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Maharajapuram Santhanam – a multi-dimensional personality
"He could have come by flight from Trichy that day,'' blurted
out Dr. R. Ganesh instantly when asked about the one thing that
he wished his guru Maharajapuram Santhanam should have done
but which he had not. Maharajapuram Santhanam was the asthana
vidwan of Kanchi Mutt, T.T.Devasthanam, Pitsburgh Venkatachalapathi
Temple and Ganapathi Sachidananda Ashrama "The Gods in
the heaven wanted to have him as asthana vidwan there and, hence,
hatched a plot to have him there in a heavenly conspiracy,''
quipped Ganesh, a frontline disciple of late Santhanam. The
disciples of Santhanam have been conducting music programme
on June 23 every year, the day he gave his last concert before
his life was cut short by a gruesome road accident on June 24
several years ago. Dr.R.Ganesh shares with
K.T. Jagannathan his thoughts on the musician, teacher
and father in Maharajapuram Santhanam. |
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A great devotee of Paramacharya of
Kanchi, Santhanam, according to Ganesh, always believed in doing
even a simple thing in a grand way. "Even if you were to conduct
a marriage with single paise, you should do it with fireworks,''
Santhanam would often say to Ganesh. He would always ask his
disciples to aim for the biggest. `That would help them scale
bigger levels and not content staying with the big.’’
According to Ganesh, his guru held the view that youngsters
should evolve into full-blown musicians before being pushed
to the concert stage. Santhanam laid much store by growth, consolidation
and further growth - in that order. Ganesh said Maharajapuram
Santhanam had the basic skill and efficiency to master whatever
he undertook. "He (Santhanam) was a manifestation of multiple
qualities of greatness rolled in one person,'' Ganesh said.
A traditionalist teacher, Santhanam, however, came forward to
facilitate faster learning by his students by employing non-traditional
tools without compromising on the core teaching values.
"He was a jewel in the lineage of Saint Thiagaraja. An enthralling
voice, a larger-than-life image, a wide repertoire - all together
made a fantastic musician in Maharajapuram Santhanam. He was
in full control of the audience - be it Tamilians, Kannadigas,
Telugus, rural or urban, youngsters, old men, children, laymen
or scholars - he struck a rapport and related to them within
the first 15 minutes,'' Ganesh pointed out. More than anything
else, Santhanam was ever committed to his concerts. "The kutcheri
pressure would never show up in his face. He would always be
at ease and never put the audience to any discomfort,'' Ganesh
said. What struck Ganesh most was Santhanam's uncanny ability
to connect to the audience with effortless ease. "Every single
listener at his concert would eventually feel as though Maharajapuram
Santhanam sang only for him or her,'' Ganesh pointed out. Even
today, Ganesh could not fathom the mystery surrounding the charm
created by Maharajapuram Santhanam. In this context, he recalled
a concert Maharajapuram Santhanam gave in a remote village near
Thirukkovilur years ago. None got out when the concert was on
and Santhanam held a complete sway over the audience, which
largely comprised people from that village. His melodious voice,
sruthi purity and uncompromising style of singing to audience
of all sorts, Ganesh said, largely had contributed to his success
as a musician. His accommodating nature and ability to liberally
applaud and appreciate others had endeared him to all his accompanists,
Ganesh pointed out. For Maharajapuram Santhanam what mattered
most was the ultimate success of his concerts. For students,
Santhanam was more than a teacher. He showed interest in their
families and their studies. When Ganesh got third rank in his
degree course, Santhanam had told him that he felt as though
he had himself got the rank. "But for Maharajapuram Santhanam,
I would have been a veterinary doctor and an ordinary person
known only to my family members,'' Ganesh said.
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