This is a book every Carnatic music fan will want to possess. Maestros of Carnatic Music contains 100 beautiful full-page pencil sketches of leading vocalists and composers, past and present, plus a short descriptive text. The sketches are by 81-year-old S. Sankara Narayana, a former station director of All-India Radio, Chennai, for whom drawing portraits — in ink, pencil and charcoal — has been a lifelong passion. The text is by Charukesi.
On February 28, 2017, Maestros of Carnatic Music was released at Tag Centre, Chennai. It was sponsored by the Tag group of companies and Ramu Endowments. Y. Prabhu, secretary of Krishna Gana Sabha, released the book and handed over the first copy to Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao, secretary of the Music Academy. A lifetime achievement award was also conferred on Sankara Narayana by the Tag group of companies.
Sankara Naryana said that in his 32 years with AIR, he had the opportunity to meet many legends of music. But it is after his retirement in 1995 that he systematically took to drawing their portraits. (He has also done portraits of politicians, film stars and sports personalities, some 2,800 in all.) He said he was inspired and encouraged by his brother Sri Bapu, a Telugu film director and an artist, to pursue his hobby.
In a foreword to the book, music historian Sriram .V said that no visual record exists of many of the greats of Carnatic music of yesteryear. Sankara Narayana’s sketches are therefore a service to the world of music. The book is not a comprehensive compilation of musicians but the 100 personalities featured are all top rankers.
Y. Prabhu and Pappu Venugopala Rao lauded Sankara Narayana’s art, his dedication to it, and his humility. R. T. Chari of Ramu Endowments said that 50 portraits of top musicians by him has been put up at the Music Academy’s Tag archives. Thirteen archives at institutions in India and abroad also have the portraits.
For this book, Sankara Narayana already had 70 sketches ready and then drew 30 more.
Published by Creative Workshop, the book is priced at Rs 200.
