K.S.Mahadevan Birth Centenary

[srkris]

Above is an invitation to all our members for the celebration of the Birth centenary on August 4,2013 of the Late Sri.K.S.Mahadevan (Music Critic for INDIAN EXPRESS) @ the KGS Hall in mambalam,Chennai.

Sri K.S.Mahadevan is the father of our esteemed Sri M.K.Ramasubramanian (MKR), and the above invitation has been kindly extended by him to all of us.

Requesting everyone to attend and make the function a fitting tribute to Sri Mahadevan.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Folks: Here is my Personal Invitation to fellow forumites. Please feel free to extend this invite to your family and friends who may be in Chennai @ that time--in case some of you out-of-owners are not able to make it.
As you can see from the invite,we will be releasing a book--an extension of the book Musings on Music and Musicians released 10 years ago@ my father's 90h birthday PLUS a host of articles and reviews that he had written PLUS tributes from several present day senior circuit artistes--Vijay Shiva,Ravi Kiran,Bombay Jayashree,et al.
Knowing forumites' aversion for boring speeches we have structured the program to minimse long speeches and have turned down several artistes who wanted to speak--they may still "storm" the stage!!

While this initiative was conceived by our family, when we were scouting for suitable venues to host the event KGS (Krishna Gana Sabha jumped in and wanted to cosponsor the event as KGS and my late father had a long relationship with the late Yegnaraman and my father were good friends. Our family is grateful to KGS for cohosting the event.
With God's grace we are praying the event goes well!!

[thanjavooran]

By the grace of God definitely the function will go on well.
Wishing the great event every success.
Thanjavooran
20 07 2013

[cmlover]

Dear MKR
Thanks for the invitation. This is a momentous occasion which many among us will not be able to participate in person. Pl share the highlights and pictures with us. Also pl share the memories of the doyen CM critic /personal anecdotes with us so we may celebrate his contributions to Carnatic Arts over his life time. Let us also receive Tributes to KSM from all Art lovers here through this Forum.

[Rsachi]

Dear MKR,
even as I read your invitation, I get so much feeling. In a way, such an event celebrates all that is great in Carnatic music -our world. CM is replete with so many actors, sets and scenes. This is indeed a mega drama. Mercifully, I must say, it is still anchored in aesthetics, not business or politics, which are even to this day mere side-effects.

The fact that you and family have taken pains to get up an event worthy of your father's memory is wonderful. I wish the function all success.
Kindly share the videos etc. later!

[rshankar]

Sri MKR, best wishes, for a wonderful event! Please make efforts to record the speeches and the performances for posterity.

[arasi]

MKR,
All the best with the celebration of your father's centenary!
The only regret is that October isn't when many rasikAs from abroad come to Chennai.

Hope Chennai rasikAs mark it in their diaries and look up this thread again to refresh their memories about the date and time. You have a very good venue.

Thanjavooran is in CA now. Otherwise, he would have been there (he is very good about attending rasikas related events). Hope others who are in town and are free, make it a point to attend, and write about it too.

Wishing you and the family a happy day of celebrating your father and his life--a day to remember for many years to come, with love. Special praNAms to your mother...

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

From: Vijay Siva
Date: 4 March, 2013 8:40:11 PM GMT+08:00
To: alamelu bala
Subject: Re: Shri K S Mahadevan centenary 2013

It is not an easy task to keep perfect wave length with different generations of musicians and their music. Only happy temperament, tolerance and an all encompassing level of acceptance can bring this about. Even musicians, who live constantly with music and its philosophy, often fail to connect with this wave length but Sri K S Mahadevan, a critique, connoisseur and deep rasika managed to do so with surgical precision. Years rolled by but he remained young, vibrant and positive.

The ego of being a long time cognoscenti, the puffed up sentiments of having listened to all time greats and the conceit of having provided ladders to youngsters to race to the top and virtually all such prevalent emotional imbalances that grow with a connoisseur, chose to distance themselves from Sri Mahavedan. He successfully carried forward these virtues into whatever he did and his reviews were no exception.

Speak the truth without rancour or hurt and keep the music more important than the musician and the person- was his plain and simple mantra. As a result the predisposed outlook of some of his contemporaries displeased him. Yet he carried on with undaunted cheer. Not surprising that even musicians critically evaluated by him could still entertain a good friendship with him. The gates for personal guidance were always open too. Very often he would not mention some mild blemishes or shortcomings of a concert in a review but would rather point them out during a personal conversation.

Sri Mahadevan showed us all how truth and personal opinion could be expressed with dispassion and without bitterness.

N Vijay Siva

4th March 2013

nvijaysiva.com



From: Bombay Jayashri Ramnath
Date: 17 March, 2013 8:02:58 PM GMT+08:00
To: alamelu bala
Subject: KSM mama


namaskaram,

Apologies I could not reply earlier.
And thank you for inviting me to write.You can reach me at this email address in future.
yes the Oscars was an exhilarating experience.
here are few lines.


Shri K S Mahadevan .

When I moved to Chennai in 1989 ,KSM mama as I addressed him, was among the few who would be there at every concert of mine, not only if he wrote about it, but just to encourage, just to be there for a student of music who was trying to settle in the Chennai arena of Music.

Coming by several times to have a cup of coffee ,he would take time to meet with my mother , and then my husband , to say some nice things about what was happening around , or what he thought could take music forward.

Always thoughtful, always sensitive, with a call or a smile and ever supportive of the smallest effort I made .

I am fortunate to have had his affectionate blessings and am sure he continues to do so in spirit.


thanks .

--

Warm Regards,
Bombay Jayashri Ramnath
http://www.bombayjayashri.com

Some vignettes of tributes from artistes--these and many more(Ravi Kiran,Gayathri V and Ranjani/Gayatri,madurai Sundar et al).These are included in the book to be released. For the sake of folks who may not be able to attend the event(we are trying to explore publishing the book in e-book format and if this is not successful I thought a few samples of tributes may give an insight into my father;s life as seen from the artistes perspective!!!

[rajeshnat]

mkr sir
Best wishes , I just googled to find that your dad was also a cricket reporter.Just as your dad , your family is encouraging and inviting a young musician Ashwath Narayanan(young disciple from KVN school) who is really good and also an established Nityashree. I am assuming you will be there at SKGS on that day(4th August) and will come to chennai.

[Rsachi]

MKR,
Vijay Siva's words are truly golden!
Thanks for sharing.
Sachi R

[mahavishnu]

Sri MKR. My best wishes for the event. I wish I could be there...

[bilahari]

I enjoyed Vijay Siva's tribute too.

Sri MKR, that is the same weekend of our tribute series in Chennai, but I should be able to attend until the evening concert. I look forward to meeting you!

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Folks: Thanks for your comments. I am leaving for Chennai July 23 and WILL BE there for the function!! My chennai landline # 24610620. I have to activate my mobile # (which I do not remember now!!!) after I reach Chennai.
Forumites--PLEASE COME FORWARD AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO ME AS I MAY NOT HAVE MET MANY OF YOU.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

Dear Sri MKR. My best wishes for the event. I will speak to you after you arrive at Chennai.

S.NAGESWARAN.
21.07.2013.

[cmlover]

Excellent idea to publish an eBook.
We can download and read confortably without the pain of ordering and getting lost in snail-mail!

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Folks: Thanks for your kind sentiments. I am in Chennai now trying to tie up loose ends for the event.What I found heartening when I am trying to edit some of the artistes' video tributes shot for the occasion,(because they were going to be away they had requested we record their impressions--which my family had acceded to in def erence to their wishes--the task of editing these remarks "fell" on yours truly and I find it a tough task--to cut down some of the senior artistes' remarks from 9 minutes each to 2 or 3 minutes is no easy task. In any case after this execise, either I might turn out to be a good film editor eagerly sought for by Filmmakers orthe nemesis of the musicians for having excised their tributes!!! So long as I have the forumites backing me up I think the outcome may not be terrible.

Seriously though,one common thread that emerged from the tributes is my father's approach to music reviews/criticisms--universally supportive of the art and(art-friendly attitude--all done constructively.Frankly we in the family had not realised this undertone and motivation in his reviews which apparently the "critiqued" foks understood!!..
We are hoping with the well wishes of the forumites the event will turn out to be good.

Will post the full unexpurgated version of the tributes(doubtless varnished!!) on our site. Also we are thinking of web streaming the evnt for number of family members who could not be physically present. Will let you know the details.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

oops!1 I forgot to give my chennai contact mobile--8220773056--in case any of the locals want to contact me.

[arasi]

Ramesh,
Good to know you are in Chennai now, working hard on making it all happen. Of course, your brother would have done the ground work and would be working with you in making all arrangements.

Your experience at the publishing house means your editorial skills are just right for the job. As we all know, the absentee speakers, if they were present, might not have liked it if you had said: keep the speech very short!

Another bonus: rasikas are going to love it! Once you receive all the accolades from all the absentee guests, you can easily judge what to keep and what not to. On the other hand, you cannot do that (heaven forbid!) to those on the podium, like--that has been said so many times, please go on to your next point

Seriously, it's going to be great, the music world paying tribute to a seasoned rasikA, organizer and critic of your father's mettle...

[rajeshnat]

MKR SIr
If possible you can post any softcopy snippets of his reviews both carnatic and I am also interested in any of his cricket related editorials.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Arasi: Noted your comments--Thanks. Rajesh,sorry I forgot to answer your query about my Dad's Cricket interests, Yes,at the request of Hamsadhwani Founder--the late Ramachandran who stated the newsletter/magazine(limited circulation) CRICKET BAT--my father wrote a number of articles(these are not included in the book to be released).
I will try to scour our family archives and see if I can find some that are worthy of print.
Hope to see you at the function.

[cienu]

Dear Ramesh Mama (Sri MKR)

I have spoken to Amma and she was delighted at this function for Mahadevan Mama
Unfortunately we will be unable to be present on Aug 4th.
I will shortly email to you on her behalf after spending some time with her which you may read at the function.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Dear Cienu: Thanks for your kind remarks--I do understand your difficulties with so many responsibilities--I am even surprised that you are spending so much time for us at the forum.
As you know your Mom is my Mom's eldest daughter--the mere mention of her name to my Mom(she is 94 and has atremendous loss of short term memory) she bursts into tears although she is not able to recollect all the old days.
There are very few women in the World today who have let the various accolades that she has received over her lifetime rest lightly on her shoulders as she has.
It is heartening to see her passion infused in Aishwarya's music.Will call you soon. I am off to Tirupathy(I recall after your Mom's marriage in 1957 your Grandparents celebrated the Thiru Kalyanam before The Lord and our family was one of the privileged ones to attend the event---Oh memories,memories!!!

Regards,
Ramesh mama(MKR)

[uday_shankar]

MKR sir,

Best wishes for a grand celebration. As I shared over the phone, this was a function I was planning to attend for months but something came up in the last minute that might prevent that .

Shri KSM is an important figure in the fostering and shaping of CM in the last century. Musicians from at least three generations must be incalculably indebted to him for patronage, promotiion and via his writings for praise and objective criticism. My own father in law the late Shri Rammohan held him in the highest esteem and never lost an opportunity to visit him and pick his brain or various musical matters.

If I can sneak back to Chennai at least for the tail end of the function I will definitely show up.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Folks; here is a write-up in Today's Hindu(Friday Review) about my father and about the function.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 978921.ece

[cmlover]

Dear MKR:
I wonder whether there is an award for CM music critics. I am not aware of one.
If not isn't it a good idea to institute one in memory of KSM the Monarch of CM critics on the occasion of his centenary?
Just a thought...
We can discuss the formatting at this Forum...

[rshankar]

Sri MKR, Best Wishes for a fantastic program. The article left out your father's book-writing skills.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Chennai-based rasikas: Just a reminder about tomorrow'a function.I realise there are many compelling programs going on in the City.
Re: RShankar's point about his writing skills,the book to be released has lots of material to underscore the point.

It is our intention not to let the speeches take up too much time--we have allocated only 70 mts out of the almost 4 hour program(two concerts will make up the balance).
Well,Man proposes and God disposes!!!
Look forward to seeing you all @ KGS tomorrow.

[cienu]

Dear Ramesh Mama

Amma's message has been sent to you through the Rasikas mail box.

Warm regards and best wishes
cienu

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Cienu: Thanks a million--it is one of the most touching straight-from-the-heart tributes from a family member--I was reading the leter aloud to all of our family members in Sekhar's house just an hour ago--my mother was sitting along with the rest of us--most of the time she is not able to follow the thread of all our conversations,but when somebody asked me which Radha and I said Ms Mami Penn Radha--when she heard the words MS suddenly her eyes perked up and she asked MS Mamiya ezhuthi irukkal--your grandmother is etched in her mind!!!

There is not a moment in my family's life that I have not thought about your grandparents and mother--it is impossible to catalogue how much your family has enriched our lives not only thro music but thro the personal interactions over 75 years.
Please convey my deepest gratitude to your mother for the nice sentiments expressed.
Thro all kinds of adversities she has been and continues to be a "Classy woman".
May God give her the strength to carry her mission of propagating your Grandmother's music tho Aishwarya.

[cmlover]

Touching indeed!
No wonder as we age, we live only on fond memories of yore!

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

CMLover; YES indeed!!Judging from the outpouring of sentiments on the eve of today's function(a remindr to Chnnai-based folks)how our family's lives have been touched by artistes young and old alike. My late father had developed relationships with artistes outside the "Arena ==some of them not very cordial to each other--thro sheer tolerance and lowering of expectations recognising the nature of the artistes life--fleeting successes followed by downward spirals both on the artistic front and the home front,how these factors influence their relationship towards their most ardent fans and how as ardent fans one has to empathise with them and offer help whenever needed--all these "tips" my late father never got tired of telling us.

Over the years on a limited scale myself and my wife have tried to assimilate those lessons and cultivate abiding friendships beyond what my parents had bequeathed to us and we have been more than amply rewarded thanks to God's grace.

We are hoping today's function goes off well--it has been out-and-out a Grandchildren-Greatgrandchildren affair with myself and my brother playing minimal roles--the Hindu write-up by my nephew(singapore-based Bala Shankar) and the book itself was completely edited,compiled by him(he writes occasionlally for Sruthi magazine and does reviews for the Hindu during the December seasonl--the "legacy" of my father has helped him in opening foors to the Institutions and artistes.

Thanks to the forumites messages wishing success of the function.

[vasanthakokilam]

MKR, All the best for a great celebration of the birth centenary of your esteemed father.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Dear CMLover: Your suggestion is good and was discussed in the family.We felt my father used his. reviews as a means to an end namely--. encouraging youngsters who would otherwise not get the attention. Also we thought of dedicating a KSM day during the season @ KGS.But we felt scholarships(musical) to deserving students would directly benefit several people in successive years. So we decided to go that route.
My father also vigorously chmpioned the cause of pensions to musicians/teachers who could not make it big. he pushed the Chennai sabhas as well as Shanmukhananda in Mumbai and succeeded with the latter(I believe the Sabha has now a scheme for pensions.

Had he been alive he would have pressed that case vigorously with the Chennai sabhas. For us to undertake that obligation now would be beyond our resources.

I will give details of the KGS endowment(Rs.4 lakhs) we announced on August 4 --2 scholarships(Vocal/Insrumental) cojoining with KGS scholarship scheme from the "returns" of the endowment is the current plan.

Forumites are requested to offer sugestions as to how these awards are to be slected/managed. The family expects to have minimal roles in this process.

[harimau]

Ramasubramanian M.K. wrote:

"we announced on August 4 --2 scholarships(Vocal/Insrumental) cojoining with KGS scholarship scheme from the "returns" of the endowment is the current plan. "

I hope you put in a caveat that the instrumental scholarships are not paid to artists wanting to learn the keyboard, saxophone or the guitar.

Because if you do, I shall encourage youngsters to take up Air Pipes, which is bagpipes as played on the iPhone, and apply for the scholarship. You blow into the microphone of the iPhone and I guess that is stored as the duration of time in which you can play bagpipes.

This has now replaced the kazoo and the didgeridoo as my "instruments of the future" as far as Carnatic music is concerned.

The iPhone also features Ocarina and a mini-synthesizer for aspiring instrumentalists.

Of course, the harp is always there uppermost in my mind, if you know what I mean. )

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Harimau: Enjoyed your tongue-in-the-cheek post!!Now you have opened up a Pandora's Box and I am sure there would be competing claims as to what are Carnatic Music Instruments and what are not.

Frankly we have not thought thro what if our simple objectives could be hijacked by controversies.
I aman old man and at this stage of my life I have to keep it simple!!!!

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Forumites: The book "WRITINGS & REMINISCENCES by my father K.S.Mahadevan(released on August 4) is now available ins-tore and online from the Carnatic Books Music Store in Royapettah Chennai.

Their web site where this book is feautred prominently is www.carnaticbooks.com(Rs.302).