Musicians,events,anecdotes and tid-bits

[padmanabha]

“Music is an art which represents the divine beauty and grandeur of creation. God is the greatest poet, and this universe is HIS work- the intrinsic beauty and glory of which is expressed by music. One life time is not enough to learn music” said DR. N RAMANI, the popular flautist.
“My grand father Narayanaswami was a great musician. He played and taught all musical instruments except veena and flute was his favorite. Sikkil sisters are his disciples. Mymother and aunts were great singers and violinists. I am the nephew of the flute wizard Mali” said Dr Ramani.

“Mali’s rendition is intense and it is something one as to experience, When I heard Mali, I decided to concentrate on flute and in fact longed to play like him. This wish made me to devote more time for practice” he said.
“It was Travancore BROAD CASTING SERVICE which relayed my concert for the first time. In the late forties I approached my uncle for advanced training. Here began my commitment. I could acquire new dimension, depth and maturity imbibing the nuances and subtleties, of the rich legacy. Offers poured in and I could not complete my college studies.”

In 1956 I performed for Madras Music Academy. It was a turning point. I accompanied Veena Balachander to USA. WE gave separate concerts. Since 1971 I with Pt. Hariparasad churasya have been giving jugalbandi concerts.”

“It is a sacrifice and a compromise. To be frank, it is the south Indian performers who are forced to under go his. Academically both are benefited.”

“1950-70 was a golden period of Carnatic music. We had great musicians and serious audience” he opined.

Regarding the flute the instrument, he said there are several factors that determine the quality of the instrument. My flute is heavy. In my opinion Harikambodi is the ideal raga in which the preliminary swaras exercise can be taught in flute. The notes figuring in it allows to group it into consonantal pairs. Sa – pa bear the shadja panchama relationship, and the rest shadja madhyama relationship. Though this scale was known even in early times, the credit for imparting swarupa to it and endow it with a musical personality goes to Thyagaraja swamigal” explained Ramani.

Ramani has established Ramani;s academy of flute in Chennai with its baranches in Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Chennai Hyderabad and the USA. I HAVE MORE THAN 400 QUALITY DISCIPLES all over the world.
“Untiring practice makes a lot of difference. There is no short cut to learn music” he stressed.