GNB was dubbed the prince of Carnatic Music. He towers in looks as well as genius above all stars in the CM Galaxy - past and present. Shall we discuss his greatness with rare selections, anecdotes and reminiscence.
To start with here is a rare glimpse of the Maestro in action during his younger days.
(Chembai
Please incorporate this as the starter page! Thanks)
I have resized the image for better clarity and faster loading... please download original from above link for printing purposes if required ~ Admin
No wonder he was the heart-throb by sheer looks alone in those days.
Perhaps we could start with his own compositions.
May I request Lakshman to give us a list. We can then start followup with renderings by him from the archives. For a starter you may get a glimpse of GNB the great from
I am sure the lyrics too are available as we get the renderings posted. Let us take them one or two at a time and listen to GNB (if not his sishyas) so that we can appreciate the fine points of the compositions.
Now coolkarni/Badri/Others pl help. It will be nice to know the accompanists wherever possible and also the year (if available). It will be nice also to know the context of the composition if GBR has any records.
Thanks meena for those links!
Now
Summary of what is stated inTamil:
"Ananda Vikatan (Tamil magazine)and (late) Vasan (founder editor) played a fundamenatal role in the growth of Carnatic Music. Their service through the magazine has spread universally. The (late) Mali's pictures of Maestros of CM is living proof of Vikatan's contribution to CM. The ecstatic singer GNB pictured in youth was great not just in music but also in looks. There are additional pictures of Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Rajamanikkam Pillai (In other pages not included here!. This is indeed a collector's item. Thanks to Vikatan for creating the images..."
From the musical nirvana link that Meena has posted:-
He did not as we all know sing his own compositions - about 250 of them - in concerts
except for the beautiful Paramakripa in Yadukula Kambojhi.
Also if u both recall (am copying and posting Sir GBR post from How do You appreciate CM? thread)
"he is considered a great composer by many but not by himself,, he used to call which ever disciple he had at the time, dictate the notation and the lyric and he forgot about it,, inevitably someone would hear about it and ask him to tech to them and he would oblige.. i have heard from my uncle, that on many occasions he has sung them to Dr S.Ramanathan after composing them ,, he never sang them in public. It took a lot of effort from TR Balu to make him publish his first book Gana Bhaskara Mani Malai.. The publisher's name was mine. Raja Publications,, as i was the youngest child and his pet.."
Realize the difficulty of getting GNB self rendering! Let us wait and see whether there are any home recordings. I am sure there are those by his sishyas. I wonder whether GBR could share any!
I thought vandanadArini was introduced by GNB accidentally as the first part of 'sonnaithai cheithida saakasama', a blockbuster in the early days. Would love to hear a composition in that raga!
That was a sheer delight. Apparently this is a GNB composition and has been sung by sudha as well! I hope Lakshman could clarify the omission! Nice to have the lyric too!
We all know of the many errors made on inlay cards of cassettes and CDs. I would prefer to wait for the comments of GBR on this song. See comments below with respect to another song.
For many years it was believed that the composer of tandai tAi in SaNmukhapriyA was Ponniah Pillai. But now we know that it is a composition of GKB
rAgAs innovated by GNB are: shivashakti, sArangatarangiNI, amrtabehAg and possibly sAmakAdambari.
Dear Rasikas,
Thanks for all the compliments about my father. We in the family are definitely not sure about Vandanadarini and later on it was confirmed by many people that it was his composition. The first we heard it was by a disciple of Sri S.Kalyanaraman. Then the plausibility improved , and as i had written earlier and quoted by Meena,
my father never kept any record of his compositions. I do have a handwritten manuskript of some compositions in a notebook, where there are notations for some compositions he learnt and also a few he wrote- possibly in his later years.
i will try and post a sample when i return to Bangalore tomorrow, as I am in Mumbai today.
Some of the Rare - ragas or his discovery ( use of the word creation is dubious as I am not sure a raga can be created) - composing and naming.. like the stars in the galaxy.
are
Amrita Behag.
Siva Sakthi ( Indication of the nine swaras as in the nine peedas of the Srichakram and - see the number nine even in the name of the raga and the nine swaras in the avohanam and avarohanam)
Chandrahasitam
chayaranjini
Gavati ( a Hindustani raga- first heard by him sung by Sri Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb-- he first made a signal tune _ filler between programs on the radio- with this raga and then made a varnam- the carnatic version of the same and with vakra prayogas...)
As quoted by Meena, there are no proper records and all pieces -- really as he never wrote it down,, only dictated them to his disciple of the moment with the notations and taught them when his disiciples wanted to hear them.. this also not in his own handwriting as it was very bad similar to a doctors prescription.. my grand father used to joke that if my father wrote a letter to him, he had to come and read it to him himself.
As per TRS, he once changed the wording of one song after hearing TRS suggestion about the propriety of the meaning of a word...
As per TNK, he used to sing and show it to him. I think he used them as a sounding board. I have met a disiciple of Sri Dr. S. Ramanathan in Bangalore , who knew a few of his compositions as Dr S.Ramanathan had taught them to her..
There are three of his published compositions, the latest being the one released on 13th November with a foreword by Dr M. Balamuralikrishna.
More on Vandanadarini-- he used this raga in the ragamalika Sonnathai Seithida -- released when he was quite young.. you also find quite a few rare ragas in his ragamalika slokas like Ahiri etc..
Sri Lalgudi said that he has accompanied my father when he sang an elaborate Karaharapriya... in Perambur sangeetha sabha..
Quite a few collectors maintain that there is another Karahapriya is available with someone,, we are still searching for that rarity.. he never sang the raga as he felt there is nothing left for him after the treatment given to it by Sri Semmangudi.
There are a few lecdems of his compositions and I will try to upload them with the help of Sri Kulkarni, by MLV, TVR and also a joint concert by TVR and SK during the release of the second volume of his compositions in 1971.
I have the copies of all the 3 books and I can give notations of any particular song to those interested. I will also try to upload the notation as written by him.
it is always a pleasure to hear from you about your great dad and it is nice of you to offer to share his creations at this forum. We are sure coolkarni would help in having them digitized and formatted to be made available at this Forum. In particular we appreciate very much your adding the personal touch and the history behind these creations. We also welcome his shishya parampara as well as myriads of Rasikas to share their memories and collections (of course with your permission) without let are hindrance! Those of us who had the previlege of listening to him alive have fond memories of the man and his music and would love to pass them on to future generations of CM Lovers as their rightful heritage!
meena http://carnatica.net/season2004/songlists2.htm
is also a reference where sudha raghunathan has rendered sudha madhurya bhASiNi which is listed as GNB composition. Any way we have it now with authority!
CML
GBR just had to give this oK.
(they are all digitised and ready.)
The carpet bombing will now be arranged via detroit(Kalgada) or badri.
But this can be handled without haste and we can definitely take our time in savouring these treasures.
Will work out the schedules with kalgada and badri
AND I MUST QUICKLY ADD THAT I AM AMAZED AT THE KIND OF ATTENTION GBR SHOWERS ON ME WHENEVER WE MEET.
ON BEHALF OF ALL OF US AT THIS FORUM , I HAVE BEEN SO PRIVILEGED TO RECEIVE SUCH ATTENTION AND AFFECTION.
I will definitely propose a meeting with him the next time he visits Chennai , where the rest of you at Chennai can share these wonderful moments.....
Dear Rasikas,
Thanks for the kind words. Seeing the love and affection you shower on my beloved father, it is the least I can do to tell those details that I know to be true. As I told to Sri Coolkarni, what i am offering is the service the little Anil did for the construction of the Sethu across the Indian Ocean for Lord Rama. The service people like Sri Coolkarni, Ramakrishanan, Krishna Prasad etc do for spreading the treasure they have for all alike spending a lot of their time and energy is something the newer generation must owe a lot. I would welcome anyone of you who can come to Bangalore to visit us.
It is fact that with some collectors, even the family had to pay to get some of his music.. it is sad but true.
I am still amazed at my father, who in his small life span of 55 years has done so much, not only performing so many concerts, but teaching so many sishyas and also composing so many songs in well sung and rare ragas and also to add to the reportoire of the raga bank.. I heard Sri Palghat Raghu mention that from 1936-1955 period when he was one of the percussion accompanyists for his concerts, he has played close to 2000 concerts .
The other thing about The Man- very simple with very very humane values, respect for elders, devotion to his manasika gurus, his mother, and all those near to him, who still cherish the time spent with him , at the same time the best dressed and the most presentable of the musicians of his time.
During the release of his third book of compositions, Mr Cleveland Sundaram mentioned two incidents.
Once in the thirties, my father as an ex student was asked to perform at MCC- Chennai, where the Englishman whose name I forget, was the principal , heard his concert for the whole three hours and after which they started discussion on Milton and Keats as he was also incharge of the dept of English.
He also mentioned another incident, wherein, a russian delegation had come to meet him and wanted a symphony sort of music piece was required , Sri Sundaram took them to my father who was then the Chief Producer of Carnatic Music, composed the same in a very very short time, in a matter of minutes which amazed the group.
I will try to upload this speech also if you are interested.
We all feel that the courtesy shown to you is a courtesy shown to all of us! No doubt you need to have extra large shoulders
This forum is fast becoming a sacred temple of CM where the great performers are respected appreciated and remembered. Rasika hordes are the humble devotees who come hither seeking serenity and inner peace through the marvellous magic of CM and their wishes are fulfilled. There is no better psychotherapy available anywhere else! It is now equally important that we have good discussions going so that folks learn how to apply the therapy effectively. If not, we will simply degenerate into a market place purveying pills without labels! The anecdotes are indeed case histories that tell us how our venerable ancestors overcame adversity through Nada Yoga with Divine Grace! By all means let this be a collector's forum. But leave a little recompense in the form of a few lines as to what you liked and why and how it brought sunshine into your lives! The greatest joy one can ever have is the joy of making others happy which is the foundation of the vedic mantra; sarvE janAH sukhinO bhavantu!
There was an error in my message regarding the incidents mentioned. The one who narrated the incidents was Mr V.K.Viswanathan and not Dr Cleveland Sundaram. Error is regretted.
No need to hurry! Let us have discussions in parallel. I do hope GBR will add any relevant historical comments. Are there any problems posting sudha or TVR? This is essentially Guru Vandana and I am sure they would welcome it!
Dear Lakshman
It will be nice to have the lyrics posted concurrently so that we can enjoy the music as well as the sahitya!
Not to miss out on the invocatory shlOka by Sri Kalyanaraman which was written by one Subramaniam and auditor (GBR any more info on him? Family friend or relative?) here is the lyric (auditioned)
dvijOttamasya kulAtmajasthinE
sa^NgIta sAhitya kalA vidaktinE
gItapriyAya nipuNAya sushiShya bhandhunE
samasta kalyANa guNAya susheela dhImatE
shrI vidyA nAdOpAsana pArAyaNa suk^RitinE
naMo namastE guravE mahAtmanE
The shlOkam is in delectable Sindhubhairavi.
GBR
tell us about GNB's commitment to Sri Vidya! Was he formally initiated?...
Dear Rasikas,
My father spent the last 10 years of his life studying the various aspects of mantra sastra etc. He was a Sridevi Upasaka and took diksha from Sri Tediyoor Sastrigal. He had Srichakra and Maha Meru and a 8inch idol of his isthadevatha Devi in Panchaloha and used to do pooja daily. when travelling he had a separate box made for his separate idols and carried it with him.
He read extensively on the subject. He has used his diksha nama in the composition in Amrita Behag raga, Kamala Charane-- Vimarsananda,,,, the one and only time he used his name in any of his compositions.
Sri Subramaniam to my knowledge is not related to us..
cml - can i implore you to translate that beautiful sloka. I get the "gist" of it - through my sketchy knowledge of some of the words. But it would be great to have the complete meaning.
to you who is the son of a noble brahmin family
to you who is the expert in musical literature and art (sangIta sahitya kalA)
to you who is the kinsman (bound to) the music-loving-expert-splendid disciples
to you who has all the auspicious qualities and one of excellent characteer and of intellect
to you who is indulged in musical meditation of Sri Vidya
prostrations to you Guru and great Soul!
Coolkarni sir,
You just made my (fri)day start brightly with 'En mana thaamarai' sung very nicely by the master. Ambal would have been so pleased by this.
People ask me often what is so good about carnatic music....I just think the feeling is similar to an infant calling for his/her mother..No word can express that in totality..It is just so pleasing for the infant and the mother only...