SPECIAL FEATURE

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Sangita Kala Acharya P.S. Narayanaswamy must be one of the most loved Carnatic

music gurus living amongst us today. The recent concert festival in Chennai entitled PSN Parampara that featured 26 of his disciples was a measure not only of the quality of his mentorship but also of the enormous respect and affection he receives from them. A stickler to tradition and an unswerving follower of the Semmangudi bani, PSN has been uncompromising in the values he reiterates over and over again to his students and the public at large at every speaking opportunity. As a votary of open-mouthed, akaram-dominant vocalisation, he belongs to a vanishing breed of teachers, to whom deeply felt and aesthetically presented raga music is more important than briga and swara fireworks. “I don’t know any complex theory. All I know is what I have learnt from my guru and the great masters of the past,” he often says. As a guru, he is always pleasant and encouraging, but a firm believer nevertheless that perfect practice makes perfect.

While all of us know PSN as the tireless guru who has produced a whole battalion of prominent musicians and musicians-in-the-making, it is easy to forget what a fine concert musician he was. Among Semmangudi’s loyal sishyas, he is arguably the most accomplished. His reverberant voice would equal that of any Hindustani vocalist (here I know I am treading on dangerous ground). It had an enviable reach as well in his prime, never faltering in both the mandra and tara sthayis. Raga clarity, purity of sruti and swarasthana, and a lovely

P.S. NARAYANASWAMY A teacher in the grand tradition V. Ramnarayan

consistency of gait characterised his singing, plus a faithful representation of the Semmangudi pathantara. His proficiency in niraval and swaraprastara was outstanding, and so was the emotive power of his viruttam singing. The whole PSN package was holistic and aesthetically pleasing. There was the occasional criticism that his music scored relatively low on bhava, but this too perhaps underlined PSN’s no-frills, no-artifice philosophy rather than lack of emotion. His repertoire was quite impressive, too, certainly as considerable as that of any of his contemporaries.

PSN or Pichai Sir as he is known in music circles was born at Anandatandavapuram, a village in Tanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, on 24 February 1934. His early interest in music led to his being entrusted by his father Dr. P.N. Subramaniam to Tiruppamburam Somasundaram Pillai, one half of a well known nagaswaram duo. He was also annually brought to Madras to listen to the concerts

of the December music festival. A huge opportunity came in the form of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer offering to take him under his wing after he heard the lad sing. He was twenty when he started gurukulavasam with Semmangudi, interrupted by the guru’s relocating at Tiruvanantapuram to be principal of the Swathi Tirunal Music College. Besides Semmangudi, Pichai also learnt a few songs from Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer. Joining All India Radio was a wise career decision, as it provided him livelihood security. In this, he was not different from many other vidwans, who might have otherwise been unable to pursue music.

That PSN did not receive the crowning honour of the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy must owe to the number of giants that dominated the Carnatic music scene during the peak of his career. It is not too late for him to be thus decorated, even if he has already been recognised as a Sangita Kala Acharya, just like some other maestros like T.H. Vinayakram.

PSN’s prowess as a teacher and the respect and love he commands from his sishyas are almost proverbial. One of the exceptional features of his teaching methods was the opportunity he provided his disciples on a regular basis to accompany him on the concert stage. This he continued into the evening of his performing career in private kutcheris. On the 16th of every month during the late 1990s, he sang at disciple Jegatheeswaran’s flat before a small audience, always accompanied by one or more of his sishyas. Ranjani-Gayatri, C.R. Vaidyanathan, Calcutta Shankar, A.S. Murali and Kunnakudi

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Every session with PSN automatically begins with mention of his dear guru Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Vidwan P.S. Narayanaswamy fondly recalls his guru’s spontaneity and humour which helped tackle many

a situation.

Growing up in the gurukulavasam tradition helped PSN learn not only music, but also various facets of life. It was common practice for sishyas to pack an overnighter for the guru filled with the essential , including a starched and well ironed veshti and uttareeyam meant for the performance. On one occasion, Srinivasa Iyer found that the veshti he had meant to wear had got left behind, as the students had brought the wrong suitcase. When the Zamindar who was the host came to know about it, he generously presented a beautiful zari veshti, much grander than the one he had planned to wear! So he is believed to have made light of the situation by telling the students: “Potti maari ponathile kooda gunam irukku!” (Bringing the wrong suitcase was a blessing in disguise”)

On another occasion, the guru had left for a kutcheri in Mysore, and his students took the next day’s train. After reaching the station, they were picked up in a car by the organisers at 3 am, but the sleepy eyed driver rammed into a lamp-post crashing the tambura. When the guru asked them for the tambura, the students had little choice but to hand over to the guru the bag containing every single piece of the multiple-fractured tambura. He quietly put it away (and had it restored for later concerts), and said: “I am glad you are all unhurt.”

PSN imbibed these wonderful lessons, understanding early on in life how important it was to be even-tempered at all times, and also learnt the importance of humour. PSN speaks about the generosity of his guru’s wife, who

uncomplainingly fed so many of them. Contrary to the popular notion of gurukulavasam, it was not the students who performed the household chores, but the kind-hearted gentle lady who looked after their every need, and it was music and music all through the day for the students. Says PSN, “Besides the formal lessons and the kutcheris we heard, I personally learnt a lot more at my guru’s home, where he would be heard singing snatches either trying to explore a raga or a new sangati. To me that was music undiluted and so spontaneous.”

It was Providence that guided him towards music. His father discovered his talent when he caught him singing the songs of MKT, Papanasam Sivan and S.G. Kittappa, and so he began his initial training in the village. He firmly believes that it was God’s grace again that brought him under the care of Semmangudi.

Today, PSN is regarded as one of the finest gurus. Yet he does not take personal credit for that either. Says he: “When I performed kutcheris, I did not attain popularity. But it was only after I started teaching that I achieved a “gauravamaana sthaanam” (respectable position) in the field of music, thanks to the karma of my sishyas.” It is wonderful to see a man who attributes all his achievements either to his guru, his parents, his friends and his

One of the finest V.V. Ramani

PSN (right) providing vocal support to his guru Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Govindaraja Pillai (violin), Palani Subramania Pillai (mridangam)

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Balamuralikrishna were among those who honed their concert singing skills through the exposure to manodharma forays in these sessions. Followed by simple but delicious meals, these were lovely occasions of camaraderie and effortless learning for all present. Today, he continues to maintain the same relaxed atmosphere into the classes he still teaches, both at home and at the teaching academies at the Music Academy and Narada Gana Sabha.

At eighty, PSN gives the impression of a happy and contented soul, basking in the

sunshine of his disciples’ successes. At the many music related events he is invited to, he recalls with pride and clarity the musical riches of his seniors and peers he has experienced first-hand through the decades. He is a true representative of the grand old tradition of Carnatic music.

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peers or to his students, and seldom takes personal credit for anything.

Getting married during his gurukulavasam days, he later moved to Madras where he joined the service of All India Radio, and continued to work there till his retirement. Simultaneously he started teaching music too.

PSN refers to the current practice of many musicians bringing a book or a laptop to the concert platform to refer to the lyrics as they sing. He recalls, “Once during the middle of a concert I was performing, Semmangudi mama removed the paper I had in front of me. After that experience I never again kept any reference material in front of me.” But he goes on to say that these days it is quite understandable to have youngsters referring to lyrics on stage, considering the sheer number of songs they sing, the wide repertoire of songs of numerous composers besides that of the musical trinity, unlike his own time when the songs rendered were more limited in number.

PSN has deep reverence and respect for various saint composers. For more than 50 years, during Sivaratri he, along with many fellow musicians, has been performing akhanda ganam for 24 hours continuously, every year at Tiruvaiyaru. He feels blessed that his sashtiabdapoorti and his satabhisekham (coinciding with Sivaratri) were also celebrated at Tiruvaiyaru.

He made an annual pilgrimage to Manamadurai to sing for the Sadasiva Brahmendra day (at the request of B.V. Raman and B.V. Lakshmanan), for just as many years. He feels heartened and blessed that he is able to continue the tradition religiously thanks to the support of his friends, fellow musicians and students.

Speaking about those days, he says concerts used to be less frequent and only by word of mouth were young

musicians recommended. Though the guru would recommend the initial kutcheri, the following kutcheris depended entirely on the hard work of the student. Friends and fellow artists attended kutcheris and gave you honest feedback. PSN feels that it was this review by fellow artists that helped him grow: “Namma mistakes namakku teriyanam, appo thaan munnukku vara mudiyum” (We must know our mistakes, only then can we progress). That was also the period when each of the star performers had perfected the rendering of certain songs, which soon came to be known as their ‘signature numbers’.

He says, “Even in those days it was the kalyana kutcheris that brought us money. We were paid Rs. 400 for a concert out of which Rs. 100 would go towards the taxi which would take us to George Town and back.”

PSN dismisses the thought that the students sought him because he “makes stars”. He is very vocal about his pattern of teaching: “Without any thought of kutcheris as an end, they should progress and strive towards self development. It is important for the singer to enjoy his own singing. Only then can he or she translate that performance into an

enjoyable one for the audience.”

PSN has tuned about 40 songs of Ramalinga Adigalar’s Tiruvarutpa along with Jnana Sambandam of AIR. Recipient of the prestigious Padma Bhushan, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar, the Sangita Kala Acharya from the Music Academy, the Vellore Gopalachariar Memorial Award from the Sruti Foundation, and the Acharya Kala Sarathy title, PSN remains unaffected. The biggest award he feels is the joy he experiences when his students shine in the firmament of Carnatic music.

(The author is a freelance critic and an artist by profession)

In concert with V.V. Subramaniam (violin) and Guruvayur Dorai (mridangam)

The Sruti Foundation honoured P.S. Narayanaswamy with the Vellore Gopalachariar Memorial Award in 2005

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