Vidushi Manju Sundaram: Understanding an enigma

In a candid conversation, the reclusive Vidushi Manju Sundaram tells us how music helped her see life in its highest perspective

November 02, 2018 12:43 pm | Updated 12:43 pm IST

Guru shishya tradition Vidushi Manju Sundaram with Indrani Mukherjee

Guru shishya tradition Vidushi Manju Sundaram with Indrani Mukherjee

According to Tagore ‘the small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure. The great wisdom is like water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable.’ Perhaps that is why any measure of ‘small wisdom’ is exhibited easily; perhaps that is why stardom demands more of craft than the art itself; perhaps that is why even stars gaze down to catch the glimpses of their reflections as mirrored by the calm oceans with perceptible vast expanses but mystifyingly inaccessible depths; perhaps that is why we all marvel at the personal choices of recluses like Manju Sundaram.

A mere mention of the latter’s name evokes veneration among scholars steeped in spirituality and music, especially Purab Anga Gayaki, an art she grasped at the feet of the legendary thumri queen Girija Devi at a time when her Guruma was struggling to establish herself as a young exponent of Banaras Gharana.

Born and brought up in the spiritually and culturally charged pristine ambience of the campus of Krishnamurti Foundation, situated at the vast, quiet bank of the river Ganges (Rajghat, Banaras), young Manju Samant mastered English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi and its dialects along with Hindustani classical music under the loving guidance of her educationist parents. Eminent scholars of music, literature and philosophy such as Thakur Jaidev Singh, Annasaheb Ratanjankar, J Krishnamurti, Swami Sharanananda, Maa Anandamayi would visit very often. A darling of her father, she would cling on to him and listen to his exchange of ideas with the dignitaries. All that left a lasting imprint on her psyche and she grew up to be a beautiful, intelligent, dignified lady of letters whose soulful singing and delighting discourses in high flown English or Hindi captivated all.

Attracted by Urdu’s beauty, she loved to sing ghazals but her loving father encouraged her to focus on pure classical that offered a vast horizon of sound. ‘Sur se judo; if you are attuned with your music, you can attune your audience with it’ was his advice; and that changed her thought process. Yet her love for literature yearned to imbibe the special gayaki of Banaras – steeped in the local ‘laid-back’ and ‘philosophical’ life-style. In 1964, this yearning brought Manju, a student of MA (Sanskrit) then, to Appaji who lived at Jagatganj (Nati Imli) and very soon she emerged as her young guru’s first worthy, multilingual, erudite disciple who soaked all that she received. This was possible because the wavelength of both the guru and the shishya matched perfectly.

Spiritual bent of mind

This was the time when Appaji was trying to gauge the changing social scenario which opened the doors of the music-world for the middle class. She was striving to redefine thumri’s adayegi to suit the prevalent morality when Manju reached her with her spiritual bent of mind which could infuse devotion even in a song like ‘Nathani se toota moti re’, an immortal number by Manna Dey in which the out-and-out eroticism of the first lovemaking is expressed through the subtlest possible hint as ‘Balama padhaaye, preet ki pehli pothi’. Both Appa and her Manju relished the aesthetic appeal of the unsaid ‘vyanjana’ rather than the stark ‘abhidha’. This unsaid expression gave them a vast canvas where they filled in the colours of ‘bhakti’ to their heart’s content because both believed that no physical or mental relationship is complete without devotion, albeit according to most thumri-lovers, thumri and spiritualism are strange bed-fellows!

‘Once for my AIR broadcast, I sang ‘Jaag pari mai to piya ke jagaaye’, recounted Manjuji dreamily in her characteristic soft, singsong voice, ‘Acharya Vrihaspati-ji pointed out that ‘chaunk pari’ will be more befitting than ‘jaag pari’ because when someone wakes you up from deep slumber, you get startled. I was too young and inexperienced to explain that this is much beyond the expressed physicality. ‘Jaag pari’ leaves a limitless horizon as opposed to the momentary existence of ‘chaunk pari’. Jaagne mein awakening hai, awareness hai. The deeper you delve, you can see several dimensions. The moment of awakening has no limits. Besides, on a prosaic plane – ‘chaunk pari’ refuses to offer the tender malleability with which one can improvise freely. In thumri-singing lyrics, tune, tone, rhythm, etc. go hand in hand with the intrinsic philosophy, social rituals and values. Despite all, since this art was essentially nurtured by professional women singers, there was a social stigma; commoners would throw lewd remarks; fiqre kase jaate the! What was acceptable in feudal lords’ mehfil, is not viable now. I cannot imagine myself singing like the Lost Nayikas, neither did Appa-ji.’

Holistic knowledge

This mindset helped her immensely when she too followed the footprints of her parents and became one of the faculty members of Vasanta College, her alma mater, and later rose to be the head of its music department. She is deeply involved with the multifarious activities of Jnaana Pravaaha. The depth of her holistic knowledge drew admirers from the world over while she fell in love with S Sundaram, who, like her, was born and brought up within the Theosophical Society (Kamaccha, Banaras) campus and later held the post of the General Secretary (Indian Section). ‘He is the best thing that has happened to me after Pappu, my father’, admitted Manjuji contentedly.

Resassuring company

Apparently, his reassuring company and the peaceful, sylvan surroundings of the campus, where they live, did wonders; and this living encyclopedia of philosophy, literature, music, theosophy and socio-cultural values withdrew from the lime-lights at her prime on her own – simply because she wished to be away from the rat race and lead a “higher life, a richer, complete life with a different level of consciousness, not opposed to real life. Music helped me see life in its highest perspective. It has taught that interdependence is life. No note is complete in itself; but becomes meaningful when it dies to give birth to music. Action (gati) is nothing without repose (vishranti). In life too, you need to let go of certain things.”

After all, intelligence is holding on but wisdom is letting go. This is where Vidushi Manju Sundaram is absolutely different from her Guruma. And yet, as positivity-personified Guru, she embraces all who go to her to seek knowledge and strives to give more than her ‘musically hungry children’ can contain.

Vinod Kapur

Vinod Kapur

Vinod Kapur on MS

As a keen listener, I followed Girija-ji for more than five decades and her disciples. I have known Manju for a long time, heard her sing in baithaks on several occasions and admired her immense understanding of Purab Anga Gayaki – a genre I am striving to promote which includes thumri and allied forms. Manju has very kindly accepted my request to guide several PAG-scholars led by upcoming vocalist Indrani Mukherjee whose gayaki has gone through a sea change. Manju has also agreed to step out of Banaras and hold PAG workshops in Kolkata, the city which has produced numerous hugely talented PAG performers.

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