My maternal grandfather passed away on 19th May at the age of 80. Briefly, he was born in Howrah (West Bengal) in 1932, grew up in kIzhAmbUr (tirunelvEli), and primarily worked for Indian Explosives Limited (IEL) in Gomia (then Bihar, now Jharkand), where he and pATTi raised both my mother and uncle. He had a great interest in both local and global politics, was an extremely literary gentleman with a passion for tamizh literature that compelled him to read until he died, and had an undying love for Indian classical music. Thatha volunteered with the Rasika Ranjani sabha in Calcutta during his years there, arranged music events in the town of Gomia, and never missed an opportunity to listen to music on the radio, live, and through an array of gramaphone records, tapes, and later CDs. His love for music was broad and deep, but he had a particular soft spot for GNB's music, and the music of those who followed in his footsteps like Radha and Jayalakshmi and MLV. He enjoyed music that coupled imagination and emotion and that was presented with a certain verve. Thatha was fluent in Tamil, English, Hindi, and Bengali, and his love for languages influenced the importance he placed on sAhityam and its pronunciation. Thatha also strongly encouraged the inclusion of Tamil kritis in concerts.
As a person, thatha was kind, generous, progressive, and dignified. I do not think this string of adjectives, no matter how accurate, does justice to the man I knew and loved my whole life, but I leave it there nonetheless. There are so many memories from my early childhood - sitting on his lap during power cuts in India (a source of great excitement to Singaporeans like my sister and me) while he sang bhajans and nursery rhymes tuned to Carnatic ragas, waiting eagerly at the Calcutta airport each December to catch the first glimpse of his gentle smile amidst the sea of visitors at the arrival area, his ever so perfect folding of clothes, his impeccable dressing sense, the sight of him sifting through records and a sense of anticipation as to which would be mounted on the player that evening, his words of wisdom to us as children that I carry with me to this day. And then memories from later in my life when I found my way to CM in 2005 and uncovered the depths of my thatha's passion for the art as he excitedly shared his life experiences organising and listening to music. Those were some times we had together, battling over which concerts we would attend during the season (he always wanted to listen to the young and brash, and I always wanted to listen to the old and wise), sitting late into the evenings in Singapore enthralled by a Kalyanaraman shaNmugapriya or a Trichur Ramachandran kalyANi, discussing the merits and demerits of the music we heard together and often perceived differently, and then my sense of awe at a man who could identify the most minor of ragas with consummate ease... Music never ceased to move thatha. He would break down each time he heard MSS's dEvi brOva or compositions like janani ninnuvina. The last memories I have of thatha, as we brought him to Singapore this year in an attempt to obtain a diagnosis for a mysterious lung illness that had baffled doctors for two years, are not happy ones, and time has not had time to bury these memories under layers of wallpaper. Yet even at the end, an end that came suddenly, painlessly, even tranquilly, thatha yearned for music, and I distinctly remember him sitting in his chair by the window inhaling oxygen, arms outstretched beseechingly, beads of tears running down his eyes, absorbed, alive but worlds away from life, entranced by MS singing akhilANDESwari on YouTube.
In thatha's memory, but more importantly in the spirit of his unabashed optimism for the state of the art and his open encouragement of youth seeking to renew and propagate the art, and his love for the unique music of instruments such as the nAdhaswaram and vINa that are silently setting into the sunset of our times, we have decided to sponsor concerts every year at hall and sabha we have known and loved, whose atmosphere has offered us a warmth that no other place has, and emotive music of a quality that no other sabha has. This year, on thatha's star birthday, we have chosen two fine musicians to inaugurate a series that we hope to expand and continue indefinitely.
On Monday, Oct 1, Vyasarpadi Sri Kothandaraman will present a nAdhaswaram recital for Naada Inbam (Raga Sudha Hall) at 6.15 PM. He will be accompanied by Sri V.M. Palanivel on the tavil. Thatha had a special fondness for the nAdhaswaram - the records of TNR he owned and his fond recollections of the kOvil music he had heard as a child attest to this - and Sri Kothandaraman is a musician I have only heard once - in a webcast, no less - but who moved me with his insight and sensitivity in a majestic kAmbOji he played.
On Tuesday, Oct 2, Sri V. Shankaranarayanan will present a vocal recital for Naada Inbam (Raga Sudha Hall) at 6.15 PM, accompanied by Sri V. Sanjeev, Poongulam Sri Subramaniam, and Trichy Sri Murali. Thatha attended several of Shankar's concerts in Singapore and in Chennai and appreciated the intensity with which he sang, and his genuine dedication to the art - a "sincerity" that always touched him about some musicians. I have heard Shankar through the last 5-6 years as well, and he has made giant strides, now singing with the verve and continuity in the mould of SSI and a more cultured and controlled voice than ever before.
Unfortunately, no members of my immediate family will be able to attend the concerts this year, but we wanted to inaugurate the programs on his star birthday this year. I extend an invitation - a plea, even - to rasikas to attend these concerts in support of two up-and-coming musicians with abundant potential, and yes, that genuineness that makes a musician and his music both so endearing to us. Photographs and accounts are most welcome.
Finally, none of this would be possible without the kindness and promptness of Jaya mami at Naada Inbam, who was not only encouraging and welcoming as we sought to honour thatha's memory through music, but who advised us throughout with a refreshing candour. A special thank you to Bharath for initiating this contact and Srikant for his valuable advice as always.
Thatha and I shared a special fondness for him, and the last concert Thatha attended was TNK's where on a rainy evening in Velachery amidst rapidly failing health he was treated to a sublime concert from the maestro with a memorable dEvagAndAri and pUrvikalyANi.