G. N. Balasubramaniam
My friendship with late G. N. Balasubramaniam started in peculiar
circumstances - with a friction. During early 1950s started
writing a column entitled 'Musings on Music' in the Deccan Herald. One week it
carried a review of an AIR broadcast of GNB's recital wherein I
had criticized his off key singing. I knew that there would be protests by some GNB fans
and I did not mind because I was living at a safe distance,
at Mysore city, from where I was filing the reviews. A couple of
months later Balasubramaniam visited Mysore and gave a
concert at the Sri Prasanna Sitarama Mandiram (Bidaram Krishnappa
Ramamandiram). I attended the concert but left early because it was a
long drawn one due to the Radio relay starting only at 9.30 p.m. I had
to trudge a long distance to my home.
Next morning the President of the Ramamandiram, K. Puttu Rao, a
respected advocate of Mysore, came to my place. I was surprised and when he said "I
say what have you done to GNB? Yesterday night after the concert I took him home for
Dinner and he scarcely touched the food saying repeatedly
"that gentleman has done me an injustice, referring to you. What is the
matter?" I was taken aback. I did not realise that the review
which I had almost forgotten had hurt Balasubramaniam as to spoil
his appetite even several months after its publication. Then I decided that
during my next visit to Madras to meet GNB in person and have
a straight discussion about this subject, as to what points did really hurt him
etc., because after my talk with Puttu Rao I had dug up that review and found
nothing wrong.
During the December Musical festival I went to Madras. But I could not
meet him. Next year I visited Madras again during the music season. This
time I met Balasubramaniam through my friend M. A. Narasimhachar. GNB was
very cordial and invited us to the AIR station where he had assumed charge as
the Deputy Producer of Karnatic Music recently. During the following three or
four days I met GNB several times, at his home, at AIR, Music
Academy. We discussed various topics related to music and musicians. But
GNB did not refer to my review of his broadcast even once. Finally I raised
the subject myself and asked him "Balasubramaniam, I was told
that you were hurt by my review of your Radio broadcast sometime back. May I know what
part of it did hurt you ?" GNB said
"Let us forget about it Sir. It is not an important matter." But I was not
convinced and persisted. Finally he said "No doubt I was hurt like any musician
when unfavourable remarks are made about him or his music. Besides I was also a bit
concerned abut the effect the review would have on the organisers of my concerts. After
all I am a professional musician. I was unwell on the day of the broadcast and could
not cancel the broadcast at the last minute. That is the reason
for my off key singing, which of course you could not
know," I retorted "Balasubramaniam, you are an established musician and a highly
popular figure. Even if unflattering reviews appear in the press every
day for a whole year they will not affect your concert opportunities in any
way,. But you must remember that you are almost a cult figure especially for
the young musicians, who try to emulate you. And if they hear your off
key concerts, they will certainly follow giving apasruthi concerts and point at you in
case anyone criticised them."
Anyway after this heart to heart talk we became
close friends. I also realised that GNB was a very sensitive musician and
also a gentleman. We regularly corresponded and personally discussed
various aspects of music. These discussions were highly illuminating and
thought provoking at least to me. His approach to music was not merely conventional and
sentimental. It was rational and the evaluation was intellectual. Combined with his
attractive stage presence and a breezy style of singing that reflected
an youthful urge and vitality made him an ideal especially to the youth. During our
discussions, I wanted to be enlightened about certain points teasing my
mind. First of all how did GNB, a literature honours graduate who was cut out
for prestigious functions in life, chose music, which certainly had an
uncertainty, as his career? GNB said he was born in a family where music
was a part of life. He grew up in an atmosphere heavily laden with music
and "I may say," he averred "I could not escape music.
But there was no necessity for any stimulants because I was inclined towards
music even from my younger days and divided my time between my studies and music.
And I also had abundant opportunities to hear the best of music through
masters of music which strengthened my music faculties and also created an
urge to pursue the art seriously. However the real turning point
came through Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar" said GNB.
According to him when Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar came for a concert at the
Parthasarathy Swamy Sangitha Sabha, his father G. V. Narayanaswamy
Iyer invited Ariyakudi to his home to discuss an important problem and seek his
advice. Iyer's son "Mani," was a precocious lad and had developed a
disquieting habit of always occupying his spare time with music. His enthusiasm and
spirited singing somehow endeared him to many people and he was perpetually inveigled away
to sing at any function in the vicinity. Of course,
this did not really interfere with his school studies. But even an infatuation
has its limits. Mani was now approaching the age when the voice
tended to break and when, too, he would have to make up his mind and concentrate on a
course leading to a prosperous and "respectable" life. In these
circumstances, might it not be advisable to wean him away from music?
Ariyakudi asked the lad to sing. After listening
for a while, he gravely said to his father, "I feel that you should not
interfere, but allow him to follow up his zest for music. It is true
that he is at an age when the voice comes to its natural form; also that
he sings rather fast. But in due course both will settle down of their own
accord; and I should say the boy has a great future." Ariyakudi's words proved
prophetic.
Narayanaswamy Iyer, as well as being a respected teacher, was the
Secretary of the venerable Parthasarathiswami Sangita Sabha and was
considered one of the pillars of musical culture in Madras. His inclinations, naturally,
were on the severely conservative side. Any musician who earned an appreciative nod from
Iyer was almost as elated as one of his students who scored high marks.
Still, the responsibilities of a father overriding the
predilections of the connoisseur in him, he had his doubts about the rightness of
the course his son was set upon. He tried once or twice, unsuccessfully, to
stem the tide. By this time Mani had completed his way to his ultimate Honours in
Literature at the Christian College. The father's last
intervention was when, after gaining the Honours degree, Mani was persuaded to deposit the
fee for a Law degree. The call of music presumably became too
strong for him at this point and he was carried away on its current.
Iyer threw up his hands in despair, exclaiming, "If it is written in his fate that he
must earn his living by music only, who am I that I should seek to prevent it
?"
Balasubramaniam was born at Gudalur in Tamilnadu on 6th January 1910, but came with his
family to Madras. Because his talent in music was noticed when he was
young, the boy was drafted to sing in any function. He even enacted the role of
Dhruva in a drama when he was barely 10. His debut concert
occurred in peculiar circumstances. In 1928, Musiri Subramanya Iyer
had been fixed for a concert at the
Kapaleeshwara temple in Mylapore, Madras. Unexpectedly he could not perform
that day. The nonplussed authorities noticed Balasubramaniam
in the audience and persuaded him to perform in the place of Musiri. The audience was
as surprised as thrilled at this young man's reedy voice, the fast
rolls, their lightning speed all delivered with an assurance and non
chalance. GNB a new star appeared on the horizon and he never looked back.
Thus G. N. Balasubramaniam's musical life ran like an unbroken stream even
from his early days. Its course was steady and rapid, though not meteoric. Contrary
to accepted forebodings, the graduate who made music his profession, singing with an
energetic and thrilling style, gathered in no time a large circle of admirers, who
affectionately abbreviated his name to the three letters, "G.N.B." He was
soon a celebrity, commanding a high premium in the concert halls, and this led
to some peculiar episodes in his life - he played featured roles in a couple
of Tamil film hits, in which he acted with such prominent artistes
as Vasundhara Devi (mother of Vyjayanthimala) and M. S. Subbulakshmi, and won
the President's award and the much coveted Sangita Kalanidhi
of the Madras Music Academy, and a host of lesser honours.
Two factors principally contributed to his success: first, the pleasant voice,
the breezy style, the easy delivery ornamented with fast fluttering rolls, or birkas as
they are called, in which he indulged with effortless nonchalance;
second, the personality. Despite the ravages of illnesses, the tall
fair-complexioned G.N.B., adorned with his glittering diamond ear studs and
dressed in spotless white khadi, cut a handsome figure on the platform. It will
hardly be incorrect to describe him as a matinee idol of the musical world of his days.
And the fair sex outnumbered the rest at his recitals. The
picture of the handsome figure with the lively, effervescent
expression and slightly flamboyant style so firmly impressed itself on
the minds of most of his admirers that they cherished an illusion of his changeless
youth was often disconcerting to G.N.B. himself, when his fans made
demands for features that were the highlights of his music some decades
ago. "These people seem to forget that their G.N.B. has grown in years and his name
has grown with him," said he. "It is regrettable that the musical ideas and
tastes of people do not develop with their years."
Naturally, the modalities of his music had undergone a
change with age. It is true that his voice - particularly in the upper reaches -
became hazy and had lost some of its sparkle. He had to gather
momentum to negotiate some high points which he once sang effortlessly. But in the
middle register the voice was rich in timbre and imparted a distinctively
masculine quality to his music .
Balasubramaniam was a modern in a field strongly dominated by tradition.
Nevertheless, he was not detached from that. His inherent love for music was
nurtured during his formative years by the congenial atmosphere of a
home ringing with the songs of the stalwarts of the period, who were frequent visitors.
He had his initiation from his father and later came under the influence of
Madurai Subrahmaniayya, a scion of the Tyagaraja family, considered no
less a perfectionist than a purist. When a Diploma course in music
was introduced in Madras University, G.N.B. abandoned the
idea of a Law degree and was one of the first batch of students to be trained by the late
"Tiger" Varadachariar. Despite such courses of training, which
were not in strict accordance with the ancient gurukula system, G.N.B. was not aloof from
tradition. But with him its perspectives were tempered with realism.
"After all, what is tradition ? That which symbolises the enduring
values in art," used to say G.N.B. "Tradition is never static,
always dynamic. Otherwise music becomes fossilised and is reduced to the position of
a museum piece." Elaborating this in one of his speeches, he remarked, "In
music, as in other fields of the culture which we have inherited from the
past, we have now come to a stage when, I am afraid, a blind and unmeaning
obedience and adherence to time-honoured canons will no longer obtain amongst rising
generations. Unless we are able to understand and communicate to
them the why and how of our past traditions and practices, there is every reason for
our being nervous about the continuance of our inherited culture."
In brief, Balasubramaniam may be said to symbolise a new look in
Karnatak, music. Indeed, we may add with some justification that he was
a bridge between the old and the new and was to some extent instrumental in the
streamlining of this art. Naturally, he was the idol of a large section
of music-lovers and the ideal for many musicians- in-the-making, most of whom -
however unsuccessfully-tried to emulate his style. Any aspect of music that
he touched automatically became the popular fancy
overnight. In this connection I may recall a casual conversation I had with
Ariyakudi once.
Spirit of inquiry
After putting much hard work and organisation into the task Mysore Sangitha
Kalabhivriddhini Sabha had published a collection of the compositions of Mysore Sadashiva
Rao. Feeling that the purpose of such a publication could
not fructify unless the compositions were brought into circulation in a manner
which gave them a fresh lease of life, I sounded out Ariyakudi as to whether
he could not render this service to the works of an old master. "There is
no use in asking me," he said. "Persuade G.N.B. to sing a few of them and they
will be popular automatically".
Though he deeply revered tradition and its positive values, Balasubramaniam
had no inhibitions, and his academic career had instilled into him the spirit of
inquiry and the logic of a modern intellectual, whose inclinations are more for the
living substance of art than for the superstitious sentiment
surrounding it. Naturally, G.N.B. was always ready for new experiments and to take new
directions - of course within the sphere of classical Karnatak
music-which may often appear too bold and unconventional to the orthodox. "Nothing
new should be rejected merely on the score that it is novel," he
said. "For cultural progress, we have to thank the pioneers of new ideas and
expressions, though in their own times they may have been called
rebels."
"Like a staircase"
"Every concert should have an educative aspect," said Balasubramaniam.
"It should have new points of appeal and should never repeat hackneyed phrases or
passages. The plan and pattern may be the same, but they need to be given new colour and
life." Perfectly at home in both the lakshana and lakshya aspects
of his art, he was able to apply these ideas effectively and generally liked
to do differently from what was customary. In an alapana, apart from the key
notes which give the character of the raga, he dwelt on and revolved round
other important notes too, inducing similar effects. Similarly, he often chose
obscure and infrequently used ragas for a spacious
exposition which he did with effortless ease, imparting a wholesome form to the
mode. In the swaraprastara he chose a different eduppu (starting
point) from what was customary, and chose a different mould when presenting
even well-known and time-honoured pallavis. Above all, his music had a touch of
originality and exuded a rich essence or rasabhava, as it is called.
Appreciating his systematic manner of exposition, the late T.V. Subba Rao called
it a "sopana paddhati" (like a staircase).
His speech, when presiding over the 32nd Conference of the Madras Music
Academy, was itself highly significant. Instead of offering the
customary shop-soiled cliches, G.N.B. treated the subject and its problems logically
and firmly. His approach was decidedly catholic, rather
than parochial, and his view was of Indian music as a whole. For instance, his may have
been the only speech to have suggested the need for learning dhrupads
(which resemble Dikshitar's compositions in some respects) in the South, and
to have pleaded for their revival in the North, leading to the creation of
kalpita sangita, in a more wholesome form resembling the South
Indian kriti, rather than the free (often aim-lessly) flowing khayal in the realm of
kalpana sangita. Unbiased and unprejudiced in his appreciation of the finer
aspects of the art, he was so overwhelmed listening to the music of Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan that he covered the maestro with a ponnadai (cloth of honour) and touched
his feet. This naturally scandalised the orthodox.
Musical thinker
"I am a neo-classicist," used to say G.N.B., when asked what was his stand in
relation to contemporary Karnatak music. How did he define this obviously
paradoxical term ? - "That art which is born out of the profound and powerful
emotional inspiration of romaticism, selected, controlled and chiselled
by a classicist's exercise of reason, to give a structurally integrated whole
and achieve a union of vigour and beauty in the parts, with exquisite attractiveness and
appeal as a whole." He has discussed this theme
in interesting detail in an article, "Art, its Dawn, Perfection and Future
Role."
A thinker among musicians, G.N.B. had analysed the subject taking up
various aspects and problems from different angles and recording his reflections in many
articles. Unfortunately, most of these lie buried in
souvenirs-the fleeting by- products of conferences and festivals. But to read them is
almost as rewarding as a conversation with him. Urbane in manner, he was
always prepared to discuss these matters and had an answer to most of
the conundrums with which Karnatak music is beset today.
"It is futile always to live on sentiment. We must face realities," he
used to say. "This is an age not of musical creators,
but of exponents. We are subsisting on the fare provided by the great trinity of
Karnatak music and their successors and whatever we produce
certainly follows the lines of their plans and conceptions. Music comes in cycles. At one
time it will be the turn of the creator, that is to say, the composer
and then of the exponent. We have to await the next creative age." Be that as
it may, G.N.B. had also translated his creative conceptions into numerous
compositions. A few of these have been published under title,
Ganabhaskaramanimalai, while many more still await publication.
His influence
Some of his compositions, such as "Parangmukhamela' in Kanada, at concerts and are
especially preferred by the younger musicians. These compositions deserve separate
discussion. Balasubramaniam did not profess to be the precursor of any school
of music. Nevertheless, one cannot overlook the impact of his personality and
art on the prospective course of Karnatak music. While his style was irresistible to the
younger generation of musicians, his ideas earned the esteem of
the intelligensia.
"Why blame them?" he used to say of the younger generation of
musicians who are customarily reproached for their failings. "No
doubt Karnatak music like any other classical art, is in a flux. But should we not also
remember what we, their elders in the field, have given them?
A youngster needs guidance, an ideal, an inspiration and, above all, a
congenial atmosphere. Whatever lessons he may learn, he must have
unlimited opportunities to hear good music that does not merely entertain but
also inspires. All these impressions form a sort of amalgam in his
mind and build up the nucleus around which his faculties and talents blossom." The
response of the younger generation to such understanding and sympathy was seen in the
large number of adherents who faithfully trained themselves to emulate
him and follow his style. Some of them like M.L. Vasanthkumari became
celebrities.
Balasubramaniam passed away in 1965.
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