Unrecognised musicians

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 31 Aug 2006, 12:56

I wish to use this topic to discuss musicians who for some reason have not received the recognition they deserve. It would be interesting to explore why they didn't get the awards & recognition that many others with lesser vidwat have managed to get.

A (partial) list of such musicians follows:
1. Manakkal Rangarajan - recently Manakkal, who is now 83, was in London and gave a few wonderful kutcheris. Listening to him, one can't help wonder why he has not been made a Sangeeta Kalanidhi as yet, while vidwans much junior to him have already received the pattom. Is it because he never played the awards game or built up a strong enough lobby group for himself?

2. M.D.Ramanathan - can't still believe this great master never received the Sangeetha Kalanidhi! Is it because of his Kerala roots?

3. T.K.Rangachari - this is another great musician (who learned under the great Ponnaiah Pillai!) who never received enough recognition. Wonder why? Was it because he was overshadowed by other stalwarts during his time?

4. Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan - disciple of TKR, a great vidwan in his own rights. I heard him at a concert in Trivandrum a few years ago, and there were less than 10 people in the audience! His singing was of a very high calibre, yet I don't believe he became popular or got enough recognition.

5. Sathur Subramaniam - listening to his recordings makes me wonder why he didn't get the awards he richly deserved.

6. Pudukkode Krishnamurthy - disciple of Palghat Srirama Bhagavathar. Again, another great musician who never received the recognition he deserved.

baboosh · Post by **baboosh** » 31 Aug 2006, 12:59

Music academy awards the title based on age and other factors like prefernces of committee members.Imagine M.S.S was awared Sangitha kalanidhi after she was invited to perform at the U.N.O.

CSS · Post by **CSS** » 31 Aug 2006, 15:52

The Music Acdemy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi award, is decided by a coterie of musicians and non musicians ( patrons of art if you want to be polite !). It has also it's political equations based on region, caste and affinity of the candidate to the committee members. Infortunate, but a reality. The greatest recognition for a musician comes from the 'baleh balehs' of the discerning rasikas.

MSS after UN ? What about LGJ, one of the greatest violinsts ? The incomparable Rajarathnam Pillai ? Ramnad Krishnan whose brilliance enabled a new Bhani ?

Personally, I do not any longer view the SK award as a recognition worth mention. It has lost it's relevance.

padren68 · Post by **padren68** » 31 Aug 2006, 18:00

Why should one think that they did not get recognised. . The very fact that all these musicians are being discussed and heard makes them GREAT in their own right. What is there in an award, afterall.
In my opinion the title should not be an yardstick to measure a musician's prowess.
The more we discuss why the SK was not awarded will only lead to unnecessary comparisons with musicians who have been awarded the coveted title and debates/arguments for/against. This is not healthy..
Request to refrain from further discussions.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 31 Aug 2006, 18:44

I second that padren68...
Ravi

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 Aug 2006, 19:07

We are recognising these musicians here -- are we not?

Let us pick out more and more names and recordings and splash them on the screen here..

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 31 Aug 2006, 21:37

MDR, TNR, Kalyanaraman, Ramnad Krishnan the list is long.

LGJ is different. He was offered and he refused to accept.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Sep 2006, 04:22

sangeeta kalAnidhi is another shawl, another birudu. Somehow, both vidwAns and rasikAs (not all of them) seem to attach a lot of importance to it. Whether a Nobel Laureate or not, a great scientist is a great scientist. The very aim of this forum is to recognize and appreciate music and deserving musicians, no matter how obscure their names or hyped up their credentials with a title like sangeetha kalAnidhi. I don't deny that it is an extra embellishment...

CSS · Post by **CSS** » 01 Sep 2006, 07:37

LGJ was offered it too late. Difficult point to explain but it is an emotional issue. Haven't we seen many people resign their jobs on being by-passed ( poor analogy but hope the rasikas will understand).

Since we are talking of unrecognised musicians and the SK is one of the publicly acclaimed forms of recognition, this discussion goes on. There are no attempts to belittle or disparage those who have got it. My points are directed against the MA's mandarins who have made glaring mistakes in the past.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 01 Sep 2006, 13:09

My decision to start this thread was primarily inspired by the recent news that TNS is this year's SK awardee, and the gushing adulation that has poured out everywhere, including on this forum. If this were not such a coveted award, why all this fuss? Let's face it, SK has acquired a much-sought-after status (whether we like it or not). I wonder if these same people would drop this pattom when referring to SK awardees at concerts etc. Obviously not!

Amongst the list that I came up with at the beginning of this thread, the only musician that is alive today is Manakkal. I feel it is high time this great vidwan got the recognition he deserves.

Jayaram

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 01 Sep 2006, 13:24

Jayaram
See your list. Again you are sharing the fault with MA in looking at only artistes from TN, that too Chennai more than the rest of TN. There are LOADS of artistes from Karnataka and AP that shoul have got SK and would have had they been from Chennai.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 01 Sep 2006, 15:01

Shrikanth,

MDR and Pudukkode are from Kerala. You could add Voleti, Titte, et al to the list, but my point still remains.

Jayaram

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Sep 2006, 19:55

Jayaram,
Personally, I would be happy if the long winded introductions in concerts didn't include that extra bit about the SK award too. Still, the speakers may drag on complaining WHY such an artist was NOT awarded the SK!
Assuming that SK is a coveted title, let us make a list of the deserving non-recipients (you already have). They do not fall short of merit. Also, there is only one award per year to go round; someone or other is going to be short changed.
That's why I suppose there are oodles of awards given all round the year with more speeches.
Makes me think again. Sangeeta KalAnidhi is an award which I should not take lightly, I suppose...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 01 Sep 2006, 20:44

I agree that life in general and the awarding of the SK award are terribly unfair. But since the individuals who were involved in the committees that overlooked truly deserving candidates in the past can't be hung, drawn, and quartered, as punishment there is no point in berating the award and awardees. (I certainly agree that fawning sycophancy is nauseating, but there is no harm in congratulating the awardee). In addition to the wonderful artists who were notable exceptions in not being awarded the SK included above, I think that the earlier idea of having only one awardee when honoring a performing duo was STUPID - take the case of Smt. Brinda and Smt. Mukta, when Smt. Brinda was honored in 1976, but not Smt. Mukta. I don't think it can get more biased and crazier than that.
But then, that is not the case with the SK awards alone. Each year, the padma awards raise more than just a few eyebrows not only for the notable omissions, but for the 'say who again' awardees included in the list. Man is a political animal, and man-made committees are political beasts. So, go figure.
Unlike the SK awards, the awards from the govt. of India (including the bhArat ratna) can be awarded posthumously. Take the case of MGR - he was awarded one posthumously - a classic case of 'say who again' and 'for accomplishing what' awardee. Well, the govt. certainly has not awarded RDA something similar, although IMO she is certainly more deserving, given her contribution to keeping bharatanATyam alive and thriving (kalAkshEtra was a unique experiment of its kind, sort of like SAntinikEtan, her patronage of all art forms, breaking the gender barrier in performing naTTuvAngam, getting stalwarts like Tiger, MV, and MDR to set music for her, get P. Sivan to compose new pieces for a 20th century mArgam, etc.), as well as to her efforts at getting a bill to prevent cruelty to animals passed in the parliament. RDA is just one example...each of us will be aware of many more, and thinking of these will make us unhappy.
But, in the grand scheme of things, they should fade, because they do balance out with the recognition of someone truly deserving. The SK award is like a lifetime achievement award, and the awardee (not winner) should be celebrated within reason!
Ravi

CSS · Post by **CSS** » 01 Sep 2006, 20:44

As Arasi rightly points out, there is only SK award in a year and so some would miss it. I think the SK award is best left to the myopic 'patrons of art' who adminster the MA - they can 'decide' who is worthy/ not worthy of this award.

Nearly every sabha now has an award for a musician. I cannot award any musician any award :rolleyes: - I am too small for that. But I do enjoy their music and wish them all the best from my heart irrespective of whether they are an SK or not.

PS: Just downloaded an MDR cutcheri and have been hearing the RTP in Begada - great music !!!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Sep 2006, 21:43

Ravi,
To give awards singly to a singing duo (we called them Brinda Muktha. There was no ampersand between them!) The Academy corrected itself when it came to the Sikkil sisters...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 01 Sep 2006, 21:54

arasi wrote:Ravi,
To give awards singly to a singing duo (we called them Brinda Muktha. There was no ampersand between them!) The Academy corrected itself when it came to the Sikkil sisters...

A classic case of being able to 'teach an old dog new tricks'!
Ravi

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Sep 2006, 21:59

So, there is hope. We wish the Academy strides in the right direction...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 01 Sep 2006, 22:03

arasi wrote:So, there is hope. We wish the Academy strides in the right direction...

So, in the meantime, we can all try as rAjAji suggested: to find the good in us and explode it into......
Ravi

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 01 Sep 2006, 22:23

My 2 cents..
Sangeetha kalanidhi is certainly most prestigious , because all of us register that in our heads ?? We cannot recollect padma/shri,vibushan,bhushan (it is too cluttered).Bharat ratna is an exception , but I felt even SSI(longevity in music + his age of 95 etc...) could have been given .

The most difficult thing about SK is to guess about who is getting this year's Sk , easy to guess who will get in the next few years .

IF you look carefully, the Music Academy's greatest mistake on SK , is not that of not awarding to few musicians , but skipping the SK award in the year 1967 and 1975 (obesiance to 2 trinities), because they lost 2 year slots , who knows Shri MDR and TNR (the best two imho)would have got it either that year or any of the other years as some artist would have been pushed up in those skipped slots.LGJ , refused so one cannot complain??

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 01 Sep 2006, 22:57

Need I say more?
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/09/01/stor ... 080600.htm

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 04 Sep 2006, 10:16

any ideas if Rukmani Devi was considered for Kalanidhi anytime?

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 04 Sep 2006, 20:08

Actually there was no SK till 1942. Till then, they were only presidents of the annual conference. Possibly the criterion was the ability to conduct the technical sessions of the 10 day meet competently. In 1942 when MA decided to award SK to the President of the annual conference, they also awarded the Presidents of the previous conferences.
Slowly SK took the colour of a lifetime achievement award. The pro-MA arguments can be something like this.
As it stands, what can we say as the principle attribute for one to get SK ?
Popularity ?
Then the SKs were far ahead of the non- SKs in their crowd pulling capacity.
Vidwat ?
SK was awarded to vidwAns like Madurai Srirangam IyengAr and musicologists like Dr.pinAkapAni and Prof sAmbamUrthy.
If some people were left out, it is because there are only so many slots and it is not possible to accommodate everybody. The arguments can go on endlessly.
My take on the most glaring cases are
1. Sri pApanAsam Sivan ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬" Delayed ( by a couple of decades)
2. TNR and MAli ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬" possibly because they were mavericks and too unpredictable.
In fact , MA itself has put up the photographs of the vidwAns on whom it did not confer SK in the lobby.
That said, in my opinion lack of SK has not changed the perception of the rasikAs about these vidwAns. MDRÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚Â¢s sahAna , TKRÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚Â¢s garudadhwani , ManakkAlÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚Â¢s kAmbOdhi (and so on) are still cherished by their rasikAs.
My grouse against MA is not that it has awarded or ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å“ignoredÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 04 Sep 2006, 21:17

Kaapi - i fully agree withh you. MA should work towards promotion classical music in cities other than Chennai. May be they can organise music festivals in other centres on regular basis to promote CM. Ofcourse many of the governing bodies of other arts & sports are equally quilty (BCCI with its coffers overflowing does nothing to promote cricket in districts & smaller states). Also MA should have a body consiting of senior musicians to guide them. May be SK can be selected the way vice chancellors are selected. A commitee of senior muscians recommend a list of 3 to 5 names for the MA to decide. It will make it more transparent.

While one can have grouses against MA for not awarding a particular artist, you can't deny the fact that those who got were deserving the honour.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 Sep 2006, 21:36

kaapi and rajumds,
Both your posts are refreshing and are free of complaints about why a favored artist (well-deserving, no doubt) has been ignored, or a gushing forth of one's elation for the choice of one's own favorite.
You have constructive suggestions for the MA so that it can take measures in propogating CM...

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 04 Sep 2006, 21:46

rajmuds, the SK is decided by the way u r telling only. the experts committee has a role in it, though not binding. it is believed so, atleast.

rmdeer2000 · Post by **rmdeer2000** » 05 Sep 2006, 08:48

a musician that is so unrecognized that he hasnt even been mentioned in this list of unrecognized musicians is Tiruvengadu Sri. Jayaraman, senior disciple of Madurai Mani Iyer. i still remember his jayatasena ragam preceding vinatha sutha couple of years ago

ninjathegreat · Post by **ninjathegreat** » 06 Sep 2006, 00:28

I think there is no point complaining about the SK. Inspite of the number of great musicians NOT awarded the SK, can you think of anyone who was awarded the SK without deserving it? I can't!! Every one chosen was great. There is only one keynote speaker at the start of the Music Academy session.

And I doubt the bias on being a malayali. A number of palakkad musicians have gotten the award, too.

Maybe the rules can be changed to having multiple awardees in a year... just maybe...

Cheers
Ninja

ninjathegreat · Post by **ninjathegreat** » 06 Sep 2006, 00:31

rajumds wrote:Kaapi - i fully agree withh you. MA should work towards promotion classical music in cities other than Chennai. May be they can organise music festivals in other centres on regular basis to promote CM. Ofcourse many of the governing bodies of other arts & sports are equally quilty (BCCI with its coffers overflowing does nothing to promote cricket in districts & smaller states). Also MA should have a body consiting of senior musicians to guide them. May be SK can be selected the way vice chancellors are selected. A commitee of senior muscians recommend a list of 3 to 5 names for the MA to decide. It will make it more transparent.

While one can have grouses against MA for not awarding a particular artist, you can't deny the fact that those who got were deserving the honour.

Let's remember the fact that it's called the "MADRAS MUSIC ACADEMY" for a reason

... I do not think the MA should try to bring a revolution in other cities... the madras sabhas are the modern patrons of carnatic music... Mysore, travancore etc, had their patron, the maharajas during an era when the music academy was not all that popular...

Most cities where there is a discernable interest in carnatic music have their own sabhas (Shanmukhananda sabha in bombay, etc)...

What is sad is the commercialization... where are all those wonderful temple concerts that used to go on for hours at a stretch? Where is the musician interacting with the rasikas?

Cheers
Ninja

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 06 Sep 2006, 15:39

Thnajavur district which was the place of the best of the CM artists including the Trinity has no worthwhile sabhas even in towns like Thajavur, Kumbakkonam( leave alosne still smaller towns.) which conduct ocncerts of well known artists on a regular basis. How do you expect artist of high calibre if young ones are not exposed to quality music. MA must take the lead. Preserving CM is not just recording & digitising music. It is in nurturing talent & creating a climate for younsters in these areas to develop an interest in CM. With most of the temples under HR & CE there is chance of them conducting CM concerts.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 06 Sep 2006, 15:51

Another artiste who hasn't got the recognition he deserved is Ayyalore Krishnan, disciple of Tiger and Viswanatha Iyer. Anyone has recordings of his music?

CSS · Post by **CSS** » 06 Sep 2006, 22:18

Ninjathegreat wrote :

"Inspite of the number of great musicians NOT awarded the SK, can you think of anyone who was awarded the SK without deserving it? I can't!! "

:rolleyes:

ninjathegreat · Post by **ninjathegreat** » 06 Sep 2006, 22:58

CSS,

cheeky!!!

Cheers
Ninja

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 07 Sep 2006, 00:49

CSS wrote:Ninjathegreat wrote :

"Inspite of the number of great musicians NOT awarded the SK, can you think of anyone who was awarded the SK without deserving it? I can't!! "
:rolleyes:

I can think of at least two...

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 07 Sep 2006, 14:26

I am surprised nobody mentioned the percussionists who failed to get SK... Palani did not get it, maybe becuase he died too early, but CSM definetely lived long enough to be awarded, and yet was not.
Similarly, Thanjavur Upendran, Harisankar, and V. Nagarajan also failed to get the coveted SK.

CSS · Post by **CSS** » 07 Sep 2006, 18:17

Does anyone know of a Kanjira or ghatam vidwan who got the SK ? I don't. Nor does the MA.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 07 Sep 2006, 18:47

While there are certainly upa-pakkavadya vidwans that could get the SK, it would have been better to have a separate award for the percussionists that is distinct from SK.

kaumaaram · Post by **kaumaaram** » 08 Sep 2006, 16:05

CSS wrote:... I don't. Nor does the MA.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 08 Sep 2006, 22:11

http://www.columbuscarnaticmusic.org/ab ... music.html gives the list.
The 2005 are shri M.Chandrasekaran and this year 2006 it is Shri TN SeshagOpalan.
Hopefully vikku vinayakaram will get it sooon....

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 08 Sep 2006, 23:59

I would support Shri Raghu hands down before Shri Vikku.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 09 Sep 2006, 01:52

NO one has mentioned the senior vidvan S.Rajam. He should have been awarded the SK title many years ago.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 09 Sep 2006, 02:00

Indeed, Lji.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 09 Sep 2006, 15:17

ninjathegreat wrote:Inspite of the number of great musicians NOT awarded the SK, can you think of anyone who was awarded the SK without deserving it? I can't!!

I can think of some...

Lakshman wrote:NO one has mentioned the senior vidvan S.Rajam. He should have been awarded the SK title many years ago.

very true. really deserving old man.

Radhakrishnan · Post by **Radhakrishnan** » 09 Sep 2006, 15:41

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thsc ... 01/&prd=fr&

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 09 Sep 2006, 16:05

Thanks Radhakrishnan, that is a wonderful article. Cant believe he's 87.

CSS · Post by **CSS** » 09 Sep 2006, 19:38

In all this talk, I missed S. Balachander

Missed out a lot of recognition because he liked to challenge many stalwarts, including SSI !

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 10 Sep 2006, 17:44

Balachander's spat with SSI came about much later. I have seen him attend SSI's concerts before that.
Actually Balachander fell out with MA because he felt ( and said ) that the instrumentalists are not offered the prime slot during the music festival.

CSS · Post by **CSS** » 10 Sep 2006, 22:11

I believe there was a controversy over Swati Tirunaal's compositions with SSI.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 10 Sep 2006, 23:05

He even went beyond the ST Compositions. He was putting forth strongly a theory that ST himself did not exist. :rolleyes:

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 10 Sep 2006, 23:12

vk,

i thought he said ST as a composer did not exist (i.e. he didnt compose even one). But i could be wrong.

Arun