padmanabha
12th May 2007, 08:45 PM
tHIS IS A WRITE UP ON THE LEGENDARY MUSICIAN MDR BY MY FRIEND AND AN ACCOMPLISHED MUSICIAN CUM VAINIKA RAMA VARMA. ENJOY GOOD READING :D
Vishva Paalam Shree Padmanaabham!
------------------------------------
Two of the oldest and most special musical
presences in my life are M.D.Ramanathan and Kishore Kumar. Together,they
make up such a vital and integral part of my life itself that I wouldnt be
complete without them. My earliest musical memory is of Shri M.D. Ramanathan
(Whom my Great Grandmother Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi affectionately used
to call "M.D") squinting away grotesquely, yet adorably at the Navarathri
Mandapam and singing Bhaavayaami Raghu Raamam which, in my childhood
innocence I used to imagine, was about me, as I was called Raghu at home.
His eyes would twinkle mischievously, his looong and exceptionally sensitive
and artistic hands would paint etherial images in the air.... and his
utterly unique voice would penetrate the very core of my being, the
Existance of which I am made aware of, only when I listen to him, even now.
Writing about M.D.Ramanathan is akin to bearing my
very soul itself to the reader, this being the most cherished and private of
all the treasures that enrich my life and reinforce my faith in God on a day
to day basis. M.D.R is more real, tangible and vital a presence in my life
than many persons I mix and move with on a daily basis. Call it an
obssession, call it madness! I simply dont care. I would not have it any
other way, had I the choice. Over the past two decades I have tried to find
out why this is so. And the mystery remains just the same essentially. But I
did manage however, to find out a number of reasons why the man and his
music appeals to me so much. And I would like to share some of these
discoveries with you, though writing about them would be like trying to
describe in words the taste, aroma, texture and effect of a good cup of
South Indian Coffee, for example .....One simply has to EXPERIENCE it.
The following are my opinions which I believe in
totally. You are free to agree with them or not of course. The most
important factor charectorising his music was the fact that he was a
composer or a Vaggeyakaara himself....apart from his almost childlike
innocence which came through in his music too....and his devotion to God as
well as to music itself. The approach of "Just a singer" and of a
Vaggeyakaara to the compositions of other vaggeyakaras is totally different,
though there are a few exceptions of course.....both ways.(Of Vaggeyakaaras
making a mish mash of other compostions, as well as of non vaggeyakaaras
raising existing compositions to sublime levels and great heights, if you
want me to spell it out for you.)
Though he was born and brought up in Kerala,
he taught himself Telugu, Sanskrit and Tamil to such an extent that he could
read, write and compose in all these languages. With the result that when he
sang a composition of Thyagabrahmam or Dikshithar or
Syama Shasthry or Swathi Thirunal he became one with the composer and with
the composition. When I hear most other musicians BLASTING Thyagaraja
Krithis, mangling the lyrics, ruining the sentiments contained within them,
beating out the rhythm aggressively and earning several rounds of appalause
during the concert...and a fat envelope full of sad hundred rupee notes at
the end of it, I wonder....If they had the slightest inkling of what the
composition MEANT.... that poor Thyagaraja was crying out to his beloved
Rama to come and protect him from his relatives who thought he was crazy,
for example....would they butcher the piece like this, singing it at super
sonic speed, cutting almost ALL the words in the wrong places and smiling
smugly when the words scream out the torment of the composer's heart? When
MDR sang he literally Spoke to us, understanding, feeling and LIVING each
word of the composition totally...his emotional, intellectual and technical
involvement being complete and perfect.
Take a look at these random examples and you will see
what I mean:-Vaathaapi Ganapathim Bhajeham, Varanaasyam Varapradam,(Where
people sing Vaaranaa!...SYAMVARA pradam)
Almost any charanam of Endaro Mahaanubhaavulu.
Let's take the first one now :- Saama Gaana Lola, Manasija Laavanya Dhanya
Moordhannyulu.(It pains me even to IMAGINE what people do with this line.)
Bheema Anantha Ajnaana Thimira Bhedana Mihiraayithey from Devi Paavaney
which people sing as "Bheemaananda Jnaana thimira" changing the meaning
drastically from "One who destroys the darkness of ignorance" to "One who
destroys the Joy of Knowledge" in the bargain!
Almost any Charanam from Amba Kaamaakshi, the immortal Swarajathi in
Bhairavi by Shyama Shasthri:-Kambugala neerada chikura (Sung Kambugala
nee....RADA chikura),
Thaamasamu seyaga,(Sung Thaamasamusey....YAGAVARA Mosagi),
Natha varadaayaki,(Sung Nathavaradaaa......YAKIyanusu),
Vedamu Moralidagaligi(Sung Ve....DAAMU Moralida)...and so on and so forth.
When M.D.Ramanathan
sang these lines one suddenly realised that the lyrics actually MEANT
something....and that the compositions were not just THINGS on which one
prefixed a bit of Raaga Aalaapana with and a little Neraval and complicated
Swaram exercises later....and they were living entities....the children of
the composers...meant to be treated with love,
attention, respect, reverence and care, like God himself. The singer becomes
nothing other than a medium between the listener and the composer and the
composer speaks and communicates to God and to the listeners through the
singer.
An educated person fluent in English too among other
languages like Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Sanskrit, M.D.Ramanathan
described M U S I C as Morality, Universality, Sincerity, Individuality and
Creativity...and actually practised what he preached, as opposed to so many
showmen amongst us who give the most fantastic interviews on Television,
dressed in their Sunday Best.....and do the EXACT opposite of what they say,
in real life. Which was the basic difference between MDR and others- his
almost SHOCKING level of HONESTY .....in music and in life itself. He was
one of the few truly great artists who never deviated an inch from his
concept of what and how music should be, however high be the price he had to
pay for this.
A few words about his own compositions now. He
composed more than three hundred songs..in Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil,
though he was almost shy to sing them much. Mostly he would sing one or two
at the end of a concert...and a Thillana. His thillanas were rather simple
in structure,but with very beautiful lyrics usually. Some samples follow.
Paada yugamu nammithi,
Paditha paavani puraani,
Nee daya korina nannu
Nalinakshi kaapaadumu
Naa tharama
Nee mahimalu natha jana paalinee pogada
Aadi shakthi neevegada
Aadi Varada dasanuthe. (This is from his Kapi Thillana which he sang more
frequently than all the others....and recorded in his LP record too with
another of his own compositions. More about that later.)
Muraligaana loludaina
Murahara Nagadhara
Mohana roopa
Guru Pavana Puraadheeshwara
Varada Varada Daasa Poshaka. (Behag Thillana on Shri Guruvaayoorappa.)
Vara Kailaasa Gireesha Sarvesha
Karuna Sindhu Bhairavi Praanesha
Parama Bhakthi tho ninne pogadu
Varada Daasanutha Paraavaara. (Sindhu Bhairavi Thillana on Lord Shiva)
His Mudra or signature was Varada Dasa, or the
SLAVE of Varada....as oppsed to a Servant. Whereas a servant is paid for his
services..and has the option to leave the job if he likes, a Dasa
has no such choice. He simply HAS to serve and be devoted to the master
totally.M.D.R was so diffident about singing his own compositions that he
would often slur the word "Varadadasa" while singing them! (THough in the
Kapi Thillana he has proudly called himself "AADI Varada Dasa" too!)And in
real life Shri M.D.Ramanathan was a true Dasa of his Guru .....his most
beloved and revered Guru "Tiger" Shri Varadacharya...thus named because of
his gestures which reminded one of his aristocratic patrons of the
Magnificent Big Cat, now on the list of endangered species all over the
world where they are found....Makes sense somehow, when one looks at the
similarly endangered condition of the kind of music Tiger Himself stood for
in the present music scene.
Many of MDR's compositions have the name of the
Raaga interwoven into the Saahithyam ingeniously. He gave a concert at the
Music Academy Madras the year Balasaraswathi was awarded the Sangeetha
Kalanidhi. He then sang a song in her honour "Saraswathi,
Sarasavaani!Sarasijabhavuniki Raani!" in Kamas. He discreetly brought in the
name of the Raga "Kamas" in the lyrics by saying "Kaamaadi Samhaarini!
Bhaktha KAAMAA SU Poshini Janani!" In Saagara Shayana Vibho, one of the most
beautiful of all compositions composed by Anyone in Any sytem of music Ever,
he describes Lord Vishnu standing with Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either side
as "Baaga Sri Bhoomi Sahithudai Velayu" bringing in the name of the Raga
Baagesri so beautifully....and when one hears this song one literally SEES
the scene described above!
In Janani nathajana paalini he describes Goddess
Ambika as "Thripura Sundari! Thri lochana mohini! Thrailokya Shankara-
Bharana Bhooshithaangi!"......And so on and so forth. The list runs long. He
made very few commercial recordings in his time. The first was a small EP
Record with just two songs, accompanied by Shri M.S.Gopalakrishnan and Shri
T.V.Gopalakrishnan respectively on the violin and the mridangam. On on side
we have "Paripaalaya" in Reethigowla, one of Shri Thyagaraja's
most evocative compositions describing his Maanasa Pooja to his Beloved Lord
Shri Rama. This Utsava Sampradaaya composition makes sense and reveals
itself in its full glory only if all the charanams are sung.... and MDR not
only does sing them but actually does a Pooja himself..... With the
song....and To the song. The second side has another song on Rama, again
Sounding like an Utsava Sampradaya composition of Thyagaraja ....."Rama
Rama" in Neelaambari....one of Shri M.D.Ramanathan's own compositions,
deliberately composed in the Thyagaraja mode, without the Varada Dasa
signature, to mislead the listener!("Chumma angu podi!"He would laugh!"Who
would sing it if they knew it was my own composition?...At least let a few
people sing it thinking it is a composition of Thyagaraja!") His most
popular recording was an LP record with Shri T.N. Krishnan (Violin)and
Vellore Shri Ramabhadran(Mridangam)containing crisp and tight versions of
Maha Ganapathim Manasa Smaraami, Hariyum Haranum,
Saamaja Vara Gamana, Giri pai Nelakonna Raamuni and the aforementioned Kapi
Thillana.
This continues to be reissued ..... and to be played in hundreds
of homes and on the radio regularly to this day, nearly thirty years after
it's release. Hariyum Haranum is yet another Gem from this Vaggeyakaara
asking if there is anyone who doesnt know that Hari(Vishnu)
and Haran(Shiva) are one and the same. He draws parallels very diligently
(Pannaga shayanan Hari, Pannaga Bhooshanan Haran, for example.)....and
finally concludes wryly by poking fun at the idiots from each clan saying
"Well, yes...there ARE some people after all who Still dont know that these
two are one and the same!"
His last cassette recorded commercially breaks one's
heart because one can obviously see all the signs of a spent force while
listening to it, though accompanists Dr.L.Subramaniam and Vellore Shri
Ramabhadran do a commendable job filling the gaps, as it were. During the
past few years there has been a resurgence of MDR interest....to such an
extent that it has become almost FASHIONABLE to claim to be a "Fan" of this
most unassuming and unfashionable man. The good thing is that some wonderful
recordings of excerpts from his live concerts have slowly started trickling
into the market. (One doesnt see the names of the accompanists on the
cassette covers and can only pray that they have been paid something by the
company which has released these tapes.....To make an MDR kind of joke....I
feel they should be given either Cash...or Credit....if you get my drift.)
If there was anything as wonderful as the music
of M.D.Ramanathan, it was his sense of humour. He seemed to have followed
not just the Sangeetha Parampara but also the Haasya Parampara of Tiger
Varadachariar, who was another great wit himself. One of MDR's students from
Kalakshethra told me that there was a lady teacher there who was less than
loved by most of the students and staff, including MDR himself. And whenever
the said teacher passed by the classroom MDR would suddenly shift from
whichever song he was teaching the students at the time to a line from
Bhaavayaami Raghu Raamam...Guess which one!!.."Athi GHORA Shoorpanakha!"
...with the appropriate gestures directed at the teacher who innocently
though demoniacally passed by. The students would burst into giggles.... and
of course, MDR would join them.
Once a music lover was travelling from Madras to
Thiruvananthapuram by train. He was a big MDR fan too and always carried a
portable tape recorder with him and played music. But as
he was a very busy person he never had a chance to attend live concerts. And
had no idea what most of his heroes looked like. But he had heard enough
gossip about them to have his own idea of what they looked like.
M.D.Ramanathan was famous for his onstage mannerisms....made with his eyes,
face, mouth and hands. This gentleman was playing a tape of one of MDR's
radio programmes in the train and as many music lovers do, he liked to talk
to others about the object of his adulation. The only other
person near him was a tall, grim looking man who seemed to be singularly
immune to the charms of MDR Music.
But our friend persisted, as one tends to do at
times... and struck up a conversation with his reticent travelling
companion. He went on to explain who M.D.Ramanathan was....how wonderful his
music was .....and how grotesque were the faces he made while singing. The
grim gentleman remained unmoved and didnt say anything. After some time the
music lover gave up trying to get him to talk and went off to sleep. The
next day when they arrived at Thiruvananthapuram he found a group of
Brahmins, some of whom he was acquainted with, recieving the tall grim
gentleman at the railway station. And to his horror he discovered that he
had been describing MDRs mannerisms to MDR himself!
Dr.Balamuralikrishna fondly remembers a
similar train journey again from Madras to Thiruvananthapuram in the
delightful company of M.D.Ramanathan. Balamurali Sir was travelling in the
"C" compartment, while MDR was travelling in "D". And when MDR entered the
train with his wife he kept asking the wife "EngeDEE?" with a pun on "D"
laughing gleefully. Once, at the fag end of a MARATHON concert in Mumbai
with M.S.Gopala Krishnan and T.V.Gopalakrishnan, just as MDR was about to
sing the Mangalam a lady from the audience requested him to sing Varukalamo
Ayya,
the beautiful song from Nandanaar Charitham which nobody has sung quite the
way MDR has. In a flash MDR asked "Sing Varukalamo NOW?....I was thinking
more in terms of POKALAMO!"
Every single individual
who has met this man seems to have been left with a treasure chest of smiles
and warmth from him. In my own household itself he was one of the few
musicians who were like members of the family. And he was probably the
single musician who never quaked and quivered in the formidable presence of
my Great Grandmother Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi. She loved his music like
few others did....another such formidable woman being Rukmini Devi Arundale
who was the founder cum driving force behind Kalakshethra. (Not many people
know that M.D.Ramanathan wrote the music for many of her highly acclaimed
dance dramas.)
M.D.Ramanathan started performing at the Navarathri
Mandapam from the late nineteen fifties onwards till nineteen eighty three,
which was the last Navarathri during which he was still alive. He was one of
the few musicians who sang on all the nine days, with a variety of
accompanists. Many of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal's compositions found a
special place in MDR's repertoire :- Paripaalaya Maam, Padmanabha Pahi and
Bhavayami Raghu Ramam and Mohanam Ayi Thava Muraleegaanam Aho in
particular.(In fact MDR himself composed a song on Goddess Meenakshi in
Madurai...Mangala Charaney Maam Ava Sathatham.....a rough take on Padmanabha
Pahi.) His Thanams at the Mandapam were completely unforgettable, grand and
magnificent affairs, with veterans like Dr.T.K.Murthy, Umayalpuram Shri
Sivaraman, Palghat Shri Raghu, Vellore Shri Ramabhadran singing along with
their Mridangams. One is reminded of some grand procession or Ezhunnallippu
when one hears these Thanams which he reserved especially for the Navarathri
Mandapam.
He literally took the copyright over certain
ragas, rendering it difficult for any other musician even to attempt them.
Some of them were Yadukula Kambodhi, Shahana, Reethigowla, Mukhari, Shri,
Kedaram......(What article on MDR will be complete without a mention of
Kedaram?...In which he sang almost all existing Krithis by the great
Masters...and composed one of his own too for good measure...a Masterpiece
on Shri Thyagaraja)...the list goes on and on. One of the greatest tragedies
in his life was that the day after he passed away, an official from the
Kalakshethra Foundation (The Late Shri Shankara Menon, May his soul languish
in hell for all eternity.) visited his house and asked for his compositions
for publication. Poor Mrs.Ramanathan in her grief and innocence, gave him
all the original note books containing all his compositions......And that
was that. To this day, nearly twenty years after his death, one is yet to
get any news about what happened to them. One can only pray that some good
soul will hunt them up and bring them to life again.
Shri M.D.Ramanathan used to conclude all his concerts
with a very elaborate Mangalam which was a cocktail of three songs actually.
The usual Thyagaraja's Mangalam in Saurashtram, followed by Alakalalla,
another Thyagaraja Krithi in Madhyamavathi....and the last stanza from
Maharaja Swathi Thirunal's Bhavayami Raghuramam "Kalithavara Sethu
Bandham"...ending with "Vishva paalam Padmanaabham" where MDR
charectoristically used to add "Akhila","Nikhila" and "Sakala" before
"Visvapaalam" and a HUGE big "Shree" Preceeding "Padmanabham".
Each time one hears this one's heart
sinks, knowing that yet another MDR concert has come to an end. But when one
looks at the way things seem to be going at present I am convinced that
things are only Beginning! And things will make...and have already started
to make ..... a full circle. And MDR's music seems to be becoming more
recognised and understood by more and more people, the world over. The
single video recording of his known to exist (With one more waiting in the
wings) was recorded by a Wise American....God Bless His Soul!....and is sold
for $50 in the United States now.
One finds musicians, music lovers and musicologists making
desparate attempts to put in their two cents worth, about the man and his
music as this very article itself does. And MDR lives on.... the usual story
of a genius and an innovator born before his time, whose true worth is
realised long, long after they have left this world. I hope he is sitting
somewhere up there and looking down an us benignly and indulgently and
laughing his mischievous MDR laugh, with his squint eyes twinkling with
mirth and goodwill.
Rama Varma
:clap:
Vishva Paalam Shree Padmanaabham!
------------------------------------
Two of the oldest and most special musical
presences in my life are M.D.Ramanathan and Kishore Kumar. Together,they
make up such a vital and integral part of my life itself that I wouldnt be
complete without them. My earliest musical memory is of Shri M.D. Ramanathan
(Whom my Great Grandmother Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi affectionately used
to call "M.D") squinting away grotesquely, yet adorably at the Navarathri
Mandapam and singing Bhaavayaami Raghu Raamam which, in my childhood
innocence I used to imagine, was about me, as I was called Raghu at home.
His eyes would twinkle mischievously, his looong and exceptionally sensitive
and artistic hands would paint etherial images in the air.... and his
utterly unique voice would penetrate the very core of my being, the
Existance of which I am made aware of, only when I listen to him, even now.
Writing about M.D.Ramanathan is akin to bearing my
very soul itself to the reader, this being the most cherished and private of
all the treasures that enrich my life and reinforce my faith in God on a day
to day basis. M.D.R is more real, tangible and vital a presence in my life
than many persons I mix and move with on a daily basis. Call it an
obssession, call it madness! I simply dont care. I would not have it any
other way, had I the choice. Over the past two decades I have tried to find
out why this is so. And the mystery remains just the same essentially. But I
did manage however, to find out a number of reasons why the man and his
music appeals to me so much. And I would like to share some of these
discoveries with you, though writing about them would be like trying to
describe in words the taste, aroma, texture and effect of a good cup of
South Indian Coffee, for example .....One simply has to EXPERIENCE it.
The following are my opinions which I believe in
totally. You are free to agree with them or not of course. The most
important factor charectorising his music was the fact that he was a
composer or a Vaggeyakaara himself....apart from his almost childlike
innocence which came through in his music too....and his devotion to God as
well as to music itself. The approach of "Just a singer" and of a
Vaggeyakaara to the compositions of other vaggeyakaras is totally different,
though there are a few exceptions of course.....both ways.(Of Vaggeyakaaras
making a mish mash of other compostions, as well as of non vaggeyakaaras
raising existing compositions to sublime levels and great heights, if you
want me to spell it out for you.)
Though he was born and brought up in Kerala,
he taught himself Telugu, Sanskrit and Tamil to such an extent that he could
read, write and compose in all these languages. With the result that when he
sang a composition of Thyagabrahmam or Dikshithar or
Syama Shasthry or Swathi Thirunal he became one with the composer and with
the composition. When I hear most other musicians BLASTING Thyagaraja
Krithis, mangling the lyrics, ruining the sentiments contained within them,
beating out the rhythm aggressively and earning several rounds of appalause
during the concert...and a fat envelope full of sad hundred rupee notes at
the end of it, I wonder....If they had the slightest inkling of what the
composition MEANT.... that poor Thyagaraja was crying out to his beloved
Rama to come and protect him from his relatives who thought he was crazy,
for example....would they butcher the piece like this, singing it at super
sonic speed, cutting almost ALL the words in the wrong places and smiling
smugly when the words scream out the torment of the composer's heart? When
MDR sang he literally Spoke to us, understanding, feeling and LIVING each
word of the composition totally...his emotional, intellectual and technical
involvement being complete and perfect.
Take a look at these random examples and you will see
what I mean:-Vaathaapi Ganapathim Bhajeham, Varanaasyam Varapradam,(Where
people sing Vaaranaa!...SYAMVARA pradam)
Almost any charanam of Endaro Mahaanubhaavulu.
Let's take the first one now :- Saama Gaana Lola, Manasija Laavanya Dhanya
Moordhannyulu.(It pains me even to IMAGINE what people do with this line.)
Bheema Anantha Ajnaana Thimira Bhedana Mihiraayithey from Devi Paavaney
which people sing as "Bheemaananda Jnaana thimira" changing the meaning
drastically from "One who destroys the darkness of ignorance" to "One who
destroys the Joy of Knowledge" in the bargain!
Almost any Charanam from Amba Kaamaakshi, the immortal Swarajathi in
Bhairavi by Shyama Shasthri:-Kambugala neerada chikura (Sung Kambugala
nee....RADA chikura),
Thaamasamu seyaga,(Sung Thaamasamusey....YAGAVARA Mosagi),
Natha varadaayaki,(Sung Nathavaradaaa......YAKIyanusu),
Vedamu Moralidagaligi(Sung Ve....DAAMU Moralida)...and so on and so forth.
When M.D.Ramanathan
sang these lines one suddenly realised that the lyrics actually MEANT
something....and that the compositions were not just THINGS on which one
prefixed a bit of Raaga Aalaapana with and a little Neraval and complicated
Swaram exercises later....and they were living entities....the children of
the composers...meant to be treated with love,
attention, respect, reverence and care, like God himself. The singer becomes
nothing other than a medium between the listener and the composer and the
composer speaks and communicates to God and to the listeners through the
singer.
An educated person fluent in English too among other
languages like Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Sanskrit, M.D.Ramanathan
described M U S I C as Morality, Universality, Sincerity, Individuality and
Creativity...and actually practised what he preached, as opposed to so many
showmen amongst us who give the most fantastic interviews on Television,
dressed in their Sunday Best.....and do the EXACT opposite of what they say,
in real life. Which was the basic difference between MDR and others- his
almost SHOCKING level of HONESTY .....in music and in life itself. He was
one of the few truly great artists who never deviated an inch from his
concept of what and how music should be, however high be the price he had to
pay for this.
A few words about his own compositions now. He
composed more than three hundred songs..in Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil,
though he was almost shy to sing them much. Mostly he would sing one or two
at the end of a concert...and a Thillana. His thillanas were rather simple
in structure,but with very beautiful lyrics usually. Some samples follow.
Paada yugamu nammithi,
Paditha paavani puraani,
Nee daya korina nannu
Nalinakshi kaapaadumu
Naa tharama
Nee mahimalu natha jana paalinee pogada
Aadi shakthi neevegada
Aadi Varada dasanuthe. (This is from his Kapi Thillana which he sang more
frequently than all the others....and recorded in his LP record too with
another of his own compositions. More about that later.)
Muraligaana loludaina
Murahara Nagadhara
Mohana roopa
Guru Pavana Puraadheeshwara
Varada Varada Daasa Poshaka. (Behag Thillana on Shri Guruvaayoorappa.)
Vara Kailaasa Gireesha Sarvesha
Karuna Sindhu Bhairavi Praanesha
Parama Bhakthi tho ninne pogadu
Varada Daasanutha Paraavaara. (Sindhu Bhairavi Thillana on Lord Shiva)
His Mudra or signature was Varada Dasa, or the
SLAVE of Varada....as oppsed to a Servant. Whereas a servant is paid for his
services..and has the option to leave the job if he likes, a Dasa
has no such choice. He simply HAS to serve and be devoted to the master
totally.M.D.R was so diffident about singing his own compositions that he
would often slur the word "Varadadasa" while singing them! (THough in the
Kapi Thillana he has proudly called himself "AADI Varada Dasa" too!)And in
real life Shri M.D.Ramanathan was a true Dasa of his Guru .....his most
beloved and revered Guru "Tiger" Shri Varadacharya...thus named because of
his gestures which reminded one of his aristocratic patrons of the
Magnificent Big Cat, now on the list of endangered species all over the
world where they are found....Makes sense somehow, when one looks at the
similarly endangered condition of the kind of music Tiger Himself stood for
in the present music scene.
Many of MDR's compositions have the name of the
Raaga interwoven into the Saahithyam ingeniously. He gave a concert at the
Music Academy Madras the year Balasaraswathi was awarded the Sangeetha
Kalanidhi. He then sang a song in her honour "Saraswathi,
Sarasavaani!Sarasijabhavuniki Raani!" in Kamas. He discreetly brought in the
name of the Raga "Kamas" in the lyrics by saying "Kaamaadi Samhaarini!
Bhaktha KAAMAA SU Poshini Janani!" In Saagara Shayana Vibho, one of the most
beautiful of all compositions composed by Anyone in Any sytem of music Ever,
he describes Lord Vishnu standing with Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either side
as "Baaga Sri Bhoomi Sahithudai Velayu" bringing in the name of the Raga
Baagesri so beautifully....and when one hears this song one literally SEES
the scene described above!
In Janani nathajana paalini he describes Goddess
Ambika as "Thripura Sundari! Thri lochana mohini! Thrailokya Shankara-
Bharana Bhooshithaangi!"......And so on and so forth. The list runs long. He
made very few commercial recordings in his time. The first was a small EP
Record with just two songs, accompanied by Shri M.S.Gopalakrishnan and Shri
T.V.Gopalakrishnan respectively on the violin and the mridangam. On on side
we have "Paripaalaya" in Reethigowla, one of Shri Thyagaraja's
most evocative compositions describing his Maanasa Pooja to his Beloved Lord
Shri Rama. This Utsava Sampradaaya composition makes sense and reveals
itself in its full glory only if all the charanams are sung.... and MDR not
only does sing them but actually does a Pooja himself..... With the
song....and To the song. The second side has another song on Rama, again
Sounding like an Utsava Sampradaya composition of Thyagaraja ....."Rama
Rama" in Neelaambari....one of Shri M.D.Ramanathan's own compositions,
deliberately composed in the Thyagaraja mode, without the Varada Dasa
signature, to mislead the listener!("Chumma angu podi!"He would laugh!"Who
would sing it if they knew it was my own composition?...At least let a few
people sing it thinking it is a composition of Thyagaraja!") His most
popular recording was an LP record with Shri T.N. Krishnan (Violin)and
Vellore Shri Ramabhadran(Mridangam)containing crisp and tight versions of
Maha Ganapathim Manasa Smaraami, Hariyum Haranum,
Saamaja Vara Gamana, Giri pai Nelakonna Raamuni and the aforementioned Kapi
Thillana.
This continues to be reissued ..... and to be played in hundreds
of homes and on the radio regularly to this day, nearly thirty years after
it's release. Hariyum Haranum is yet another Gem from this Vaggeyakaara
asking if there is anyone who doesnt know that Hari(Vishnu)
and Haran(Shiva) are one and the same. He draws parallels very diligently
(Pannaga shayanan Hari, Pannaga Bhooshanan Haran, for example.)....and
finally concludes wryly by poking fun at the idiots from each clan saying
"Well, yes...there ARE some people after all who Still dont know that these
two are one and the same!"
His last cassette recorded commercially breaks one's
heart because one can obviously see all the signs of a spent force while
listening to it, though accompanists Dr.L.Subramaniam and Vellore Shri
Ramabhadran do a commendable job filling the gaps, as it were. During the
past few years there has been a resurgence of MDR interest....to such an
extent that it has become almost FASHIONABLE to claim to be a "Fan" of this
most unassuming and unfashionable man. The good thing is that some wonderful
recordings of excerpts from his live concerts have slowly started trickling
into the market. (One doesnt see the names of the accompanists on the
cassette covers and can only pray that they have been paid something by the
company which has released these tapes.....To make an MDR kind of joke....I
feel they should be given either Cash...or Credit....if you get my drift.)
If there was anything as wonderful as the music
of M.D.Ramanathan, it was his sense of humour. He seemed to have followed
not just the Sangeetha Parampara but also the Haasya Parampara of Tiger
Varadachariar, who was another great wit himself. One of MDR's students from
Kalakshethra told me that there was a lady teacher there who was less than
loved by most of the students and staff, including MDR himself. And whenever
the said teacher passed by the classroom MDR would suddenly shift from
whichever song he was teaching the students at the time to a line from
Bhaavayaami Raghu Raamam...Guess which one!!.."Athi GHORA Shoorpanakha!"
...with the appropriate gestures directed at the teacher who innocently
though demoniacally passed by. The students would burst into giggles.... and
of course, MDR would join them.
Once a music lover was travelling from Madras to
Thiruvananthapuram by train. He was a big MDR fan too and always carried a
portable tape recorder with him and played music. But as
he was a very busy person he never had a chance to attend live concerts. And
had no idea what most of his heroes looked like. But he had heard enough
gossip about them to have his own idea of what they looked like.
M.D.Ramanathan was famous for his onstage mannerisms....made with his eyes,
face, mouth and hands. This gentleman was playing a tape of one of MDR's
radio programmes in the train and as many music lovers do, he liked to talk
to others about the object of his adulation. The only other
person near him was a tall, grim looking man who seemed to be singularly
immune to the charms of MDR Music.
But our friend persisted, as one tends to do at
times... and struck up a conversation with his reticent travelling
companion. He went on to explain who M.D.Ramanathan was....how wonderful his
music was .....and how grotesque were the faces he made while singing. The
grim gentleman remained unmoved and didnt say anything. After some time the
music lover gave up trying to get him to talk and went off to sleep. The
next day when they arrived at Thiruvananthapuram he found a group of
Brahmins, some of whom he was acquainted with, recieving the tall grim
gentleman at the railway station. And to his horror he discovered that he
had been describing MDRs mannerisms to MDR himself!
Dr.Balamuralikrishna fondly remembers a
similar train journey again from Madras to Thiruvananthapuram in the
delightful company of M.D.Ramanathan. Balamurali Sir was travelling in the
"C" compartment, while MDR was travelling in "D". And when MDR entered the
train with his wife he kept asking the wife "EngeDEE?" with a pun on "D"
laughing gleefully. Once, at the fag end of a MARATHON concert in Mumbai
with M.S.Gopala Krishnan and T.V.Gopalakrishnan, just as MDR was about to
sing the Mangalam a lady from the audience requested him to sing Varukalamo
Ayya,
the beautiful song from Nandanaar Charitham which nobody has sung quite the
way MDR has. In a flash MDR asked "Sing Varukalamo NOW?....I was thinking
more in terms of POKALAMO!"
Every single individual
who has met this man seems to have been left with a treasure chest of smiles
and warmth from him. In my own household itself he was one of the few
musicians who were like members of the family. And he was probably the
single musician who never quaked and quivered in the formidable presence of
my Great Grandmother Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi. She loved his music like
few others did....another such formidable woman being Rukmini Devi Arundale
who was the founder cum driving force behind Kalakshethra. (Not many people
know that M.D.Ramanathan wrote the music for many of her highly acclaimed
dance dramas.)
M.D.Ramanathan started performing at the Navarathri
Mandapam from the late nineteen fifties onwards till nineteen eighty three,
which was the last Navarathri during which he was still alive. He was one of
the few musicians who sang on all the nine days, with a variety of
accompanists. Many of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal's compositions found a
special place in MDR's repertoire :- Paripaalaya Maam, Padmanabha Pahi and
Bhavayami Raghu Ramam and Mohanam Ayi Thava Muraleegaanam Aho in
particular.(In fact MDR himself composed a song on Goddess Meenakshi in
Madurai...Mangala Charaney Maam Ava Sathatham.....a rough take on Padmanabha
Pahi.) His Thanams at the Mandapam were completely unforgettable, grand and
magnificent affairs, with veterans like Dr.T.K.Murthy, Umayalpuram Shri
Sivaraman, Palghat Shri Raghu, Vellore Shri Ramabhadran singing along with
their Mridangams. One is reminded of some grand procession or Ezhunnallippu
when one hears these Thanams which he reserved especially for the Navarathri
Mandapam.
He literally took the copyright over certain
ragas, rendering it difficult for any other musician even to attempt them.
Some of them were Yadukula Kambodhi, Shahana, Reethigowla, Mukhari, Shri,
Kedaram......(What article on MDR will be complete without a mention of
Kedaram?...In which he sang almost all existing Krithis by the great
Masters...and composed one of his own too for good measure...a Masterpiece
on Shri Thyagaraja)...the list goes on and on. One of the greatest tragedies
in his life was that the day after he passed away, an official from the
Kalakshethra Foundation (The Late Shri Shankara Menon, May his soul languish
in hell for all eternity.) visited his house and asked for his compositions
for publication. Poor Mrs.Ramanathan in her grief and innocence, gave him
all the original note books containing all his compositions......And that
was that. To this day, nearly twenty years after his death, one is yet to
get any news about what happened to them. One can only pray that some good
soul will hunt them up and bring them to life again.
Shri M.D.Ramanathan used to conclude all his concerts
with a very elaborate Mangalam which was a cocktail of three songs actually.
The usual Thyagaraja's Mangalam in Saurashtram, followed by Alakalalla,
another Thyagaraja Krithi in Madhyamavathi....and the last stanza from
Maharaja Swathi Thirunal's Bhavayami Raghuramam "Kalithavara Sethu
Bandham"...ending with "Vishva paalam Padmanaabham" where MDR
charectoristically used to add "Akhila","Nikhila" and "Sakala" before
"Visvapaalam" and a HUGE big "Shree" Preceeding "Padmanabham".
Each time one hears this one's heart
sinks, knowing that yet another MDR concert has come to an end. But when one
looks at the way things seem to be going at present I am convinced that
things are only Beginning! And things will make...and have already started
to make ..... a full circle. And MDR's music seems to be becoming more
recognised and understood by more and more people, the world over. The
single video recording of his known to exist (With one more waiting in the
wings) was recorded by a Wise American....God Bless His Soul!....and is sold
for $50 in the United States now.
One finds musicians, music lovers and musicologists making
desparate attempts to put in their two cents worth, about the man and his
music as this very article itself does. And MDR lives on.... the usual story
of a genius and an innovator born before his time, whose true worth is
realised long, long after they have left this world. I hope he is sitting
somewhere up there and looking down an us benignly and indulgently and
laughing his mischievous MDR laugh, with his squint eyes twinkling with
mirth and goodwill.
Rama Varma
:clap: