I have had an urge to capture as many of our Masters on good videos which can be a fine record of their personalities.
Sankar Iyer, Kalpagam Mami,Manakkal and TRS - these choices were borne out of this desire ,in the first place.
Meeting TRS .
An elusive mind , in a Musical reverie
I found him like that , on a cool Afternoon.
.
He was in the midst of a discussion on padams as we entered ,and I got a taste of things to follow quickly- When he did not shift his stance even by a Millimetre, while greeting me.
Relaxing at an angle , in a manner only Old Vidwans can do,he just waved me in.
He must have sized me up in his first few enquiries and I quickly realised that one must be a Practitioner of music (no matter at any level) to get him interested.
To get him interested.
That is the key.
For the full duration of the meeting, his flow of thought was uninterrupted, as he moved from one heavy leather bound Volume to another.Some of them , prizes he had received at the Academy at a tender age.
The Mood that had taken him over was Padams , Sahana and Brinda.
I was sitting on the floor at his feet , hoping for the balloon to land on earth and talk to me.
That he did , for a few minutes when everyone else in the room had moved out to fetch Mysore paaks for me.(I wonder how they find out that I am still like a kid in a candy store !)
Bending over me , he whispered :
"You know the greatness of Brinda's Music .(People tend to bark up the wrong tree , by taking the lyrical content too seriously .And I agree that some of the stanzas can be pure pornography)
That form of music gives an additional dimension for the singer to encapsulate musical thoughts , that can be picked at random and developed into full scale major renderings.
Now you see this sequence of phrases in Mora Topu (he sings it)-- this one line has enough material , which I have employed in my nervals for long durations.
They are a kind of key to unlock a Vast treasure lying underneath.As we repackage those thoughts , her renderings are a Source that never dries up.
That is the beauty of Brindas music.
And that is the beauty of padam singing, if you ask me."
If one thinks that there was a formal taking of leave , there was none.
We just sauntered out of the Musical Hall, as quietly as we had entered.
As I put on my Chappals back , I heard him continue , as though we had come in and gone out as spirits.