This year is creating several losses to Carnatic music at large.
When I was in India earlier this year, I was shocked to hear in the local news that Sangita Kalanidhi Lalitha Chanadran (2010), younger sister of Sangita Kalanidhi Saroja (2010) (Bombay sisters) passed away on Tuesday, February 1, 2023.
Their contribution to an authentic rendition of classical compositions of great composers as well as their contribution to the Bhakti movement through a large collection of CD’s and cassettes covering a gamut of musical compositions is truly remarkable. To name a few, they cover:
- Kannada devotional songs
- Shyama Sastri’s Swarajathis
- Papanasam Sivan compositions
- Varnams
- Natya Sudha
- Mahishasura Mardhini stotram
- Lalitha Sahasranamam
- Popular compositions of Ooththukkadu Venkata Subbier.
The earlier cassette releases are countless. I am not sure whether they were reproduced into CDs with the ever-changing audio technology.
As the most celebrated disciples of Sangeeta Kalanidhi T.K. Govinda Rao ( 1999), I have heard their unique synchronized rendition with perfect layam when I attended their concert for the first time in New Delhi (1975).
Their first performance under CTU was in the year 1989. Previously we had the policy that only Tyagaraja Kriti was allowed to be sung at CTU. However, the general audience were impatient to listen to popular compositions in all other languages and CTU had no choice but to cave in. For the first time in the tail end of their concert, they electrified the audience with the famous Tamil composition- Kaliyuga Varadan of Periyasami Thooran in raga Brindavana Saranga.
If one wants to have the authentic version of Musiri’s renditions their Guru, Sangita Kalanidhi Sri. T.K. Govindarao (1999) (a prime disciple of Musiri) has passed on those versions to them and their CD’s are the right locations for the authoritative Musiri version.
In grief,
TES Raghavan