Rare are the instructors that personify their precept in practice; noted veena artiste Pappu Padmavathi, who recently passed away, belongs to that rare tribe in Visakhapatnam. This octogenarian had been one of the few that immensely contributed to the spread and growth of classical music in this region over decades. Playing and imparting training in veena had been such an intense passion for her that that noticing a tendency to enjoy rhythmic and melodic sound in the daughter of her domestic help, she took her under wings and taught her veena. It speaks volumes for her commitment to the cause of music. A disciple of Kavirayani Jogarao, a maestro of yesteryears at Vizianagaram, she later honed her skills under the tutelage of renowned Eemani Sankara Sastry. Throughout her life, she was never seen indulging in any non-musical activity.
The most important aspect of her art of playing the instrument was her meetu which was full of fine and mellifluous tonal excellence. Deeply impressed with this aspect in her playing, Emani Sankara Sasty had appreciated it as ‘vajrapu meetu’; even as she made her mark as an able instructor. Maestro Nedunuri Krishna Murthy regarded her as one of the best teachers that he had seen over five decades.
She had trained several artistes in veena over six decades in the city. A soft spoken persona, she used to gently correct the disciples in their art without sounding tough with them. In her demise, this region lost a musical soul that remains rare to find.
