PROFILE Palghat Rama Bhagavatar alghat Rama Bhagavatar was house. He waited on Anantarama born on 5th June 1888, at Bhagavatar, attending to his every Munda Mukha near Shoranur, need. To learn music, no sacrifice Pto village revenue official Kasturi was too great. He had a keen ear and Ranga Iyer and Alamelu Mangai, as listened attentively to every song their fifth and last son. Kasturi Ranga Anantarama Bhagavatar sang. He Iyer had a modest income which used the time his guru rested to try helped meet the barest needs of and sing those songs. His diligent the family. They had a small, practice soon made the Bhagavatar unpretentious home with a well in realise his prodigious potential. The the backyard. The village was on the boy began to accompany the guru banks of the Bharata Puzha river. in all his Harikatha discourses as his The presiding deity of the village vocal accompanist. He had a rich was Lord Ayyappan. and sonorous voice that could hold the audience in thrall. Rama Bhagavatar attended the village school and learnt the Vedas Palghat Rama Bhagavatar Anantarama Bhagavatar was a regular and sastra-s. His elder brother visitor to Kumbakonam, then the Venkatakrishna Bhagavatar, who had village, for flood waters of the Bharata centre of classical music. He took a flair for classical music, became an Puzha soon devastated it. Rama Bhagavatar along with him exponent of Kathakali padams. He to listen to the music of Maha taught young Raman to sing along Anantarama Bhagavatar’s wife was Vaidyanatha Sivan. (It is said he with him. Rama Bhagavatar was a compassionate woman who took posed as a tantric to gain admission then eight years of age. This laid a Raman in her fold and shrewdly into Sivan’s home). He also started firm foundation in young Raman, covered up his lack of knowledge taking Rama Bhagavatar along who in addition to the padams, of cooking, then considered a with him to Tanjavur and other also absorbed the nuances of key qualification for a sishya. places nearby to listen to the Carnatic music. Nevertheless, Rama Bhagavatar great musicians there. One of the Raman and Venkatakrishnan attended to jobs small and big in the musicians whose performances Anantarama Bhagavatar frequently began to learn Carnatic music from Anantarama Bhagavatar Vadakancheri Rama Bhagavatar and attended was the late Umayalpuram his brother Subbarama Bhagavatar. Swaminatha Iyer who accepted Since Kathakali performances Rama Bhagavatar as his live-in were held for hours at a stretch at disciple after putting him through night, they began to tell on the a rigorous test. Maharajapuram health of young Raman. So his Viswanatha Iyer was a fellow sishya brother advised him to quit singing and the two became close friends. Kathakali padams and focus Rama Bhagavatar’s tutelage under instead on Carnatic music, then being Swaminatha Iyer was an opportunity popularised by the Kumbakonam to learn a number of kriti-s of and Tanjavur schools. Tyagaraja from a scion of the great Rama Bhagavatar’s quest for a composer’s musical lineage. Rama career in classical music took him Bhagavatar spent the next eight to nearby Thondikulam, where he years in Kumbakonam, learning was introduced to the stern the nuances of various ragas, in the Anantarama Bhagavatar. It was process evolving his own style of perhaps providential that he left his manodharma. 40 l SRUTI January 2013 PROFILE Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan’s brother kritis like Rama nee samanamevaru Iyer paid glowing tributes to Ramaswamy Sivan encouraged (Kharaharapriya), Akshayalinga vibho Bhagavatar. An endowment has been the budding musician in Rama (Sankarabharanam), O Rangasayee instituted in the Music Academy, Bhagavatar to participate in the (Kambhoji), Paramapavana Rama Chennai, by the Bhagavatar’s son annual Tyagaraja aradhana at (Poorvikalyani), Hari nenendu M.R. Venkataramanan and his family Tiruvaiyaru without fail. vetukudura (Karnataka Behag), for an award to the best performer and Bhajare re chita (Kalyani). His in raga alapana during the annual Rama Bhagavatar also learnt rendering of Gopalakrishna Bharati’s December season. a large number of kritis of Varugalamo ayya in Manji was so Rama Bhagavatar was 23 when he other great vaggeyakaras like poignant that listeners were often married Rukmini. She was then Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama moved to tears. only nine. Rama Bhagavatar settled Sastry, Gopalakrishna Bharati, The late Maharaja of Mysore down in Old Kalpathy, Palghat, Swati Tirunal, Patnam Subramania in 1910 and remained a resident of Iyer, Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, and Jayachamaraja Wodeyar regularly invited Rama Bhagavatar to his that village till his last days in 1957. Mysore Vasudevachar. In addition to durbar during Dasara for a special His house is still going strong – the kritis in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil performance and honoured him. home of his children, grandchildren and Malayalam, he also learnt a So did the late Maharaja and and even great grandchildren. Till few abhangs in Marathi, thanks Maharani of Travancore. Nobel his last breath, Rama Bhagavatar to his association with violin Laureate C.V. Raman bestowed performed the annual guru pooja in maestro Mysore T. Chowdiah, who on him the title of Gayaka Kesari. memory of his guru. temporarily moved from Mysore He also received honours from the Rama Bhagavatar and Rukmini to Old Kalpathy at the bidding of Mahasannidhanam of the Sringeri had seven sons and four daughters. Rama Bhagavatar and accompanied Sarada Peetham and the Parama- His second son M.R. Seshamani him on the violin in many charya of the Kanchi Kamakoti who for sometime accompanied performances. Peetham. The Music Academy and Rama Bhagavatar in his concerts, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai, In time, Rama Bhagavatar returned later become a disciple of display his portrait in their premises. to Thondikulam and became a part G.N. Balasubramaniam. His Presiding over a function to unveil of his guru Anantarama Bhagavatar’s fourth son, Lakshmi Narayanan, his portrait at Sri Krishna Gana troupe. Unfortunately, Anantarama accompanied Rama Bhagavatar for Sabha, Semmangudi Srinivasa the rest of his musical career. Bhagavatar passed away when he was just 49. Rukmini and Rama Bhagavatar Rama Bhagavatar’s music attracted rasika-s in large numbers. His rendering of ragam-tanam-pallavi was regarded as masterly. At a period when music concerts lasted up to five hours, Bhagavatar was never found wanting in stamina to execute such marathon performances – without the aid of microphone and loudspeaker. He preferred ghana ragas like Bhairavi, Kalyani, Todi, Saveri, Dhanyasi, Sankarabharanam, and Kharaharapriya. His elaborate alapanas brought out the nuances and subtleties of the ragas in full measure. Old timers nostalgically recall his rendering of 41 l SRUTI January 2013 PROFILE Dikshitar’s Akshyalinga vibho. He ended the performance with Varugalamo ayya and Satre vilagi irum pillai, requesting Nandikeswara to make way for his direct darsan of Siva. Those who heard him sing that day remember his moving rendition with nostalgia. It was his swansong. A fortnight later, he passed away on 26 May 1957 while performing sandhya vandanam at the Nila river in the morning. Rama Bhagavatar was a great devotee of Lord Rama. He lived a life devoid of ego, anger and avarice. Rama Bhagavatar’s house before it was reconstructed into apartments He shunned publicity, and music was the medium through which Rama Bhagavatar’s residence was of the Kasi Viswanatha temple he sought to establish communion always open to those who wanted at Kalpathy, during its kumbha- with Lord Rama. His Rama nee to learn kritis from him, for abhishekam. He was accompanied samanam evaru in Kharaharapriya which he charged no fees. Among by Kandadevi Alagiriswamy still remains unsurpassed. He was a his important disciples were (violin) and Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer true nadopasaka. K.V. Narayanaswamy, Puducode (mridanga). He had made his debut A. RAMACHANDRAN Krishnamurthy, and K.S. Sankaran at this venue years ago. He was now 69 years (The author, a son-in-law of Rama Nambudiri. Bhagavatar, thanks M.R. Sesha Mani, of age and his performance lasted M.R. Ramanan, R. Lakshmi Narayanan, Rama Bhagavatar’s last performance four hours. The piece-de-resistance and R. Kanakam, for providing him was in June 1957, in the precincts of the performance was Muthuswami material on their father) Rama Bhagavatar with Kandadevi Alagiriswamy (violin) and Mani Iyer (mridanga) 42 l SRUTI January 2013.