Unlike most of the other posts in this series, this is not my personal experience. However, I heard the story directly from the person who experienced it.
My father, J R Lakshmana Rao was one of the founders of Ganabharathi, a music organisation (or sabha as such organisations are often called) in Mysore. He was also the president of Ganabharathi for a few years. One of the other founders, one Sri Nagarajan narrated this story to my father when I was present.
Ganabharathi was not financially well off. So, when outstation musicians came to Mysore they would be hosted by one of the members of the management committee of Ganabarathi at their home – if the artists had no objection. Most musicians did not have any objections. Some even preferred this arrangement to staying in a hotel.
When a concert of Vid. Dr S. Ramanathan was arranged, he stayed in Nagarajan’s house. Those familiar with S Ramanathan’s concert career in India would know that it started when he was in his late fifties. He had stayed till then in the US. So, at the time of this concert he was in his sixties. Nagarajan picked him up from the Mysore railway station and took him home. Soon after he arrived, he went in and freshened up and was served a breakfast and coffee.
When he started having his coffee, he took out a sheet of paper from his pocket. The paper had a Purandaradasa’s devaranama handwritten in Tamizh. He started asking Nagarajan for the meanings of various Kannada words and taking notes. Nagarajan narrated this story with great pleasure and admiration. After an overnight journey from Chennai by train, at the first opportunity this older gentleman was keen on learning instead of resting.
No comments:
Post a Comment