VOICES FROM THE GLORIOUS PAST
The launch function of Bombay Jayashri’s and T.M. Krishna’s coffee table book “Voices Within “ began promptly at 7.00 in the evening. A well organized and professionally planned event, it gave the satisfaction of a well spent evening of 1 and ½ hour ; a unique effort indeed for a good cause. The book deals with Seven Great Musical Maestros and legends of Carnatic music to depict the Saptaswaras .
The programme started with a crisp introduction by Jayashri and Krishna followed by a musical presentation by young artistes who rendered compositions of the seven immortal musical giants covered in the book including Ariyakkudi Ramanujam Iyengar , Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Flautist T.R Mahalingam, GNB, Palghat Mani Iyer, Rajarathnam Pillai and MS Amma. The songs presented by this group of talented and budding young musicians in the age group of 6- 13 yrs were well chosen to represent each stalwart with appropriate caption . The concert commenced with Kalyani Varnam to emphasize the Kuccheri Pandhathi or format established by Shri Ariyakkudi.. Each keerthana chosen had innate emotion. The Todi Raaga chosen to represent Shri Rajarathnam Pillai and Mridangist “The celestial Drummer” Palghat Mani Iyer was rendered with great professionalism by the children whose skill in “Aalapana” won them accolades from the audience. “Bruhi Mukundedi and Maitrim Bhajata “ to honour MS Amma were beautifully rendered. There was no leading vocalist and all of them had a chance to showcase their talent.
The children have been well trained by seasoned artistes- Violin by Kanya Kumari’s disciple, Mridangam by Gurvayoor Dorai’s student and vocal by students of Ravi Kiran, Rajkumar Bharati and SP. Ramh. This shows the tremendous efforts made by these young Gurus who have taught with a sense of responsibility to transmit this great classical art form .The performance of these talented young children assures us that the future of Carnatic Music is safe; it reflected the true spirit of the programme’s byline ‘ Passing on an Inheritance.”
The book-reading session by artistes from Madras theatre was handled well , especially the male artiste who breathed life into the anecdotes drawn from the lives of these maestros. The words from the book are excellent , with ample humor thrown in to project the idiosyncrasies of these stalwarts in a lighter vein. The female counter part could have had a pleasant tone and expressions too.
The function concluded with an aesthetically exemplary documentary by Rajeev Menon that carried excerpts from the archives of all the legends . An excellent piece of work indeed !! The book was placed for bidding and earned Rs 50000 /- for a philanthropic cause- donation to The Vidya Sagar – the home and education centre for children with cerebral palsy
One came out with a satisfaction of an evening well-spent ; the seniors among the audience given to nostalgia and the younger ones inspired by the show of talent and the book which is an everlasting tribute to our great musical tradition. Bombay Jayashri, TM Krishna as well as the co-author , Mythili Chandrasekar must be applauded for the exemplary quality of the language, content and choice of the legends.
Walking out of the packed hall , one could not help wondering why stalwarts like MLV and Tiger Varadachari were left out . Probably they could not fit into the Sapta Swaras ? Also, priced at Rs 1750 the book could well snare tje pride of place in libraries and clubs.. Will a Low priced edition be made available for everyone to read- especially those who are connoisseurs of music and for all the budding young artistes to afford please?
Malini Shankar
What Bombay Jayashri and TM Krishna have to say about Voices Within:
"This book is a result of our intense desire to find ways of giving back something to an art that has been our passion, our livelihood, our life breath. While there are many endlessly fascinating aspects of the art that can be written about, we decided to first pay our tributes to some of the maestros who had a seminal influence in shaping the system. Voices Within is a salute to seven gifted, inspiring Carnatic musicians who revolutionised the system, shaped its growth, and left their mark on the musical firmament. It is with both great pride and much humility that we showcase them in a book such as this …"
