By Dr. T.S. Ravishankar, Director of Epigraphy Branch, Mysore
Sri Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha Trust has arranged a jugalbandi concert in memory of Bhakti Gananiratha Vid. T.R. Srinivasan on Apr. 6 at 5.30 pm at Veene Seshanna Bhavana in Kuvempunagar. The participants are Vid. H.N. Bhaskar (violin), Pt. Pravin Godkhindi (flute), Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma (mridanga) and Pt. Udayaraj Karpur (tabla).
I am indebted to Sri Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha Trust, Mysore, which has arranged this Memorial Music Concert on April 6. Especially, I am beholden to Prof. Poornaprajna of Kansas University, USA, for having taken the initiative to arrange the concert.
Here I would like to give a brief profile about my father and his contribution to the music world. This concert dedicated to the memory of Bhakti Gananirata Vid. T.R. Srinivasan aptly proves that he had created a niche in the hearts of contemporary musicians, artistes and music-lovers.
He was greatly acclaimed for his booming, resonating, melodious voice and impeccable pronunciation, coupled with great devotion, which formed his strong forte.
His great grandfather, Ganapati Dikshitar, belonged to the lineage of Sadguru Sri Tyagaraja Swamy. His father Tirupattur R. Ramanatha Iyer was the disciple of Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyengar and his co-disciple was Sangeeta Kalanidhi Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar.
Born in 1927, he came under the tutelage of Sangeeta Vidwan T. Puttuswamaiah, brother of Sangeeta Ratna T. Chowdaiah at the age of 12. He subsequently learnt music under Vid. Veena Gopalaraya, Sangeeta Vidwan Ramaratnam, Principal of Music College. He also learnt mridangam from Vid. S.R. Varadachar.
He gave his maiden concert when he was 17 at Bandikeri Prasanna Venkataramanaswamy temple, Mysore. In 1957, he gave a concert before His Highness Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. Again, in 1959 and 1961 he sang at the Music Academy, Madras, during the Presidentship of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Rajaratnam Pillai and Sangeetha Kalanidhi G.N. Balasubrahmanyam.
Other important concerts were at Bangalore Gayana Samaja, Nada Brahma Sabha, Karnataka Sangha at Bombay and Guntur, Andhra Pradesh and also in the presence of Sringeri Jagadguru and before Sosale Prasanna Theertha Sripadangalavaru and Parakala Swamiji.
He gave concerts right from the year 1947 from All India Radio, to begin with Dharwad and Madras, and subsequently at Mysore. As a very popular music teacher, he was teaching music at Mahila Samaja for many years and other institutions including Ramakrishna School and RIE, Mysore.
Though he got trained under different musicians, he never came under the spell of a particular style of singing and he evolved his own distinct style. Always he used to stress among his students to become creative musicians and follow manodharma sangeeta and emphasise the tonal quality of the voice so that music emerges from the depth of heart and used to cite a phrase from Sri Tyagaraja kirtana — Shobillu sapta swara, which defines the art of articulating the voice.
He has given innumerable concerts in his music career spanning more than five decades and I had the great fortune of accompanying him in many concerts in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Apart from music, because of his endearing qualities he had earned a large number of admirers and friends. His humbleness, down-to-earth nature won him a lot of friends and he was always generous in his disposition in helping the needy.
Among the virtues to be reckoned with is his nature of nurturing and encouraging young talents. He used to attend many concerts given by young musicians and encourage them. In one of the Bharatanatyam performances given by his daughter-in-law, Bhagyalakshmi, he rendered songs as part of Nattuvangam, and chose songs from DVG’s Antahpura Gitegalu, which was appreciated by the audience.
Thus he left an indelible impression on the connoisseurs of music and led an active life by teaching his disciples and giving concerts till the end. He breathed his last on 25th May 1996.
source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> Feature Articles / April 05th, 2013