Vyzarsu’s Agnatha Vaggeyakarulu : Giving vaggekayaras their due

Not all vaggeyakaras enjoy a legacy like the classical trinity, some consciously avoided publicity, content to surrender themselves and their music to the Almighty, though their contributions are no less proficient than their more famous counterparts. Noted musician and researcher Vyzarsu Balasubrahmanyam and his wife Pavani (a veena artiste herself ) have come up with a book titled Agnatha Vaggeyakarulu to highlight the genius of the composer-singers whose work has not been in the limelight due to several reasons. The book comprises the notations of their works while the CD serves like a grammar for music learners.

Balasubrahmanyam says, “For over 20 years now, I’ve been collecting their manuscripts, various details surrounding their lives. Thyagaraja was fortunate to have his disciples continue what he left us with, some Syama Sastri’s kritis too remain relatively unknown. The musicians mentioned in my book didn’t have students who could carry forward their legacy. Some of the vaggeyakaras went on to publish their works, but not all of them got their deserved audience.” He cites the example of the composition Kasturi Rangayya: despite being a popular song, not many can identify that it was written by Alluri Venkatadri Swami. The Balasubrahmanyams believe it is high time to put a spotlight on the less celebrated musical contributions.

Sources

Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel’s (SVBC) initiative to understand the reason behind the absence of a few vaggeyakaras in the mainstream music circuit helped them find some material. “Some of the vaggeyakaras’ descendants didn’t learn music, and couldn’t trust that this generation would receive their forefather’s contributions well. Some didn’t know their ancestors were vaggeyakaras! At best, the family members sing a few kritis at their homes, but not much has been done to promote their work.” Balasubrahmanyam doesn’t place the blame on the second generation of the vaggeyakaras alone, there were instances when the musicians didn’t document their compositions well, even writing them down behind newspapers and envelopes.

Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini helped them in distinguishing the uttama, madhyama and adhama vaggeyakaras. “The works of 30 musicians in this book bear vaggeyakara mudras, musical structure and decoratives that match those of the legends. Some of the compositions have elements of romance, spiritual, a few garbha kritis by Krishnama Chari had a single composition that could be fit into many ragas and talas.” One that particularly enchanted the Vyzarsus was Maddirala Venkata Kavi’s prabandham Ekanta seva vilasam that depicts Shiva-Parvati’s equation in a dramatic fashion.

Challenges

The challenges in writing the book were rather obvious-lack of images, details, history. “Take the case of Parupudi Chalamaiah Sastry of the Magam village. A lawyer friend connected me to a person with the same surname and co-incidentally was a musician’s grandson. The grandson mailed me his image and a two page note citing all information he had about Chalamaiah Sastry. Most of the manuscripts weren’t in proper shape, or didn’t have legible writing, the lyrics, the notations were re-written and certain changes to ragas were made too. The researching process was fruitful, it was like re-discovering someone for the future.”

Going beyond music, the Balasubrahmanyams put together the basis behind the vaggeyakara’s songs, their guru-shishya parampara to begin with. “The vaggeyakaras gave shelter and fed their students without any fee. Garikipati Kotaiah Devara’s legacy goes beyond music. Impressed by his solo violin concert, the Britisher Governor had asked him to make a wish, he appealed for the construction of Machilipatnam-Vijayawada railway line. He used his music to help the society.” Parupudi Chalamaiah Sastry and Garikipati were also court musicians for the Nizam, such was the kings’ respect for culture that they offered monetary help them after independence.

The book has something for everyone; the life sketches of the vaggeyakarasfor the lay person, musical elements for serious learners and researchers. Agnatha Vaggeyakarulu is only a first step in highlighting the contributions of the vaggeyakaras. “We’ve already organised a few music quizzes and competitions to take their works to a larger crowd. The book is biographical, written in simple language, accessible to all age groups. We plan to bring individual volumes in the vaggeyakaras too,” the Balasubrahmanyams sign off.