A Great Book on Carnatic Music Remembered

Great Masters of Carnatic Music 1930-1965 Author: Indira Menon, Publisher: Indialog Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2004 ISBN: 81-87981-53-9, 308 pages A review by V.Ramaswami*

This delightful book is comparable to a grand onam saddhya (feast) with a variety of exquisite dishes embellished by the right amount of spice and seasoning, prepared by an expert chef for discerning palates, and served in a regal style. It should serve as a standard bearer in a field where a majority of work on the lives and times of musicians is but a shallow exercise in sycophancy or derision based mostly on gossip and innuendo, focusing more on personalities than on the art, and worsened only by poor editing, paper quality and printing. Be it in artistic content, language or presentation, this book is an example worthy of emulation.

A chapter is devoted to each of the following grand vocalists who reigned during the golden era of Carnatic music – Ariyakudi, Maharajapuram (Viswanatha Iyer), Musiri, Chembai, Semmangudi, MS, GNB, Brinda-Mukta, DKP, Madurai Mani, MLV, KVN and MDR – and the book also contains a set of highly informed and informative articles penned by some of them. Eschewing both the ubiquitous beginning with inconsequential natal facts and standard clichés like “hails from a musical family,” the author starts each essay with several pages describing the stature, style and significant contributions of each vocalist – the raison d’être for inclusion in the book.  Often the details of birth etc., appear well after five or six pages that describe the uniqueness of the musician in a way that brings out the nuances of Carnatic music like sarvalaghu and laya and the differences between styles such as the briga-laden and gamaka-laden and serve as valuable pieces of reading that can improve one’s own level of music appreciation, a facility clearly highly honed by the author through critical listening. The narratives are interspersed with a variety of related information on other grand masters of previous eras, various locales in Southern India and, occasionally, even spicy humor (like Semmangudi’s remark that Chembai’s voice needs not a microphone but a silencer), and these make them highly readable.

Through beautiful command of the language supported by a level of cultured, cultural erudition not so common these days, the author wins the respect of the reader comparable to that evoked for the subjects her pen has served well to embellish. I quote some example text below.

"If architecture could be described as frozen music, then the best analogy of Chembai’s style would be a column of the Doric order, solid and beautiful in its simplicity. Just as it would be ridiculous to say that the Doric order had something missing, namely, the fluted columns and floral decoration of the Corinthian order, so would it be ridiculous to say that Chembai’s music lacked the glides, graces or emotional fervor of, say, Musiri’s music.”

“The difference between the Brinda and GNB styles (to take two extreme examples of gamaka- and briga-oriented styles) may be likened to (that between) a river of the plains winding slowly along and a torrential mountain stream.”

“A briga that consists of a cluster of creative ideas sung in a fast tempo can be very exciting. But if speed is used for merely traversing up and down the scale …. or for the display of virtuosity, there is no aesthetic joy in it. It is like a sprinter who enjoys a special thrill while sprinting, but who cannot claim to have noticed the landscape around him”

While being unabashed in the expression of her admiration for the artist, the author avoids sycophancy and does provide a balanced portrait bringing out their deficiencies too in the most inoffensive manner. Thus, while MLV with a style “more cerebral than emotional, … excelled in all aspects of improvisation and opened up new worlds for lovers of Carnatic music” and “displayed a hitherto unprecedented flow of ideas of a rich and fertile imagination,” the “tara sthayi was MLV’s Achilles’ heel … and her rendering of kritis was mannered and lacked spontaneity.” Read in their context, these criticisms could evoke only a nod with tempered acquiescence even from ardent admirers of MLV like this writer.

It is tempting to write more about this book and to quote from it, but it would rob a potential reader the pleasure of directly partaking from it. So, I will rest by simply recommending the book as a “must read” for the serious connoisseur of Carnatic music. The only ‘negative’ I can say about this book is that its pages have an addictive characteristic, and once you start reading, you can barely keep it down, and when you are done, you may wish to start all over again.

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The author of this blog also wrote the books 'Innovation by India for India, the Need and the Challenge' as also 'Bhaja Govindam - A Topical Exposition'  besides writing and editing several books in his fields Applied Probability & Telecommunications.  He is a former President & Secretary of CMANA, the Carnatic Music Association of North America under whose Presidency its Sangeethasagara award was instituted.  He has penned over 40 compositions in Carnatic music.  A probabilist by profession, he has been a serial inventor with many patents, and among his positions was one as Chief Scientist at Bellcore.  He was named a Distinguished Science Alumnus by Purdue University, an honor given to a very small percentage of its graduates.

CAN INDIA PUT AN END TO CORRUPTION? Some Lessons from the Jayalalitha Saga

“… corruption is not (to) be judged by degree, for corruption mothers disorder, destroys societal will to progress, accelerates undeserved ambitions, kills the conscience, jettisons the glory of institutions, paralyses the economic health of a country, corrodes the sense of civility and mars the marrows of the Governance.”

   The above quotation by Justice Cunha from one of India’s Supreme Court pronouncements highlights many of the consequences of political and official corruption.  But temporary euphoria or shock from his judgment aside, is enough being done by India to put a real end to corruption?  Can more be done, and if so what ?   We examine some concrete ideas below.

    Swift Justice: The first and foremost glaring aspect of the Jayalalitha case, as of many others, is the inordinate amount of time it takes for cases to move through the system to judgment.  Indian courts need to set time limits for trials, disallow repeated motions to delay proceedings, and be hard on legal tactics and attempts to game systems that were intended primarily to protect the innocent.  But more importantly, the entire system needs to recognize that the first step is to book and convict the offenders quickly on whatever charges that can be proved easily and unquestionably.  Get them quickly out of a position wherein they can wield their office and power to impede the law and do greater harm with a sense of invincibility.  With the habitual offender behind bars for a convicted offense, the system can work on other more involved charges and put the person away for a much longer period in subsequent trials, and they indeed should.  Such an approach also prevents the possibility of an entire judgment being set aside and the person going scot-free for all crimes committed.

    Count each Offense Separately:  In the Jayalalitha case, only four years for the level of corruption and egregious wealth amassed through it by her appears to be a mockery of justice.   Compare this to a poor thief getting a few years behind bars for the much less offense of stealing from one single home a few paltry thousands of rupees.   Since the statutes may have imposed a maximum of seven years for official corruption, count each act as a separate crime subject to the maximum punishment .  This is, after all, the practice in most of the Western world with reputable judicial systems.  Is our system substandard not to follow that standard?  Without that, there is no way courts can meet out punishments in proportion to the crimes committed and even more seriously to kill the perception that crime eventually pays and the costs, if at all incurred, would be minimal relative to the loot left over.

    Stop the ability to influence: In the case of a high-powered politician and official, it is imperative that in addition to jailing them steps are taken to prevent them running their empire by proxy from within jails.  The experience of Italy, the U.S., and many other countries in the way they handled the mafia dons has enough lessons to review and learn from.

    Call a spade a spade: Stop referring to felons by respectable titles like “madam” or “amma.”  A felon is a felon period, and should not be given any honorific.  Also, stop all attempts at equivocation by citing other good things done by the person.  There has to be zero tolerance for corruption by all.

    Make the punishment real: A corrupt official who draws a jail term should be treated as a common criminal by the jail system and not offered any special privileges as a VIP or VVIP irrespective of prior rank and position.  One may even argue that the higher the position held by the person, the higher should be the punishment for the greater betrayal and its greater consequences.

   Punish the bribe giver too: Unfortunately in India, many otherwise honest people are put in a situation of having to yield to corruption and pay a bribe, for sometimes it is hard to get even essential things without greasing someone’s palm.  But the flame of egregious corruption by major politicians is stoked by the corruption of the rich bribe giver who has nothing more than his or her own avarice to blame.  When such is the case, there should be no mercy shown to the bribe giver either and they should be sent to keep company for the bribe taker in the same jails.

    Be action oriented: There are enough articles and opinion lamenting about what all ail India.  But what good are they if we don’t also include a few actionable and practical ideas and even more importantly work to get people to act on them?  Swachh Bharat (Clean India) has to go far beyond physical cleanliness and should encompass all aspects of Indian life.

    Related closely to the topic are the issues of political turmoil and political violence.  In India, fear of these seem to actually get in the way of trying political personalities and in giving them due punishment.  Once again, the solution to this problem is to show zero tolerance  towards violence and destruction of public property or the impedance of normal societal activities by anyone irrespective of party affiliations.  For many offenses, an oral testimony of an eye witness or a police officer is considered enough to convict, and then why are so many who are seen in photographs and videos  destroying public property and indulging in political violence not prosecuted ?  To protest is a democratic right and may also have a cathartic effect, but protest has to be law abiding and respectful of others’ rights.  With sufficient planning to photograph or capture on video unlawful protest related violent and criminal activities and by dealing out quick justice, this menace can be stopped effectively.   A trial for a person seen in a video destroying public property or beating up another need not take more time than that for the conviction of one for a traffic offense in a mobile court.  Once again, can our legal system step up please?

     Underlying the political turmoil is the hoodwinking of the poor and illiterate public through the grant of all kinds of largesse by the corrupt politician.  All too often, the funds for the largesse come not from the politician or party but from protection money grabbed by threats and innuendo from businesses.  Make every politician and party account for every penny spent on such largesse listing names of donors and make it part of the investigation to see if monies are given voluntarily or involuntarily.

    Finally, in the long run morality cannot be legislated or imposed by a justice system.  It needs to inhere in each individual.  We need to develop a culture of shunning corruption and the corrupt, be it in our family or friend circles, local community, or country at large.  Religious institutions have a strong role to play as well by paying greater attention not just to the donors’ wealth and status but what sustain them.  But unfortunately where India is today, there have to be some immediate harsh measures to get a handle on corruption before it destroys the country and the freedom won with great sacrifices by so many.

The author, Dr. V. Ramaswami, is an Indian citizen residing in USA and is motivated to write this article by the pain he feels on the state of corruption in India, a country to which his forefathers gave all they had to gain freedom and independence.