Musicians,events,anecdotes and tid-bits

[padmanabha]

That was a gathering of nearly two dozens of people above forty. They have assembled to learn a few gems from the vast repertoire of carnatic music. When they sing it is hard to believe that they have no basic training in music.

“This is the fourth batch of students. I teach them Pancharatna kirtanams, Navaratari kritis and Navavarana kritis. This class is meant for music lovers, who earlier had no opportunity to learn music, but wanted to sing classical music. I consider it a great service” said Parvathipuram Padmanabha Iyer, who belongs to the family of Mullamoodu Bhagavathar.

I was initiated into music by my uncle Harihara Bhagavathar of Mullamoodu School. “He taught me a number of rare compositions composed by Maharaja Swati Tirunal. I music academy and took my ganapraveen. I had my advanced training in music from Gayaka Ratnam Vechoor H. Harihara Subramania Iyer. It was a totally different experience. Still I follow his padantharam. Though I had the opportunity to learn music under K V Narayana Swami, I was not in a position to stay in Chennai for a long period. I consider him as my manasika guru” he said.

Padmanabha Iyer is currently working as a teacher at the Govt. Model High School.

Today children are under academic pressure. How interested are they in learning music? What is the space available for a music teacher?

“Each class has one period per week for music. If you take the entire students in a school only a hundred students will have a flair for classical music. I have asked them to remain after 3.30 twice in a week and give them special training in music. In our school we have all facilities and the PTA is supporting this as well. In most of the schools the scene is entirely different and unfortunate. PTA is not interested in these activities. Most of the music teachers are asked to handle other classes, like history. Music teachers never protest, and many consider it a privilege” he explained and added “Music should be made a compulsory subject and 5 marks should be allotted for theoretical knowledge.”

His program “Raga of the day” telecast in Asianet Suprabhatham is the forerunner of similar programs in various channels. He covered 250 ragas in 350 episodes. His current program Saadakam in Surya is equally popular.

He recently gave a vocal concert at the Rashtrapathi bhawan. He has given many stage performances, in Kerala, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He also conducts demonstrations for Music lovers and students.