Source: SRI PALGHAT MANI IYER TRUST - MADRAS SOUVENIR 1985

. HOMAGE TO MY GURU BY PALGHAT SRI R. RAGHU

Countless are the great musicians and ardent admirers who have extolled the greatness of my master the Late Shri Palghat Mani Iyer of revered memory. Yet, as one who has received his blessings and affection, I consider it my privilege to pay my homage to him. However, I am sceptical as to whether the amazing range and caliber of his artistry can be adequately described.

My mind goes back to my childhood in Burma. Listening to the gramophone records of my master accompanying Ariyakudi, Musiri, Chembai and others. I used to be fascinated. In a pallavi record of Chowdiah, he had invested a simple phrase like "Tharikitathom" with so much depth and clarity that it used to ring in the ears long after listening to it

.My first experience of listening to his concert remains etched in my memory to this day, though it was almost fifty years ago. It was at a concert of Chembai at a temple festival in Trichur. I cannot adequately describe my feelings of joy and wonder and admiration. He was hardly twenty four years old. His approach was thrilling and spectacular rather than seasoned and sober. that was natural at that age. But what surprised me was that at no point did he fail to blend with the music and his playing was rich in Nada all through.

The more I heard his concerts, the more I hoped he would accept me as his disciple. Finally, it was flutist Krishna Iyer who helped make my dream reality. I was 12 years old. At his Palghat residence, he asked another boy, about my age, to sing the Bhairavi Varnam and asked me to play the mridangam, himself playing on the Kanjira, guiding and correcting both of us. that boy is none other than Sri K.V.Narayanaswamy.

My master was a worthy disciple of Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer not only by virtue of delighting him by imbibing his techniques intelligently but also by virtue of his paternal solicitude towards his disciples. In the days when I had just started out as a concert artist, he used to go to the trouble of preparing the instruments for me to his satisfaction.

the initial lessons imparted by him to his disciples were designed to implant in their minds a stable sense of time which stands them in good stead. Besides, he had an unerring knack of identifying their weaknesses and helping them to overcome them.

For any mridangist, every concert of his was an object lesson and food for the brain. He was trailblazer in that he showed us the manner of blending with the music of the main artist in handling kritis of every conceivable mood and tempo.

His sense of responsibility to the main artist and the audience was exemplary. By his consistent excellence, he could raise the concert to thrilling heights. His genius remained unsullied by any taint of eccentricity and therefore, he never once took his listeners for granted. Even if, on occasions, the singer was not in his best form, he could depend upon the wizard of melodious rhythm to cast his magic spell over the audience and make the concert a success. He invariably sent back his listeners happy and satisfied. And they always came back for more. No wonder his leonine company was prized and sought after by many a singer.

though he excelled in every aspect of the art, it is in the skill of embellishment of kriti-rendering that he stands without parallel. It was a case of amazing inventiveness on the spur of the moment every time a kriti with interesting rhythmic possibilities was rendered. Who can forget the thrilling finish to "Ambanannubrovave" and "Hetsarigaga" rendered by Sri Ariyakudi or the frills with which he used to invest "Manasoloni" or "Sarasasamadana" of Sri GNB or "Enthundi" of Alathur Brothers? the list is endless.

His silences on the platform were always meaningful as what preceded or followed them. With his rich musical sense, he knew precisely when to lie low and when to make his presence felt to heighten the overall effect.

To his admirers, he was equally fascinating off the platform. Naturally reticent, he had about him a forbidding aura of inapproachability in public which was so much a part of his unique personality. However, his childlike simplicity and sense of humour were known but to the few who were privileged to watch him at close quarters. Being a true artist, his humility was deep-rooted that he never would indulge in egoistic declarations of his own achievements. In fact, he could never respond to words of praise, much less flip over all the adulation that was showered on him. He used to take it all in his stride like a "Karmayogi".

The mridangam is a very temperamental and unpredictable instrument. In spite of all the care and attention he bestowed, he would sometimes have trouble with the instrument. Once, I was preparing his instrument for a concert of Alathoor Brothers at Calcutta. I had applied all the tried and tested methods of tuning it and still, it remained below their sruthi. He then came up with the startling idea of keeping the "pullu" (pieces of wood used for increasing the tension and pitch) near the right hand side of the mridangam, instead of at the other end as usual. And in a trice, the mridangam was tuned and ready for the concert. His remedy was unconventional but effective.

He had a way of tuning the instrument rhythmically and unobtrusively without interrupting the music. If, still, the instrument did not budge, he had the presence of mind to adapt his phrasing to camouflage the occasional discord.

Once I had the privilege of playing mridangam along with him in the house of a friend. We accompanied an unusual trio - G.N.B. and Alathur Brothers. I consider it one of the unforgettable experiences in my association with him.

It was no mean achievement that at no point in his long career did he allow his art to become stale. there was always something to look forward to some unforeseen flash. to my mind, there was one reason for this apart from the wealth of his artistry. the natural weakness of artists to bask in past glory never claimed him as its victim. All the praises that were showered at a concert left his concentration on the next unaffected. He thus excelled himself time and again.

this reminds me of an occasion when my master along with Sri G.N.B. and Alathur Brothers came and listened to a concert of Sri K.V.Narayanaswamy accompanied by me. For various reasons, I could not do full justice and was rather upset about it. the next day, when I called on him, he read my mind and said "Do not feel dejected. Even as one outstanding concert will not build your reputation, one indifferent concert will not destroy it. We can only put in our best efforts before and during a concert. Once it is over, it is futile to worry about it. we should rather direct our energies to the next challenge"

.Science is making rapid progress every day with discoveries and inventions galore. Even so, the epoch-making contribution of Albert Einstein will always stand apart. Similarly, amidst all the progress and innovations that we hear in mridangam art today, we should do well to remember that my master laid the foundation for the fine edifice we have today viz., the dynamic role of the mridangam on the concert platform. In fact, he built up the edifice to a great extent. and we should remember this against the background that mridangam had a relatively unsophisticated time-keeping role at the time of his advent. I pay my fervent homage to his memory.