MUSICAL ANECDOTES—32.
32.--Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan ( 1935 – 2008)
Renowned violin virtuoso 'Kunnakudi' S Vaidyanathan had no contemporary when it came to playing his chosen instrument. He was born to Sri Ramaswamy Sastri and Smt. Meenakshi at Kunnakudi, His father was a scholar in Sanskrit and Tamil, and a composer and exponent of Carnatic Music and Kathakalakshepam. Vaidyanathan started learning South Indian Classical Music from his father at a very young age. He not only taught him the nuances of music but also finer points of Hindu Vedic scriptures.
****************************
Vibhuti or sacred Ash and a large Vermilion dot smeared prominently on his forehead were his trademark symbols. The violin was his forte. Known for the dexterity and subtlety in handling the violin, he catered not only to the music scholar but also to the layman. His play reflected his own different moods and the demands of his audience with whom he established and enjoyed a good rapport. He dwelled with ease and competence in the high as well as the low octaves.
************************************
"It was indeed a miracle, that I was initiated by my father to learn playing on the violin under him unexpectedly when the regular violinist, Haridas Ramachandrachar did not turn up for the Karthigai festival celebrated at the local temple. I was then a boy of nine years and within a short spell of 11 months, I was able to accompany my sisters ", recalled Kunnakudi.
***********************
At the age of 12, he accompanied great stalwarts like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Maharajapuram Santhanam in concerts. He also performed with Nadaswaram vidwans like T.N.Rajarathinam Pillai and Thiruvenkadu Subramania Pillai.
**************************
"Film music those days was based on Carnatic tunes. I met G.Ramanathan in Salemand he asked me to play on the violin. I played a film song tuned by him, "Manmathaleelayai " in 'Charukesi' which gave him immense satisfaction. I joined his orchestra." Kunnakudi also made a significant contribution to Tamil devotional music. "I got a chance to set some devotional songs to tune for Soolamangalam sisters. The piece "Tiruparamkundrathil ni sirithal" is the first devotional song by me. I became a regular accompanist to Soolamangalam Sisters in their recitals", reminisced Kunnakudi.
*****************************
He made a mark in classical music as well as film music, and made conscious attempts to make music more accessible to the common man.
*****************************
He stopped accompanying vocal artistes in 1976 to concentrate more on solo concerts. He was famous for his fingering techniques on the violin. His interest in new attempts and innovations led him to work with veteran thavil vidwan Valayapatti Subramanian. They performed over 3,000 shows together. Vaidyanathan had deep faith in the therapeutic merits of music.
*******************************
Interested in introducing novelties Kunnakudi played as a violin accompanist in a recital of the great nagaswaram and clarionet maestro A.K.C.Natarajan. He also accompanied Veena S.Balachander.
************************************
A. P. Nagarajan giving him his first break in the movie Vaa Raja Vaa. He had several hits for which he scored music. In the film 'Deivam,' he had all his playback singers including Madurai Somu appear on screen. His composition 'Marudamalai mamaniyae murugaiyya...' in Darbari Kanada made waves in the industry like not many songs have. Several other films such as 'Agathiyar' and 'Raja RajaChozhan,' for which he scored music, were also phenomenal hits. Vaidyanathan made a special appearance in the 2005 Tamil movie Anniyan directed by Shankar, on the Tyagaraja Aradhana festival sequence for the song Iyengaaru Veetu which is a recreation of the real festival. He tried his hand at film production with a feature film in Tamil Thodi Ragam, with T. N. Seshagopalan in the lead, which bombed.
**********************************
He was awarded the prestigious "Padma Shri",Kalaimamani award, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1993, and the Karnataka Isaignani award. He has also won Best Music Director awards for his background scores for films. He received the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani award given by "The Indian Fine Arts Society" .
***************************
Vaidyanathan, had a long association with the All India Radio. An able administrator, He served as Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nadaga Mandram. As the Secretary of Thyagabrahma Sabha in Thiryvaiyaru .He conducted the Tyagaraja Aradhana for several years. He also served as president of the Raga Research Centre.
******************************************
The maestro was known for producing offbeat sounds from the violin. Such was his dexterity with the instrument that he could produce sounds of Vedic mantras with the violin at Carnatic concerts. Almost till his last days, Vaidyanathan was a much sought after musician and he performed alongside modern day masters such as Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain. Was appointed State Artiste by Tamil Nadu Government in 1984. He was appointed Asthana Vidwan, Kanchi Mutt in 1987.
********************************
He was a multi- faceted personality in the world of Carnatic music. People know of his deep knowledge of the system, his deft handling of and research on various ragas, his highly innovative, imaginative and captivating presentation of music to a mixed audience, his caliber for untiring asura sadhakam. He was a friendly person with no self- assumed airs. He always recog nised his rasikas, friends, acquaintances and admirers, even in thick crowds and had a word of affection for. He described himself as a departmental store, which is fully true.
*********************************
He had a great sense of humour and his own style of keeping everyone around happy and laughing. He was a very good orator too. His alliterations and word plays were enjoyable. His "one minute stories" require special mention. He often would tell short stories during class which used to be humorous and they carried a strong message. He had a very good memory. He used to remember dates as if he were a history encyclopedia. He also remembered almost everyone whom he met in his life. He was a very humble person, never had any pride. He respected everyone and was very devoted to music and God.
No comments:
Post a Comment