As I was fishing in my old files for my review of a memorable 1981 concert of vocal maestro T.V. Gopalakrishnan, for quoting certain parallel impressions in the context of his recent MDR-memorial concert at Hamsadhwani ( Friday Review , May 25), I came across old reviews and essays of mine on the music of M.D. Ramanathan, particularly in the evening papers in Bombay and New Delhi. Those first-hand impressions had effectively captured the mystic aura surrounding MDR's image, and I can't resist quoting some of them here and now:
Free Press Bulletin, Bombay, Dec. 1967:
The way his unique silk-and-steel voice fills your whole consciousness, not only while you hear it, but for a long time afterwards; the mystic power of his very presence under the limelight; the intensity of his own emotions and the integrity of his devotion -- these are some of the things which overwhelm the sensitive listener who wants music to be an experience of the soul and not just an exercise of the mind...
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MDR -- with his majestic voice, his slow, serene tempo, and his deep emotional commitment -- not only packs more meaning into the text of every composition, but anticipates and reveals its subtler nuances even in the wordless alapana preceding it. That's why he can stretch a Carnatic music recital to phenomenal lengths and still distil its essence for you all the way...
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His massive three-dimensional voice, which has all the solidity and all the smoothness of a marble column; the pulsating expressions on his face, and the myriad graceful gestures he makes with his hands; the serene, stately progression of his music (so much like that of Balasaraswati's dancing!), which gives his music a monumental quality; the inspiring influence of his utter devotion, which converts the concert hall into a place of worship -- these are obviously some of MDR's strongest points....
In his perceptive rendering of Hindolam, Darbar and Kharaharapriya on these occasions, we had glimpses of a fascinating, elusive world of sound, in which sentiment and intellect blended in a mystic awareness of forces far beyond our normal vision...
Hindustan Times Evening News , New Delhi, 1975:
I wasn't a lover of Carnatic music to start with... (but) was only fond of Western music... I admired Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. I was thrilled by the powerful voices of Mario Lanza, Benjamino Gigli and Paul Robson...
Unhurried rendition
I was living in a Tamil Nadu town in 1963... Late one evening, I switched on the radio for the 9 p.m. English news... and someone was singing Carnatic music... It was a full, deep-throated bass, something I had never associated with Indian music. And the music was flowing in a stately, unhurried manner so uncharacteristic of Carnatic music… I was fascinated, and waited breathlessly for the announcer to tell me the name of the singer: it was M.D. Ramanathan.
A few weeks later I travelled 200 miles by train to Madras to hear a full-length recital by MDR. And what I heard taught me something more: that MDR's music wasn't just Voice, but also Spirit. I sat transfixed for three hours as he sang in his characteristically slow tempo, meditating rather than entertaining. Suddenly sound acquired a mystic beauty which I hadn't found even in Bach or Beethoven...
And since Carnatic music rests wholly on a religious base, my agnostic mind at once began to see spiritual light. My life has never been the same again. Since then I have attended hundreds of Indian music concerts. I have made friends with many great musicians. I have learnt a little bit of Carnatic music myself, and have even become a music critic. But I can never forget the fact that it is through MDR that I discovered the beauties of Carnatic music -- and, on a larger plane, the whole mystique of Indian music.
(To be concluded)