“It was Kadri, who called me to inform that I had been selected for the Veena Seshanna Award. He said that he would be in Mangalore that week and be present at the function. I’m here in Dharmastala but he has gone,” says Avasarala Kanyakumari, violin exponent and Kadri Gopalnath’s trusted music partner on stage since 1994. “Our last concert took place on June 23 in Bangalore. He was not keeping well but that did not stop him from giving his best,” she muses and her thoughts go back to 2001, when Gopalnath underwent a by-pass heart surgery. “He was advised a three-month rest but was back within a month. And played for 18 years. It was passion and will power which sustained him. Of course the blessings of Ambal, whom he worshipped with such fervour,” she reminisces.
A huge portrait of Bhuvaneswari, a gift from Santhananda Swami of Pudukottai’s Skandasramam, adorned his puja room. “When he was in town, he spent hours in prayer and loved decorating the deity with jewels and lots of flowers,” Kanyakumari informs. “He always said that his life should end when he was still performing. He couldn’t imagine a life restricted for medical reasons. ‘That will be mere existence and I don’t want it,’ he would say. It looks as if his Ishta Devata has spared him the agony. He came for a purpose and has left having accomplished it,” she says and can only think of the late Mandolin Shrinivas in this context. “Another genius, who did phenomenal work in a short span of time and passed, leaving us devastated,” she points out.
Kadri Gopalnath performing with Kanyakumari, Haridwaramangalam Palanivel and others
Kanyakumari and Kadri Gopalnath shared a bond, akin to that of siblings. “It was after MLV’s demise. I was quite busy but missed her maternal care and advice. It was Kadri, who like an elder brother guided me,” she says. The duo first performed, August of 1990, in Bangalore at a Krishna temple. The concert was a big hit and both came together off and on but otherwise pursued their own journeys.
The turning point was the concert at London’s Albert Hall, in 1994. Recalls Kanyakumari: “It was part of the Asian Festival and Kadri was the first South Indian artiste to be invited to perform in the hallowed hall. I went as an accompanist but the 45-minute outing was more like a jugalbandi and the audience loved it. There was no looking back, as the cliche goes.” For a quarter century the novel combo electrified the atmosphere, sending the audience into raptures. Their concert was mandatory on the list of every sabha during Margazhi. In fact, for many years now, Narada Gana Sabha’s inaugural concert during the Season has been Kadri-Kanyakumari.
What made these concerts so special? Kanyakumari underlines the respect Kadri had for co-artistes. “He gave me tremendous freedom and space on stage. We performed as equals. He played a big role in the progress of many pakkavadyam artistes — Rajasekhar, Patri Sathish, Harikumar, Anirudh and so on. He was the first to bring the tabla as an accompaniment. Later it became a trend. The thavil added spark and he made sure that there never was a dull moment. ‘The rasikas come to get entertained and forget their worries. They should not go back disappointed,’ was his refrain,” she elaborates.
According to Kanyakumari, Kadri put the saxophone not only on the world map but took it to remote villages. “It was not easy to adapt the instrument to Carnatic music. But he did and how!” she marvels. “The Magudi that he played was on par with the best you heard from the nagaswaram. The sangatis were fresh every time he played a kriti, falling as a cascade, and the gamakas breathtaking. Only those who attended his concerts regularly and those who kept him company on stage would know how rich his imagination was. Kadri redefined the instrument and thanks to him so many started learning the saxophone,” says Kanyakumari.
Kanyakumari was always amazed by the reach of Kadri’s music. “It was incredible. I saw porters and rickshaw-pullers approach him for pictures at unlikely locations and he obliged, ever smiling. His music touched people at all levels. This is evident from the way they have reacted to his demise, which has sent shock waves. Entire Mangalore and its neighbourhood have gone quiet in mourning,” observes Kanyakumari. She remembers Gopalnath’s Gurubhakti. “He was in touch with Gopalakrishna Iyer, his aged teacher. Recently, despite his frail health, Kadri visited the Guru, who was also ailing, and extended help. Such traits elevate an artiste to a fine human being,” she says.
After a pause, Kanyakumari adds: “His demise marks the end of an era in Carnatic music and for me, it has created a void that cannot be filled.” Familiar words but her tone makes them poignant.
Kadri Gopalnath receiving the Padma Shri from late President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
The Kadri-Kanyakumari jugalbandi for the Chief Minister’s Kargil Fund at the Narada Gana Sabha fetched ₹6 lakhs
atak Akademi Puraskar list in the same year — 2003-04
