Voleti Venkateswarulu
Shankar Krish
Last night I was listening to Voleti Venkateswarulu again (Sounds very
close to the opening line in the memorable novel "Rebecca" by Daphnu
D'Maurier) ; the single recording that I have is a great concert, that
listening to it makes me wonder as to why he failed to reach the heights
he deserves. He is a great musician and one more of the not well-known
type of an artist from Andhra.
Voleti was a contemprorary of Nedunuri Krishnamurthy and a disciple of
Sripada Pinakapani. Voleti in his early years apparantly got into
Hindustani music in a serious manner too ; the effect is very obvious
if you listen to him, particularly the ragas like Pantuvarali, Hamirkalyani
and other likes. He spent all his years at Vijayawada as an AIR staff and
was a committed person in offering his services to the arena of carnatic
music through radio. He was primarily responsible for a number of programs
brought out by AIR Vijayawada. And throughtout his association with AIR
Vijayawada, he was teaching on the radio (once or twice a week).
And he suffered from Asthama, which is ailment his contemprory Nedunuri
suffers from too. While Nedunuri moved from one place to another to reduce
the impact of this ailment on his performance, Voleti simply remained at
Vijayawada. His ailment and his commitment towards Vijayawada perhaps was
the reason why he is not as well recogonized as should have been.
His rendering of Sadasiva Brahmendrar compositions are really great.
Apparantly he has broadcast a number of theme-oriented concerts. I have
no knowledge of the details, but one of then is supposed to be a Sadasiva
brahmendrar compositions concert.
One interesting thing about him is that he is practically immobile
during his concert. In the couple of occasions I had attended his concerts
it was amazing to see him sing without moving his head throughout the
concert. Whether he is singing long drawn passages or rendering brigas
he simply remains like a statue. This characteristic combined with his
large frame and a neck like a football player, he looks like a statue
while singing.
Shankar K
Ashok Subramanian
in this newsgroup. He was defintely a very great musician and a performer.
I've listened to his music lessons relayed from Vijayawada. Shankar, you've
pretty much covered all that I've felt about Voleti's music. It is really
a suprise to me also as to why he did not become popular in Madras music
circles. But one thing I know is that he was defintely a musician' musician
and commanded respect form all the leading artists.
-----
Chandramouli Venkatesh - CS
>I'm really delighted to see somebody talking about Voleti at this length
>in this newsgroup. He was defintely a very great musician and a performer.
>
>I've listened to his music lessons relayed from Vijayawada. Shankar, you've
>pretty much covered all that I've felt about Voleti's music. It is really
>a suprise to me also as to why he did not become popular in Madras music
well, my $0.02 (or even less) worth !
i sincerely feel that it takes more than talent to become POPULAR !
imho not all GOOD musicians are POPULAR and vice-versa ! i think a
lot of it is decided by how the musician is marketing himself/herself !
i don't intend to start a flame war or hurt some ardent fans of any
POPULAR musicians !
this example crosses my mind ! Sudha Raghunathan is extremely popular
these days , She had the maximum number of concerts in last year's music
season , She is considered as MLV's prime disciple, right ?
But there are lotsa people who say "that is total crap" and that
Charumathi Ramachandran deserves that honor much more than Sudha !
Charumathi is supposed to be a much more "intelligent" girl than Sudha !
Well, Sudha managed to market herself very well (she is supposed to be
holding the record for the fastest progress in time slots allocation
at the Music Academy, Madras , from the morning slot to the evening slot) !
Bombay Jayasri is another instance of excellent marketing ! (please note that
i am NOT trying to say that these people do not deserve it. first of all
i am NOT knowledgeable enuf to comment on their capabilities ! :-) !!
She is definitely "more popular" than Vijay Siva is ! (if popularity is
measured by the "crowd drawing" capability ) !!
i am sure most of u wud have heard S.Nithyasree by now. Her pre-rec
cassettes promote her as "the granddaughter of DKP and Palghat Mani Iyer" !
obviously she becomes more "popular" than her competitors !!!
anyways...
:-)
CV
PS: whether i know enuf music or not, i know more than enuf of the music
grapevine gossips !! ;-) ;-) !!
sreedhar
There is one thing I wanted to add to your article : Voleti's Meera Bhajans are
really so mellifluous,I would consider him much better than any other singer of
Meera Bhajans,including MSS.
Also,his felicity with Hindustani style is something even hindustani
musicians respect.(He learnt Hindustani music under ----- Idon't remember the
name,could be Ustad Vilayat Khan or Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ----- Any help in
this regard?)
Sreedhar.
Srini Pichumani
>
>Haven't heard Voleti but was wondering if anyone has had a chance
>of seeing M. D. Ramanathan singing? I haven't but have heard that
>he would go into all sorts of facial contorsions (ghoshti) while
>singing. Of course his squint probably didn't help things much.
>
>I would love to read about some of his stage antics and mannerisms
>from other netters as I adore his music and am fascinated by the
>man.
Here is some of his stage/musical antics:
MDR was a very chatty person on stage and would keep mumbling
something or other in between pieces. If the accompaniments were
Lalgudi and Sivaraman, you would hear tons of "rAma rAma rAma".
His adopted son would show up for his concerts and share the
stage - at least in informal locations like Sastri Hall, Sringeri
Mandapam, in Madras. The kid was very young - 8 to 10, I would say
(circa 1980); and would constantly move around on stage and
reach for the kalkandu (sugar candy) that MDR kept in front of
himself. MDR would casually chide him or lightly slap his hand
from getting the sugar candy - all in the midst of his singing.
If anyone could stump the accompaniments by sheer pauses or
repetitions, it was MDR.
In one concert at the Sringeri mandapam, TVG played a couple of
rounds after MDR finished the pallavi of Janani ninnu vina and
then did the customary "tadinginatom" before reaching the eduppu
(start) of the anupallavi precisely; basically, he handed it to
MDR very crisply. But MDR was nowhere near ready yet.
He was busy tying/untying his hair, popping some sugar candy in
his mouth, surveying the audience. In total disgust, TVG fell
back to more mundane stroking of the mrdangam till MDR
suddenly picked up "manasija mAnasa ...".
In another concert where he repeated the same kriti, the violinist
(Chalakudi Narayanasvami) kept trying to forge ahead in the
ciTTa svara sAhityam. He was used to others just racing thru it
or casually rendering it. Not so with MDR, he found out. After
"niravadika sukha" there was a big pause; after "dharalu vinumA",
there was another pause; then MDR got into an improvising fit of
the "shrotavAha" variety - i.e extending a phrase by adding more
and more prefixes - by the time he was done with it, Chalakudi
must have felt like pulling off his own hair.
Same predicament would befall any violinist who accompanied
MDR as he sang "endaro".
In his later years (79-84), MDR would do his best to "time pass"
and wrap up the programme within 2-2.5 hrs. Of course, the pauses
itself would take up at least half an hour :-)
He would get into heavy mumbling/sulking, after around
2 hours; would complain that it was getting late, it was getting
cold, people have to catch their respective buses and go home,
and what not.
He did that in a concert at Kalakshetra as soon as the the tani
was over. To my shock, I heard someone in the front row telling
MDR in "eka vacanam" in Tamil - "time ellam irukku; oru shlokam
pADu". MDR sulked a little bit more before getting on with a
rAgamAlika shlokam from the Ramayana.
Later, I found that the person who "rebuked" MDR was none other
than Smt.Rukmini Devi Arundale - his senior by 20 years, and
the all-in-all in Kalakshetra where MDR was the resident Professor.
MDR would get into a heavy abhinaya mood when he sang the tukkadA
pieces like "rAma pAhi" in kApi. Where the line reached "mUDu
lokamulo", he would stretch out his right hand and the 3 middle
fingers. Of course, he would be looking somewhere else than where
his hand was pointing at!
After all this "buffoonery", he would get most indignant when
people started walking out during the mangalam.
-Srini.
ps: A friend of mine, Badri, told me that MDR used to teach the
music class when he was in Besant Theo School (?). While MDR
would be busy drying his wet hair or untying/tying up his hair, as
he was conducting the class, some rascals would pick up very
small pebbles from the sand and aim for MDR's head.
Apparently, only Jagadisan Sivakumar among his classmates,
used to be interested in music way back then. Siva, are you
reading this ?
Chandramouli Venkatesh - CS
This response is posted for Srikanth Mangalam <mang...@crow.csrv.uidaho.edu>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming to Voleti etc., I am not sure what you mean by more intelligent
than Sudha, i guess you are referring to Charumati's pallavi singing
where I am sure she has a upper hand, but at the same time i think
Charumati ha d ample opportunities to market herself, if that is what is
required and has established herself in her own way. I think both of them
are extremely talented and recognized. Nityasree IS GREAAAAT. I have a
beautiful Sankarabharanam by her. Maan, she is awesome.
Voleti is , I agree, a highly underrated artist. I would consider him on
par with TNS. I have heard a marvellous kalyani with MSG. Sad he is no
more.
Srikanth
CV if this is not on RMIC can you do it for me, thanks and keep in touch.
In article <1994Feb23.2...@serval.net.wsu.edu> you wrote:
Mohan Ayyar
>His adopted son would show up for his concerts and share the
>stage - at least in informal locations like Sastri Hall, Sringeri
>Mandapam, in Madras. The kid was very young - 8 to 10, I would say
>(circa 1980); and would constantly move around on stage and
>reach for the kalkandu (sugar candy) that MDR kept in front of
>himself. MDR would casually chide him or lightly slap his hand
>from getting the sugar candy - all in the midst of his singing.
>
What happened to this boy? I believe he was his MDR's sister's
son and must be about 20 now?
>-Srini.
>
>ps: A friend of mine, Badri, told me that MDR used to teach the
>music class when he was in Besant Theo School (?). While MDR
>would be busy drying his wet hair or untying/tying up his hair, as
>he was conducting the class, some rascals would pick up very
>small pebbles from the sand and aim for MDR's head.
>Apparently, only Jagadisan Sivakumar among his classmates,
>used to be interested in music way back then. Siva, are you
>reading this ?
What happened to his students. He must have had several students
under him at Kalakshetra. If you see Narisimhachari (a dancer/
musician and wife of dancer Vasantha) sing, you can hear a bit of
the MDR style. It is a pretty difficult style to follow anyway!
Mohan
ps. thanks Srini for the interesting read!
Thyagarajan Mohan
>In article <CLKvrp...@cs.cmu.edu> sha...@cs.cmu.edu (Shankar Krish) writes:
>>
>...
>>
>>One interesting thing about him is that he is practically immobile
>>during his concert. In the couple of occasions I had attended his concerts
>>it was amazing to see him sing without moving his head throughout the
>>concert. Whether he is singing long drawn passages or rendering brigas
>>he simply remains like a statue. This characteristic combined with his
>>large frame and a neck like a football player, he looks like a statue
>>while singing.
>>
>
>of seeing M. D. Ramanathan singing? I haven't but have heard that
>he would go into all sorts of facial contorsions (ghoshti) while
>singing. Of course his squint probably didn't help things much.
>
>I would love to read about some of his stage antics and mannerisms
>from other netters as I adore his music and am fascinated by the
>man.
Looks like MDR is more famous for his `anganyasa karanyAsAs'.He perhaps
had inherited these qualities from his guru Tiger Varadhacharyar.One old Tamil
magazine,`Ananda vikaTan' remarked Tiger's concert as Tiger's Dance Concert!
(sadirk kaccEri.)Well,A student learns and develops these mannerisms faster
from his guru than the lessons.
Subbudu,the famous Critic of Carnatic music once wrote about MDR's `vAtApi
gaNapatim bhajEham...'.
"muttusvAmi dIkShiatr sang in praise of Lord Ganesha who killed the demon
vAtApi.Today MDR demonstarted that act of killing-how gaNapati laid the demon
on his laps-clawed his body..."(I leave the rest to the imagination of the
nettors).
This kind of actions can still be enjoyed from Tiger's other students,
B.V.Raman and B.V.Lakshmanan.I have not heard any thing about Tiger's other
disciple GNB.
>Mohan
MOHAN
ps: Voleti and his melodious voice,rich with bhAvam lives in the hearts of
thousands of people who are familiar with the `bhakti ranjani'program of
Hyderabad,Vijayawada,Kadappa and Vizag AIR's[One should have the practice
of getting up latest by 6 A.M in the morning:-)].He is regarded as Madurai
S.Somasundaram(Somu)of Andhra Pradesh for his bhAvam.
--
Thyagarajan Mohan
tmo...@iastate.edu
D N Jayasimha
>
>Don't remember the musical details; but after a while, we noticed that
>the novelty of the setting was lost on MDR. He kept mumbling about the
>chill, the lack of feedback, and the "nAdam" of the waves.
^^^^^
he could have probably dispensed with the tambura if he had matched his
Sa with the "nadam" ;-)
on a more serious note, i think this can be most disconcerting to the
artiste. ever hear indian music on a trans-atlantic journey-- the
steady noise of the plane provides a pitch quite different from the
tambura and this has such a distracting effect on the listener as to
make the music sound off-key!
jayasimha
Ramana Mani
: Another artist who passed away at a young age was Puducode
: Krishnamurthy. I have heard that he was a disciple of MDR and that he
: had imbibed MDR's style fairly well. Unfortunately I have never heard
: him - anyone who has recordings of his ?
Srini Pichumani tells me that Puducode Krishnamurthy was actually a
disciple of Palghat Rama Bhagavatar - my apologies for the error.
My question still stands : anyone with recordings of his?
Ramana
Jayaram Ramanathan
> ps: A vocalist by name Shobana Rangachari (based in Hyderabad) became
> quite popular and was highly regarded for a few years in the early 80s.
> Tragically, she passed away quite young.
> Her style was "close" to that of MDR if you can imagine that - although
> she was not his disciple as far as I know.
It seems she *was* MDR's disciple. At least that's what Sruti Issue 111
(December 93) says. In their section "They Passed Into History
(1983-93)" under vocalists, Shobana Rangachari is mentioned as having
died in 1985 (a year after MDR's death) at the age of 31. The entry
under description for her says "Disciple of MDR".
I'd be interested in any tapes of her singing.
-jayaram
--
Jay Ramanathan |I
Dept. of Management |I
Oklahoma State University |I
Stillwater, OK 74078 |I
srichakram
>stage - at least in informal locations like Sastri Hall, Sringeri
>Mandapam, in Madras. The kid was very young - 8 to 10, I would say
>(circa 1980); and would constantly move around on stage and
>reach for the kalkandu (sugar candy) that MDR kept in front of
>himself. MDR would casually chide him or lightly slap his hand
>from getting the sugar candy - all in the midst of his singing.
What happened to this boy? I believe he was his MDR's sister's
son and must be about 20 now?!"
Yes MDR's adopted son, Balaji, is indeed his sister's son. I have had
the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times, thanks to my uncle, R
Gopalakrishnan (RGK), who was a great rasika of MDR's music. I myself
have around 150 hours of MDR's recitals and look forward to sharing it
with other MDR buffs.