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COVER STORY

A major centre of music, Mysore has given its name to one of the four important veena styles in south India. Similar to the gharanas of Hindustani

music, these four styles – Tanjavur, Mysore, Kerala (Tiruvananthapuram) and Andhra (Bobbili-Vizianagaram) – evolved in the four major centres where vainikas converged under royal patronage.

Though Mysore has had many illustrious artists for several centuries, authentic and historical documents about them

are hardly available. Among the few exceptions is Veena Shamanna, whose successors have preserved the family heirlooms, artefacts and information in good condition, though Veena Shamanna did not receive the publicity he richly deserved.

Birth and music trainingShamanna’s earliest known ancestor was a certain Bhagavatar (circa 1745 AD) who had two sons – Rama

VEENA SHAMANNA (1828-1908)

Exemplar of the Mysore bani V.S. Sampathkumaracharya and K.R. Mohan

Veena Shamanna and his disciples

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Bhagavatar (a Tanjavur Asthana Vidwan) and Lakshmana Bhagavatar. Around 1846, when Tanjavur and surrounding districts suffered a severe drought, Rama Bhagavatar sold his lands, and along with his brother, migrated to Gobichettipalayam of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, and then on to Chikkade village of Pandavapura Taluk in Mandya district, Karnataka. Rama Bhagavatar came to Mysore seeking royal patronage. Enthralled by his music, Maharaja Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1794-1868) offered him a respectable position in the palace. His job was to render musical service at the Kote Varahaswamy and Trinayaneswara temples in the palace premises on important occasions. Rama Bhagavatar was blessed with the birth of Shamanna in 1828, reportedly after he prayed to Lord Kandaswamy of Kalipatti village in Salem district. As the child’s complexion was dark, he came to be called Shamanna, syamala meaning dark, though his name was Venkata Subramanya Iyer.

With basic training in veena playing from his father and rigorous practice, Shamanna blossomed into a first class vainika and court musician who held the veena vertically in the oordhva posture. His music was remarkable for its crispness, his tanam playing a feast that thrilled the audience. A champion in rhythm, he was called Tala Brahma and Abhinava Bhoja. He was also proficient in the violin, ghatam and swarabat. It is said the tension and tempo he imparted to his music captivated the audience.

Other veena luminaries of the Mysore royal court at the time were Padmanabhaiah (1842-1900), Seshanna (1852-1926), Subbanna (1861-1939) and Chikka Lakshminarayana. All through the reign of the Wodeyar dynasty, classical music, the veena in particular, enjoyed royal patronage. Kannada Poet Laureate B.M. Sri hailed Mysore as “Veeneya bedagidu Mysooru” (veena’s grace, this Mysore).

Many interesting anecdotes are told of Shamanna’s

proficiency in music. Once a prominent visiting musician threw a challenge to the local musicians to beat him in playing a shatkala pallavi on the jalatarangam. Shamanna took up the challenge and played the pallavi Annitiki neeve adhikariyai in the raga Natakurinji. He also sang the pallavi in trikalam set to one gati, while maintaining the tala in another gati. When the visiting musician was asked to play the fourth kalam, he quietly left the place, accepting defeat. (C.K. Venkataramaiah – Aalida Mahaswamiyavaru). The Maharaja honoured him with a cash award of 1500 varahas.

In another instance, during a performance at the palace, a French musician tuned a raga in Western music and challenged the audience to replay it on any instrument in Carnatic music. Shamanna played the tune with ease and elegance.

Shamanna’s residence was a centre of cultural activities. Many great musicians like Parameswara Bhagavatar, Patnam Subramania Iyer, Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer, Pallavi Sesha Iyer, Tirukodikaval Krishna Iyer and Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar visited his house. Shamanna was the first music teacher of Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar (1863-1894), Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1884-1940), and his sisters. Not far away from the palace, on Veena Shamanna Street, are seven houses the Maharaja donated to him.

A silver medal inset with diamonds and engraved with an image of a peacock was awarded to him in the music category at the Madras Fair in 1880.

CompositionsShamanna composed two jatiswarams and one varnam in Bilahari, which are found in the Sangeeta Samaya Sara, a book on Carnatic music authored by his son Veena Subramanya Iyer.

Distinguished disciplesShamanna had a large number of disciples. Apart from his sons, Veena Ramanna (1832-1901) and Veena Subramanya Iyer and his grandson Veena Venkatasubbaiah, he trained his nephew Subbarayaru (the first guru of Mysore Vasudevacharya) as well as Veena Padmanabhaiah, Veena Sundara Shastri, Karigiri Rao, Lakshminarayanappa, Veena Sivaramaiah, Karoor Krishna Rao, Morching Ramanna, Titte Narayana Iyengar, Kollegal Dakshinamurty Sastri and Konanur Srikanta Sastri, to mention a few.

CharitiesShamanna donated his lands at Mallasamudram and Mevandi villages in Salem district to the temple housing his family deity Kalipatti Kandaswamy. He also donated

Lord Kandaswamy of Kalipatti

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a number of houses in Mysore to his disciples and well-wishers.

Last daysLegend has it that when he was informed about the death of his close friend Avadhani, Shamanna said: “Today is Avadhani’s, tomorrow is Shamanna’s”. He passed away the very next day. Highly respected by the royal family, he was the guru of three successive Maharajas. Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar came to pay his last respects and tributes to Veena Shamanna.

His sonsVeena Subramanya Iyer (1864-1919)

Subramanya Iyer, the second son and chief disciple of Shamanna, was a court musician of Mysore. His notable contribution to Carnatic music is his book Sangeeta Samayasara – the first treatise on music written in Kannada (1915). The book is in two parts, theory and practice, with sarali, janta varisai, alankara, songs, varnas, lakshana jatiswara and other contents of value to students as well as performers.

On the occasion of the marriage of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wodeyar (1888-1940), Subramanya Iyer composed a ragamalika and played it on the veena. This is available in Sangeeta Samayasara.

Subramanya Iyer paid much attention to physical culture. He was also well-versed in astrology.

Subramanya Iyer served as a music teacher in the Mysore palace zenana, a rare privilege for men.

Subramanya Iyer built the Ramotsava Hall for music concerts in his house and decorated it with colourful candle-bearing chandeliers, and glass domes imported from Germany. Musicians from other parts of the country had to perform here to qualify for performance at the Mysore Palace.

Veena Venkatasubbaiah (1899-1961)

Another distinguished descendant of this illustrious vainika family was Venkatasubbaiah, son of Ramanna, the elder son of Shamanna. As Venkatasubbaiah lost his father when he was just a year old, his uncle Veena Subramanya Iyer adopted and nurtured him. At the tender age of five, Venkatasubbaiah gave a veena performance in the palace which won him high appreciation and 150 varahas from the Maharaja. Later he became a court musician and music tutor to Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar. When Venkatasubbaiah married in 1919, the Maharaja sent a royal palanquin for the bridal procession.

The vainika trio of Shamanna, Subramanya Iyer and Venkatasubbaiah completed three generations of gurus from the same family to three generations of Mysore Maharajas.

Keeping the legacy aliveBalasubramanyam celebrated the birth centenary of his father Veena Venkatasubbaiah in a befitting manner in 1999. He also organised a grand event on the 101st death anniversary of his great-grandfather on 7 November 2009 in Mysore. On this occasion, 225 achievers from different walks of life were honoured and an exhibition of the family’s musical heirloom was organised. The scion of the Tanjavur royal family, Prince Shivaji Rajah Bhosale and his wife Sumitra Raje Bhosale graced the occasion and visited Shamanna’s house.

Balasubramanyam has been organising music recitals in memory of his great-grandfather Veena Shamanna and grandfather Veena Subramanya Iyer every year in December at Gana Bharathi, Mysore. He also conducts a similar recital in memory of his father Veena Venkatasubbaiah every year in January at the Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore.

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The musical spirit and legacy of Veena Shamanna continue to live on in Ramya and Sowmya, the twin daughters of V. Balasubramanyam, who now give concerts on AIR and Doordarshan.

(The authors are music historians)

Most of the heritage objects belonging to Veena Shamanna and his descendants have been collected and preserved at the renovated house of Veena Shamanna in Mysore, by V. Balasubramanyam, great-grandson of Shamanna and son of Venkatasubbaiah.

Notable among these are:

v 300-year old Saraswati veena with 2 kg of ivory inlay work, used by the ancestors of Shamanna. This is in perfect working order, with the old strings retained in fine condition.

v 250-year old rosewood veena weighing 10 kg, used by Subramanya Iyer.

v 300-year old swarabat played by Shamanna.

v Silver medal awarded at the Madras Fair in 1880.

v Manuscript of Sangeeta Samayasara.

v Letters relating to the correspondence of Shamanna’s family with the Mysore Palace and musicologists during 1901-1915.

Preservation of heirlooms

Those who wish to see the heritage objects displayed

at the Veena Shamanna house in Mysore can contact V. Balasubramanyam (0) 94484 64148 or 0821-2440148.V. Balasubramanyam with members of the Tanjavur royal family on the

101st death anniversary of Shamanna

Saraswati veena

Rosewood veena

Swarabat

Silver medal