Polestars of Carnatic Music

We all know that Carnatic music has always been closely held like a treasure chest by the Brahmin community, and in those days it was difficult for women in their own community to come on the stage and make public appearances with their music. Not that they were not capable, but the male domination prevented women from ascending the performance platform. Let us put aside giving records, female artist could not find male accompanist and even if they did the accompanist played only thukkadas and not for pieces such as RTPs that brought out the mastery of the vocalist. Society then had set roles and standards for women and it was not easy to transgress those boundaries. It was the time when child marriage was still practiced and women didn’t have an opportunity and even if they did they were not allowed to go through the gurukula style of music training. Unlike these days, that was the only formal way one could learn music.

Women are torch bearers of tradition and keepers of values, hence if they fail an entire generation losses. Even at the time when women were merely restricted to their homes and kitchen, these women came out in the public and in a very subtle way sang and fought discrimation. It was a fight through Music. Gandhian way – it was ahimsa to the core. Simply a revolution through music.

From Hindu mythology we know whenever the balance of justice sways to the side of adharma, almighty incarnates to bring back the balance of justice to equilibrium. May be the “Trinity Goddess” Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati decided to manifest as DK Pattammal, MS Subbalakshmi, ML Vasanthakumari.

How do you know if someone has come with an avathara nokkam? When they leave the earth they leave more than a fan following, they don’t just leave a trail, but pave road to divinity for the rest to walk. A life without an objective, vision and mission is vyartham and the life these 3 lived shows that they are “Avathara purushis”.

An era of divinity, an era of creativity and innovation within the boundaries of tradition was born. Their arrival ended the male dominance in Carnatic music and marked the birth of new era and paved way for other musicians of the same gender to take up music. This didn’t mean they were disrespectful of their men.

Though they did not belong to wealthy family and it is natural for them to gravitate towards money, fame and media, but nothing moved them from their objective, vision and tradition. Greed was kept in check. It won’t be an overstatement if I said they the trinity demonstrated Gnana, Karma and Bakthi marga all in once century and almost during the same time.

The eldest of the trinty Shrimathi DK Pattammal shed her sthula sariram a few days ago. But her music and life never wavered from the path of tradition. May be her mission was over.

Her rendition of Muthuswamy Dikshithar’s “Subramanyaya Namasthe”, a kriti that even maestros falter, moved Ambi Dikshithar (Grandson of Muthuswamy Dikshithar) and he volunteered to tutor 13 year old DK Pattammal. Even today she is considered an authority in Dikshithar and her rendition of Kamalamba Navavarnam is considered most chaste and accurate. She even learnt from Papanasam Sivan (Thamizh Thyagaraja). When given an opportunity to sing in the movie, she restricted herself to patriotic songs and those with a divine flavor. Sometimes I ask myself – is life plotted by destiny or divine? My words can never live upto her music and no words will be suffice to talk about it.

When success, fame, money comes early in life it gets to the head, but for the trinity this was never an issue of the head or heart. Life was equally unforgiving and challenging and these women had donned roles as mother, wife, sister, guru, grandmother, etc. but there was commitment, excellence, patience, steadfast, divinity, dedication, humbleness in every role they assumed. But how did they manage to live without tear, fuss, and complain? May be they were looking at the destination and not caught up in the journey.

They never sang for money, were not on a race to give albums, hog media limelight, not on a coast to coast tour schedules, titles came in search of them. They went in search of divinity and rest came to this and even when ti came to them they never spent much time on it. One took Venkatesa Suprabatham, the other took Shyamala Dhandakam and ML Vasantha Kumari took Tirupaavai – that was their route to divinity.

It is not easy to toggle between family and fans, personal life and professional life and the trinity didn’t have difficulty in managing identities because they had only one identity. Women and men today and future generations are going to be faced with similar challenges, same issues, same roles and these are women they can look upto to for reasons and answers beyond music. Their lives are not best practices, but are bible to read, respect and follow.

People will remember her fiery, patriotic songs – Aaduvomey pallu paaduvomey, Paarukulley nalla naadu, her inimitable Shanti Nilava vendum, but they forgot to honor this freedom fighter, musician, a true Barath Ratna. They should have draped our National flag on her and given her a funeral marked by gun shot and national respect.

Women like her are born once in a century or even dearer and seldom we get to know, understand and live at the same time. May be it is not late for us to reminiscent and respect a great soul.

DK Pattammal’s songs on You Tube

Partriotism:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQGaVdZsMy4

Barathiyar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjYzZwzK3qc

Muthuswamy Dikshithar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia3rgnpEnCo

Papanasam Sivan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3T5YKSkh1I

Shyamala Dandakam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVk4UUbQffQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dun2SV1g208&feature=related