Gurus of Tradition

T.S. KRISHNASWAMY and  A.S. PANCHAPAKESAN have devoted a lifetime teaching music.

‘An oil lamp placed inside a vessel, sheds a gentle glow of light and burns steadily.’ This Southern saying comes to mind when you are face-to-face with two eminent Carnatic vidwans who have both devoted a lifetime to teaching instead of pursuing the limelight. T.S. Krishnaswamy and A.S. Panchapakesan can look back with satisfaction to the years they have spent in being a source of inspiration to scores of students. The former retired as Professor of violin of the Shanmukhananda Sabha’s Sangeet Vidyalaya and the latter as Principal of Bharatiya Music and Arts Society’s Music College. Both began teaching in their respective institutions in 1974 will bid them a fond farewell in 1991.

A.S. Panchapakesan’s notable contribution to music teaching has been his textbooks. He received no assistance or monetary grants from any quarters. His books were painstakingly typeset and printed on a humble treadle machine by his son. These, with uncluttered layout and large type, are now widely used here and abroad.

The Ganamrita Bodhini series are now available in five languages, including English. Both T.S.K. and A.S.P. belong to the old world, but have successfully adapted themselves to the changing scene of music and the world around them. They have had to devise the means to make children of the computer age interested in traditional music.

How did all begin? How did they learn music themselves? “As a school dropout!” exclaims A.S.P. with disarming candour. “At 14, I ran away from home, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere in a family of eleven. But then, hungry and homesick, I returned home to learn music at the feet of Mayavaram Rajam Iyer and my elder brother Alathur Srinivasan.”

T.S.K. was born in Vasishthagudi, better known as Tittagudi, in South Arcot District, Tamil Nadu. “My ancestors were traditional musicians attached to this unique temple , ” he says, “My father Sivarama Iyer was himself a musician and when he saw that I could tune a tambura perfectly at the age of six, he decided to start my lessons. “A graduate from Annamalai University in 1934, it was here that he perfected the technique of violin playing, under M. Balakrishna Iyer, Madurai Subramanya Iyer and T.S. Sabhesa Iyer who was then the Principal.

So, why did he opt to teach instead of pursuing a concert career? Says T.S.K., “Does one preserve art by only giving concerts? I believed that my mission in life was to teach the art that I had learnt to as many as possible.” T.S.K. has accompanied the great Vaggeyakara Papanasam Sivan, flautist Mali, and he even toured Burma in 1937 with B. Raja Iyengar. Not content with playing second fiddle, he jumped at the offer of a teaching job in Delhi. In 1941 he came to Bombay.

His growing popularity as a teacher encouraged the Shanmukhananda Sabha to request him to open a violin department in their school. In a graceful gesture, he shut down his own successful private school, Sri Krishna Music Academy in 1974 and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the public institution.

“Teaching came to me naturally,” said A.S.P. He was fiercely independent and started coaching children even as he studied music. In 1944, A.S.P. joined Rasika Ranjani Sabha, Madras, as a music teacher and later became Principal for 30 years. In 1974, The Bharatiya Music & Arts Society invited him to take over as Principal of their music college in Mumbai.

Traditional teaching methods are being questioned now. Do they also agree with the prevailing popular notion that, it is better to teach the child easy little compositions at first instead of swara exercises? “Well,” replied A.S.P. after a pause, “the modern generation does seem to have an uncanny knack of mimicking people and learning very quickly. It may be possible to teach them simple compositions like Dikshitar’s ‘notes’. Purandaradasa systematised the primary lessons in a graded manner. It has served us well till today.

“Swara exercises are very important,” states T.S.K. categorically, taking the opposite stand. “A student must have a firm grasp of the swaras and the exercises, which are designed to give them, practice in the various talas. I have never swerved from this method and I have got excellent results. Student of the violin must learn to sing. The sahitya (lyrics) of a composition is vital to music.”

And what did they expect from aspiring students? ‘Regularity and diligent practice, came the unanimous answer, were an essential prerequisite for any degree of mastery’. T.S.K. adds that students must cultivate the attitude of enjoying their lessons. “Of course, the Guru should have the same qualities too!” he says with a twinkle in his eye.

A.S.P., on his part, feels that it benefits a student to observe the teacher’s mannerisms, diction and presentation. Later, adapt them to suit one’s own style. A.S.P’s keen sense of humour surfaces much like an unexpected sangati (thematic variation). “Learning theory to sing,” he said” is like cooking with the book in front of you. Put 10gms coriander, 5gms cumin seed, stir, etc! After the student has mastered the practicals and has been exposed to recitals of other artistes, he may venture into learning theory. It will then be as easy for him as it is for the chief cook at a feast, who eyes the dish casually and throws in the condiments with a flourish.”

T.S.K., holds quite the opposite view as he feels that theory is very important even at the beginner’s stage. “The arohana-avarohana or the swara frame of a geetham or varnam must be clearly explained. The usage of phrases special to the raga, must also be taught. Simple rules of the Carnatic tala system must be introduced as they form an integral part of the music.”

Music, a highly individualistic art, is now taught to groups. “The golden age is here,” declares T.S.K. emphatically. “The music scene is more extensive and intensive than ever. With a competitive atmosphere, there is more incentive and there are better opportunities!”

Indeed, the golden age of music is here. T.S.K. and A.S.P. can look back with pride. They were after all, the waves that sent the golden age gushing to the shores.

(Published in the Saturday Times of Times of India, March 30.1991.)