This article has been extracted from the Platinum Jubilee Souvenir of the Suburban Music Circle (Year 2012)

Suburban Music Circle in its 75th year – A few thoughts and memories

By: Smt. Nalini Swamidasan

Smt. Nalini Swamidasan is a retired Professor of Social Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. She was also a performing artiste’ on the All India Radio. She is an ardent listener and one of the oldest Life Member of the Suburban Music Circle.

Smt. Nalini Swamidasan

Seventy-five years ago, forming a group to enable its members to listen to live performances of Indian classical music was a rare phenomenon. My grandfather used to say that in early 1900s Bombay, only the rich enjoyed the privilege of hearing musicians perform. The rich, especially the Rajas and the Nawabs, patronized musicians and arranged exclusive concerts at their residences. A few close middleclass friends and acquaintances got access to these programmes. In course of time, some of these fringe listeners managed to raise money and arrange concerts in their homes and later in rented halls. The Suburban Music Circle (SMC) is the 1930s’ outcome of such efforts by a few residents of Saraswat Colony, Santa Cruz, the neighbourhood and their friends from the nearby suburbs.

It is interesting to have a brief look at the development of Hindustani classical music. Both the exponents of music and the appreciating public are important in preserving and promoting this great heritage. Hindustani Classical music is the product of the composite culture of our land. The contribution of indigenous people and of those who came from foreign lands to make this their home, rings through our music. It is also seen in the arts, crafts, architecture and literature of our multi-facetted civilization. In north Indian music, the earlier Dhrupad and Dhamar singing was influenced by Persian music, and the Khayal was developed at the Moghul courts. Folk tunes were absorbed. New ragas came into existence.

In Hindustani classical vocal music, though there are lyrics, it is the elaboration of the raga that is more important. The words recede into the background as the singing gains momentum. At times even the meaning of the words does not seem to be of much significance. A woman waiting for her beloved (given by some a spiritual interpretation as the soul’s longing for God), descriptions of the times of day or of the seasons are common themes. Some Bandishes (song compositions) are addressed to deities from the Hindu pantheon. Krishna and Radha feature in many; Gopis also complain of Krishna troubling them and of their own problems dodging their mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Some sing in praise of Allah, his mercy and his generosity. Whatever the theme, these Bandishes are sung by all Hindustani classical musicians, whatever be their religious beliefs. Though great exponents of Indian classical music have largely been drawn from the two main religious traditions, teachers of music have trained earnest and talented pupils belonging to faiths not their own.

However, for a long time, training in Indian classical music was confined to a few musician families. Only boys were taught, by their father and uncles. At times, a teacher from another musician family took over. Most women who were proficient in music did not perform in public. The only women who did so belonged to the class of singing/dancing girls. Fortunately, over the years, social conventions have changed. Scholars, musicologists and musicians like Pandit V. D. Paluskar and Pandit V. N. Bhatkhande made it possible for boys and girls from the middle class to learn music. They kept contact with great musicians, learnt music themselves, innovated separate notational systems so that music could be studied with rigour and understanding and started schools to teach music.

Patronage of music by the rich was now supplemented by the active interest of the educated middle classes. I would like to mention here that my grandfather, Golikeri Pandurang Rao – one of the early members of the SMC – encouraged his own daughters and later his daughter-in-law (my mother) to learn music. He himself took lessons in playing the sitar. He listened to music at concerts, on his gramophone and the radio. He loved Carnatic music as well and Western classical (instrumental and choral) music too. I remember his singing Bhajans in different Ragas every evening, even when he was in his eighties.

One of my earliest memories of concerts at the SMC is the one by Gangubai Hangal (then Hublikar). I remember her as young and slim, sitting sedately on the dais with her Tanpura, rendering long Alaps and intricate Taans. It was somewhat of a shock to hear her some years later, again singing majestically but in a totally different voice

SMC members always looked forward to their concerts, two of which were held every quarter. They were usually on Saturday nights, occasionally on a Sunday morning or evening. They began at 9:30 or 10 p.m. and lasted for at least four hours. There were times when the programme started with an early night raga and ended with an early morning one. There was an interval for Narayana’s coffee. I remember Narayana almost as much as I do Chickermane Babmam (M. B. Chickermane – longtime Treasurer) and Ullal Shantarammam (S. S. Ullal – Secretary of SMC for decades). Shri Chickermane was always at the table near the entrance to Vimalanand Koppikar Hall on concert days, collecting members’ dues and selling tickets to non- members. SMC generally invited renowned artistes to perform, the newspapers (e.g. the Times of India) announced the programme in their “Engagements Today” column, and music-lovers flooded the venue. It was very often the gate collection money that met the expenses of the concert.

Mentioning Shri Chickermane brings back to me my childhood contact with him. As a child of eight or so, I used to attend vocal music classes conducted at his home by the well-known teacher Patankar buwa. He held a test once in a while, and to encourage us, Babmam promised a free admit card to the next SMC concert for those who did well. Earlier, I went free with my grandfather and my parents. Now I often was the privileged one with an admit card bearing the Treasurer’s signature and the SMC seal. I am grateful to my teachers, Modi master and Nandmam (S. C. R. Bhat), my parents, my husband and my sister Nirmala, for helping me to learn and appreciate music

Devoted to music and dynamic in action, Shri Ullal was for decades synonymous with SMC. He scheduled and organized concerts; met, empathized and cajoled artistes. For many, he was not just the Secretary of SMC, but a friend. They, in turn, obliged him by agreeing to perform free at some other function. He arranged short concerts in the Saraswat Colony when H.H.Srimat Anandshram Swamiji came on his quadrennial visit. One such memorable concert I recall is the jugalbandi of Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, accompanied by Khan on the tabla. Shri Ullal was also sensitive to the needs of the artistes. A rare concert he organized at SMC was the one when Annapurna Devi played the Surbahar with Ravi Shankar on the sitar. Being aware of the financial difficulties of Ravi Shankar at that time, Shri Ullal raised money to present a purse to the artiste couple. The music that day is an unforgettable experience.

Recollecting Shantarammam’s work for music, I cannot help thinking of the last concert Ustad gave at SMC. It was on a Sunday evening, scheduled for 5 p.m. The venue, Gujarati Stree Mandal Hall was packed. With a few minutes left to start the recital, there was no sign of the artiste and his entourage. Shri Ullal had left to pick up the artiste. It seems the Ustad had to be woken up from his siesta and brought here. Fortunately, Mumbai roads were not traffic-choked in those days. The maestro strolled in calmly at 6:45 p.m. bowing and greeting the waiting audience. Latafat Hussian Khan and Sharafat Hussain Khan accompanied the Ustad and sang most of the time, gloriously. Microphones were not used, they weren’t necessary. The voices rang loud and clear, the timbre and melody reaching every ear. Time was no constraint. The night was young. Those three voices still seem to resound around me when I think of that great day - especially the Darbari Kanada. A few months later, Ustad Faiyaz Khan passed away.

Another concert which stands out in my memory is the one when Pandit S. N. Ratanjankar sang with his students Chidanand Nagarkar, K. G. Ginde and S. C. R. Bhat as his saathis. It was a Sunday morning concert in 1946. The highlight of the concert was Bilaskhani Todi.

The Bharatiya Sangeet Shikhapeeth was inaugurated that year at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and affiliated to Bhatkhande University, Lucknow. Nagarkar was the Principal and K. G. Ginde, S. C. R. Bhat and S. N. Modi were the first instructors. The school trained many and arranged fine concerts especially for the Bhatkhande anniversary

Many of the great singers and instrumentalists of the last century came to SMC several times. Kesarbai Kerkar’s recitals were always a treat. She played the tanpura herself, had no accompanying disciple to sing with her, took very short breaks between ragas, hardly gesticulated with her free left hand and still sang effortlessly for the usuall three-and-a- half to four hours. Raga Shree was one raga I did not particularly care for until I heard her sing it. I vividly recall the impact her rendition made on me.

Ustad Allaudin Khan’s Sarod recital accompanied by his disciples Ravi Shankar on sitar and Ali Akbar Khan on Sarod is another memorable concert. Since SMC always invited the well-known, recalling concerts is like giving a list of Hindustani classical music Greats, most of them, no more with us – and his brother on the Shehnai, Vilayat Khan on sitar, Pannalal Ghosh and Devendra Murdeshwar on the Flute with Nikhil Ghosh on the Tabla; Siddeshwari Devi’s Thumris, Bade Ghulam Ali, Vilayat Hussein, Moghubai Kurdikar and the young Kishori Amonkar, and so on. I recall one concert of Pandit when he was accompanied by the teenage N. Rajam. His rendering of “matha jaa, matha jaa jogi” in bhairavi filled the Gujarati Stree Mandal Hall.

I cannot forget the appreciative listeners of that time, sitting on the thinly carpetted floors for hours. Very few chairs were provided. Faces of regular members flit across my mind’s eye. The Ghia couple from Tagore Road, P. S. Nadkarni, Saguna and Sakharam Kalyanpur, the Udyavars – Sushila (Baby), her brother and Sharada, Rama Ugran (Nadkarni), the Lakhia sister and brother from Khar, the four Parsis from Hill Road, Bandra – Mani Sahukar and family – Mohile sisters – Sulabha & Jyotsna – the young performing artistes, I mention just a few of the many I remember.

My father, Shankar P. Golikeri, was associated with SMC for a long time, first as a member and later as a member of the Managing Committee and Chairman. He was one of those who accept responsibility for holding an office and are totally committed to the work. If I remember right, he was chairman of the SMC committee during the Silver Jubilee year. I recall his zeal and the excitement of that year. He had not studied music nor was he a connoisseur. He just loved music and gave unstinting support to those who wished to learn or listen to it

Members of SMC have always provided a good audience at the programmes arranged. But I am afraid, members during the early decades of SMC were so pampered with great recitals, that when young artistes were invited, the audience attendance and response was poor. I remember how the young D. V. Paluskar’s recital was received at Podar School Hall. Members were slow to arrive for the night programme and about half of them left after the interval. Sadly, the established and acclaimed reputation of an artiste seemed to matter more than the actual performance, even for the son of an illustrious father.

Today we do not have the large audiences nor the income of those days. Most programmes in these times do not feature the Great. But, SMC now not only provides opportunities for members to listen to good music but also fulfills one of the prime objectives of those who care for music – It is encouraging young talent and giving them a venue for their performances. Unless listeners provide a platform for aspiring performers, this great inheritance of classical music will not thrive, will not endure. The SMC and those actively involved in its management should be congratulated for their endeavours.

Baaki Saare Khule” – the one who sings / listens is a ‘wise’ man and the who have no ear for music are ‘crazy’. Let the silvery seven notes of my prayer offer my obeisance to you, Maa Saraswati.