Sanjay Subrahmanyan Interview

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Sep 2007, 18:11

sbala,
As you said, any place has more to do with one's own connection with the place...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 07 Sep 2007, 18:33

Arasi,
Thanks for the translation. Sanjay does come alive in these statements.
Having been to kAnci/cidambaram/madurai (the less that is said about tirupati, the better! - unless you are blessed to have ekAnta sEvai, a trip to the temple is probably no better than a drive on a crowded LIE or Garden State Parkway), I do not understand why only cidambaram has that effect on Sanjay.
The temples in kAncI (all of them, but specifically, the kAmAkshI, ekAmrESwara, and the varadarAja perumAL temple) all have a fantastic ambience - they ring with music - a good time to visit is before the 'ardhajAma pUja' when these temples are empty (especially on a Wednesday or a Thursday) - the outer prAkArams of the ambAL and swAmi temples are so spacious and full of lovely sculptures. The mango plant/tree in the swAmi temple is also a 'must see' for me, everytime I go. But, for me, kAncI = kAmAkshI - The main deity in the garbha griham is awe-inspiring - and to me, filled with music - visions of SS, and of MD's unique ability to imagine the grand, majestic, and lovely kAmAkshI as a 'housewife' (EkAmrEsha grihEshwari) - I have to 'fess up that I also hear the strains of that song from Adi parASakti - 'kOnATshi pallavar tam kuLir shOlai kAnci tannil kAmAkshi yenra peyar enakku'! I experience the same goosebumps when I see the slender waist of mInAkshI and understand the significance of the 'oDyANa pITham' - or see the 'poTrAmarai kuLam' - which leads to the words of ANDavan piccai in the sundarEshwara shrine - 'oru mannanAi ninru oppaTra maduraiyilE OngoLir sangam vaittu ontamizhai vaLarttAn'...
cidambaram is no different....so, do not understand his comment....

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 07 Sep 2007, 18:37

Vijay/Sbala

Of course Chidambaram has more than a special place in the performing arts of the south. However, this is more than just the temple alone. It is a place of great culture and served as inspiration for many vageyakkaras. Not to say Tirupati did not (Annamacharya for e.g.), but the emotions that Chidambaram brings out are quite exceptional.

Interestingly, Sanjay has released Ksetra specials for Charsur with running themes of Tillai (GKB compositions), Chidambaram and Kanchi.

I have a feeling Sanjay feels quite strongly about Mylapore as well

A viruttam that he has been singing recently on "thirumayilapuri" is very moving.

mahesh3 · Post by **mahesh3** » 07 Sep 2007, 18:42

Arasi, You are doing a magnificent job....

Vijay, for some reason, as soon as I heard abt the guy guy with the thalam, as my perimma read this out to me in tamil the other day, the first person that came to mind was you. But, then I was sure it can't be you, because you seem to have a huge interest in thalams, and also you continue to attend Sanjay's concerts....

Prashant, do you have the concert lists for Sanjay's US tour in 2006? I attended 2-3, but I am not familiar with his presentations in other places. Can you post them, if you dont mind?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Sep 2007, 19:02

Interview continued...

Q: On pronounciation, bhAvA, anubhavA?

In the beginning, there was a complaint that I did not pay much attention to clarity in pronouncing words. I have also heard that it is the bane of CM. I started paying attention to it--in tamizh songs, particularly. However, if you give exclusive attention to it, it may seem as though one is reading prose. I give more importance to music. Sometimes when music gets dominant, some words get mutilated. I am charmed by some sAhityams--either in meter or in the way the words come together. When I first sing them, I would sing them very clearly so that the words in the song would reach the audience without any ambiguity. Some times I would put on an act too. With the intent of finding out listeners' reaction to it, I would sing a line with emphasis. I would test it by noting if the audience is visibly moved by it. When I 'shout' it out (!!), I would do it with vigor.
When we don't please rasikAs, we would be out of work! To please them is our responsibility. We do certain things to keep their attention. Vigorous tALam keeping, new fangled sangatis and emotion packed viruttams keep the act fresh. Some sAhityAs bring out a smile. In that case, sangeetam will take a back seat and sAhityam would come to the fore. This can be done in tamizh. Since the meaning in telugu and sanskrit are not that apparent (I think he means both for the singer and the audience--Arasi), it is not that easy. Still, listening to telugu born singers gives me an idea about where to give emphasis. I would get assent from a telugu audience too. In cakkani rAja mArgamu, one would know T says, 'why don't you walk the good path instead of...'? Knowing that much is enough to guide you.
Yes, knowing the sAhityA helps in conveying the impact of the song to the audience. But the rAgA should reach them first. Meaning of the song too. That is why I sing many tamizh songs. Some say, if you pay too much attention to the words, music would recede. I don't agree with that. Both should work in unison.

A concert experience is the sum total of the rAgAs of songs, swarAs, the mood of the singer, the words and the state of mind of the listeners. You can't create the same moment in another concert by singing the same kriti in the same rAgam or a sangati after practising it two thousand times even, and get the same results. At a micro level, there would be differences. A particular sangati in a rAgA, savoring of a word, the result of singing delicately a phrase after finding the beauty of its meaning--all these cannot be recreated.
bhAvam is the life of rAgam. My patti would say, 'that sangati you sang was very good. Give it some azhuttam (depth, emphasis)'. That is what it is. You may sing without bhAvam too--brilliantly, grammatically, finely. But without bhAvam, there is no life in singing.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 07 Sep 2007, 19:36

Please continue!!! Thanks.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 07 Sep 2007, 22:26

But, then I was sure it can't be you, because you seem to have a huge interest in thalams, and also you continue to attend Sanjay's concerts....

May be Vijay has shaved off his long beard and cut his hair short and sits in the back benches for Sanjay's concerts...

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 07 Sep 2007, 23:02

VK/Mahesh, all I know is that I didn't walk out in a huff and nor have I stayed away from his concerts...The beard and the long hair come and go...and yes, it's always the back benches for me - Sanjay or anyone else...the farther the better...no wonder I am still being allowed into his concerts!!

Argghh, my reputation as a connoisseur has been smashed to bits by these vile hands! But hey, at least I made an impression on a great musician!

mdrgnb · Post by **mdrgnb** » 07 Sep 2007, 23:25

Nice interview by Sanjay. Whereas the interview is very moving, the word "brahmin influence" is like adding salt in Payasam to me. KSK did learn from Ponniah Pillai and Swaminatha Pillai.

But KSK also learnt from the "brahmins" - Sabesa Iyer Tiger Varadhachari, Sattur Krishna Iyengar.

Swaminatha Pillai's father learnt music from a Brahmin - Panchandha Iyer and Ponniah Pillai from Quartet family learnt from a Brahmin - Dikshitar.

Q: About tamizh iSai?

My guru (Calcutta Krishnamurthy) did not have a brahminic influence in CM. His gurus were Ponniah Pillai and Swaminatha Pillai. now, after going to learn from SRT, I am singing even more tamizh songs.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Sep 2007, 23:34

Interview continues...

Q: About your guru?

I remember an incident with my gurunAthar. He asked me to sing a kriti in madhyamAvati. I sang it beautifully I thought and with a lot of care. I sang for quarter of an hour. I was proud that I did an excellent job. Suddenly, he sang a sangati and said, 'you haven't sung one like this'. I was taken aback. 'tanana is a statement. That's all. You can sing it like (he sings: 'ta..na...na.....). Then it becomes a statement of quality. It is vital that when you sing, your mind and heart merge. This is what they call anubaviccup pADaRadu (savor and sing). It is not a conscious effort. It is creative. You may even plan it somewhat that it becomes part of the exposition of your voice'.
He didn't ask me why I did not sing such a sangati. 'You could have sung that too', was all he wanted to say. I might have taken it to heart if he had asked me to sing exactly as he expected me to. Teaching is an art. To be sensitive to an individual student's needs and capabilities, was his way. I was lucky because all my teachers taught me things in a way that I could comprehend them. I could learn all I could because of this. I don't know if I have absorbed all that they could offer me, though.
My guru had a fine way of communicating. 'Are you coming for a lesson tomorrow?', he'd ask. 'No, Mama, I have a concert'.
He would gently respond: in my days, if we had a concert, we would say--they have asked us to sing (not straight off the bat as in 'I (ego?) have a concert').
I would have sung on the radio. I would go to see him the next day to find out what he thought of it. We would talk about this and that for a while and then I would slip in the question. 'Did you hear me yesterday? How was it?'
'Weren't you feeling that well?' is all he would say and I would understand that I didn't make the grade. At other times, the minute I met him after a program, he would greet me: welcome, vidwAn! Could one give you an award of virutta kalAnidhi?

It was a Kalyanaraman memorial concert. His comment the next day. 'You did sing well. In tODi, you sang well until pancamam. When you reached the higher octaves, you started singing in a crowd-pleasing way. Well, that is a factor to consider too, of course'.
He pin pointed exactly where the deviation occured and surprised me. Not really. He knew so much, anyway. He was candid about his comments but was gentle in their delivery.
He was different from others when it came to teaching. 'You can teach once, you can teach twice. If you don't learn it the third time, we can go on to another sangati', he would say.
My grandmother was stern when she taught me. 'This is how you should sing', she would say. My guru was different. 'You can change it, and like this too', he would demonstrate.

The loss of my guru...

He got sick. He was gone. I could not console myself. After his death, I acted as if I didn't care. In a way, I wouldn't be doing all the things I do now in my singing, if he had been around.
I took great interest in any sort of vocal or instrumental music that appealed to me. TanjAvUr Sankara Iyer introduced Sembonnarkoil's nAgasvaram. I heard him play a SankarabharaNam in TiruvaiyARu. I froze. There was a beggar sitting there. After Sembonnar played a particular sangati, he said, 'SabAsh!'. It was as though I was under a spell when I heard him.
Kasim Babu took me to his house. Sembonnar sang SummA SummA in aTANA. I was charmed. 'I haven't heard this one at all', I said. 'Could I come and learn from you, I added.
'You have learnt a lot from your guru. What is there that I can teach you?'
'There are a few things I would like to learn from you'.
He agreed and called me on the phone after ten days. I made a beeline to his house that day, and that's how it all started.

I would like to sing tEvAram. I caught hold of an OduvAR and learnt about fifty of them. I have sung a few in the albums but haven't steeped myself in them, yet. I would like to sing the divyap prabandams with tALam.There isn't much time with my busy concert schedule. This is the time of in my life to give concerts. Other projects can wait a bit, I suppose.
There is something called assimilation of knowledge. Don't they say, writers have to read a lot? The same way, singers have to hear a lot of music.
'We should go to a lot of concerts. That's how we learn as to how to sing and how not to', my grandmother would say. 'PaDap pADa rAgam' is an adage (rAgam gets better and better with practise). True. One can train and train and be good at it. I would say you have to listen too, in order to enhance what you already know. 'kELvi gnAnam' (knowledge from listening) is valuable. I used to go to concerts just to enjoy them. After I wanted to become a performing vocalist in the mid-eighties, I started to pay attention to the various aspects of a concert from a singer's point of view.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Sep 2007, 23:45

mdrgnb,
I do not know if it is Sanjay's statement or the way it sounds in my attempt at translating the text. From Sanjay to the interviewers to me is a long route! If you can, or anyone else can check the tamizh uraiyADal, we can understand it better.
An interview, even of this length from a quality journal is not an essay in its organized form. Thoughts are not expressed in an orderly manner in an interview. Interviewers' straying from the topics can contribute to it too. Yet, I felt this was worth translating, for more than one reason...

* As I edited my translation today, I added 'very' to the word, and it sounds different!

sangeetarasikan · Post by **sangeetarasikan** » 07 Sep 2007, 23:50

Great job Arasi. You're bringing the artiste alive to people like me who are (shamefully) not as comfortable reading our mother tongue as we should be.

Svaapana · Post by **Svaapana** » 08 Sep 2007, 01:45

Just as a matter of statistical interest. The entire 2006 Season review elicited 96 postings. This one (for different reasons) has already crossed 100. I am sure members know that the link for the concert is http://www.sangeethapriya.org/~harihara ... hur-Aug07/.

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 08 Sep 2007, 02:07

It is truly a high class article. I have never come across such vivid and interesting interview.

Now, I am wondering! Rasikas.org has wonderful reviewers and some musicians of the highest caliber. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of the reviewer can don on a interviewer's cap to get us an insight into some of these musician of similar standard?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Sep 2007, 02:27

Interview continued:

Q: What did you learn from Semmangudi?

My gurunAthar told me that he heard Semmangudi sing an awesome goWLai kriti. I wanted to learn it and Semmangudi told me he would teach me. I was busy with other things. When I saw him at the Academy's Millennium celebrations, he asked, 'you said you would come to learn that gowLai kriti!' I went the very next day to him to learn it.
My guru would say, 'I would sing. You listen and try to learn it. It is not my job to oversee your learning. I have a book. Look into it and choose diligently what you need'. Semmangudi was different. He wouldn't let you off the hook until you learnt a song thoroughly. He was nearly ninety then. Even at that age, his voice had a majesty and strength. I can't imagine how we are all going to be at that age. At first glance, I would find him sitting there, slightly bent, chewing betel leaves. Once he started singing, his demeanor changed--he was straight backed, with a glow on his face then. I used to meet him often, just for a chat. He would tell me stories about the old days. One day I asked him: did you sing padams? He immediately sang one. We sang it together until anu pallavi. 'If you sing with me, I would even give a concert', he said. How old was he then!
They gave an award to him in Bombay. To me as well. We traveled together and spent the whole day and the next morning in each other's company. He was a man who was still sharp in his mind and witty to boot. He asked me with a smile on his face: 'ENDA (my lad), did they give your the award money as a check or draft?!

Q: About teaching methods?

Teaching music is highly individualistic. You cannot teach music in a planned way as you would history or mathematics. About fifteen of us learnt from our guru. Not all of them turned out to be a musician like me. The zeal for learning and one's talent count too. Every teacher is different. To those who come to me to learn, if they have learnt from someone for a while and their learning is unacceptable, I do not take them on as students because it would take me five more years to make them unlearn what they learnt in the first place.
In pAramparya sangItam, there is no standardization. Even supposing a few well-versed teachers get together and tried to standardize it now, it will take another ten years to achieve it. Meanwhile, new systems would have mushroomed. It is true of all art forms. In other spheres of learning, standardization is possible and can be implemented at the very beginning of schooling.

Tiger would sing sAvEri with a sa ri ga ma pa da ni sa in place of sa ri ma pa da sa is the ArOhaNam.
'Tell me why it can't be sung this way', he would ask. Some would say, 'he can get away with it, not others'. You can read it in two different ways. 'Tiger is unquestionable. So he can do that' or 'he sang in that quirky way. We needn't emulate it!'. You need to possess a lot of self confidence to justify something which isn't acceptable. And rAgAs too go through a change with the passage of time. Even those thousand year old treasures go through at least small changes. You cannot sing bEgaDA in its original form today. Even if you do, one would not think it is bEgaDA. Someone might sing the rAgA saying, 'this is how it is defined in sampradAya pradarsini', and sing it. I don't think I would be impressed. When nothing can come out of it, it seems futile.

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 08 Sep 2007, 03:13

What Chidambaram has going for it is Nandanar (Thirunaalaipovaar) Charitram of Gopalakrishna Bharathi. It is such a powerful story about human injustices and God's rejection of the same. Kanchi, Tirupathi, Mylapore etc. don't have anything with this emotional appeal.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Sep 2007, 04:17

Interview continues...

Q: About many songs being sung in madhyama kAlA??

Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar established that the life of a song resides in madhyama kAlA. It is the natural tempo of a song. He was firm about how songs should be sung and heard. He believed that many more would be drawn to CM and that was possible only with madhyama kAlam singing. That was why he edited out ati viLamba kAlA and ati durita kAlA in kritis and gave prominence to the nuances and variations in madhyama kalA. In that very period, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Chembai and others were singing at super speed. GNB too. Chembai has sung in bass voice as well. It is still heard in Mandolin Srinivas's music. Ramani does it with his flute. In nAgasvaram too. We don't have it in vocal music today. The last of the durita kAlA singers are Balamurali and Seshagopalan.
Here is how it goes: Isn't the way we talk in madhyama kAlA? Can people clearly make out what we are saying if we are too fast or too slow? No. It goes for singing too.

(The following fragmented paragraph must have been about communication, I guess--Arasi)

I sing. I am talking to you now. I answer some of your questions. I can communicate certain other things too without saying them. It is the same with music.

Q: About the nostalgia factor in music??

Ilayaraja's music is kind of nostalgic to me. I was drawn to it when I was young. I did not ponder on how he wrote the score then. The melody and rhythm were balanced. At the same time, I would see that he would deliberately bring in a western element into the rAgA. I don't know what I can say about it now. Nostalgia of my listening to his songs in my younger days prevails. Songs like 'ninaivelAm nityA, priyA, Johnny' and such songs were my favorites. When he got into the realm of CM, his songs weren't as appealing. When he thought of bringing kEdAram in, I felt there were already plenty there in kEdAram. His seventies songs , kizhakkE pOgum rayil, 16 vayadinilE, iLamai UnjalADudu and others were lovely.
The very mention of the name of GNB is nostalgia to me. I have heard him only on tapes. For those who zero in on it, it would be evident in my singing as to when I go into the mode of GNB. I would sing like MMI, like Musiri, and I would come out of those modes instantly. I love GNB's phrasing and the conceptual nature of rAgA singing. He started applying permutation combination to CM. Took rAgA singing from one plane and went to another. I can't begin to think how he achieved it all. He took a rAga and ascended with it (??) as if it were a scientific experiment. It made CM simpler. Many started singing that way without realizing why he sang that way.

Q: Any new ideas, efforts on your part??

I am not slowing down yet! There are so many rAgAs I have yet to explore. More kritis to learn. I need to do work on embellishing even the rAgAs I have been singing. I would like to bring different kinds of sAhityAs to music. I don't know when. I don't want to do anything on a whim. I want to take time to delve into them, lest my efforts seem trivial.
I feel strongly that the genre of musical drama should be resurrected. CM has a strong foundation. Without any compromises, I would like to create a musical play. It is a dream to be realized. Bringing together ten or fifteen young CM singers in their twenties who are dedicated and would give exclusive time to such a project for half a year or so. With proper financial support, such a thing is possible, I think.

I would like to bring out a cassette with simple songs for children in rAgAs which are attractive to them. A child should be able to recognize a rAgA by listening to it. Sriram Bharathi has done it, thirty years ago (the information here is incorrect. It was Prof.V.V.Sadagopan who created the Thyaga Bharathi movement and composed the children's songs, including the one Sanjay sings here. VVS sang them not thirty years ago, but about forty odd years ago! His exemplary disciple carried on his guru's work--Arasi).
Sanjay sings: SuNDeli nAlum vaNDiyil pUTTi SEvalum kOzhiyum SenRaduvE! (in SencuruTTi?--Arasi).
I tell my children stories by singing some of the lines too. I would show them how a deer ran by keeping tAlam. Of course, You can learn CM by starting with gaNanAthA and vara vINA. It would be ideal if music blends with the flow of every day life.
I have in mind a CM symphony--with excellent classical gamakAs. Others have done it before. Not like that. The compositions should be created anew. That is important.
I have many ideas connected with music. To take music beyond the realm of bhakti to other levels too, is one. I am not certain yet if we could do it within the forms we have or discover other new ones.

mahesh3 · Post by **mahesh3** » 08 Sep 2007, 06:24

Now I know why it took me a long time to appreciate BMK & TNS music, and why I've never shown a shine to N Ramana/Mandolin either...always felt they were way too fast....funny how the mind understands things actually without registering it...altho, I've always enjoyed the few Chembai reneditions I've heard tho...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Sep 2007, 07:57

Continuing the interview...

Q: Anything about the uniqueness of vocal singing?

Vocal music in a sense has constraints. It doesn't have that freedom which instrumental music has. Words have a way of giving dignity, shape and finesse to music. Yet, if I want to sing a poem that I love, I feel the constraint. I have sung bharati's poems but with a new poem, I feel it. Instrumental music has no barriers (of matching words to the rAgA, tune??).
When I think sAvEri, I would sing the rAgA and it would be sAvEri. When words come into play, it gets complicated. Because if I pick up a poem and sing it, the verse becomes my priority. If rAgA is my concern, I can take up an old Tyagaraja or MD kriti.
Music inspires a composer. Words inspire music--not in the sense Hussein paints listening to Bhimsen Joshi's music!
I sometimes think--should tODi or khAmboji be sung only in this way? I don't mean by it that we should sing with the sound of two blaring drums, calling it fusion. I don't want to do that. Those efforts seem to me as though we are trying to extract something crude out of our music. I don't want to go the 'tiruvAcakam' route either. It doesn't occur to me to call that an experiment or a new approach.
When tyagaraja composed, in his times it was new. I would like to do something like that in my time. What he established that many years ago, we are still practising. Shouldn't we start something new as well? Shouldn't something new evolve too?
Our elders knew both music and the languages. We are proficient only in english. How can we create sAhityam in tamizh or telugu?
Those who say they have written a thousand songs seem like those who would take a thousand copies of Ravi Varma and go sell them as their own. Borrowing words from tyagaraja and transposing them in a song is equal to creating a song for them (!!--Arasi).
Koteeswara Iyer composed in brand new mELakartA rAgAs.That was a momentous achievement. I don't think many of us pay attention to that feat. I am talking of singers too. These songs go unheeded by them as well.

Should a concert dictate that a few of us sit in our assigned places on a stage and perform in a particular way? Isn't it possible for fifty people to assemble and listen to something entirely new from four people for twenty minutes? (this segment again seems to me as though it is fragmented. I have a feeling Sanjay said something else here to substantiate his thoughts--Arasi).

Q: Your future plans?

I have no clue. I tend to think only about the immediate moment. I don't think beyond that. Anything can happen. I may start a coffee shop at the street corner, who knows?
As a rule, I don't get very emotional about things. Once, when KVN was singing a viruttam, he got very emotional, I hear. I don't know if he cried. Playing the violin, Sriramkumar shed tears. Padma Mami had tears in her eyes. After the concert, KVN said it seems: Look, we shouldn't cry. It is better if those who listen to us to cry...

Q: Is music a spiritual thing?

Spirituality is a word which can mean many things. I have to understand what you mean exactly. I am hesitant to say that it is. It may be understood as though I believe that all music has some spiritual connection. When we start learning to be true to ourselves, spiritual experiences are possible. Then we can realize if music is a spiritual experience. Even if we do, how can we describe it? Even as I sing, sometimes I am not aware of what is happening inside me. I am not the type who gets easily agitated. I would be thinking of the coming moment , not about the a past one.
In a way, singing is an intellectual exercise for me. Once vINai Balachander said: you have to fall at the feet of rAga dEvatai. Otherwise, however much you try, you won't get it.
I have felt it too. After thousand times of singing SankarbharaNam, the Sruti would be off, I wouldn't know what's happening around me, and something indescribable...
I haven't quite been there. I don't want to either, nor do I want to glorify that aspect.
My job is to create. That's all. If you experience such a thing, great!
But when I sing that tODi, I sing it with the clear idea that I am singing tODi...

*****************
I did this translation thinking that it would be valuable to the rasikA community in looking into the soul (!) of an artiste. In the process, I might have been inadequate in not conveying fully the content of the interview.

Sanjay, if you happen to read this, please correct me where I have erred. Besides opening a coffee shop, you could try your hand at writing. I see touches of Jayakanthan, lA SA rA and other thinker/writers in your thoughts, the wit of SVV and Devan in your sense of humor...

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 08 Sep 2007, 08:15

Arasi:

thank you
Thank You
THANK YOU!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Sep 2007, 08:18

While working on the translation, I did not pause to thank all of you for your encouragement.

Thanks, srkris for letting me carry on.
komalangi, for starting it all with your posting the link. I haven't read kAlaccuvadu lately and didn't have a clue about this interview. Friends didn't mention it to me, either. As Vijay guesses, it would have been in 2006.
Thanks mahavishnu, Vijay, humdinger, VK, prashant, mahesh3 and Ravi for cheering me on. Did I leave out any names?

kssuresh · Post by **kssuresh** » 08 Sep 2007, 13:15

sureshvv wrote:What Chidambaram has going for it is Nandanar (Thirunaalaipovaar) Charitram of Gopalakrishna Bharathi. It is such a powerful story about human injustices and God's rejection of the same. Kanchi, Tirupathi, Mylapore etc. don't have anything with this emotional appeal.

Exactly, I was about to say this. Interested rasikas could access TSB Sastrigal's Nandanar Charitram available on the Sangeethapriya site. Here is the link http://www.sangeethapriya.org/Downloads ... danar.html

Sastrigal's account is so moving. It adds to the mystique of the Lord and the kshetra. Particularly, the sequence in which Nandanar complains to Siva about Nandi obstructing his view of the Lord in "vazhi maraithirukkedhey" in nattaikurinji (sanjay has sung this so beautifully in 'tillai', a commercial album) and, remarkably, the Lord's response in "satrey vilagi irum pillAi" in purvi kalyani (which has also been sung by sanjay in an AIR concert available at Sangeethapriya), in which he asks Nandi to move aside. I listened to this harikatha about 2 years ago, and I can't describe the impact it has had on me since.

kssuresh · Post by **kssuresh** » 08 Sep 2007, 13:17

Arasi,

All I can say is I was smitten by Sanjay's interview in Tamil, and your translation is spot on.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 08 Sep 2007, 16:18

Arasi a final round of appreciation for your selfless efforts in sharing this interview with us rasikas. I can ust imagine how much time and effort it must have taken. This interview ought to be published in English for a wider audience - perhaps as a supplement/background to the film, Arar Asaippadar.

nadhasudha · Post by **nadhasudha** » 08 Sep 2007, 17:20

Arasi,
Thanks for taking the time to translate Sanjay's interview.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Sep 2007, 21:12

Vijay,
It was almost effortless--the content of the interview was riveting, so the translation just flowed without my having to labor over it. Forgetting that Sanjay is a star performer today (a performer alone, he is not), we see other dimensions in this man who lives with his music creatively and with the 'restlessness' as he calls it that goes with it. We laud the ancients for their multi dimensional qualities. There have been generations of performers who have propogated their music by performing. Yet, in emulating them in their richness of content, and in exploring CM as they did, there have been only a handful of musicians since.
While there are many talented performers out there to please us, how many of them think of music outside the performing context? I realized as I typed on--the point here is not Sanjay wanting to achieve all that he wants to. It is what he wants to do for CM's growth--and for the coming generations.

Children instinctively love music and rhythm. They will be drawn to CM at an early age if there are songs written specially for them in simple CM ('sing twinkle twinkle little star!' is the customary parental expression when we visit them, wanting the tots to 'perform' for us).
Children friendly CM is one aspect of Sanjay's quest. He has many other which are evident in the interview. The thinker in the musician and the reformer. It is something rare to have a performer who thinks out of his box of performance alone...

kssuresh and nadhasudha,
Thank you.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 08 Sep 2007, 21:33

Arasi,
Thanks for the mighty effort!
You had us anxiously anticipating the next installment (credit goes in equal parts to Sri Sanjay Subrahmaniam for the thoughts and to you for the felicity with which you have translated it) like the people in my parents' generation waited for the next installment of 'ponniyin selvan' or 'pArthiban kanavu'....

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Sep 2007, 21:38

Ravi,
Or for srImAn sudarSanam or justice JagannAtan!
Thanks, mon ami.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 08 Sep 2007, 22:04

A great interview and a wonderful translation. Thank you so much, Arasi. Sanjay's answer to the question about sprituality is unique, and from the few concerts of his I've heard, his describing music as an intellectual pursuit does tally with the way he approaches concerts.

venkatpv · Post by **venkatpv** » 08 Sep 2007, 22:08

thanks arasi for your superb translation

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 08 Sep 2007, 22:13

vasanthakokilam wrote:As a sibebar note, as I was reading it, I wondered how anyone can translate all this to another language and do full justice to the nuances of his colloquial and conversational expressions. Good translation of such things is a mighty tough job.

I should have realized then that Arasi can do that mighty tough job. I ran through the Tamil version fairly quickly and have not had a chance to go back to it. As I was reading your translation individual tamil sentences came back to my mind. That just shows to me how good your translation job is. You said it just flowed. The naturalness of the translation is a result of that flow rather than laboring over it.

One thing I noticed is, it was easier and quicker to understand what he is saying with your translation rather than the original tamil version. Isn't that strange? Tamil sentences ran longer and also some of the colloquial expressions needed some thinking to understand which slowed me down.

Thanks again Arasi.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 09 Sep 2007, 00:35

KSSuresh: I fully agree with you about Chidambaram having a special place due to Nandanar charitram. Just to clarify however, "Vazhimaraithirukkudey" and "Satre vilagi" are both set in Thirunpungur where Nandanar/Thirunalaipovar stopped en route to Chidambaram and not in Chidambaram itself.

Arasi, the translated interview is such a delight to read in its entirety. As VK mentions, in the tamizh version the prose felt a bit strange since both colloquialisms and senthamizh were juxtaposed rather oddly, sometimes even in the same sentence. For example in a sentence : "ennayeE surprise pannikkanumnu muyandruvarugirEn".

So, I much preferred the flow of your lovely translated version. Sadly being out of touch with reading Tamizh has also done quite a number on my reading skills.

Has kAlachuvadu done a similar profile of other artistes?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 09 Sep 2007, 01:35

mahavishnu,
Thanks again.
I am just guessing that being a literary journal, kAlaccuvaDu is more interested in featuring writers, poets and so on. I suppose it is Sanjay's multifaceted personality (in his art) that made them think of interviewing him. Still, it is worth finding out if they have covered other musicians.
The uniqueness of this interview is that it eschews trite questions, avoids asking the popular ones (Sanjay and other musicians have given many of them), and focuses on what he is all about. Not surprising, considering the quality of the journal...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 09 Sep 2007, 01:42

bilahari,
Thanks a lot.
Venkat, sangeetarasikan and naadasudhaa too.
VK,
You are kind...

kssuresh · Post by **kssuresh** » 09 Sep 2007, 10:42

mahavishnu wrote:"Vazhimaraithirukkudey" and "Satre vilagi" are both set in Thirunpungur where Nandanar/Thirunalaipovar stopped en route to Chidambaram and not in Chidambaram itself.

Oh! I didn't realize. Thanks for pointing out Mahavishnu.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 09 Sep 2007, 11:31

Chidambara Nataraja is a vigraha unlike Moolavar. The adjoining Siva temple is the original temple and the Sabha was built later on. Nataraja is facing South. Whereas, nandi is normally in the Eastern entrance. Therefore, there is no way that nandi can hide Lord Nataraja. In order to have darsan of Lord Nataraja, there is no way other than getting into the temple. According to story Nandanar was refused entry into the temple. Therefore, if indeed he found that nandi is blocking his vision of the Lord from outside, then it cannot refer to Chidambaram. If the kriti refers to Moolavar (Siva linga), then the kriti cannot be addressed to Nataraja. Sometimes poetical imaginations seem to ignore reality!

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 09 Sep 2007, 14:33

vishnu's mention of tiruppungur is right, this is near vaitheeswarankoil

rajaglan · Post by **rajaglan** » 09 Sep 2007, 17:36

Arasi,

Thanks , thanks thanks.
I didnot have the tamil font. So I read the english translation.
Once again thanks.

May be the same questions should be asked to all the artists.
May be Sanjay should have a live website, his site has old contents and not maintained.
Your translation can go there.

sridevi · Post by **sridevi** » 09 Sep 2007, 19:55

Thank you Arasi madam for the wonderful translation. This is a treat for me since I dont read tamil. I read the entire interview in one sitting , on a early sunday morning with hot coffee on the side ... need one ask for more?? ( would have been better if my 6 yr old was not awake and in the same room..oh well... man's desires never seems to end ... ) .

Sridevi

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 09 Sep 2007, 20:00

arasi
For a guy who cannnot read tamil in one sitting as I am not used to, your translation was wonderful. Sanjay's articulation thru you was a great double sundae.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 09 Sep 2007, 20:33

Thank you, sridevi!
'or a woman's', for that matter--as in the case of you and me...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 09 Sep 2007, 20:34

Rajesh,
Thanks! And your post, the cherry on top!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 Sep 2007, 03:19

srkris,
Thank you for starting a separate thread for this interview...

Anusha · Post by **Anusha** » 11 Sep 2007, 18:09

Arasiji,

Thanks for the translation. It will be of great help in reaching out to a wider group of readers. Your enjoyment in doing this is very noticeable, reflects your deep passion for the art.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 Sep 2007, 20:11

Anusha,
Anything good gets better with sharing...

kalgada78 · Post by **kalgada78** » 11 Sep 2007, 21:50

Arasi Madam,
Thanks a bunch for the translation!! It was indeed a treat to read it,particularly for someone like me,who can't read Tamil. This interview had let us know so much about how a professional thinks.

Thanks again!
Sarma.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 12 Sep 2007, 02:17

Arasi - Let me say my thanks also.

You did something I was too lazy to even contemplate on doing (besides I wouldn't have done such a wonderful job

)

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 12 Sep 2007, 02:26

My thanks to you Anusha and Kalgada.

Arun, your own efforts are not a product of laziness, and we all know that

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 12 Sep 2007, 04:19

vgvindan wrote:Chidambara Nataraja is a vigraha unlike Moolavar. The adjoining Siva temple is the original temple and the Sabha was built later on. Nataraja is facing South. Whereas, nandi is normally in the Eastern entrance. Therefore, there is no way that nandi can hide Lord Nataraja. In order to have darsan of Lord Nataraja, there is no way other than getting into the temple. According to story Nandanar was refused entry into the temple. Therefore, if indeed he found that nandi is blocking his vision of the Lord from outside, then it cannot refer to Chidambaram. If the kriti refers to Moolavar (Siva linga), then the kriti cannot be addressed to Nataraja. Sometimes poetical imaginations seem to ignore reality!

vgvindan... Your analysis was correct. Your final observation though comes off somewhat presumptuous.
This is not poetical imagination - it is a powerful myth from long before GKB's time. And the reason these myths live on is because they cannot be debunked with some perfunctory rationalization.

srinivasasarma · Post by **srinivasasarma** » 12 Sep 2007, 13:01

Komalangi, who started this subject, and Arasi, who translated this, and all who encouraged Arasi
while translating, deserve our appreciation.
I read fully the tamil version and was wondering how one is going to translate this big lengthy
interview, when someone asked for it, well, Arasi has done it very well.
Permit me to say, more than Sanjay's interview, all you Rasikas efforts moves me a lot.
Imagine a concert, on Nataraja at Chidambaram temple on a full moon day by Sanjay (SabApathikku,
SivaloganAthnaikkandu, Chidambaram hara harA yenru oruthram , kanakasabhai thirunadanam ...
Chidambaram is electrifying place bec Lord Natraja is an Artist, dancing to the rythms, pallavies.
Tiruppungur, near Vaideeswaran koil, you shud see the beautiful nandi - ha.
guruvayoorappa