“Beta, this is only a beginning”. Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia’s words were music to Retnasree Iyer’s ears when she broke the news about her getting the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi (KSNA) award to him in Mumbai. Although surprised, she was more excited that he was the first person with whom she could share the news with. Chaurasia added that even he had not got an award at her age.
For the last five years, Retnasree has been a regular invitee for concerts in connection with Janmashtami at his Vrindavan Gurukul in Mumbai. Chaurasia was so impressed by the female tabla artiste from Kerala that he gave her several opportunities to accompany many musicians and also Chaurasia himself at the Gurukul.
Her award is special in that the KSNA was honouring a tabla artiste for the first time in its history. Commented the multifaceted musician TV Gopalakrishnan, “I congratulate the Akademi for this rare gesture. I know Retnasree from her childhood and I had arranged her solo performance in Chennai once, since she was the only female Hindustani tabla artiste from South India. She is really industrious and her award is well deserved.”
“Recognition from one’s home state is precious, especially for an instrument that belongs to the Hindustani genre of music,” says Retnasree, who has garnered encomiums from outside Kerala.
In 2014, she was selected for the Aban Mistry award in Miraj, the most prestigious one for tabla artistes. Aban Mistry, the first woman tabla maestro in India, was also a scholar of repute. She adds: “I was selected on the basis of my performance at the Abdul Karim Khan festival in Miraj. I was the first female awardee and to this date no one from Kerala has been selected for this award.”
For Retnasree, the KSNA award is the third one in 2019, Sangeeth Sadhana Sidhi from Sangsasi Parivar, Odisha, and Pen Isai title from Thiruvayyar being the other two. The latter is generally given to Carnatic musicians and Sudha Raghunath was the previous recipient.
Retnasree’s life over the past 25 years bears eloquent testimony to her obsession for this North Indian instrument, a tryst that happened at her home in Vaikom. Her elder brother was a dancer and while watching the rehearsals, she was attracted more to the tabla and its rhythm. She would try her hands on it without being noticed by anyone. Sensing her passion, her father, Ramachandra Iyer, took her to Karikode Chellappan Master, a disciple of Venkatesh Nayik. On his advice she joined Koti Sriramulu Telugu University in Hyderabad for a three-year diploma course.
Balancing act
For this Chemistry graduate from Devaswom Board College, Thalayolaparambu, near her hometown, it was an onerous task to shuttle between the college and the university frequently for the course. But she completed the course after finishing her post-graduate examination in Chemistry. She earned a first class in both. Although she loved teaching, her fascination for the tabla compelled her to give up her short stint as a lecturer in Chemistry.
The days in Hyderabad were rewarding as she was exposed to myriad concerts and could rub shoulders with great masters. Her teacher Jayakant Master, a disciple of Aravind Mulgoankar of Farukhabad gharana, was helpful in presenting her in many concerts as well. It dawned on her that unless she learnt the nuances of the six gharanas of tabla, adapting herself to the style of all kinds of musicians might be difficult. It was this realisation that took her to Anuradha Pal in Mumbai who belonged to the Punjabi gharana. Moreover, Anuradha was a disciple of Ustad Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain. Thereafter, on the advice of Manohar Keshkar, she joined Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Maha Mandal for the senior Visharad course, which she completed with distinction.
Simultaneously she got admission to a post-graduate degree course in tabla at the Shivaji University, Kolhapur, which she completed with a distinction in 2014.
Determined to equip herself for solo performances, she trained under Ustad Faiz Khan of Dharwad as he is well-versed in solo compositions of all schools, including the traditional ones.
Learning solo compositions is akin to learning language as each one has sahithya combined with bols. In addition, each one is thematic. Mantras in Banaras gharana embrace musical oblation to Siva, Ganapathy and Saraswathy, which appear in the corresponding bols. Interestingly, these ‘Stuti parans’ bear the mudra of the composer as well. Each gharana has innumerable solo compositions and it is impossible to learn those of a single gharana in a life time. But she has been successful in mastering a cross-section from each. Over the past five years, Retnasree has been invited for solo performances in all the major Indian cities.
While solo performances reflect the virtuosity of the artiste that comes from disciplined learning of innumerable compositions belonging to different gharanas, accompanying a vocalist or an instrumentalist is a challenge. She has accompanied renowned Hindustani vocalists as well. In addition, she has performed at reputed music festivals across the country.
Prolific artiste
Retnasree says that accompanying instrumentalists, both the string and wind, are different. Besides accompanying stalwarts in shehnai, sitar and flute, she has also performed with Utsava Lal from Ireland, perhaps, the only musician who plays Hindustani music on a piano, and renowned guitarist Peter Wiesinger at Vienna.
Tabla being the sole accompaniment to Kathak, she has been invited by many Kathak dancers of repute as well. But since the language is different, the instrument has to be adapted for the dance form with concentration.
Retnasree was initiated into Carnatic rhythms by Chellappan Master and this has stood her in good stead. Even though certain musicians from South India were hesitant about having the tabla as an accompanying instrument in her initial days, she has played for many leading Carnatic vocalists and musicians.
Retnasree has explored the rare and sophisticated Carnatic tala ‘Panchamukhi’, a creation of Balamuralikrishna and presented the same at her solo performance. A graded artist of Doordarshan and All India Radio, she is planning to do doctoral research on the subject, ‘Science in tabla’.