Mahatma Gandhi said satisfaction lies in making an effort rather than achieving the goal. The author Prof. K.Sriranjani says this book she wrote was in that direction. She is also a veena artiste and admirer of the legendary Veena maestro, Maha Mahopadhyaya Padmasree awardee Emani Sankara Sastry who left behind not just his memories but also compositions he penned, with a rich theory and practice of Veena play with innovative approach and technique. Indeed his name is synonymous with veena. His very play and the tunes he produced with his instrumental symphonies emanated patriotic fervour among listeners of AIR from Delhi under the caption ‘Vadya Vrunda’. He was a creative genius in orchestral music. He used to give sub-tiles like ‘Bhramara Vinysam’ and so on so that audience could identify what the mood of the melody being played. He even carried this flavour of Veena abroad and made such an impact that at one time Pt.Nehru called Sankara Sastry a ‘harbinger of Indian art abroad’.
This book, written by .K.Sreeranjani with in-depth study of Sankara Sastry’s life and times and his contribution to the art and greatness of the Veena gives a comprehensive picture of the legend. The book is full of well-structured episodes from the life of Emani Sankara Sastry. There are eight chapters in this book with photographs of Emani and his family and friends.
A highlight of the book is the chapter that deals with the Veena, complete with sketches spreading into four pages. She compares the structure of the Veena to that of the human body with the spinal chord serving as the steps of the instrument and head as the sound resonating part. She also gives a Sanskritized names to these parts. Reading of this chapter itself tells you how close thr Veena is to the human body. The 24 vertebra of spine are akin to 24 frets of Veena, she comments. This chapter, running through half a dozen pages with pictorial representation, makes interesting reading. There is a separate chapter to narrate Emani’s family history that reveals Veena was a part asih of the family legacy, right from his father down to children becoming vidwans. There is also an exclusive chapter presenting the compositions that Emani Sankara Sastry penned.
Emani hailed from Draksharamam in east Godavari district. He did his graduation from P.R.College, Kakinada. The era he spent in S.S.Vasan’s Gemini Studios as instrumentalist and music director was a memorable saga by itself. It was here that Emani shaped the careers of playback singers like A.M.Raja and P.B. Srinivos. He did not restrict his musical knowledge to merely giving Carnatic concerts, but used it for creative purposes by composing film music and direction for gigantic productions like Chandralekha of Gemini banner produced by S.S.Vasan. He was in the company of such greats as Papanasam Sivan, S.Rajeswara Rao, M.D.Parthasarathi, and Kothamangalam Subbudu –all great musicians at that time. Emani’s Veena play was always with a touch of modernity. This attracted youth who were then getting attracted to international cultures. Thus, this book mirrored multifaceted talents of Emani Sankara Sastry and his contribution to Carnatic music. This book in English explores Emani from multiple angles all adding up to how great he was as a musician and music composer.
There are some anecdotes too, as revealed by one of his students SN Satyamurthy. Satyamurthy often accompanied his guru to concerts. At a concert he was to give in the house of the late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Sastry, just as Emani about to sit down to perform, the Sastry too came down and squatted on the floor. The place was already crowded with politicians and others but Sastry did not heed the request of Emani to sit in his chair, saying he would not sit in chair while a great vidwan like him sat on the floor. After the concert Sastry felicitated him with a mere simple cotton shawl, saying he was an ordinary man. Later, he richly felicitated with another shawl saying he was doing it as Prime Minister of the country. On another occasion Sringeri Peetadhipati presented him with a golden shawl. Sankara Sastry, since then, began using these two shawls to protect his Veena.
This book, written by erudite Sriranjani, is comprehensive in nature for it narrates events that occurred right from Sankara Sastry’s childhood till he attained greatness as a virtuoso. The writer extensively cites information she gathered from stalwarts like Palagummi Viswanatham, a friend and Guru of Emani and extensively quoted from the articles written by Gudipoodi Srihari published in The Hindu. There were some references from books written by different authors - all summing up to say that it was an authentic and informative book on Emani Sankara Sastry worth reading by all music lovers.
‘EMANI SANKARA SASTRY’- AN ENNOBLING VEENA ARTISTE
by Prof. K.Sreeranjani Subba Rao
Pages: 220, Price: Rs. 495, $9.95.
For copies: Delhi Telugu Academy.
Contact: 919868248831
