Interview

INTERVIEW WITH SRI K.S. MAHADEVAN

who received the MUDHRA AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 1998



		Something about your early days viz., schooling, college etc.
		I was born in 1913 in Thirunelveli District in a village called Palamadai where the Samadhi of Neelakanta Dikshithar is situated. It is actually a place of pilgrimage for both the Shankaracharyas as they hold Neelakanta Dikshithar in such a high esteem. The uniqueness of this place is that most of the residents belong to Sama Veda, and also the place is very special to Saivaites - full of Saivaite literature, recitations and so on. During my younger days, my father was working in Trivandrum . But I never really studied there. My early years were mostly spent with my grandfather, who was a businessman in Kovilpatti. Later on I came to Madras for my 1st form to PS High School. I was staying with my uncle who was working in the Port Trust. I did my basic graduation in B.Sc. (Physics) from Presidency College. I continued with M.Sc. (Physics) in Calcutta. I worked with Dr.S. Krishnan who was a Senior Co-worker with Sir C.V. Raman.
		About your family ?
		Next to me was a younger sister who from the age of 6, was trained in Veena. There was a time when my father was posted in Sucheendram. There was a great Bhagavathar, who was the direct descendent of the famous Parameswara Bhaghavathar. It was then that I had exposure to know about a lot of Krithis, though I was never encouraged to learn with my sister. She was really good at Veena, though she never gave a stage performance.
		Then how did you really get into music ?
		The real turning point in my life was when I came to Madras. Those days, we had regular concerts in Madras only on week ends. So I had plenty of opportunities to listen to Naina Pillai, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer, Raja Manickam Pillai and many other stalwarts. I never used to miss any of their concerts. In those days, most of these concerts used to start on Sundays by 4.25 p.m. in the evening (just prior to Raghukalam) and go on till about 9 p.m. (minimum). People also used to listen enthusiastically, though one cannot claim that most of them understood everything of what was sung. But the devotional fervour pervading the concert was well perceived by everyone . The musicians also sang with a lot of involvement.
		In those days, were there concert critics and if so could you tell something about them ?
		Even in those days, there were reputed music critics like C.R. Srinivasa Iyengar. Their criticism used to be only constructive. They never dared to criticise the likes of Naina Pillai or Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar because of their exalted stature as musicians. But it was only Kalki who popularised these reviews. In fact, Kalki was the first person who presented reviews of musicians from a common man’s point of view.
		How did you develop this interest in the role of a ‘CRITIC’?
		That was when I came to Bombay in 1941 and took up a job in the Trademarks and Patent Office. My entire service of 30 years was split into two. The first 15 years was in Trademarks and Patent office; the second 15 years was in Forward Market Commission. A small sabha called Shanmuganandha Sabha was started then mainly by Thirunelveliaites. Prior to this, there was a very old sabha run by Tanjore people in Bombay, but somehow it did not function properly. So I was silently observing from the sidelines for 1 year the way Shanmuganandha Sabha operated. They were really not able to attract well known musicians as they did not have much contacts. That was when they approached me and wanted to use my connections with the senior vidwans. The first real big concert was by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, who was singing in Bombay after a lapse of 12 years; hence we expected a lot. However, it did not click as much as we expected it to . We lost quite heavily and we could not afford it. Hence, we made up through a series of small concerts the loss to the tune of Rs.3000/- which was a big amount those days. Then, the real take-off took place when we organised a concert with GNB, Rajamanickam Pillai and Palani Subramania Pillai. That was a runaway success, much more than what we expected. This got reflected in the form of a straight increase in membership to 1000 numbers. With increase in membership, we had to think in terms of a building, as conducting a concert with a temporarily erected pandal was no longer economically viable. Then, we developed good contacts with one T.V. Ramanujam, who was a professor in Vivekananda College. He happened to come to Bombay. He had good contacts with senior officials and with his help, we established excellent rapport with the Maharashtra Government.
		How long did you function as a Secretary in Shanmugananda Hall ?
		From 1950 to 1962, after which I had a lot of tours and hence I could not really do much of justice to the cultural work, as much as I would have liked to.
		When did you really start writing actively ?
		About 1962 only, I really look on to writing in a small way. I got an introduction in Indian Express. I started writing continuously only by 1968 . Once I retired from service in 1971, I really took to writing seriously.
		How did you develop this interest for writing ?
		That came to me naturally. My father had a sound literary knowledge of the Shakespearean Era. In fact, we always had a literary atmosphere in our house.
		What was your father ?
		He was in the Travancore Secretariat. In fact, during his stay in Sucheendram, he was the first one to introduce Nathaswarams as regular concerts. I also used to read a lot of literature.
		Where do you see a link between music and literature ?
		There are links ! The other day while reading a book on Mozart, I was able to see the link with the Trinity. In fact, it would not be out of place to say at this juncture that many reputed Western music composers like Mozart, Beethoven were contemporaries of our Trinity. This was another remarkable phenomenon. So there is some unperceivable, unexplainable link between literature and music.
		According to you, what is an ideal music ? What qualities would you attribute to wholesome performance of music ?
		In those days, a concert used to last for 3½ - 4 hours. A concert was never complete without a Pallavi , it would be dealt with in an elaborate and in-depth manner followed by a thani Avarthanam. Others were basically Keerthanas which used to be sung giving importance to the composition. It was really Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer who brought in a concept of extensive raga alapanas into the concert, and that too ragas like “Arabhi” and “Durbar” which musicians would like to best leave unexplored. He had an extra interest in raga elaboration and that was what attracted crowds to his concert. It picked up much more with GNB later on. In fact, some of the Pallavis in Thodi, Kalyani, Kambhoji,Nattaikurinji by GNB are something unimaginable even today. The raga elaboration used to be so organised and systematic. . In short, it was Elaborate, Intrinsic and always Bubbling with life. So, coming to think of it, their major contribution in exploring new horizons in raga elaboration has really placed Carnatic music at a distinctly different level than what Hindustani Music or Western Music has attained today. Compared to the above contribution from seniors, the youngsters of today are not able to do anything extraordinary of that nature because of time constraint; rarely any concert exceeds 2½ hours. How can any musician of today be expected to do the same justice as GNB did in those days, elaborating a raga in 2 or 3 stages, with the violinist making definite value addition at appropriate points ? Also another significant factor was the importance of the voice. The seniors of yesteryears would not reach out for the higher octaves, until and unless the voice behaves in the lower levels predictably. In short, they were ready to experiment and explore their own creativity.
		While reviewing seniors and juniors ,what were the yardsticks you maintained ?
		The single line of demarcation between a senior and a junior was the tolerance I showed to the latter. Secondly, any serious misgiving which I entertained about a person, was shared with the concerned person only in private - not in public. This, I have always been specific about.
		What is the change that you have perceived over the years ?
		Today, we have started listening to a lot of new Kritis. Probably, this has come about due to the greater frequency of concerts and unless an artiste is adequately equipped with a wide repertoire of Kirthanas, he might not be able to acquit himself creditably. He has to have varieties. So, really speaking, there has been no deterioration in the standard of music. There has been only a shift in emphasis - a different focus from an extensive raga elaboration to a wide range of Kritis ! This has logically evolved only due to the compulsions of the modern man, who has lesser time available with himself for these sort of finer interests !
		What do you think is the status of journalism today ?
		The media has come up very well as far as dance and music is concerned. But, ultimately I would say it is more of a social change which needs to come about. That can come through only by effective journalism.
		What do you think about the future of music ?
		Future holds a lot of promise. I am not at all pessimistic. Carnatic Music is here to stay. Also the growth of rasikas even though not very rapid, has been steady. I am referring to rasikas who can disseminate good from the mediocre; extraordinary from the ordinary. This is the group which will help not only to sustain carnatic music, but also to make it grow by leaps and bounds in the years to come !
		- MudhraBaskar & P.V.Venkateswaran