Sruti Box
Some letters reproduced from Sruti 214
Narayanaswamy - 1
Please allow me to convey my very sincere appreciation for the superb efforts put in by you and your staff in bringing out the special feature on the late Palakkad K.V. Narayanaswamy (Sruti 212).
Padma Narayanaswamy's reminiscences, melancholy though, give us a lot of information about the great vidwan.
That he was a personification of modesty and simplicity was evident whenever I had the opportunity of ushering him, Padma and Anuradha to the presence of Poojyasree Maha Periaval and later on the two Acharya pada-s of Sree Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. I vividly remember the occasion, when, at the behest of the Bala Periaval, KVN set to tune a Tamil song in praise of the Maha Periaval and sang it too. Sruti has rendered a great service in bringing out this issue of tribute to the great vidwan.
Narayanaswamy - 2
Kudos to you for the brilliant feature on K.V. Narayanaswamy and also for the cover page sketch of the maestro by D. Narendran which is captivating and appropriate.
Narayanaswamy came into prominence when his guru Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar was virtually ruling the Carnatic music scene in the early nineteen sixties. He stood for nada gambheerya and saukhya.
Any amount of praise cannot measure the lingering impact of KVN's music on his admirers. He has carved a permanent niche for himself in the minds of sensitive listeners.
It is interesting to note that M.S. Subbulakshmi and Narayanaswamy had high esteem and regard for each other. During one of his customary annual recitals under the auspices of the Seshadripuram Ramotsava Samiti in Bangalore in the early nineteen sixties, MS, T. Sadasivam and Radha Viswanathan sprang a surprise on every one by attending the performance, staying till the end and enjoying each and every gem the maestro presented. Inspired by KVN's soulful rendering of Jagadoddharana, Purandaradasa's immortal song in Kafi, MS invariably included this song in her own concerts.
C.P. Chikkanna
Narayanaswamy - 3
You deserve a hearty pat on the back for bringing such a rich memorial feature on KVN. Well done, Sirs.
K.V. Narayanaswamy was a great son of the country, a musician par excellence and a legendary performer. I find no words to express my grief at his passing, which has created a great void in the field of Carnatic music.
I followed KVN like a shadow whenever he made a visit to our city and was fortunate in listening to many of his concerts here, at times sitting behind the maestro with the sruti box, as well as at 'invited audience only' Navaratri Mandapam concerts.
The rasika-s of Tiruvanantapuram always expected him to render Sumasayaka, the Swati Tirunal padavarnam in Kafi with ragamalika swara-s; Sree Kumara nagaraalaya, in Athana; Saaramaina, the javali in Behag; and Aliveni in Kurinji raga in Malayalam. His last concert at the Navaratri Mandapam was at the Dusserah festival in 1998.
The last time he performed in Tiruvanantapuram was in early 2001, when he came to this city in connection with the release of the book on him. That concert, which turned out to be a great success, is still ringing in my ears!
K.V. Ananthakrishnan
Narayanaswamy - 4
The special feature on K.V. Narayanaswamy is fantastic. To bring out so much of information in such a short time is venerable. I finished reading it in one sitting and, at the end, felt stunned as I realised once again the greatness of his music. The touching story of Padma Narayanaswamy, the technical interpretations by Srivatsan, the summing up by Pattabhi Raman and the magnificent photographs make the issue come alive. Knowing him as I did, I just cannot reconcile to this tragedy.
The memorial feature brings back some of the events so green in my memory. He called me one day to his house when his first wife Annapoorni was alive, although I do not now remember where it was. I vaguely recollect it was a reasonably big but old fashioned house and he wanted to move out for reasons I cannot remember. I wanted to vacate the place where I was residing-- at 123 Kutcheri Road in Mylapore. He came with me to find out if it would suit his needs. Eventually he did not rent it because he thought he would disturb the neighbours during his practice sessions!
And on yet another day he came to my house-- then at Balakrishna Road in Mylapore-- with Dhanammal, who was eager to call on me. It was in the evening and I was visiting my neighbour Padma Chandramouli, a fine veena player and a disciple of Devakotai Narayana Iyengar. We were singing, deeply involved in niraval at the charanam in Chakkani raja margamu. The visitors traced me but stopped at the entrance and, without being seen by me, listened to our singing. Only after we had finished singing that they knocked and entered. I was surprised to see them and was delighted when KVN exclaimed: "Bhaley! Bhaley!" It was only then I learnt that they were waiting at the entrance for quite sometime.
These are small events but they haunt me time and again after his demise. What touched me most was his humility.
B.R.C. Iyengar
Narayanaswamy - 5
Thanks for the memorial issue on my father. The front cover by Narendran and the opening page of the special feature, with white text and sketch in black, are excellent. I choked on reading the last line on this page: "His cultured voice was stilled on 1 April." Pattabhi Raman's statement-- His music was like gold, at a time the common medium of currency had become brass-- sums up the quality of music my father rendered. I too hope musicians of the younger generation would study his music and intelligently emulate him, the way he assimilated his master's music and presented it in a style that suited him. Pattabhi Raman's Summing Up and Srivatsan's article make the issue worthy of preserving.
K.N. Viswanathan
Narayanaswamy - 6
The May issue of Sruti is excellent; more justice could not have been done to the great KVN. You have published memories of his widow Padma; tributes from Madurai N. Krishnan and B.R.C. Iyengar and also that paid by President of India K.R. Narayanan; and a number of other articles. Capping it all is the excellent and objective assessment of KVN's music and its impact on the contemporary music scene, written by the inimitable Pattabhi Raman himself.
Thank you, Sruti parivar!
K.S. Nagarajan
Narayanaswamy - 7
As a little girl who attended KVN's concert many years ago in Palakkad, an incident is still fresh in my memory. KVN sang Mohanamuralidhari in Mohanam, a Malayalam composition of C.S. Krishna Iyer, who was his guru and also my guru. Midway through the kriti, it seemed that his memory of the sahitya failed him at a particular line. Krishna Iyer, who was in the audience, sang that line for him from his seat and KVN continued his beautiful rendition. How many concerts do you go to where the composer attends the concert and also helps the singer with the lines?
Rajeswari Satish
Narayanaswamy - 8
I would like to congratulate you and your staff for bringing out an excellent memorial feature on KVN. I am one of the many Sruti fans in Southern California, and I am proud of the issue that I have just received in the mail.
KVN was one of the greatest musicians of the century and you have done justice to his excellence by collecting together many articles in one place. I was moved by the Editor's own interview with Padma, and also by the text of his April speech [at Hamsadhwani].
Srivatsan and many others have related many touching stories and anecdotes. On the whole this is an issue that I will keep on my shelf permanently. Its value is truly archival.
Narayanaswamy - 9
I glanced through the excellent feature on KVN. Indeed I was deeply impressed with the sentiments expressed and with the learning displayed in the articles. Narayanaswamy has come out in truly lovely colours with emphasis or the charming features of his bani. He lives long after his death through his great musical attainment. Now he is part of our cultural heritage since Carnatic music itself is a beautiful legacy in the treasury of Indian culture. I thank you for the service you have done to the country and the family of KVN by making a memorable postmortem contribution which will keep KVN as a living genius long after he is gone.
Narayanaswamy - 10
The KVN memorial feature, which makes very interesting reading, is worth preserving. As a girl I heard K.V. Narayanaswamy accompanying along with B. Rajam Iyer their guru Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar in the sabha-s of Mylapore. I came into contact with him when I started working in Kalakshetra (in 1956). This vidwan's life was one which made pure Carnatic music in its varied forms shine, reaching out to the listeners. He was a perfect gentleman who did not know what egoism was! This rare quality in an artist of his stature endeared him to all. This made his music divine and the deep soul-stirring effect never left the fortunate listeners. Though we shall miss his physical presence, his special music will ever live with us.
G. Sundari
Narayanaswamy - 11
I was thrilled to go through the KVN memorial feature which is a monumental record of him as a great musician. I would like to share my memories of him as a man.
KVN became a family friend when he came to Vijayawada in November 1976 to perform for Ganapriya, the sabha I was then conducting in that city. Since then, we were in touch with each other. I last saw him when I attended a concert of his in December last year at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai.
More than as a musician, KVN appealed to me as a simpleton and a humble soul. When I presented him at my Sabha, in the leaflet I issued, I had written: "He deserves to get the Sangeetha Kalanidhi title from the Madras Music Academy soon." When he read that he told me: "This is apachaaram (not proper).There are many senior to me in the field and I can aspire for the title only when all of them have been honoured." I found him to be humility personified.
On an Avani Avittam day-- a day when those who wear the sacred thread perform certain rites-- KVN entered our house in Vijayawada at 6.15 am, with M. Chandrasekaran and Trissoor Narendran in tow. We were surprised since there was no news that he had any engagement in Vijayawada that day. He explained: "When I accepted to sing at Tenali today, I did not notice that it was Avani Avittam day. So we have come here [to your house] as I am doubtful whether any facilities are available to perform the rites in Tenali. Now you have to help me and M.C. to celebrate Avani Avittam and accompany us to Tenali in the afternoon. Kindly pardon us for this trouble." I told him that we were happy to have him for the occasion and there was no need for any pardon. The purohit was brought to the house and we celebrated the ceremony in a proper manner.... Of course, KVN treated us to a rich musical feast in the evening, in Tenali.
He thereafter took the liberty to come and stay with us even if the purpose of his visit was to sing in another Sabha or for All India Radio-Vijayawada. We were only too happy to host him on such occasions.
After I retired and settled down in Chennai in 1983, I used to meet him regularly. On one occasion, when he came to know that my application for a telephone connection was pending for more than eight years, he took me to the General Manager of Madras Telephones who happened to be his fan and requested him to give me a phone connection without further delay. The GM readily obliged.
When he was awarded the Sangeeta Kalanidhi title, my son V.S. Kumar interviewed him for Sruti. KVN spent long hours in our house for two full days and answered all the questions, taking enough time to digest the questions.
When I was preparing my book titled Irubatham Nootrandin Sangeeta Medhaigal, I wanted to include KVN in it and approached him for biographical information. He politely refused saying that he did not deserve to be clubbed with giants like Ariyakudi, Chembai, Musiri and GNB. It took me much effort to convince him in the matter. Then he gave me four or five sittings in his house and provided lots of information. His profile in the book spans 11 pages.
Later, when I wrote a brief profile article about his daughter Anuradha in Dinamani Kadir, as part of a series on up-and-coming Carnatic musicians, he profusely thanked me and said: "The young artists should be grateful to you for giving them a boost." Subsequently when all these young artists got many opportunities to perform, he specially congratulated me for correctly anticipating their future.