Margazhi is here, and people are poring over newspapers for the list of programmes, calling up each other, exchanging season tickets and reservations, and rushing from one sabha to another to attend every possible performance.
The sabhas have increased; the old ones have had facelifts, with luxurious seating, the latest acoustics and lighting, and canteens serving delicious food.
Each year, as the Season progresses and prodigious talents are discovered, my thoughts go back to the late 1950s and early 1960s, when three Americans came to Madras. They travelled back and forth from the U.S., and devoted their time and dedicated themselves to the limitless depths of Carnatic music.
I had the privilege of meeting them in the home of Veena S. Balachander, whose doors were always open to them. Many other musicians also opened their homes and hearts to them, and helped them in every way possible.
Jon Higgins
(1939 – 1984)
Jon inherited his love and talent for music from his mother — a music teacher. He was a singer of European and Western Classical music. Blessed with a voice full of melody and depth, he met T. Viswanathan at the Wesleyan College in America. He found his calling, and Viswanathan accepted him as a sishya.
He came to India on a Fulbright Scholarship. Given his natural talent and dedication, Jon attended every kutcheri — learning and imbibing. He was soon ready to perform at the Tyagaraja Aradhana held annually in January in Thiruvaiyaru.
Despite his intense efforts to master pronunciation, there were detractors. This only spurred Jon to work night and day to perfect it. He won the admiration of the public, who admired his determination, even while they criticised him. His kutcheris were always packed, and he performed regularly for All India Radio.
Jon studied under the renowned dancer T. Balasaraswati and submitted his dissertation on the dance music of Bharatanatyam. He recorded several albums and was honoured with the title ‘Bhagavatar’ (scholarly musician). He wasn’t much of a talker. It seemed like he was stunned by the immensity of his vocation and was absorbing every tiny detail around him. He is generally acknowledged as the first non-Indian to sing Carnatic music.
Tragedy cut short his promising career. On December 7, 1984, while crossing a street in New York, he was killed by a drunk hit-and-run motorist. He was just 45.
James Rubin
(1927 – 1991)
James was the vice-president of a realty company (his family business) for 35 years, but still found time to come each year to India to attend the annual music festival in Madras. He made thousands of recordings.
He was not a performing musician, and his aim was to take his beloved Carnatic music to Americans.
One of the earliest recordings in his collection is a performance by sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar in 1957. His last recording in Madras was in 1987.
He had met S. Balachander in America. Prior to this, he had only heard of and listened to the sitar.
At first, James stayed at Connemara, but realising that Mylapore was the hub of Carnatic music, he moved to Woodlands. He started using cycle rickshaws, but soon bought a bicycle and rode all over the city. He turned vegetarian and discarded Western attire when he was here.
James was an ardent admirer of D.K. Pattammal and an associate of M.S. Subbulakshmi. He was passionate about his work and recorded as many All India Radio programmes and kutcheris as possible. He would heave cumbersome equipment around, willingly. He is still fondly remembered by old-time musicians. Rangiah of AIR — a seasoned technician — was always there to guide him and translate for him. James was loved by all for his simplicity and manners, and was affectionately called Rubin mama .
James died of leukaemia on March 17, 1991, aged 64. He donated his vast collection of Carnatic recordings to universities in America.
William Skelton (1923 – 2009)
I met William, who insisted I call him Bill, his wife Mary Lou and two of his children around the early 1960s. Mary Lou handled the administration, and was in and out of Shantha Balachander’s house, copying recipes, practising how to drape a sari and learning yoga.
On arrival in Madras, the family stayed at an international guest house. In a short while, realising that the hub of music was Mylapore, they moved to a small rented house. Bill was a bassoonist by profession but also played a number of other instruments.
On subsequent trips, he was accompanied by his students — he handled many innovative activities and sightseeing trips. His immense energy was amazing. He adapted easily to our clothes, food, living and eating style.
Bill was influenced by Pandit Ravi Shankar and learnt to play the nadaswaram. His was a surreal talent, and this earned him unchallenged entry into temples and music festivals otherwise denied to outsiders.
After years of travelling back and forth to Madras, he returned to Colgate University, and continued to promote Carnatic music in America. To this end, Bill was an active member of the East West Exchange Inc. In 1973, under its auspices, nadaswaram artiste Dr. Sheik Chinna Moulana Saheb toured the U.S. for the first time. Bill knew and admired this great musician from his time in the South.
I stayed in touch with Bill, and in 2009, I e-mailed him. An excerpt from his reply dated March 6, 2009, reads thus:
Rochelle,
Forgive the delay. I have managed to dig up about 50 2x2 slides that may interest you. Most of them are of musicians of the 70s. A few of them show me playing. While I was fairly close to Jim (Rubin) I could not find shots of him. I only met Jon once in a while. You must know that both of them are gone.
If there is still time, I’ll write a bit about the Kalkati car festival when we paraded the deity with the great nadaswaram Vidwan Chinna Moulana.
Regards, Bill
A few months later, on September 23, he passed away peacefully, aged 86.
