Writings of Kalki

[rajumds]

I have started reading a collection of editorials, short stories, reviews and other articles by Kalki . His reviews of concerts and writings about artits are incomparable. Some of this thoughts , especially on "abipraya pedams" (difference of opinion) are relevant even today. I am no way qualified to translate his writings and post them here. If members are interested, I can scan and post the pages and may be arasi , CMl, punarvasu can try the translation.

[rajaglan]

I have started reading a collection of editorials, short stories, reviews and other articles by Kalki . His reviews of concerts and writings about artits are incomparable. Some of this thoughts , especially on "abipraya pedams" (difference of opinion) are relevant even today. I am no way qualified to translate his writings and post them here. If members are interested, I can scan and post the pages and may be arasi , CMl, punarvasu can try the translation.

That is great effort. I support any such activity. I am a great fan of Kalki.

And if someone can also get those Subbudu's season reviews (there used to be a magazine called Dinamanikathir) , it will be great. I remember once he talked of Mali's and Semmankudi and Hemamalini's performances. I still remember he once exclaimed as "how he was travelling in a boat on a nice flowing river in such a wonderful journey listening to a venugaanam and suddenly the Vedalam saw a murungai maram and caught on to it." I leave the artist to your guess.

[arasi]

Kalki and Subbudu in the same breath! Then again, it has not changed one bit, the 'art' of music crticism. We have virulent attackers of artistes and there are those who are level-headed and inject a bit of healthy humor in what they write.
Kalki wrote his reviews under the name of karnAtakam. His humor humored you, made you chuckle with him. His love for music made him poke at musicians, but it was healthy humor. It did not damage their reputation or livelihood. CM must have meant more to him than the individuals who practised them. He did not indulge in 'roasts' of performers as the other one did. Not that Kalki did not mock at performers. Here is what he wrote about Roshanara begum who was among the first set of musicians who made an appearance on Chennai stage from HM. Imagine the novelty and the strangeness of that music to CM rasikAs more than sixty years ago. The line that still stands out in memory is: when she reached the upper octaves, it sounded like a mouse caught in the door

Rajumds,
You are right. While Kalki is remembered for his historic novels, not many readers are aware of his humorous works and music reviews.

[cmlover]

Kalki's service to Tamizhisai is invaluable. Also he was one of the architect in shaping MS along with Sadasivam for which CM Rasikas should be eternally grateful.

rajumds
Do scan and post whatever you can. Do let some of us travel along the memory lane!

[sridhar_ranga]

Here is my attempt at translating one of Kalki's humourous articles - the title of this article is "nATTiyap paLLikkUDam" (School of Dance) and is dated July 1937.

I picked this up from a collection of his articles on music published by Vanathi publishers I bought in the Chennai book fair a couple of years ago. I chose this article for translation as it is among the shortest ones in the book and shouldn’t take much effort.


School of Dance

Twenty years ago, if a guest came home you would have heard the head of the family go "Hey You, get baby to bring her harmonium"

[cmlover]

Excellent!
You have captured the spirit and style (and the humour) of Kalki..

[baboosh]

Kalki was basically a music lover who could appreciate good music,but he was against any display of mastery or vidvat.He was more drawn towards melody.His review of Chembai appeared in the archive pages of recent Kalki issues where it was mentioned that Musically Chembai was a giant and not aesthetically.His reviews had more of graphic descriptions and similes

[srkris]

Baboosh, could you please scan and upload those pages, where Kalki's reviews of yesteryear musicians appear? Thanks.

[sridhar_ranga]

Here is another one I managed to translate today. Depending on if folks are interested, I can contribute a few more over the next few weekends.
****************************************

Veena Dhanammal and the assembly of vidwans

One day I bumped into a musician on broadway in Chennai City. Oh is that you, I said to him. The gentleman paused for quiet a while, examined his own back and his chest, and replied, yes it’s me.
I’m so glad, I was wondering if it’s you, or your dear friend who passed away last year. So it’s you! So where are you off to this evening?

What day is today, asked the singer.

Yesterday was Thursday, tomorrow is Saturday, so I’m pretty sure it has to be a Friday.

I’m glad you are aware what day it is; still you want to know where I’m going?

Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know one is not supposed to ask you on a Friday where you are going.

No, you didn’t get me. Don’t you know where any musician worth his salt goes on a Friday evening?

Hmmm I still can’t figure that out"¦where would it be? A coffee club, perhaps?

The vidvan gave me a pitiful look, glanced to his side and muttered ‘aDa grahachAramE’ (sorry don’t know the exact translation!)

I looked in the direction of his glance, espied a man walking by, and called out to him: Mister! Mr. GrahachAram! Here please answer this musician who is calling you. I think the man was a northerner with no knowledge of Tamil, since after looking around he continued his walk without saying a word.

The vidvan offered to relieve me of my ignorance. Don’t you know? If any musician happens to be in George Town on a Friday, he will pay a visit to Veenai Dhanammaal’s home? She sings regularly on Friday evenings and a congregation of very famous vidvans listens to her there.

Is that so? I’m so happy to know that. I’m happier to realize that you are a famous vidvan, and that you are on your way to Mrs. Dhanammal’s house"¦but who is she?

The musician dropped dead right there. His lifeless body continued to walk at a fast pace towards Veenai Dhanammal’s house.

The above incident happened long ago. Long ago, even before you and I were born. Since then I have learnt many things about music. One of those things is ‘Sruti mata, laya pita’. Music has Sruti as its mother and rhythm as its father. The dharma of the present times is that as soon as the son grows up, he drives away his parents and many faithfully adhere to this dharma. As soon as they attain proficiency in music, they drive away Sruti and tALam.

I have also learnt a lot about Veenai Dhanammal. The word ‘dhanam’ fits her so well in one respect, not so in another. We all know that there are two kinds of wealth: material wealth and artistic wealth (kalaiccelvam). Veenai Dhanam does not possess much material wealth, but the other one she has in plenty. She is at an advanced age; has poor vision; and a somewhat shaky voice. But anyone in search of true music finds their way to her modest house in a narrow lane in George Town.

Since she didn’t amass material wealth, Veenai Dhanam has shared her immense musical wealth with her progeny. Among her daughters, I have written about the musicians Smts Lakshmi Ratnam and Jayammal and the dancer Smt Balasaraswathi. Three of her grand daughters through yet another daughter of hers excel in music. Of them Brinda and Mukta practice vocal music and Abhirami plays the fiddle.

A big impediment for women who have good musical training and want to perform in public is the non-availability of good accompanists. It is gratifying that one of the three sisters is a violinist herself.

They possess most attributes needed for high quality music. They have inherited from Veenai Dhanammal the very life of music in the form of Sruti and Bhava. They sing with a clear diction and without a single mis-pronounced word. Since they trained under the late Nayana Pillai, their music is not lacking in rhythmic structure either. Hardly anyone can outperform them in singing Tamil Padams which I’d say is a family possession of the Dhanammals or in singing kritis from Rama Natakam.

Although being born in Veenai Dhanammals family confers them many advantages, there is also a huge disadvantage: they have high musical ideals. So it is difficult for them to accept most others’ music as ‘great’. Also it is difficult for them to gain confidence about their own music, since they know that music is a vast ocean. Unlike others, they can’t make compromises such as singing without perfect Sruti or Talam. Because of this sincerity in their approach to music, one finds them at times less self assured. This is especially true of the violinist Abhiramasundari.

Once the sisters overcome such diffidence and start performing, I’m sure they will reach high levels of popularity in Tamil Nadu. I am happy to know that they recently visited Bombay and returned after earning a good name for themselves among the Tamil music-aficionados there.

Ananda Vikatan
19-7-1936

[cmlover]

Fascinating! Vintage Kalki!...

[arasi]

CML,
Isn't this great? Today's generation knows of Dhanammal and her illustrious family from what the older generation had to say about them in later years. Here is Kalki's inimitable way of relating what he as a rasikA experienced. Today's rasikAs experienced Brinda and Muktha's singing as older vocalists. Kalki's writing takes them back to their younger days.

sridhar_rang,
Please continue. You bring Kalki's expressions alive in your translation.
I had not read these as a child because I wasn't born yet (soon after, of course!).

[rbharath]

kalki was a writer of his own kind. i love his writings.

one particular concert review, he mentions of a meeting before the concert. a particular line in that article goes as..


'meDaiyil pEsa vanda vizha amaippALar, avar avargaLE, ivar avargaLE, suvar avargaLE yena anaivaraiyum varavERRAr. '


a kalki classic..


PS: sincere apologies to those who cant understand tamil, the charm of the sentence would be lost in translation.

[rshankar]

Sridhar_rang - please continue - Like Bharath says, Kalki's tamizh loses much in translations, but you're doing an awesome job!

[vasanthakokilam]

Given that CM came out of the courts of Kings and Zamindars only a few decades before these Kalki's writings, can we say Kalki was the first one ( or one of the first few ) to write such wonderful things in that delightfully irreverential fashion? I can not imagine any court writer/jester poking even mild fun at artists and court spokespeople!!

[arasi]

Yes, VK, Kalki made it all democratic. and it was fun reading something entertaining about the formal concerts as well. Of course, Mali's caricatures of the artistes of the day (we do have some somewhere in a thread) made it even bett6er.

[cmlover]

Let us also give some credit to the 'Naradar' who wrote in swadeshamithran who arasi knows well!

[srkris]

"Grahacharam" refers to movement of the planets (the person saying this was probably asking "do you need to consult the planets for this? Do you need astrology to find out such an obvious thing...)

[arasi]

Is it malevolent movements of the planets in your horoscope? Blame it on my stars (planetary configurations).

CML,
How could I forget nAradar Mama?! I did not know that he wrote for Swadesa Mitran. Naradar Srinivasa Rao edited Naradar, a magazine devoted entirely for the arts. He was its roving correspondent too. Covered music and movies. Drama and dance too. The slim magazine was a susidiary of Ananda vigadan. Gemini films were written about a lot (S.S. Vasan owned both the studio and the popular magazine). Naradar Rao appeared with a camera around his neck whenever I saw him. He did his reporting by roving around in a motorbike. I have a feeling we have talked about him before. I have been his pillion rider too, a few times. He had a sense of humor. His writing was entertaining but he did not possess Kalki's literary excellence...

[rajaglan]

When i think of Kalki, I think of ponniyin Selvan.

A story of

1. great chartacterizaion of each players,
2. and what Plots,
3. what loactions (palace, surangam, ships, srilanka, kanchi, cauvery river banks..)
4. and what situations (TSunami, Middle of forests, ...)

I think there is nothing that I read or that I am going to read is like PS.

[vasanthakokilam]

Absolutey, rajaglan. The Tanjore big temple has a lot history of that period ( 1000 years ago ) written in stone inscriptions around the main gopuram and Kalki took the trouble to read all that and used that as the backdrop to weave his magic. ( so I was told )

[rshankar]

When i think of Kalki, I think of ponniyin Selvan.

A story of

1. great chartacterizaion of each players,
2. and what Plots,
3. what loactions (palace, surangam, ships, srilanka, kanchi, cauvery river banks..)
4. and what situations (TSunami, Middle of forests, ...)

I think there is nothing that I read or that I am going to read is like PS.

Rajaglan - absolutely on the dot! Mind you, I've only read the English version of this historical novel, and such is the man's genius that it shines brightly like a beacon even through the translation which is awesome in its own right!

[vasanthakokilam]

Oh Ravi, Given your interests you HAVE TO read the tamil version! ( whatever it takes ). There is a way to experience that without too much effort, but I will withhold that info temporarily for now

[rshankar]

Oh Ravi, Given your interests you HAVE TO read the tamil version! ( whatever it takes ). There is a way to experience that without too much effort, but I will withhold that info temporarily for now

An audio book? Oh man - now my curiosity at a feverish pitch!

[rajumds]

The book is available in pdf version at

http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/kalki.htm

Due to work pressure I am unable to scan and load the reviews. I will do it over the next few days.

[rshankar]

The book is available in pdf version at

http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/kalki.htm

Thanks a ton for that link - there is a podcast of sivakAmiyin sabadam in there! I know what I am going to be doing for some time to come!!

[vasanthakokilam]

Yes, Ravi. You can start here: http://adhikaalai-ponniyinselvan.mypodcast.com/rss.xml ( you may have to look around a bit to start from part I, chapter I )

[arasi]

Ponniyin Selvan--the best among his works!

About Kalki's musical background: as a child, when his father taught his elder brother traditional bhjanai songs, little Krishnamurthy (kalki) would listen intently and repeat them. Given his intelligence and his acute retentive rememory, he learnt the songs instantly. Ashtapati and Leela TarangiNi too. In divya nAma sankIrtanams, he would hold a lighted lamp in his hand and dance with anklet bells jingling as he sang, to the amazement of family and friends... While his father narrated stories from the purANas, he would ask intelligent questions if he had any doubts.
From the time his father died (when Kalki was very young), their next door neighbor Ayyasami Iyer became his mentor and helped groom him. With his elder brother Venkatraman, Kalki went to every katha kalakshEpam and concert that took place in the area. Of Tanjavur Krishna Bhagavatar, Sulamangalam vaidyanatha bhagavatar, HMB, tiruppazhanam pancapakesa Shastry, Tillaistanam narasimha Bhagavatar and so on. Stories of Sita kalyanam, vatsala kalyanam, siva nesa selvar, Kabir Das, Nam Deva--were all re-enacted by the boys on their 'tiNNai' (stoop) the next day!
The pun (and fun?) filled performances of HMB were Kalki's favorites. He mentions this in Ananda Vigadan later: of all of HMB's repertoire, it is his puns (and satire?) which are most appealing. Once, in Kousalya Kalyanam, he brought in a dancer to do abhinaya while he sang. While singing 'azhagulLLa durai ivan yAraDi?', she was doing abhinaya depicting a tall man (ARu aDi)-of course, yAraDI was the question, and he was tall and well-built too besides being handsome. At that moment, a very short man entered the hall and HMB sang again, looking in his direction: azha--kuLLa durai yAraDI!

HMB was an inspiration in the humor department too to KAlki, it appears

* translated from an article in sarigamapadani which in turn is based on Chunda's ponniyin Selvar, a book about Kalki. Chunda, a very humorous writer was nurtured by kalki and he succeeded him as editor of Kalki, if my memory serves me right.

[cmlover]

Thanks Arasi for that delightful translation.
Krishnamurthy married Kalyani. And when he separated from Ananda vikatan started his own magzine kalki. In fact he created the pseudonym kalki by combining Kalyani with kirishnamurthy - as the Arthanaari

[rajaglan]

The book is available in pdf version at

http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/kalki.htm

Thanks a ton for that link - there is a podcast of sivakAmiyin sabadam in there! I know what I am going to be doing for some time to come!!

Somehow I didnot enjoy his -other- histroic novels including SS & P.kanavu and even his contemprory stories like Alai osai.
He keeps people guessing in PS , who killed athitha karikalan and you tend to read again looking for the truth. But he has not disclosed who killed him. His "nadai" is most interesting part of the novel. You maynot get that in english translation. The manipravala tamil nadai of those days matches well with the olden time. nice reading.

[rshankar]

Thanks Arasi for that delightful translation.
Krishnamurthy married Kalyani. And when he separated from Ananda vikatan started his own magzine kalki. In fact he created the pseudonym kalki by combining Kalyani with kirishnamurthy - as the Arthanaari

A popular misconception. Here is what the late Smt. Anandi (Sri Kalki's daughter and Smt. Gowri Ramnarayan's mother) had to say about that:

The reason for his taking ‘Kalki’ as a pen name was based on the myth of the ‘Kalki Avataram’ (the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu, in the age of Kali). Through his writings, he wanted to bring about change in this age. Another reason was, he used to work for Kalyana Sundaram Mudaliar, who was at that time running the publication called ‘Navashakthi’. He learnt all about how to run a publication from him. Kalyana Sundaram Mudaliar, was also a great patriot, he had worked for the cause of workers. As my father was his great fan, he took 'Kal' from his name and added the 'Ki ' from his own name (R Krishnamurthy) and made it ‘Kalki’.

[cmlover]

Thanks Shankar. I was always under the wrong impression and have told it to innumerable number of friends. All of them appreciated that story. Now how am I going to correct it since many of them are no longer alive I will apologize to them when I get there perhaps in the company of 'kalki'

[rajumds]

Here is the first set. I have scanned as an image and loaded. Is there a better way to do it?. I can scan as pdf also.

[rajumds]

[rajumds]

[rajumds]

[rajumds]

[rajumds]

I think the size is too small to read. Any other sugestion for better images without increasing the file size much.

[kaapi]

You can photocopy individual pages with the zoom function set so that the copy will fit an A4 page. Then scan them as you are doing now. This may overcome the problem.

[vasanthakokilam]

See if this is readable. I stretched it with Paint.

[cmlover]

This is better! I can use my hand lens to read better..

[rajeshnat]

If you are using windows to browse, you can use programs-->accessories--> accessability--> magnifier.
This magnifier is at times very irritating to use because of its poor usability.

I suggest initially reduce this post to half the window size (horizontally)and then use magnifier so that you can read magnified text quite easily in the top half.

Also please use the initial text of rajumds instead of stretched text with paint , as it magnifies better .

[cmlover]

Thanks Rajesh! That is a big help. By adjusting the window I am able to read easily without a shaky lens!

Thanks rajumds

Interesting to read about Dakshinamurthy Pillai and Kalki's regard for him. Now look forward to more of his comments on the oldtime veterans...

[new1]

Interesting scans...what book is that? PDF scans are much better because they are clearer and also smaller size with multiple pages. I could do it for you only problem is distance!

[arasi]

And look at those drawings of caricaturist Mali too...

[rajumds]

I am out of Chennai for week. Next weekend, I will photocopy the pages to A4 size and then scan as pdf and post. Alternately if members wish, I have a few more reviews in the same condition, which I can post

[sridhar_ranga]

Here is a translation of one of the two articles posted by rajumds above:

Sriman Dakshinamurthy Pillai

The entire world of music is immersed in sorrow at the passing away of Sriman Dakshinamurthy Pillai. There can be no exaggerating the immense sadness we at Vikatan’s office are still going through. Mali (note: a famous cartoonist of the times) has still not stopped shedding tears: Where am I going to find another vidwan so caricature-worthy such as Pillai? What a range of facial expressions? What kind of bodily agitations (anga chEshTai)? Isn’t that round (Papad like ïÂÂ

[cmlover]

rajumds

We are waiting!

[rajumds]

[rrengamani]

Dear Friends,

Kalkis books are available in pdf at the below site. (e-books)

http;//marancollects.blogspot.com

RR

[vganesh]

The site is a wonderful place. Major works of Sri.Kalki is there (and ofcourse many other writers also). Thanks Mr.rrengamani.