He may not be the only one to hold dual vocations. But Dr. Sripada Pinakapani is definitely a unique phenomenon — he re-wrote Carnatic music for the Telugu land and strove to translate theory into practice by training young, aspiring musicians in the authentic Thanjavur baani (school of music) and passed on this legacy through generations. At the same time, he taught innumerable medical students as a professor of medicine and a clinical physician at various government medical colleges and hospitals he served till superannuation. Medicine and music went hand in hand but never did one mar the efficacy of the other. There are as many musicians as doctors to testify this.
For all those who have never had the good fortune to know this colossus called Dr. Pinakapani, a glimpse of his life will take them back to the 1900s when values, ideals, calling and vocation, responsibility and recreation, dedication and diligence were balanced in the right proportions, with no room for excesses. Born on August 3, 1913 in Priyagraharam in Srikakulam district, Paani as he was fondly called, went on to graduate in medical sciences (MBBS) and later did his post-graduation in General Medicine (MD) from Andhra Medical College at Visakhapatnam. Why and how he developed an all-consuming love for Carnatic music is just anybody’s guess. From a music aficionado, he transited to become music interpreter and later a musicologist and musician par excellence. Medical studies were his priority till he emerged a full-fledged doctor with a government job. Once his finances were secure, Paani decided to pursue music right from the basics and took to learning under BS Lakshmana Rao of Mysore, a fourth generation disciple of Thyagaraja. Later, he advanced under Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu and Sriranga Ramanuja Ayyangar of Madras. His music came to public eye in 1938 in the All-India Radio (AIR) and stage concerts in metros like Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore and certain places in Tamil Nadu. His penchant for music made him choose a musician wife in Balamba.
He was honoured with innumberable titles from across the country including ‘Sangeetha Kalanidhi’ and a ‘Padma Bhushan’. Right from the AP Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1966 , ‘Kala Prapoorna’, then an honorary doctorate from Andhra University, and the highest music award of the Madras Music Academy — Sangeetha Kalanidhi— in 1983 and the Government of India’s recognition with the Padma award in the following year, there was no looking back for Sripada Pinakapani.
The list of his pupils shines bright with illustrious names like Padmabhushan Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, Voleti Venkateswarulu, Srirangam Gopalaratnam, Sistla Vasundhara, Jayalakshmi Shekar and others.
Today as he enters his 100th year, Dr. Pinakapani though battered by age, is still the fountainhead of music which never seems to dry up as he hums a pallavi or a mukthayi with clarity. Musicseems to be the life force that keeps him going.
