Peerless Veena Dhanammal (1867-1938) would be 150 years old today! The legendary vainika of the early 20th century is held in awe, not just for the unique style that she engendered but also for the fierce devotion with which it has been nurtured and sustained by her descendants. Stories abound of how Dhanammal’s Friday musical soirees in George Town attracted the creme de la creme of the Madras art community. Even in her last years with failing eyesight, she had absolute command over her instrument and unerring sruti fidelity as she sang along.
The word parampara is often used in Indian classical arts to denote tradition or lineage, implying a continuity handed down through generations. Of late, it’s also a much-abused term, bandied about in event promotions to add an element of authenticity. In contemporary Carnatic music, there are very few lineages other than Dhanammal's that can claim to be a genuine parampara, tracing roots back to the times of the Trinity or before. There are even fewer that hold steadfastly through multiple generations to the musical values that differentiate them from the rest of the pack.
With effortless ease
Listening to a scratchy 78 rpm recording of Dhanammal today, one-and-a-half centuries after her birth, one is struck by the seemingly effortless ease with which the essence of a composition or a raga is conveyed. But digging a little deeper, one finds several layers of subtlety, each more delicate than the other, like the multiple shades of grey that combine to give a B&W image its stark beauty. It is an edifice built with loving care and sustained by a sadhakam (practice) so rigorous that it makes the performer and the art a single, indistinguishable entity. And this is a recurring feature through the colourful history of the Dhanammal family. The same delicate anuswarams or the lilting gamakams or the delicate-as-filigree- brigas that mark the music of the matriarch can be found in her descendants too, be it Jayammal, Balasaraswati, Brinda-Mukta, Viswanathan, Vegavahini or Girish.
“What is there to TALK about music?” a famously acerbic Dhanammal is said to have queried. Many of her descendants too inherited that caustic streak, scornfully dismissing any loose talk about music. It is easy to misconstrue it as arrogance or as a misplaced sense of superiority about the bani. But it is in truth a reflection of their fierce pride about a heritage that starts as early as Dhanammal's grandmother Kamakshi's direct tutelage from Subbaraya Sastri and her association with the Tanjavur Quartet. It is a manifestation of their deep respect for the music as a complete, sacred art that needs no verbal explanation or segregation into esoteric terms such as lakshya and lakshana. The lasting legacy of Dhanammal is indeed the assimilation of art into the persona of the performer and of how it can be subtly conveyed sans the sound and fury of most contemporary performances!
Celebrating an exponent
The Brinda Repertory has organised special event in connection with the 150th birth anniversary of Veena Dhanammal to be celebrated from August 6 to 9, at Ragasudha Hall, Luz, Mylapore. A series of music concerts, special talk and more mark the four-day event.
Sunday’s event will begin at 9.15 a.m. with an audio-visual presentation on the Dhanammal bani ‘Music Beyond Music,’ by Bharat Sundar. This will be followed by Ravikiran’s Chitravina recital (10 a.m.); P. Vasanth Kumar’s veena concert (5 p.m.); inauguration at 6.35 p.m. and a memorial concert, as a tribute, by A. hariharan, Aruna Ranganathan and Tiruvarur Girish (7.40 p.m.)
The programmes on other days are: Raja Margam concert series on August 7, 5 p.m.: Tiruchi Shivakumar (veena); 7 p.m.: T.M. Krishna.
August 8, 5 p.m.: Insights into the Veena Dhanammal Bani by Sriram Parasuram followed by the concert of Hyderabad Brothers (7 p.m.)
August 9, 5 p.m.: ‘Bani,’ a panel discussion will have S. Sowmya, Aruna Ranganathan, Anooradha Sriram, Sriram Parasuram, Chitravina N. Ravikiran, Tiruvarur Girish and Aniruddha Knight as speakers.
This will be followed by S. Sowmya’s vocal concert at 7 p.m.