Not many get an opportunity to come under the tutelage of their desired guru very easily as in the case of this young boy. At a tender age of eight, even before receiving any kind of formal training, he was providing mridangam accompaniment in a harikatha. The eminent mridangam Guru Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer who had accompanied a short while ago at the same place was extremely delighted and impressed with the boy’s skills. The maestro not only honoured the boy with his own silk shawl, but instantly took him into his fold under the gurukul system. Since then, it has been an illustrious career to him spanning over 85 years, accompanying all eminent artistes belonging to different generations. “I had the desire to learn mridangam from Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, but everything happened so naturally and on its own,” explains Murthy, on how his musical journey started. The 93-year-old veteran was in New Delhi last week to receive the Padma Shri.
Murthy’s maiden performance was at Coimbatore during the concert of the renowned Musiri Subramania Iyer. With a tremendous reflex in catching the styles of various artistes, Murthy adapted himself to them with ease.
Vocal music
A multi-facet personality, Murthy sings in Carnatic and Hindustani styles, plays ghatam, kanjira and other percussion instruments with ease. He is a master in konnakol as well. He strongly believes that percussion artistes should know vocal music too. “It is easy to showcase your talents during the tani-avartanam (percussion solo), but it is a tough task to play for a composition alongside the sangatis,” he avers. Murthy recalls an incident when he was accompanying an eminent vocalist who was singing a Pancharatna Kriti. The vocalist momentarily forgot the lyrics at some stage. However, keenly listening to the mridangam support that Murthy was providing, the vocalist recollected the lyrics instantly and proceeded further. “Soon after the concert, the vocalist praised me,” says Murthy.
Murthy was once accompanying M.S. Subbulakshmi during a concert at Red Fort in Delhi. The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was listening to the concert. Impressed very much with Murthy’s skills, Nehru sent him to Edinburgh for a lecture-demonstration on the instrument. “I was hesitant to go due to language constraints, but Pandit Nehru insisted on my going and even arranged for a person well conversant in music to travel with me and help me in translation of my demonstration before the foreign audience,” recollects Murthy.
Murthy strongly feels that learning from the guru through gurukul system is the best way to learn music while he is saddened by the dwindling crowd at Carnatic music concerts. “In those days, concerts used to be for about six hours with three or four tani-avartanams and music lovers used to sit throughout the concerts. I do not know the reasons for the dwindling audience in music concerts and why they walk away when tani-avartanam starts,” wonders Murthy. Could inability to understand the intricacies of a rhythm be a reason? “Did they understand all that was sung or played till then?” he shoots back.
On being asked how he feels receiving Padma Shri, the veteran replies, “I feel that the award has been conferred on my guru Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer and I dedicate this to him.”
