Swati Tirunal, Maharaja of the princely state of Travancore, created over 300 classical music compositions in Carnatic and Hindustani styles in his short lifespan of 33 years. The multi-faceted monarch, whose interests ranged from dance to world languages and astronomy, possessed a universal and inclusive spirit and invited artistes and scholars from all over the world to his court.
Two centuries later, Tirunal’s descendant, renowned Carnatic musician and musicologist Prince Rama Varma, has been carrying forward his ancestor’s musical legacy in more ways than one. Unlike the Tirunal who was bound to his kingdom by royal responsibilities, Varma travels across the globe performing and teaching the compositions of his forefather, his own Guru Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna and several other composers.
This weekend, Varma will present a concert with the Maharaja’s compositions as part of the Sopanam Music Festival to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maharaja Tirunal. “Unlike other great Carnatic composers like Tyagaraja, Maharaja Swati Tirunal, being the ruler of a kingdom, did not have a shishya parampara – a lineage of disciples”, says Varma. Thus, many of his original tunes were sadly lost with the passage of time. With the mission of preserving and propagating the Maharaja’s works, Varma organises two major annual music festivals in Trivandrum – one during Navaratri at the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, and the other in January at the Kuthiramalika, the palace where Tirunal worked on many of his musical creations.
Prince Rama Varma’s concert will commemorate the birth anniversary of Maharaja Tirunal
Varma’s passion for unearthing and perpetuating musical treasures is not limited to his ancestor’s works. He’s known to avoid repeating compositions in his performances and consciously including works from lesser-known composers such as Prayaga Rangadasa, Mallekonda Ramadasa, M.D. Ramanathan and Kaiwara Amara Nareyana. His renditions are marked by startling clarity of both notes and lyrics, and his insightful and articulate explanations of every composition.
The Carnatic musician started his vocal lessons at the age of 14 under the eminent musician Sri Vechoor Harihara Subramania Iyer, also studied the veena under Trivandrum Sri R. Venkataraman and Prof. K.S. Narayanaswamy. Later, he went on to become a senior disciple of Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna. “To get the next generation attracted to the wonderful art form called music, and to get music to unite us all – that is my little mission in life”, says Varma. The success of his “little mission” is evident from the fact that videos from Musiquebox, Varma’s YouTube channel has attracted more than six million views.
Varma will be accompanied by S.R. Vinu on the violin, Changanassery B. Harikumar on the mridangam and Dr. S. Karthick on the ghatam.
