“Ariyakkudi is to Carnatic music what Shakespeare is to English,” says Alleppey Venkatesan, the youngest and the last disciple of Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar. Prior to the advent of Ariyakkudi, classical music concerts went on for hours with a few ragas and kritis, repetitive alapanas and lengthy thani avartanams hogging the lion’s share of the concert. By giving concerts form and structure, Ariyakkudi revolutionised the presentation of Carnatic music.
Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar initially trained under Pudukottai Malayappa Iyer and then Namakkal Pallavi Narasimha Iyengar. It was during this period that he had practice sessions at the 1,000 pillar mandapam of the Srirangam Temple. Later, he came under the expert guidance of Ramanathapuram Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar and joined the Tyagaraja sishya parampara, becoming a fourth generation disciple of the Saint.
“My Guru may be hailed as the musician of the 20th century for his monumental contributions which made him the role model for other great musicians who came after him. His approach represented the finest virtues of vocal music and values of classicism rooted in the musical legacy of the Trinity. For example, a well-modulated voice capable of speed as well as stateliness, a vast repertoire, technical prowess, richness of gamakas and optimal enunciation,” says Venkatesan.
Ariyakkudi and Todi are synonymous. Such was his repertoire in the raga and perfection in singing the raga, that even the inimitable T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai, who was famous for his Todi, swore by Ariyakkudi’s Todi. Venkatesan says that his guru’s royal treatment of ‘Amba Nannu Brovare’ in four-kalai Desadi tala made it a magnum opus.
“My guru never slept during the day when a concert was slated for the evening, so that the voice stayed warm and nimble. Instead he chose to pass the day, humming to himself, or teaching us something or engage in a light-hearted conversation. Once on stage, he would assess the composition of the crowd and then decided the ragas and songs.
This was one of the prime reasons for his success. A failed Ariyakkudi concert would be an oxymoron like hot ice cream, according to Venkatesan. He introduced many rakti ragas such as Mukhari, Surati, Kedaragowla, Yadukulakhambodi and Ananda Bhairavi, in addition to the major ragas then in vogue. His new format made it possible to keep many great compositions in circulation. The miscellany towards the end of the concert again was variety fare, which kept the audience riveted and especially attracted the youth. “He never disappointed his rasikas and was always willing to fulfil their expectations by singing their requests,” according to Venkatesan.
His teaching methods? Venkatesan narrates an episode. “One evening when I returned from school, I was surprised to find my guru at home. He asked me to sing Todi and insisted that proper gamakas should be given to rishabham, gandharam, daivatam and nishadam. Yet another exercise he gave me was to sing swaras for a single avarthanam in Adi tala and for two avartanams in Rupaka tala within a selected range. That was indeed a challenge.”
Ariyakkudi’s swaraprasthara was replete with ragabhava, observes Venkatesan. “He shunned mathematics in swaras, leaving it to the mridangam vidwans. Ariyakkudi’s landing swara garlands (porutham) to reach the eduppu were amazing,” he adds.
Alleppey Venkatesan’s father Parthasarathy Iyengar (Papasaami) was one of the earliest disciples of Ariyakkudi. Papasami was also a connoisseur, patron and generous host to classical musicians touring Kerala.
“Our house reverberated with singing and discussions on ragas and talas,” recalls Venkatesan and goes on to add what his contemporaries thought of him. “GNB, who frequented our house was an ardent admirer of Ariyakkudi and described his music as quintessence of Carnatic music, the Gita of Sangita and also called him Sangita Dharma Paripalaka. If there was another birth, Semmangudi wanted to sing like Iyengar. Madurai Mani Iyer, who was also known as Mohana Mani, had great respect for Iyengar, and was enchanted by Iyengar’s lower octave panchamam in that raga. Palghat Mani Iyer considered him the ideal Gayaka.”
Actor Raj Kapoor met Ariyakkudi after his concert at the Mumbai Shanmukhananda Hall and wanted to know how Iyengar managed to keep his voice fit at the ripe age of 70. Ariyakkudi replied, “My music is the nourishment for my voice.”
When did Venkatesan last meet his guru? “It was in the first week of January 1967 that I met him at his Mandaveli house where he was taking a nap on the oonjal (swing), which was gently swaying. He was ailing.”
On his deathbed, the maestro bequeathed his tambura to Venkatesan. The tambura adorns the centre of Alleppey Venkatesan’s drawing room, symbol of a legacy competently carried on.
