Even as a child, I’d heard of the literary prowess of Mahakavi Dasu Sreeramulu (1846—1908), from my literature-loving parents, but didn’t get to learn his compositions from my music-teachers. He’d become a forgotten composer by then.
Decades later, when writing an article on the gradual disappearance of padams and javalis from concert formats, I realised Sreeramulu’s creations were among the most forgotten.
Sreeramulu was an astonishingly versatile person, an institution by himself! Born in Kuraada, Andhra Pradesh, he was a lawyer by profession. He was also composer, poet, Avadhani, orator, author of 33 books, proficient in astrology and dramaturgy, translator, founder of music school, nationalist and social reformer. Interestingly, he had no formal tutelage in these diverse arts – his knowledge was gained by his personal studies and association with scholars and artistes!
He has around 80 musical compositions (mudra: Dasu Rama) to his credit. They are a tribute to his versatility including swarajathis, varnams, kritis, padams, javalis, Yakshaganams. The bhaavam shifts from deep bhakti in his kritis which eulogise Ganesha, Shiva, Krishna, etc., to shringara with a wide range of naayika emotions in his padams (14 nayikas) and javalis. All his compositions are melodious, short, and use relatively simple language, with the padams and javalis employing colloquialisms. The Tathavaprathipaadika kriti Madari (Surati) appears more of an academic exercise with intelligent use of much alliteration. His padams and javalis are the finest of his oeuvre as composer.
His musical works were popular with musicians including stalwarts Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu, Sripada Pinakapani, Voleti Venkataswarulu, Srirangam Gopalaratnam, etc. Pinakapani once told me: “The grammar of his padams and javalis was perfect. He was among the finest composers in this genre.”
In a happy cross-pollination, Sreeramulu, the poet, composer and one with close association with traditional dancers and their patrons (rajas, zamindars), absorbed dance features from devadasis as well as contributed to their knowledge and repertoires! His brilliant treatise Abhinaya Darpanam , padams and javalis resulted from this. Famous Kuchipudi gurus and choreographers often consulted him. Devadasis learnt dance-nuances from his demos, frequently performed his compositions and paid public tribute to him. Kuchipudi expert Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry reveals: “Kuchipudi gurus like Bhagavathula Vissaiah were enriched by his inputs.”
But there appears to be no record of the performance of Sreeramulu’s Yakshaganas. Ramalinga Sastry explains: “Unlike his widely-popular padams and javalis, dancers perhaps considered his Yakshaganams not ideal for on stage performance.”
Over time, most of Sreeramulu’s works faded from public memory. The exception was Devi Bhagavatham , widely read in homes, temples and religious gatherings. His musical compositions were later found with ragam and talam mentioned but sans notations. So the notation was provided by Voleti, Nallanchakravarthula Krishnamacharyulu and Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana.
His descendants are making efforts to revive his legacy –– forming Dasu Sreeramulu Smaraka Samithi, retrieving and publishing his works, a doctoral thesis on his works by granddaughter V. Vaidehi, etc.. The latest is a CD of his compositions Dasu Sreerama Ganasudha by musician Y. Ramaprabha. “His use of perfectly appropriate ragas is remarkable,” she says. Earlier, there was a dance programme on his compositions choreographed by Swapnasundari and performed by her disciples Anupama Kylash, Purva Dhanashree, and Yashoda Thakore.
