She got here, she sang, she conquered. July 3 marks M.L. Vasanthakumari’s (MLV) 97th beginning anniversary. It’s a superb time to look again at my guru and a unprecedented vocalist’s life and artwork — a mix of melody, vidwat and dynamic stage presence.
MLV was not solely adept at singing each shudha Carnatic ragas equivalent to Thodi and Bhairavi but in addition desya ragas like Behag or Sindhubhairavi. She might have imbibed this expertise from her father vidwan Koothanoor Aiyaswamy Iyer, who was educated in each Carnatic and Hindustani music. Along with her mom Lalithangi, he additionally specialised in Purandaradasa kritis. MLV adopted swimsuit.
MLV expanded the repertoire she inherited by including compositions by Kanaka Dasa (disciple of Purandaradasa) and different Dasa Koota composers. It may very well be stated that the household introduced Dasarapadas to the live performance stage. Mysore University acknowledged MLV’s efforts on this regard by bestowing upon her an honorary doctorate.
A flexible vocalist, MLV was educated early on by none aside from G.N. Balasubramaniam, who was additionally an in depth pal of her father. It was GNB who boldly ushered in a brand new voice-culture primarily based on Hindustani akaaras and nagaswaram glides (jaarus), and lightning-fast swara clusters (brighas). She carried ahead his innovative approach. She was one of many first Carnatic vocalists to sing abhangs. Her kutcheris usually felt healthful with the inclusion of padams, javalis, Tevarams, Tiruppugazh and complicated RTPs.
MLV carried ahead GNB’s innovative type
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
She was well-known for introducing uncommon kritis in every and each live performance. Rasikas waited with bated breath to listen to a brand new music, alapanas of uncommon ragas equivalent to Sekarachandrika, Gamansrama, Revathi and Natabhairav, a pallavi in a troublesome setting or a Purandaradasa ragamalika. They additionally loved the tukkadas she introduced.
MLV was adventurous as a singer. For occasion, on the Sangita Kalanidhi live performance in 1977 on the Music Academy, she courageously took up a tough pancha nadai (5 forms of rhythm) pallavi and executed it superbly. Her singing drew lavish reward even from one of many sharpest critics of the time — Subbudu (P.V. Subramaniam).
The singer with M.S. Subbulakshmi
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
I started studying from MLV in 1963 on the age of 12. My mom Alamelu Viswanathan took me to her home. The singer was then preparing for a live performance. I used to be awestruck by akka’s (as I used to name her) character. She was sporting a good looking silk saree, diamond ear studs and stone-embedded gold bangles. Her lengthy well-oiled hair was neatly braided and adorned with aromatic jasmines. She heard me sing a brief kriti, paused for a second and accepted me as her disciple. My mom was overjoyed. She had a cheerful-casual disposition as a instructor. It was a 27-year-long affiliation between the guru and the sishya.
MLV’s music was completely different from that of her contemporaries — D.Okay. Pattammal and M.S. Subbulakshmi. Though MLV was youthful than the opposite two legends, she rose to nice heights and the three have been known as the ‘female trinity of Carnatic music’. They started their profession as gramophone-record sensations and gained unprecedented recognition within the early twentieth Century. MLV was simply 12 when she minimize her first vinyl with ‘Sarasija nabha murare’ (Charukesi , Swathi Tirunal). Later, the trio forayed into singing for the cinema, with M.S. even performing in just a few.
As for MLV, she sang for the highest heroines of the time, together with Padmini, who was additionally her neighbour. Both shared a heat relationship.
MLV divided her time amongst kutcheris, travels and studio recordings. One usually noticed her practising throughout her commute or within the little free time she acquired. Despite her hectic schedule, she was all the time out there for her sishyas, willingly sharing her information and guiding them.
When I used to be in Queen Mary’s College pursuing my B.A. in music, my HOD, Mrs Parvathi Narayanan taught us Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s ‘Sree Viswanatham’, the 14-raga magnum opus (Chatur dasa ragamalika). That night, I confirmed the notation to my guru. She made me sing elements of it and excitedly requested the place did I get it from. She stated she had been trying to find this genuine model for years. ‘I thank you for this gift,’ she stated, including that I ought to proceed gathering extra such gems and I did so.
MLV’s music was three dimensional — she had an ideal voice, a artistic thoughts and a beneficiant coronary heart.
The author is a veteran Carnatic vocalist.
