Sruti Magazine

Sruti Magazine Reemerges with an Infusion of Talent

Sruti is India's leading monthly devoted to the Performing Arts. The target audience of Sruti comprises several groups. These include lay music and lay dance enthusiasts, connoisseurs, musicians, dancers, teachers, scholars and students of the fine arts, institutions and organisations active in the field and officials of Government agencies concerned with the arts.

Featuring Carnatic music doyenne D K Pattammal and child prodigy Mandolin U Srinivas on its inaugural cover in October 1983, the magazine created quite a stir in artistic circles. It was without a parallel in English magazines then-or perhaps even now. That cover page spoke volumes about the magazine's twin objectives of preserving tradition and encouraging innovation, something Sruti has assiduously pursued ever since. Many customs that have today come to be recognized as established best practices in the performing arts especially in south India have been the result of Sruti's systematic campaigns in favor of good taste, decorum and performance excellence. Among its early triumphs was the restoration of the importance of ragam-tanam-pallavi, which had become conspicuous by its absence on the concert platform.

For over two decades, Sruti has constantly practiced what it preaches-adherence to high standards of authenticity, objectivity, sophisticated writing based on thorough research, and a healthy respect for individuals and institutions, balanced by an equally healthy irreverence towards holy cows. Sruti is not an academic journal, even though it carries scholarly and technical articles from time to time.

Sruti's several profiles of the leading exponents of music and dance have been path breaking in the annals of Indian journalism, as have been its special projects to document the teaching methodology and stylistic characteristics of leading schools of dance and music. It is a veritable treasure house of in-depth knowledge of the many centers of excellence‑the kshetras which have served to propagate the classical arts of India.

Started under private auspices, Sruti was promoted as a not-for-profit venture and placed under a Trust in April 1985 when the Sruti Foundation was established with Founder-Editor N Pattabhi Raman as its Managing Trustee. Sruti, is its `flagship' endeavor, while Samudri (Subbulakshmi-Sadasivam Music & Dance Resources Institute), is an ambitious initiative towards archiving valuable resource material in music and dance and promoting research and cooperative endeavors to ensure the sustainable development of the performing arts, based on traditional ideas and practices. Visit www.sruti.com To subscribe online.

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Neyyatinkara Vasudevan
S. Janaki

Neyyatinkara Vasudevan shone like a meteor in the field of Carnatic music. Hailing from a humble background, he attained success in his career as a vocalist and teacher against heavy odds, facing many rough patches along the way. He passed away on 13th May at his residence in Vazhuthucadu, Tiruvanantapuram at the age of 68.

Vasudevan was born in 1940 in Neyyattinkara in Kerala. He was passionate about music even as a young boy. After high school, his ardent love for Carnatic music prompted him to join the Swati Tirunal Music College at Tiruvanantapuram. He passed Ganabhushanam in 1960 and the Sangeeta Vidwan course in 1962 with flying colours. In the College, he was fortunate to train under reputed musicians like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Later he had rigorous training in Chennai under Ramnad Krishnan who helped him further hone his skills. read more

Syed Sallauddin Pasha
Leela Venkataraman

At first glance, he looks like another fresh-faced young man with a genial smile. But Guru Syed Sallauddin Pasha, has for over twenty five years, served the cause of the mentally and physically handicapped with his art expertise. No mean dancer of both Bharatanatyam and Kathak, he combines in himself the qualities of dancer, choreographer, movement therapist, light designer, technical director, and social activist. Through his professional dance theatre company ‘Ability Unlimited’, Pasha ushers in hope, instilling confidence in differently abled youngsters. read more

TRIBUTES
Natyacharya Subbaraya Pillai

Natyacharya Subbaraya Pillai Born on 7th December 1914 to Sengammal and Chockalingam Pillai, Subbaraya Pillai, like his father, was extensively trained by Pandanallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai. After early training at Pandanallur, he assisted his father at Kalakshetra and later at the Indian Institute of Fine Arts, Egmore. Through his long career spanning several decades he trained many students — Alarmel Valli, Meenakshi Chitharanjan, Anurupa among others.
read more

Striking new notes
V. Ramnarayan

Fusion in music involving Indian classical together with other forms, mainly from the West, has been a controversial subject in the music community over the years. Traditionalists may not appreciate or approve these collaborative efforts by musicians from different cultures inspired by the high quality of the music adhering to idioms other than their own, while young listeners embrace such experiments more readily, as we have seen in recent years at The Hindu Friday Review November Fest. To many of them, it is their first step towards appreciation of our classical and semi-classical music, even if they were first drawn to fusion by the presence of their favourite pop, rock or jazz idols. It is not known how many of them go beyond the first step to become true rasika-s of classical music.read more

Accompanists’ role in Carnatic music A dialogic response – Part 2
P.K. DORAISWAMY

This is the concluding part of the dialogue between two rasika-s: the senior Rasika-1 (R-1) and Rasika-2 (R-2) the junior, on the role of accompanists in Carnatic music. The first part was published in Sruti 285/ June 2008.

R-2 : Do you agree solo is no longera simple extension of the accompanying experience and needs special skill and talent?  read more

A friend for all seasons
R.K. Shriram Kumar

Vijay is an exemplary musician and a wonderful human being, a real suddhatma. He strives hard for perfection and idealism marks all his endeavours. He makes sure that his music has been perfected before his well presented concerts. To ensure this, he puts in hours of dedicated practice and also makes sure his accompanists coordinate well with him. He plans all his concerts to suit the occasion, place, duration, and accompanists. He prepares a list for the concert well in advance, informs his accompanists about it, enables them to master the songs by organising a few practice sessions or by sending them tapes. For him, the success of the concert depends on all of them putting in their best efforts and presenting it with a unified frame of mind. The audience should be respected and the music presented to them should be of a high calibre, a complete team effort. read more

Akshara and matra

My friend and long-time co-contributor to Sruti, B.M. Sundaram, has raised the confusion prevailing in the minds of musicians as well as the public on the use of the terms ‘akshara’ and ‘matra’ (see Sruti Box, Sruti 283). The few books available on tala schemes add to the confusion and there does not appear to be a convincing old treatise on the subject.

It is customary to talk of a tala containing a specific number of akshara-s which are further subdivided into matra-s. My guru, Palani Subramania Pillai used to mention, while talking of ‘eduppu’ or ‘graham’ of a line in a kriti, as one or 1-1/2 akshara before or after the ‘sama’, depending on whether it was... read more

‘Vikku’ for Sangeeta Kalanidhi

The preparation for next year’s Wimbledon tennis tourney starts even before the completion of this year’s championships. Advance planning and consultations are always helpful. It is not too early now to think of the Music Academy’s choice of the next Sangeeta Kalanidhi. The President of the Academy should not fight shy of a public debate on the issue as his institution has achieved a unique place in the music and dance world and he has himself pioneered new ideas.

It is typical of the class-conscious and caste-ridden Hindu society to have used the concepts of upper and lower places in status in the field of music and dance also. For a long time women singers were considered an inferior species not fit to sing ragamtanam- pallavi until D.K. Pattammal came.....read more

72-melakarta calendar
S. Rajam’s paintings

The twelve chakra-s of music and the twelve months of the English calendar have been beautifully and artistically correlated by renowned artist-musicologist S. Rajam in a calendar brought out by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to coincide with the Tamil New Year. L&T has further attempted to relate it to the “chakra-s of the mind, body and soul” by including descriptions of the chakra positions, as well as the colours and gems associated with them.

In his work titled the Chaturdandi Prakasika, Venkatamakhi expounded the mela system of raga-s. He gave an interesting nomenclature for the 12 chakra-s of the melakarta scheme to enable easy recall of the chakra number through its mnemonics. (Much has been written on Venkatamakhi and the..... read more

The past and the present

Kalakshetra functioned from 1936 to 1963 in the sylvan surroundings of the Theosophical gardens, Adyar. There was an intimate relationship between the institutions run by the Besant Trust such as the Besant Theosophical High School, Arundale Teachers Training Centre, Montessori School, and Kalakshetra. Students and staff shared a common hostel, a common prayer, and common teachers. Our teachers were elderly, experienced and inspiring; yet they were strict disciplinarians and living examples of simple living and high thinking. There were no time-bound tuitions; living in the campus was by itself a learning experience. There were no distractions and the ‘satsangam’ made us what we are today. It was truly a ‘gurukulam’ with a limited number of inmates close to one another, sharing and caring for one another. It was a beautiful and serene.....read more

Leela Samson; Bridging two worlds

As the Director of the Kalakshetra Foundation what are your priorities?

Kalakshetra Foundation comprises the Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts, The Besant Theosophical High School, The Besant Arundale Senior Secondary School, a Craft Education and Research Centre including the Weaving Department, the Kalamkari Natural-Dye Printing & Painting unit, the Visual Arts Centre, The Bharata Kalakshetra Auditorium, the Rukmini Arangam, four libraries, the Rukmini Devi Museum, hostels, staff quarters and guest houses.

I took charge on 6th May 2005. My first priority was to unify the divided administrative system. The Director has to administer all the.....  read more

Rukmini Devi’s views On Bharatanatyam

"Few dancers either know the true meaning of the mudra-s, the mandala-s, etc., but learn the poses for the sake of effect. Just as the ancient South Indian bronzes were made to the correct proportion according to the Sastra-s, given for the helping of those who wished to attain the best results, so were rules and regulations made for the position of the body and the mudra-s in Bharatanatyam. read more

Narayanan Nambiar Master of poetic rhythms

Octogenarian Kalamandalam P.K. Narayanan Nambiar is a towering figure among theatre percussionists of the country. Awarded the Padma Shri this year, the mizhavu maestro has become the first of his clan to earn this national honour. read more

Lecdems at the Tamil Isai Sangam

The Tamil Isai Sangam is doing yeoman service to the cause of Tamil music since 1943. It has been holding the pann aaraaichi or pann research from the year 1949. Professor P. Sambamoorthy used to head the pann research sessions till his death, after which many other stalwarts presided over the sessions. For the past ten years, Tiruppamburam Shanmugasundaram is heading the sessions. Another stalwart who has taken part in pann research since its inception is ‘Pannisaikkavalar’ Dr. Le. Pa. Karu Ramanathan Chettiyar.....read more

Bala, queen of abhinaya

The Tamil Isai Sangam is doing yeoman service to the cause of Tamil music since 1943. It has been holding the pann aaraaichi or pann research from the year 1949. Professor P. Sambamoorthy used to head the pann research sessions till his death, after which many other stalwarts presided over the sessions. For the past ten years, Tiruppamburam Shanmugasundaram is heading the sessions. Another stalwart who has taken part in pann research since its inception is ‘Pannisaikkavalar’ Dr. Le. Pa. Karu Ramanathan Chettiyar.....read more

Old is gold, so what’s new?
V. Ramnarayan

Bigger… and better?” we asked in our last issue on the Chennai music and dance season. Bigger it certainly has been but whether better is arguable. We shall at any rate wait till our next issue, when all our correspondents will have filed their stories, before we pass judgement. Yes, it’s early days yet but on evidence gathered so far, some eminent representatives of an earlier era of music gave greater demonstrations of the grandeur and depth of Carnatic music than today’s stars. Devotion rather than showmanship prevailed in these concerts, leaving even newcomers to kutcheri listening thirsting for more.....read more

Opera … of love and destiny

On the occasion of Alain Danielou’s centenary celebrations which culminated in October 2007, the Alain Danielou Foundation, with branches in Rome, Berlin and Paris, presented a series of concerts and exhibitions in different Italian cities related to the life and work of the great musicologist and scholar. One of the major events of the series was the presentation of seven songs by Rabindranath Tagore translated into Western musical notations for voice and piano by Danielou, at Tagore’s request. Danielou was a great friend and admirer of Tagore.....read more

Sensitive, sensuous Shobana the filmstar Dancer
S. Janaki

Shobana was introduced to films by Jaya Chakravarthy, mother of another star-dancer - Hemamalini. She made a brief appearance as a child star in a Telugu film first. In 1984, the year she made her dance debut, she received a break in films too and for the first time played the lead role in a Malayalam film, April 18. She has acted in more than 225 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi alongside top leading actors.....read more

From the heart
R.K. SHRIRAMKUMAR

The sun would be on the horizon, about to retire for the day. Much dust and enthusiastic tones of high frequencies would be generated on the streets with boys playing cricket. That was when he would bring me home, after a long walk from school (Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan) teaching me, enroute, verses from either the Vishnu Sahasranama or the Samkshepa Ramayana. That done, he would instruct my mother to give me a snack. And even before I could finish it, he would be ready with his violin and would have summoned me many a time for class.....read more

OBITUARY
R. Visweswaran: Bridging the North-South divide
S. Janaki

Music was his passion, so he opted to make it his profession. Music to him was an elixir which, combined with his unswerving faith in his spiritual guru Mataji Vithamma, brought him back from the jaws of death time and again. R. Visweswaran was totally immersed in music. This multi-talented artist was adept at playing Carnatic music on the veena, Western classical music on the Flamenco guitar, BGM for films, and Hindustani music on the santoor.....read more

Pleasant Memories of the Golden Past
Manna Srinivasan

Navaneetham was born in 1923. Hailing from an Isai Velalar family, she was first initiated into dance. Though she progressed up to the varnam stage, she switched over to the flute out of fancy. She would observe Peruncheri Muthu Pillai playing on the instrument at her house and try to imitate the action with any piece of bamboo she could lay her hands on. Pillai was a versatile artist, in nagaswaram, vocal and flute, who sang for her mother Rajamanickam’s dance performances. He would play on the flute in his spare time.....read more

A Golden Voice
S. RAJAM on N.C. Vasanthakokilam, as told to S. JANAKI.

NC. Vasanthakokilam’s music career was short, but while it lasted, she was one of the topmost women vocalists in Carnatic music. Vasanthakokilam, or NC as she was popularly known, could sing with great felicity. She was gifted with a golden voice which was the envy of many a Carnatic musician. It was a voice with a rich and pleasant timbre, very pliant and malleable (“kambi pol saareeram”) which could accommodate briga-s and fast paced renderings, without any distortions (pisiru) or losing its melodious quality.....read more

Brinda-Muktha: Certain Aspects of their Music

Brinda and Muktha had a thousand songs in their repertoire. The popular and the rare kriti-s of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar, the gems of Syama Sastry and Subbaraya Sastri, Anai-Ayya, Gopalakrishna Bharati, Arunachala Kavi, Subbarama Dikshitar, Ponnayya Pillai, Kshetrayya, Mysore Sadasiva Rao, Subbarama Dikshitar, besides innumerable javali-s were all in their possession.

Karubaru, a grand Tyagaraja song in Mukhari was their favourite. Today this song has become famous. Similarly Elavataramu in the same raga was a grand edifice of pure and deep melody. So was Sangeeta sastra gnanamu, again in Mukhari. In Todi, they knew many Tyagaraja songs including Tappi bratiki, Kotinadulu, Emi jesitenemi, Enduku dayaradura, Endu daginado, Kadatera rada, Munnu ravana.....read more

New direction

Sruti has received a fresh impetus with the recent recasting of the Sruti Foundation resulting in an infusion of new professional expertise in the inclusion of V Vaidyanathan and Sukanya Sankar. The new management has some exciting plans for the expansion of the magazine’s reach, enhancing its visual appeal and introduction of new features, besides putting it on a sound financial footing. Some of these ideas are already being put into practice and the magazine has moved to a convenient, well-appointed location, with contemporary facilities in technology and connectivity. Former cricketer and author V. Ramnarayan has been tagged the new editor of the new Sruti. The difference is palpable. Ramnarayan is also the nephew of late N. Pattabhi Raman, founder of Sruti magazine. The team has exciting plans to expand the magazine’s reach, with visual appeal and new features.

Visit www.sruti.com To subscribe online.