MAESTRO DR.SRIPADA PINAKAPANI IS NO MORE

[kam]

Dear members,
Greatest musician of all time Padmabhushan Dr.Sripada Pinakapani died today.
May his soul rest in peace.

[cmvenkat]

This is really a sad day. Pani garu breathed pure music all his life. A great sage of music has been called back by Gods! We seek his blessings.

[Lakshman]

Lost a great soul. My sincere condolences to the family.

[mahavishnu]

how tragic! My sincere condolences.

[eesha]

What a loss. My sincere condolences to the family.

[braindrain]

Today is a day of great losses to the art world.

Kathakali Acharya 'Padmabhushan Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair' passed away today...

Sincere condolences to the family members and to both musical and Kathakali fraternity..

[thanjavooran]

Greatest loss to CM world. May his soul rest in peace.
Thanjavooran
11 03 2013

[vasanthakokilam]

Condolences to the family.

[suma]

May both of their souls rest in peace

[Music]

Dr. Pinakapani garu was a one of a kind musician and a great human being. He is my guru's guru (my guru, Smt. Vasundhara Devi from Visakhapatnam). I had the fortune of meeting him last summer at his residence in Kurnool. Although he was bed-ridden, his mind was very active and sharp. I spent the day with him, and got to experience first-hand, how a nada yogi is. He lived music, breathed music, and talked music. Even when he was in his room by himself, one would undoubtedly hear him constantly hum some raga or the other. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the knowledge he shared with everyone so freely. Although there is not much of his recorded music at all, we are fortunate to hear his music through his great disciples.

As a student of music, I have found his approach to teaching very useful. Over the years, besides the instruction from my guru directly, I have closely followed his books to augment my learning. He stressed on the ability to read and write notation. After having attended a series of lecture demonstrations he conducted in Andhra University (somewhere around 1992), I started following his methods and found them very useful. He emphasized that, instead of rendering pieces very fast, you should render them at a reasonably slower tempo so there is enough time to fill spaces with good, intricate, aesthetic sangathis. Aesthetics is a key component. Although alapanas do not have talam, every phrase has its own laya and every swara in each phrase should be delivered with the required proportion. There should be attention to details in anuswarams, ample use of ravva jati sangathis, gamaka laden phrases, as well as phrases with sruti soukhyam. He encouraged maintaining high standards in music, and not worry about playing to the gallery. He believed that music of a high standard would appeal to everybody.

His raga alapana style was very artistic and intricate. To appreciate and enjoy his manodharmam, the listener would need to listen very attentively. His alapana would flow smoothly like a never-ending cascade of phrases. His style of swara singing is one where the swaras transition very smoothly to the eduppu. His nerevals were always packed with fine weaving of details of the raga.

Besides being a master musician, musicologist, and a teacher par excellence, he excelled in many other things. He was a medical doctor by profession (served as principal, Kurnool Medical college), a body-building champion, and a tennis player. I was told that, just like his music students are great vidwans/vidushis today, many of his medical students are stalwart doctors today. He excelled in whatever he touched.

Over the last several years, he could not maintain the same active life style due to old age. However, he maintained a very strict and simple routine of music, japam and simple food.

With the intention of preserving good padantharam for kritis, padams, javalis, etc., he notated hundreds of compositions and published them. Dr. Pani's notation for every composition is very crisp and tightly packed with beautiful sangathis for the raga. Despite the complexity in Carnatic music with gamakas, it includes as many details as possible for every single phrase in the song. Keeping in mind students of the future, his idea was that, advanced students could learn compositions using this detailed and precise notation. I was told that it took him about 25 years to write the notation for all these compositions. They are available as a TTD publication, in four huge volumes. I am not sure how widely these books are available at this time. When I purchased them years ago, there was one volume that was not available anywhere except in Tirupathi. He put in a lot of effort to make available Carnatic compositions in a documented form, and make them available with good padantharam for posterity. I hope such books are made widely available and never go out of publication. As part of the Sangeetha shikshana programme in AIR, Voleti garu had taught kritis based on Dr. Pani garu's notations for compositions. I was told that, there were 250 such kritis taught via this programme. The voice in this programme for the role of the student, is the voice of Sri Malladi Suri Babu (father of Malladi brothers, and disciple of Sri Voleti). I am not sure if these recordings are available anywhere.

He also composed varnams, and tuned some Annamacharya compositions. The books he authored are:
1. Sangeetha Sourabhamu (four volumes)
2. Pallavi Gana Sudha
3. Manodharma Sangeetham
4. Mela Raga Malika

He had no intentions of any monetary benefits from his publications, or his classes, or his concerts. His music was music for music's sake. His teaching, was teaching for the sake of sharing his vast knowledge. His mission, was literally to be a medium to transfer his knowledge as much as possible to people around him so there is none left to share by the time he breathed his last. He always made sure that, whoever went to his house to learn music would walk out having learnt something, not having to worry about accommodation or food even. He would have his students stay at his house. His wife (she was a musician herself) would make food available for every body. He never even charged anything for teaching music. When I visited him at his residence last year along with some members of my family, he still made sure we did not leave without having food. His family was really warm and hospitable, in line with the gurukulam ambiance that he built over all these years. I walked out of his house after having learnt some lessons in music and in life, that will last with me for a lifetime.

We are fortunate to have seen such a unique musician and teacher in our times. It is not possible to imagine someone like him in future. May his music live through the next generation of musicians. May his soul rest in peace.

Meena Malladi

[nadam_is_divine]

That is an interesting write-up. Indeed a blessed soul and an asset to the field of CM.

[rajeshnat]

100 years, perhaps the musician who lived the most . Condolences to his sishya parampara and family.

[gardabha_gana]

Deep condolences on passing away of a giant.

[Gamakam]

I had the great fortune of meeting this legend three times in past few years. Each time, I spent almost the whole day with him. He was tirelessly sharing his knowledge in those three days. His passing away is definitely a personal loss to me. I couldn't have had enough meetings with him no matter how many times I would have visited him.

I will always cherish the time I spent in Kurnool.

His achievements are phenomenal. Perhaps Bradmanesque. May be that is the reason he chose to close his innings slightly short of 100.

RIP Dr.Pinakapani.

My interview of Dr.Pinakapani:

Part 1: http://carnaticmusicreview.wordpress.co ... akapani-1/

Part 2: http://carnaticmusicreview.wordpress.co ... akapani-2/

[Rsachi]

Thanks, Ms Meena.
Would some kindly soul post Dr. Pinakapani's music tracks - a few, as rasikas we can silently pay our tribute listening to the late maestro.
Thanks in advance

[maduraimini]

Sympathies to the family.

[squims]

Another legend leaves us. But his music shall stay with us forever.
Condolences to the family, friends and sishya parampara.
Here is a beautiful Kamavardhani/Pantuvarali from the maestro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ATf9V-kSU

[vasanthakokilam]

Thanks squims. That was so wonderful to listen to.

Video of Dr. Sripada Pinakapani by Sanskriti : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWS_er3qiHs

[PUNARVASU]

A great loss to the CM world. His legacy lives on. Condolences to his family and sishyas.

[cienu]

Huge loss to the music world. May his soul rest in peace.

[bilahari]

Meena, that was a touching tribute to a vidwan I did not know much about. What a great soul. My heartfelt condolences to his near and dear.

[cmlover]

condolences! CM is poorer today!

[venkatakailasam]

post #15 RSachi

please see....


http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... 23#p238223

some more are at SP Archives

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

A GREAT SOUL!! What a galaxy of disciples that he has produced--Voleti,Srirangam Gopalarathnam,Nedunuri,Malladi Bros( and hordes and hordes of them I may have missed hearing)--they bear eloquent testimony to the Acharya's pedagogy and purity.

Dr.Pinakapani and my father exchanged many letters in the early 2000's--I recall one letter (after my father passed away) in response to my father's invitation to come to Chennai for a function to honor him.He excused himself in a tone that was the acme of modesty,dignity and civility.Throughout his life he refused to indulge in polemics and controversies and pursued his passion with utmost sincerity.

He was a class amongst Musicians and Musicologists. His legacy will speak for itself and posterity will cherish his contributions to CM.

May his soul rest in peace!!

[mohan]

Condolences on the loss of this great soul .. a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Music!

[arasi]

Gamakam,
Can't thank you enough for your two interviews of this man of music.
His personality shines through his words. sangItathilE uRiya maTTai--someone who was steeped in music, singing it, teaching it all his life (a long one at that).

You have captured his sensibilities, straightforwardness and candor in these interviews.
On the forum, we hear snippets from the lives of outstanding musicians--also of their sense of humor and sharp wit. Here's a different sort of musician who kept the flame of his love for music alive by living music. Luckily,this doctor did not have to seek sabhA organizers for getting kachEri opportunities. Nor did he wish to, it seems.

And how many babies he brought into this world besides! That goes well with his muical life. Each baby is a wonder when it's born. It's the same with good music--each time, it's new experience when an old rAgam is sung!
At least, that's how I imagine that he led his lovely long life.

He is with the gods now, no doubt...

Can't but admire such a musician.
A hundred years on earth, and how worthwhile his life has been!

[Gamakam]

Thank you Arasi.

An English translation of the interview appeared in the sruti magazine. It can be read here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/130086539/Int ... Pinakapani

[kmrasika]

Just read the article in the HIndu(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a ... 498211.ece). A great loss to saṅgīta lōka - what erudition and discipline! Cndolences to the family.

[harimau]

A heart-felt tribute:

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday ... 512321.ece

[cmlover]

Fitting homage to a physician who was a sangita yogi!