Former governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Tuesday called for research into the compositions of the trinity of Carnatic music to determine the points of convergence in their works.
Mr. Gandhi, who is chairman of Kalakshetra Foundation, said, besides helping one understand the musical genius of the three composers who had lived more or less contemporaneously, the effort would underscore how the act of composition was a continuing process.
“It is a process in which there are constants and variables so that each practitioner of classical music can make her or his own contribution to ‘Mano dharma’ through the rendering,” he said. He was speaking after launching Valmiki Spell on Thyagaraja , a book by S.V. Krishnamurthy, music critic of The Hindu , at a function organised by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha. The research, “a new concordance of the compositions”, should focus on whether Saint Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri used the same words, and the impact that was sought to be created, he said.
“SVK has been synonymous with the appreciation of classical music in our city through the exceptional medium of that exceptional newspaper, The Hindu ,” Mr. Gandhi said, adding that with the book he had made a great contribution to better, higher understanding of Thyagaraja.
Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu N. Ravi said SVK, with his well-known editing and writing skills and profound knowledge of music and literature, had very few equals as writer of the arts.
Vocalist Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, Cleveland V.V. Sundaram, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha president Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti and general secretary Y. Prabhu also spoke about the book and its author.
In his speech, Mr. Krishnamurthy said he was beholden to The Hindu and overwhelmed by the sentiments expressed.
