A Sangeetha Kalanidhi who inspired music teacher Ranganna in the novel Mohamul

Umayalpuram Swaminath Iyer

Among the galaxy of sangeetha kalanidhis that adorn the walls of the Sangeet Academy is Umayalpuram Swaminath Iyer, who won the award in 1936. The life of Swaminath Iyer, a disciple of Umayalpuram Krishna Bhagavatar and Sundara Bhagavatar, who was a direct disciple of Sant Tyagaraja, continues. pages of MohamulT. A novel by Janakiraman.

According to Janakiraman, the hero of the novel is a fictionalized version of Babu’s teacher Ranganna Swaminath Iyer. Janakiraman also learned music from him.

“He was a student of Maha Vaidyanath Iyer. He saw life as music. I saw the same in my father. He does not like to speak loudly or even listen to anything loudly,” writes Janakiraman in his essay, The Novel Pirantha Tale (The story of the birth of the novel).

“He didn’t want to show that he knew anything but music. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. He was adamant that if we sang it (music) well, nothing else mattered. As he stood on the porch, in the purple darkness of the bedroom light. , is living alone without any expectations. His confidence strengthened his faith. Perhaps he is like my father,” says Janakiraman Babu’s personality.

The generation that listened and learned from Swaminath Iyer is no more. Janakiraman would have been 103 years old if he had lived and Semangudi R. learned from Swamintha Iyer who died in 2003. Srinivasa Iyer would have been 118 years old. Srinivasa Iyer’s teacher Maharajpuram Vishwanath Iyer was also a student of Swaminath Iyer.

“The best way to learn the fundamentals of music is to be taught by him. Only after ensuring this vowel positions is fully occupied Sutta Swaras In the neck, he will still teach. He has a melodious voice. oh What kind of swaram? He will sing unnecessarily Associations. If we sing Swaras Threateningly and mathematically, he would say that it was not music, but only noise. He used to say, don’t spoil your voice by singing like that,” Srinivasa Iyer recalls in his memoirs. Semmagudeen Kural.

The simplicity that characterizes Ranganna can be seen in Swaminath Iyer’s photograph of the backyard of his house on the banks of the Kaveri. He remained a repository of knowledge of Sant Tyagaraja and his works.

Swaminath Atreyan, Author Thyagaraja AnubangalA collection of stories that give rise to various events The KirtansThey were recited by Swaminath Bhagavatar during his student days at Kumbakonam.

“I used to wash his clothes out of respect. I also got to hear many stories when I listened to Swaminath Iyer’s conversation with Yajnaswami Shastri and Amber Vijayaraghavachari,” Athryan said in an interview. Hindu.

Janakirman told Swaminath Iyer that it would take an hour to line up Shruti. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to line up Shruti. He digs deeper Shruti. He would keep adjusting the tambura until he was 100 percent satisfied Shruti. He has a fantastic ear. When he speaks, he tells us to listen to other voices. The sound of birds, the sound of an oil mill, and the sound of a baby crying. The world is full of sounds. Even when someone talked, he would tell about measurements Shruti. He would ask us how those sounds deviated from our fundamental notes,” writes Janakiraman of Swaminath Iyer’s sensitive ear.

In his presidential address at the annual music conference of the Music Academy, Swaminath Iyer recalled the time he spent with Maha Vaidyanath Sivan in the palace of Pudukottai, ruled by Ramachandra Tondman. “When Veena Subbarayan presented the manuscript to Sivan, he accepted it with affection. Based on the manuscript, Sivan and his brother Ramasamy Sivan published 73 Melaragamaligas, Arupathumuvara Charithira Kirtanagal and many other Tamil works,” says Swamintha Iyer.

Pointing out that Telugu and Sanskrit kirtans became popular because of their special emphasis, he reiterated the need to know the meaning of the kirtans. “Otherwise, when Tamils ​​sing, they will be nonsense.