When you are on the road, surprises can pop up round the corner.
I was in the south Indian town of Tiruchi to attend the 80th birthday celebrations of clarinet vidwan A. K. C. Natarajan.
We got close to AKC, as friends call him when we produced a documentary film on him after he was chosen for the coveted Sangita Kalanidhi title that is given by The Music Academy in Madras.
Many people have liked this docu-film, a simple narrative in which the vidwan tells his story.
This was going to be a two-day celebration in Tiruchi. On May 26 and 27. What made me do this road trip was the concert schedule which listed a range of nadaswaram and tavil artistes to perform on both days.
The venue was a few hundred metres from where I checked in to refresh and when I arrived there, stepping into a cinema theatre campus, staring at me was the Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Arangam, the name given to this auditorium.
Days earlier, I had read about this landmark while reading a recently- published book on MKT by a young barrister in Madras, Suresh Balakrishnan. Nice surprise!
Behind the theatre was a community hall where the AKC event was to be held. Greeting us were the names of a couple. Well, a wedding had just got over and it took some time for one party to give space to the AKC party!
Nadaswaram artistes follow a conduct code that has been handed over the generations. And the amazing wrist bands, chains and finger rings that they wear for functions and concerts make quite an exhibition.
These were just the sidelights to the AKC show. While the rituals began on the main stage, the artistes rolled the kutcheris on a side stage. Way behind schedule, they sacrificed their time slots to ensure the biggies did not get restless.
Sheik Mahaboob Subhani and Kalishabi Mahaboob, the couple from Srirangam were here to greet us. A long interview that the duo shared with KutcheriBuzz some years ago started a friendship that remains warm.
Thirimaignanam T.K.R. Ayyappan and T.K.R. Meenakshisundaram were the busy bees here. Every little job that had to be done came off their hands. And they did with a pleasant smile.
Tavil vidwan Thirukkarukavur T. D. Sivagurunathan was another busy body, being a close colleague of AKC and a resident of the region. He proudly introduced us to his sons who performed on the nadaswaram
As the evening wore on and the rituals for the Natarajans got over, the music flowed with ease. And all those who had 'tiffin' crowded around the concert stage. AKC though was fidgety - Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan was to present the final concert. Scheduled at 9 p.m. - it was now close to 11 p.m.
Seshagopalan did not seem to be perturbed. With his son T N S Krishna behind him and M. Chandrasekharan on the violin, R. Ramesh on the mridangam, B.S. Purushotham on the kanjira he did what he is known for. Challenging the rasikas with different patterns of the tala . . .
The hall was packed the next morning. The nadaswaram music had begun quite early for the auspicious day. Arts patron Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti who had come by the previous evening, dropped in again.
The local Collector was present too and he was invited on stage to release a small souvenir.
Veteran vidwan Madurai M. P. N. Ponnusamy also performed. Bare-bodied.
The special tavil vidwans present included Vedaranyam V.G. Balasubramaniam, Thirunageswaram T.R. Subramaniam, Thirukkarukavur T.D. Sivagurunathan, Thanjavur T.R. Govindarajan, Mannargudi M. R. Vasudevan, Thirukkoilur K.G. Kalyanasundaram, Thirupparangundram Viswanathan, Tiruvalaputhur T.A. Kaliamurthy, Tiruppungur T.G. Muthukumaraswamy and T.P. Radhakrishnan.
This was indeed a wonderful celebration. Artistes celebrating a milestone of a vidwan with music.
