Sanjay Uvacha

 

Whenever I have seen a group of men wearing pure white half sleeved shirts and pure white veshti, I immediately think (most often I am correct) that they are a group of politicians. And here we have on the stage, Sanjay and his loyal team all-white, ready to take us through music devoid of not just politics but everything that is not music. Now if this seems little confusing and difficult to understand……it is the impact of his kutcheri which was much more confusing & difficult to understand-why he chose what he did.

The concert I am referring to, was at RR Sabha, on 9th December when it was raining crazy. If anyone thinks why a take so long to write after every concert, my reply would be, if I am all the time attending concerts, where do I have the time to write…all this between some very difficult medical emergencies running for days at a stretch.

With torrential rains and impending cyclone,other Sabhas postponed the concerts scheduled for the same day, but BGS made a statement by not changing the schedule. They were confident that the crowd will pour like the rains…..after all it was Sanjay !!!
I too braved the rain and made it before time, and saw a reasonable crowd but certainly not what it is for a usual Sanjay Sabha.

I must admit, Sanjay’s professionalism and discipline is remarkable. He started right on time, and there you could see his entire team in white ready to give us an evening to remember. I think, every performer draws his energy from the audience,as was the case for this concert. As Sanjay began the concert with a Varnam in Ragam Saveri, ‘Sarasuda Ninne‘ composed by Kothavasal Venkatrama Iyer, there was something missing in the absolutely perfect rendering. I was wondering if the rains had dampened this reigning monarch of music’s spirit & enthusiasm.
Then I realised that however big an artiste one maybe, he needs an appreciative audience. Before he could start his second song, the audience trooped in decent numbers and Sanjay found himself. He soared with Sri Thyagaraja’s composition ‘Bhava nuta na hridyamuna ramimpumu badalika tIra’, in Ragam Mohanam. I have not heard this composition often in concerts and my opinion is Mohanam is a livelier Ragam as compared to Saveri. Anyway, after this it was all Sanjay and rest of the evening was mind blowing.
I assume, M.M.Dandapani Desikar is one of Sanjay’s favourite composers, as he chose one of his compositions in Ragam Dharmavati ‘Arulvai Angayarkanniye Enn Annaiye’. I had not heard this either but that didn’t matter because, after listening to Sanjay , I am not going to like anyone else singing it. Like for me after watching Sivaji Ganesan act as Karnan, I never felt anybody else could be better or in the case of NTR as Lord Krishna.
His next song was a personal relief to me, because atleast I knew this composition of Purandaradasa ‘Ninne Nambide Neeraja Shyama’, in Ragam Mukhari. My memory goes back to my childhood where I have heard my Masterji sing this with so much love and emotion that I could almost see the Lord. Anyway, guess there is no point expecting that kind of endearment in this excellent singer, because he is not a Kannadiga just as my Masterji would have had a disconnect with Tamil compositions (infact, I doubt if he knew any). Recently, I saw an interview of Rishab Shetty of the film ‘Kantara’ fame, who said, he thinks in Kannada, talks Kannada, eats Kannada, sleeps Kannada and feels Kannada
That could be the reason for him deliver what he did..

Then he chose to sing Veenai Kuppayyar’s composition ‘Koniyadina Na Pai Kopamu Seyanera Gadu’ in Ragam Khamboji. Veena Kuppayya was born in a Telugu Brahmin family in Tiruvottiyur, near Chennai. So, he was an expert in both in Tamil & Telugu. Kuppayyar had his initial training from his father from Samboomoorti Sastri and later he studied under none other than Sri Thyagaraja, who taught him the art of music composition from him. How many people today will be willing to share any kind of knowledge ? Kuppaiyer has composed two groups of Pancharathnams – Kālahasti Pancharathna kritis and Vénkatésha Pancharathna kritis. The Panchrathna kritis are in Telugu and bears his nom de plume “Gópāla-dāsa” – his family deity was Sri Venugopala Swamy. These Panchrathna kritis also have been bedecked with beautiful Chittaswarams - solfa passages.T

He was a talented veena & violin player, that is why he is known as Veena Kuppayyar, like we had Mandolin Srinivas. This becomes a kind of identity…..when I was a child, just not artistes but many successful people in their respective profession where identified by their company or institution or the profession itself. Like my grandfather was known as Binny Mill Ramaswamy because he was first Indian to have the top most job in Binnys during British India. For most people those days, the first job will be their last job and they were proud to be addressed as Philips Krishnan or Amalgamations Santhanam. What was regarded as commitment, loyalty , service will be a negative thing today to stay in the same place for long. Anyway, coming back to Kuppayyar his most famous composition was a Varnam ‘Sami Ninne’ in Shankarabharanam. All of us would have learnt this for sure.
Even YouTube doesn’t have too many videos of this song, so it was a day Sanjay had decided to treat us with songs not commonly sung. He was majestic and played around with Khamboji deftly making it worthwhile for those who had come despite the intimidating weather. There were moments where he lent the song some western touches. We saw his student Swarna Rethas giving vocal support (actually Sanjay needs no support). I must say Swarna Rethas just sang along without intruding .There are few things common between Swarna Rethas and me, both have been loyal & regular to Sanjay’s concert, both try to sing along with Sanjay (me off stage) and both have aged gracefully over time, losing hair! How many of us attended or even knew that Swarna Rethas gave a wonderful solo concert in NGS this season? Guess, it is very difficult to grow under a banyan tree. Then how did Veena Kuppayyar create his own identity under Sri Thyagaraja?

As Sanjay started the next song, ‘Jalathisutha Ramani nahi Soham’, there was a bit of a rustle in the audience, and their heads were bent all through the song, either they were looking up Google for some clues, or searching in a small book that they religiously carry (like carrying a bible to church). After few minutes, they looked as clueless as me. That is when I decided to stop thinking and just sit back and enjoy the music.

I continued to be same state throughout his RTP, as Sanjay simply controlled all of us with his craftsmanship. The R was so good, the T was better and the P was fantastic, with a jugglery of Ragams.. I could recognise a few to be Varali, Mawlvi , (maybe) Saramati and I pacified myself seeing a lot of happy yet confused faces.
Then came outstanding rendering of ‘Kannanai Kanbadepo’, a Ragamalika which was composition of a genius called GNB.

While he ended the concert with a popular Surdas bhajan ‘Hey Govind, Hey Gopal’ Raag Maduvanti ( in Hindustani it is not Ragam) in with a lot ghamakas & Brigas, for someone of his calibre it must be difficult to sing even the National Anthem in a simple manner
I guess.Truthfully it was a brilliant concert, though I recognised only the Mangalam. :)
Most ironically thing about all this was, that I need not have tried to find out about each of these songs because the answers were leaked out a day before the concert on his FB. I didn’t know this at all till today…I must appreciate his compassion towards his audience, he gives you the song list with details for us to prepare and come !!!

About the Author:

Sandhya Shankar belongs to a well respected business family in Chennai. She is a Life Skills & Corporate Trainer by profession. She is an avid reader and a natural writer, who has written several poems and articles. She even presented her poems as a reading at the British council. She has keen interest in all art forms  and has explored many different forms of painting like stained glass and Tanjore being among them. 

Music being her first passion, she had her formal training under Terakotti Chandrasekharaiah at Bangalore and later briefly under Mrs Champa Kumar. She is a regular visitor of concerts, theatre and other live performances. Her witty reviews have gained a loyal and interactive readership for their sound technical commentary and relevance for every kind of melophile, from the casual-goer to the ragam expert, frequenting Chennai’s rich music scene.

(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.)