Carnatic music is the classical form of music that prevails predominantly in south india.
My love of this school of music started probably very early, possibly at the age of 4 or 5, when i started learning the mridangam, a kind of percussion instrument which is generally used as an accompaniment for Carnatic music concerts.
I learnt to play the mridangam for around 5 years, after which i stopped because of non-availability of a good teacher. An AIR programme and a few stages later, when I did stop it, did I cry? Did i feel the loss? Not sure, coz I was still in my fourth grade !!!
Appa used to take me to concerts to inculcate interest in my tender mind, and I should say he succeeded in his attempts.
Calicut in those days was a great place to be if you are a carnatic music buff, coz you could get to listen to almost all the stalwarts on a yearly basis at least. Though you cannot compare Calicut to the likes of Madras where you cannot walk a mile without bumping onto at least one artist, still it was probably the best Kerala could offer, after Palakkad.
Finally when I did stop learning to play the mridangam, I did a startling discovery... yeah... i could sing pretty decently....
Annie hall in Calicut was my first stage and I sang the hit song "Kanneerpoovinte" to grab my packet of "Gems" chocolates !!!!
Again, my parents were shrewd and intelligent enough to spot the little talent in me, and found out a teacher for me in no time...
Mukundan Unni sir was the person who initiated me into the wonderful world of Carnatic Music... and I was and am still amazed at how the school of music has developed over the years... and how, still, after hundreds of years, a lot of songs capture the imagination of the singer and the listener alike.
Moving on to Trivandrum, it was painful to part with Unni sir... I had grown to like him...respect him for he was teaching me something which I was just soooo fond of...
Trivandrum did not spring a surprise in the form of a new teacher... because my teacher there was M K Prashant, who was my cousin's music teacher and I knew him even when I was in Calicut....
He taught me for a year or so , and I moved on to meet one of the greatest men I have ever met in my life, Professor Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma. Varma sir, as I used to call him, is one of the most eminent artists alive in the field of Carnatic music in Kerala, if not in India. He used to be a visiting professor in a university in the US...
Sitting in his music room, I have seen a lot of great men come and go...and I used to feel proud that I got such a great teacher... and how great he was...
the sincereity and humility of Varma Sir was truly something everyone should imbibe to their characters....
Varma sir taught me for a couple of years and moved on to Thripunithura.... and I did stop learning for some time ....
Then one fine day, Vidhu Pratap suggested the name of Satheesh sir... And I started learning from him.... and I am still learning from him after a huge break of 4 years, when I went pursuing a career in far away cities...
These days, I am just waiting for weekends to arrive so that I can go for a music class... And it is so stress-busting to sing your heart out... IT pays u handsomely... true.... very true... and I am thankful for that... But I am thankful to god that He has given me something through which I can vent my frustrations at workplace...
Shall talk about my favourite ragas, singers, compositions etc in the next blog.
Iyer
