as a potential gift for someone. I have decided to not part with it since

[rajeshnat]

Ponbhairavi
From a young age, this --> simultaneous coffee and book <-- just does not interest me , it all started with me pouring the coffee over the sofa while reading the THE HINDU paper .

Can you present something that you have written/or could you write one that is not a rebuttal/review of anything, a fresh leaf. "Voices that are truly only within you". I am just randomly running my thoughts on few topics

Can one find few similarities/differences in compositions of sivan,MD with any of the few composers of French ??

What should one expect from a performance in a CM?

p.s I also liked your above review too.Tx nadasudha for sharing the review.

[Ranganayaki]

Ponbhairavi, how nice to see a thread dedicated to you! It is wonderful to learn more about you and your contributions. Very thoughtful of Rajeshnat to do this. My thanks to both of you and I look forward to reading more here.

[CRama]

Nadasudha, My email id [email protected]

[nadhasudha]

CRama - I have sent you an email with his contact information.

Mahavishnu - Thanks - I am a very regular reader on this forum. I believe I have a lot to learn from all of your posts. I have been amazed at your erudition and knowledge on the mechanics of sound and music in general and also at the speed at which concerts happening in India land in your lap. Like you I am also a fan of Abhishek Raghuram's music.

Arasiji - I did listen to your interview by Nivedita and your humility shines through in each and every word you speak. Not only in your words, even in the way you conduct yourself. You come across as a person who is at peace with yourself and contented.

So many others on here in this forum who contribute CML, Ranganayaki, revanth,CRama,punarvasu,MKR Sir (just love reading his posts about MSS) so many people whom I know only by their rasikas id. Hope to make the Decemeber Rasikas meet some time.

Rajeshnat - I like reading your reviews and am surprised at the amount of details that you pack into them. My father is currently out of town and does not have access to a computer. He should be back within 1 week. Until then I will be posting some of his articles for your reading - The one I will be posting today is a humorous one and was written in 2005 for Bhairavi Puducherry Souvenir. I am sure you will have a laugh on reading it.

[nadhasudha]

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[nadhasudha]

[sridhar_ranga]

Absolutely hilarious. Thanks a lot for sharing this Nadhasudha. Pon Bhairavi sir, great sense of humour reminding me of Devan or Kalki's writing.