Stepping into RK Padmanabha\u2019s home is akin to entering a museum for music. Books, albums, instruments and sound systems share space with photos and awards the maestro has received over the years. \u201cI wanted a sacred space to savour\u00a0music. My practice sessions and bonding with students happens here with\u00a0the blessings of Maa Saraswati,\u201d says the Carnatic\u00a0vocalist. <\/p>\n
A Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee,\u00a0Padmanabha or RKP as he is affectionately known in music circles, turns 75 this week. His\u00a0enviable range defies\u00a0his age and at smaller concert venues, he rarely uses a mic,\u00a0say senior students who travel with him. <\/p>\n
Soul call<\/h4>\n
Born in 1949, it has been 70 years since RKP began singing. \u201cI was born in Rudrapatna,\u00a0a small village on the banks of River Cauvery in the Arkalgud taluk of Hassan district\u00a0in Karnataka; it holds the record of producing the most Carnatic musicians in the country.\u00a0I was not born into a musical family, but Rudrapatna\u2019s soil\u00a0and air\u00a0permeate\u00a0musical tarangas (waves) that birthed melody in me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
By the time he was five, RKP says he had already heard the top musicians of the time at Ranga-Geete (music theatre). He credits his deep range to this initial exposure where open throated singing was encouraged. \u201cI even took up enacting Karna\u2019s role when I had to sing Kumara Vyasa\u2019s poems during training sessions under the iconic Gamaki, Vasantha Lakshamma,\u201d\u00a0he recalls.<\/p>\n
He goes on to explain\u00a0how scholar-veteran RV Srikantaiah, a genius, would enthrall connoisseurs with vintage\u00a0Carnatic\u00a0classical melodies informally on the streets of Rudrapatna.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n\nVocalist RK Padmanabha
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\nSpecial Arrangement\n<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n Veterans of\u00a0classical\u00a0music who visited\u00a0Rudrapatna\u00a0during music festivals,\u00a0sang in temples, at 100-pillared massive bungalows, and\u00a0on the banks of the Cauvery. \u201cIt was customary to have concerts at every celebration. I was mesmerised by music vidwans, their silk clothes and their body language while they sang. As a six-year-old, I remember waiting for hours to\u00a0steal\u00a0a glimpse of Violin Chowdiah \u2014 I was in awe of his personality and musical aura,\u201d says RKP, who\u00a0pursued his higher studies in academics and music, in Mysore.\u00a0<\/p>\n He eventually enrolled at Violin Chowdiah\u2019s Ayyanar College of Music in Mysore, to begin his formal training in Carnatic\u00a0music. As a teenager, RKP made his way to Bengaluru and completed his B.Sc from Vijaya College. He represented Karnataka in Ball Badminton and soon bagged a job at SBI. <\/p>\n However, he encountered veteran HV Krishnamurthy at the Vijaya College of Music in 1974, and that marked his return to music. \u201cIt seemed magical. Thanks to HVK\u2019s Intense training I had my first concert in 1975.\u201d<\/p>\n Apart from being a musician, lyricist and composer, Padmanabhan is also an author, teacher and director. With 75 written works to his credit, he has directed several musicals, trained thousands of students across the globe and has acted in musical theatre too. Still at 75, he says, \u201cI have a lot to do, and want to see Bengaluru abuzz with classical melodies. An important part of my spreading awareness is on maintaining\u00a0shaarira samskarana<\/i>\u00a0(voice-culture)\u00a0\u2014 an aspect paramount for\u00a0musicians.\u201d<\/p>\n He sees my eyes wander to the books and notes piled on his table and says after he worked on \u2018Vadiraja\u2019s Teertha Prabhanda\u2019 where he documented the lesser-known aspects of the saint-composer\u2019s visits to the 10 sacred rivers in India, he was inspired to write on the saints Shankara-Ramanuja-Madhwa.\u00a0\u201cVadirajaswamy blessed me with my pen and voice. I wanted to give back to society so\u00a0I built the Vadiraja Kala Bhavana near Hulimavu, to host musical events.\u201d <\/p>\n \nVocalist RK Padmanabha receiving the national award from President Murmu <\/div>\n RKP\u2019s\u00a0written works include five music-based novels as well as 750 compositions in Kannada, Sanskrit and Telugu. \u201cI have composed Navagraha kritis<\/i> in Kannada and set them to music, apart from 72 compositions in all the Melakarta ragas <\/i>in Kannada,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Talking of\u00a0what he has enjoyed apart from writing\u00a0his autobiography, RKP says it was\u00a0gratifying\u00a0to research the book,\u00a0Purandara Pitamahare,<\/i>\u00a0where he sheds light on the greatness of Purandara dasa while dissecting\u00a0his\u00a0contemplative genius. <\/p>\n \u201cDid you know why Purandara dasa\u00a0might have preferred\u00a0Mayamalavagowla for initial lessons\u00a0to\u00a0Karaharapriya?\u00a0Karaharapriya, a musical scale\u00a0in vogue decades ago, has high frequency levels for swara prayogas <\/i>and oscillations. What made\u00a0Mayamalavagowla special\u00a0was its flat notes, making it ideal for beginners. As a true Pitamaha, Purandara had the foresight to offer basic Carnatic lessons in Mayamalavagowla.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n His musical ventures aside, RKP also holds other important offices. As the Managing Trustee of Rudrapatna Sangeetotsava Samiti Trust, he is responsible for the Sangeeta Grama, an annual Sangeethotsava, now in its 22nd year. RKP is also overseeing the building of a Saptaswara Temple at Rudrapatna, themed around the seven musical notes with a 70-feet tambura on the exterior.<\/p>\n For the past 20 years, he has been president of the Karnataka Ganakala Parishat, a sabha that promotes the musicians of Karnataka. RKP says the\u00a0Parishat\u2019s activities reaches rural pockets in all the districts and towns with performances, schooling and workshops to bring an awareness of classical music to all. <\/p>\n RKP will be felicitated at Purandara Mantapa, ISRO layout on September 29, at 6pm. Entry free.<\/i><\/p>\nMulti-faceted persona<\/h4>\n
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\nSpecial Arrangement\n<\/p>\nGood governance<\/h4>\n