A life with chords...

Chennai-based veena vidushi Padmavathy Ananthagopalan takes a look at her music-filled life.

July 24, 2014 04:53 pm | Updated 04:53 pm IST - New Delhi

Padmavathy Ananthagopalan at herresidence in Chennai. Photo: K. Pichumani

Padmavathy Ananthagopalan at herresidence in Chennai. Photo: K. Pichumani

On a cloudy Sunday morning, I head to Anna Nagar in Chennai, to meet the veena vidushi Padmavathy Ananthagopalan. She is sitting on a chair, a huge portrait of Goddess Kamakshi adorning the wall behind her. She has just completed teaching the Abhogi varnam to a group of young girls. The atmosphere is divine.

The veteran vainika-guru has recently turned 80, is certainly a significant moment to take a trip down memory lane with her. This simple, unassuming artist’s lineage tells it all. Leading me to her pooja room, she begins by saying, “I can play the mridangam, the nagaswaram and the veena. I was initiated into music when I was five by my father, Lalgudi Gopala Iyer, a descendant of the Tyagaraja sishya parampara. He could play many instruments. I learnt to play the veena from him and later evolved my own style. My elder brother Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, younger sisters Lalgudi Rajalakshmi and Srimathi Brahmanandam all took to the violin. It was in the 1950s when Kanchi Periyava politely turned down my request to be initiated into Sri Vidya Upasana. Instead, he instructed me to study the veena in depth and continue playing for the benefit of society.” She adds, “My veena and Goddess Kamakshi are the only ones that matter to me.”

The seer’s instruction has come true. Her perfect and scientific approach to veena playing is a well-known fact. What many do not know is that she is a technocrat who does the maintenance work for her 30-odd instruments, all by herself. She shows you her veenas and explains how she has made changes in the method of fixing strings and preparing the wax mixture to place the frets. She has even designed a veena that can be dismantled and carried in a knapsack! It’s indeed a boon for veena artists travelling abroad.

Padmavathy mami recalls the help of Natesa Achary in this quest. How did she attain mastery over music and veena crafting? “If you have a keen ear, a good grasp and a heart to put them into practice, you will be a master. Patience, grit, sacrifice and discipline are needed. I would attend several concerts of stalwarts of the yore and then try to play the ragas I had heard in my own style. And I have done so for seven decades with single-minded focus. Dr. S. Balachandar was an inspiration, be it in the technicalities of the instrument or playing. His style is unique and tough to adopt. Chittibabu’s stress was on melody.” No wonder she has came up with her unique style where every swara is given its due in a raga.

It was at Balachandar’s suggestion Padmavathy mami structured her teaching into formal classes. She has trained a few thousand students over 25 years since she started the Sri Satguru Sangita Vidyalaya in Anna Nagar. Students are guided through a course spanning seven years that includes theory too.

Today, the veteran’s disciples are spread all over the world, some even teaching the veena at music universities. Usha Rajagopalan, her protégé, is a staff of AIR, Chennai, and a sought after violinist. Her unflinching effort for almost 22 years has yielded a gem in Jayanthi Kumaresh, her niece. Mami says, “But is one Jayanthi enough? I want to share all that I know to those willing to spend time with me. I am still on the lookout for a youngster who will grasp all that I know. I am willing to offer financial support too. Remember, age is not on my side now.”

Padmavathy’s husband Ananthagopalan too is a vainika and teaches the veena and the violin at their home. Her life ambition is to take the veena to greater heights and secure a prime place for it on a par with vocal music in sabhas.

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