Amrutha Varshini, H.G.

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310  X INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCHVolume : 3 | Issue : 3  | March 2013 | ISSN - 2249-555XReseaRch PaPeR Performing ArtsVeenā Krishnamāchāriar- Life and ContributionSmt. H. G. Amrutha VarshiniResearch Scholar, Department of Performing Arts, Bangalore University, Bangalore -56Keywords WSN, data gathering, energy consumptionINTRODUCTION:The advent of the Music Trinity, viz. Sri Tyāgarāja, Sri Muthuswāmi Dīkshitar and Sri Śyāma Śāstry has had a remark-able influence on the South Indian Classical Music. Through them, the compositional forms like the Kriti, Kīrtana, and Rāgamālika attained maturity and perfection. This had a great impact on the post-trinity composers who followed them closely in many aspects such as melody, structure, language, rhythm and the form in entirety.This paper explores the life and contribution of Veeṇā Krishṇamāchāriar who is a significant musician, com oser and musicologist of the post-trinity period. Veeṇā Krishṇamāchāriar was a musician of high order. He was not only accomplished in Veenā playing but with other musical instruments as well. He was a good vocalist endowed with mellifluous voice. He had a vast repertoire which included Kshetraĵna’s Padams and Jāvalis. Also he had a deep knowl-edge on Abhinaya Shāstrā which helped him in a great way during the composition of Kutrāla Kuravanji. He was a gifted composer who created more than 250 compositions com-prising Jathiswarā’s, Tāna Varṇā’s, Pada Varṇā’s, Kritis, Jāvaḷi’s, Tarāna, Devaranāma and Tillāna’s.Early Years:Krishṇamāchāriar was born in Kāḷathūr or Koḷathūr near Tiruvellōre, Tamil Nāḍu. His year of birth is unknown. Accord-ing to Sri C.Sēshāchalam1 of the famed Curzon and company, a close friend of Krishṇamāchāriar, he might have been born around 1880’s. His father was Sri Kandadai Rāmānujāchāriar who belonged to the Uttama Bhāgavatha Matham. He was a Telugu Panḍit and a respected Guru. Veena Krishnamāchāriar’s mother was endowed with an uncommonly high musical tal-ent and therefore the sound of good music was prevalent in their home. This illustrious couple was blessed with 3 dis-tinguished sons destined to be famous Vidwāns and emi-nent personalities of their time. The three brothers were the famous ‘Tiger’ Varadāchāriar, Veena Krishṇamāchāriar and K.V.Srinivāsa Iyengār. Veenā Krishnamāchāriar and his illustrious brothers formed a happy trio satisfying the age old definition of the term ‘Sangita’ with its triple aspects of Geetam, Vādyam and Nrttam.2“Geetam Vādhyam tathā nrttam trayam sangitamuchyate” Vidwan Varadachariar, whose unique Bāni earned him the title ‘ Tiger’ from the Maharaja of Mysore represented Geet-am, Veena Krishnamāchāriar who was a specialist in playing several instruments apart from Veenā represented Vādhyam and Srinivāsa Iyengār, a pioneer musicologist and an author-ity on Bharata Sāstra represented Nrttam.Veena Krishnamāchāriār’s family constantly migrated from one Sri Vaishnavite place to another owing to lessening of harvest or reasons unknown. After several years of wander-ing Veena Krishanamāchāriar came to a place called Collect Pēttah or Kālaḍipēttāh near Chennapattanā (Madras/ Chen-nai), set amidst a quiet agrahāra with the prominent shrine of Lord Kalyāṇa Varadarāja. This place was frequented by Chettiyār’s from Madras. Krishnamāchāriar was musically oriented right from young age. He used to stay close to the temple complex and sang in front of the almighty daily. On one such occasion, Krishnamāchāriar’s music talent was noticed by the Chīmāta brother’s – Ramanujam, Namberumal and Alavandar, familiar-ly known as the Wenlock and Curzon Chettiyārs. These Cur-zon brothers were themselves a fine connoisseur of music and specially, Namberumal himself was a Vainika of great merit. These brothers were talent scouts of their time and were re-sponsible in bringing out eminent musicians to the public including Poochi Srinivāsa Iyengar, Krishna Bhāgavathar etc3. Among these stalwarts, Veena Nilakanta Shastry was an ac-knowledged leader. His full mastery over the instrument and rhythm earned him the title”Pancha Tala” Neelakanṭa Śāstry. Therefore, the Curzon Chettiyars had no difficulty in entrust-ing Krishnamacharaiar’s musical training to the great Vidwān Neelakanṭa Śāstry, in whose hands, Krishnamacharaiar’s talent blossomed and matured.Krishṇamāchāriar was ever loyal to his patrons and almost be-came a family member of the Chimata family. He used to be very meticulous in all his habits be it Pooja or his music prac-tice. Krishnamāchāriar accompanied the Chettiyārs in most of their tours and Pilgrimages. One such pilgrimage was to the Triplicane Pārthasārathy swāmy temple at Madras. The Curzon Chettiyārs were great devotees of Sri Pārthasārathy swāmy and used to spend long durations in the temple. Dur-ing one of their Sevā’s Krishnamāchāriar for reason unknown entered the Kitchen area of the temple and took an active hand in the preparation of the Prasādam which happened to be ‘Puliodharai’. The prasādam turned out be more delec-table than ever before. The same evening Krishṇamāchāriar gave a performance before the Sannidhi. His debut as a musi-cian made quite a stir as the local Rasikas were eager to know the identity of the debutant. One of the Rasika pointed out to the rest that the musician was the same cooking enthusiast who prepared the Puliodharai that was enjoyed by one and all in the morning! This incident also earned Krishṇamāchāriar the title ‘Puliodharai’.Vocal Training:Apart from learning Veena from the famous Panchatala Neelakanta Shastry, Krishṇamāchāriar along with his brother also learnt vocal music from the legendary Patnam Subrama-nia Iyer who belonged to the sishya parampara of Sadguru Tyāgarāja.Krishnamāchāriar as a Musician:Krishṇamāchāriar was both a musician and Musicologist. Apart from being an excellent Vainika, Krishṇamāchāriar was also adept in playing several instruments like Mrdanga, Nāgaswaram, Sitar, Dōlu, Flute etc. He had a mellifluous voice and was an expert in singing Padam and javali which he had learnt from his Guru Sri Neelakanta Shastry. Also Krishṇamāchāriar was a master of Apoorva Ragas and Hin-dusthani Ragas. Though he was physically handicapped, this made no impact on his musical genius and performances. He used to play the Veena in the upright position with utmost clarity brimming with Bhava. He was easy to accompany as a concert Vidwan4. He apparently gave a concert along with Vasudevacharya, Tiger Varadachariar, Mazhavareyanendal INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH  X 311 Volume : 3 | Issue : 3 | March 2013 | ISSN - 2249-555XReseaRch PaPeRSubramania Bhagavatar at Kalakshetra organized by Smt Rukmini Arundel which is still remembered by the alumni’s of Kalakshetra. Veena Krishnamāchāriar as a Teacher:Krishṇamāchāriar was a teacher par excellence. He was a strict task master and a perfectionist in teaching. Any stu-dent who underwent their musical foundation training under Krishṇamāchāriar was bound to have an unshakable basic. He spent one year (1944) at Kalakshetra, Chennai and during his tenure, he taught young and old students and laid strong foundation in vocal music. During his later years, he estab-lished a music school in Bangalore called ‘Arya Gana Vid-hyalaya’ at Basavanagudi (which is now obsolete) and trained several students. He was loved by all his senior disciples and was known as Lakshana Vidwan. Gānakōkilē. G.Chennamma, Krishṇamāchāriar‘s pupil has brought out a book containing the composition of Krishṇamāchāriar titled ‘Karnataka Gana Vidhya Pradeepike’.As a Composer:Krishnamāchāriar has composed more than 250 Composition in 7 different musical forms. He has composed Jathiswarams, Varnams, Kritis, Tarana, Javali, Tillana and Devaranama. His compositions indicate an affinity for well known Rakti Raga-s. He has also created new Ragas like Divya Malathi, Shud-dhakambhoji. Brief introduction about the lakshana of the Raga will high-light the shape of the Raga: 1. Rāga Divyamālathi. This is a Janya of 8th Mela, Hanumathodi. This is a Shādava Rāga with the following Arohana and Avarohana. Aro : S G2 M1 P D1 N2 SAva : S N2 D1 P M1 G2 SThe kriti composed in this Rāga is ‘Panula Māni’ set to ādi tāla. The Pallavi of the kriti begins thus;1. ;;; p  M  p  G M G | S  G  S  g  s  |  n  s  G  G  M || m g M M-  ;;; pa nu la mā . ni| pa ru la ka pa| . kā . .  ra mu || ………..2. ;;; p  M  p  g  m p m m g | g s G  S  g   s | n s G G M ||g m p m g m;;; pa nu la mā……….ni…| pa. ru la ka pa|. kā  . .mu|| --------------Another example is a krithi in the Raga Shuddha Kamboji.This is a Upanga Janya of the 28th Mela, Harikamboji. The arohana and Avarohana is;S R2 G3 M1 P D2 SS D2 P M 1 G3 R2 SHe has composed a Krithi in this raga which is on Lord Rama set to Khanda Chapu Tala. The pallavi begins thus-1. P D | P- P,| M G |R G R | S R | G M , |M G |R G M ||  I na |ku lōt |ta ma|rā..ma |in -- |dubim |ba . |vadana|| 2. P D | P, M P D ,| P D S, |D P M G G R |S R |G M ,| GMPM|MGGRR,|| I na |ku….lōt…..|ta….ma|rā………..ma..|in..|dubim| ba……|va…dana||Here we can see that the raga is established very clearly in the first two sangathis just as in the Kritis of Sri Tyagaraja.Krishnamacharaiar’s compositions in general are precise, and wholly according to the Sampradaya. Most of his Varnams follow the standard pattern of other composers. His specialty is that he has composed Anubandam, which he refers to as Sampoorna Charana which is not seen in other composer’s Varnam’s, barring few. Anubandham is something which completes the meaning of the sahitya part of the Charanam. Some examples are given below:He had an extraordinary knowledge of dance and understood exactly how the dance should be musically accompanied and how the Nattuvangam should be performed. As mentioned earlier, he was an expert in Padam and Javali rendition, and this aspect can be seen in his compositions too. He has used some rare words like yenaakshi beautifully in his Varnams and Krithis that are found generally in Padam’s and javali’s. Krishnamachariar was an experimentalist. He has experi-mented in handling prominent Rakthi raga like Bēgaḍa. In this Raga, he has composed 2 varnas and few kritis. The Bēgaḍa according to Krishnamachariar do not have Nishadam in the Avarohana which is one of the Jeeva swaras. Scholars like MD Ramanathan opine that the Nishadam is intoned. In the sanchāram found in the two books containing the composi-tions of Krishṇamāchāriar, the Nishādam is absent. The Aro-hana and Avarohana given is S G R G MP DP S - S D P M G R S. This is a rare prayoga and one wonders if there are any other compositions of this type! To the above statement Sri C.Seshachalam says5: “Specially noteworthy is his varnam in Raga Byagaḍa, in that though it is its very life breath, ‘Nishāda’ is not pronounced at all. Of course it is intoned. This ingenious, daringly uncommon bold device is designed to help the practitioner to appreciate nu-ances, abstracted from the bondage to swara”. (According to Professor S.R.Janakiraman, the nishāda is present both in the Arohana and Avarohana. He says, the popular murchana for this raga is SGRGMPDPS – SN, DPM, GRS, but according to Sangraha Chooḍāmani of Gōvinda, the ārohaṇa is SGRGMP-DN, DPS and the Avarōhaṇa is SNDPMGRS. Owing to the occurrence of the phrase ‘ pdNdps’ , it is better to keep the Arohana as SGRGMPDN,DPS as both ‘pdps’ and ‘pdNdps’ can be sung.)Along with his brothers Krishṇamāchāriar has co-authored several books on music like ‘The Sangita Pradayini’ a work in Telugu (subtitled ‘A Text Book on Hindu Music’ and pub-lished in Madras in the year 1916), Tyagaraja Hridayam, Sangita Bodhini, Sangita Ratnavali, Sangita Chitrambari etc. However, the subsequent editions of the Sangita Ratnavali, published by Adi and Co are attributed to Sri.KV Srinivasa Iyengar alone. The brothers have also composed some krithi’s with the Mudhra “Tyagaraja”. The famous krithi’s in Simhendramadhyama “Natajana” and “Needucharanamule” are compositions of these brothers which were unknown to the music world for a long time. Another similar example is the Harikambhoji krithi, “Vinatasutavahanudai”.Vaggeyakara Mudhra:Sri Krishṇamāchāriār has used ‘Padmapurisha’, ‘Padmapuri-varada’, ‘Vemanna’, ‘Tillai Natarāja’ (for his Tamil Krithis) or ‘padmapuri’ in his compositions. The mudhra corresponds to the presiding deity of Padmapuram or kaladipetah Sri Kalya-na Vardaraja swamy. Association with Kalakshetra:Krishṇamāchāriar spent one year in Kalakshetra (1944) and during his tenure he set to tune for the dance drama, Ku-trala Kuravanji, which made Kuravanji’s as a class. The music flows with ease and grace in a succession of Ragas which personify the emotions the dancer is expected to display. The Teermanams and Sollukattu that he has composed for the dance drama are so precise which only reveal the composer’s good sense of rhythm. He has also composed a Tillana in praise of Smt. Rukmini Devi’s contribution to the field of BharataNatya. He has also composed music for Andal’s Vāraṇamāyiram. This was especially composed for Smt.Sharada Hoffman who danced this piece alone for an hour! This indicates his deep knowledge about composing for dance.He used to stay in the Theosophical society and was a Swayampāki. He used to make special tea which was liked by all including Sir Arundel who used to drive down to Krishna-macharaiar’s cottage for drinking the tea! After his tenure in Kalakshetra, Krishṇamāchāriar left to Bangalore and passed 312  X INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCHVolume : 3 | Issue : 3  | March 2013 | ISSN - 2249-555XReseaRch PaPeRaway in the year 1947.CONCLUSION:Sri Krishnamāchāriar belongs to the Uttama Vaggeyakara genre. His songs are a powerful outpouring of devotion and fervor. When one analyses his composition, one is reminded of Dikshitar’s Bhairavi kriti, ‘Balagopala’, where Dikshitar calls himself “Vainika Gayaka Guruguha”. We can find this similar-ity in some of Krishnamacharaiar’s Kritis where his music was inseparable from the Veena. A study of his life reveals that his passion for music was so strong that serious health affliction was unable to eclipse his musical output. Surrendering him-self to the Almighty, his songs are a blend of rich philosophi-cal flavor and devotion to the Lord.REFERENCE  Gāna Manjari – Introduction – C. Seshāchalam – Kalakshetra Publication, 1966 | Glimpses of Indian Music, Gowri Kuppuswami and M Hariharan, Article – 46, KV Srinivasa Iyengār and Krishnamāchāriār by MD Rāmanāthan | Ganamanjari – Introdution - C.Seshāchalam, Kalākshetra Publication, 1966 | Tiger Varadachariar Birth Centenary commemoration volume , T.S.Parthasarathy , Madras 1977 – Talk by TigerVaradachāriar, in one paragraph tiger talks about Krishnamāchāriar where he mentions the above point, however there is no elaboration on this statement. | Gana Manjari – Introduction – Kalakshetra and Sangeet Natak Academy publication , 1966 | 

Veena Krishnamachariar-Life and Contribution

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Veena Krishnamachariar-Life and Contribution

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