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Flute Mali – A trail-blazer
By T.M. Sivaraman
T.R. Mahalingam (16-11-1926 to 31-05-1986),
popularly known as Mali, was and continues
to be the "God of celestial flute", whose playing
was the epitome of all divine music as embodied by Lord Krishna
himself. There never was and it is highly improbable that there
ever will be another flautist to equal him in sheer brilliance,
virtuosity, creativity and evocative genius, capable of transporting
listeners to an out-of-the-world experience, when he was in
his element.
My own association with the legend dates back to my early childhood
days in 1947 at Lakshmipuram in Madras (now Chennai), when our
family landed as refugees of partition from Karachi, where I
was born. My father left my mother and my four siblings with
my maternal grandmother's family in Madras and went in search
of livelihood to Bombay.
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My uncle Venkatraman - along with
N.Ramani, his friend and colleague - was at that time a disciple
of Mali. While Ramani later on became a torch-bearer of Mali's
school of innovative flute and went on to become Dr.Ramani,
my uncle Venkatraman did not make a career of flute. Mali was
not only his Guru, but also his close friend and mentor and
used to visit our home at Lakshmipuram frequently and spend
hours discussing Carnatic music, sports and various other topics.
Mali was an interesting conversationalist. Though not formally
educated, he was brilliant in English. He could talk authoritatively
on any subject in addition to music. Another little known fact
about Mali was that he was a great carrom player and frequently
used to play carrom at our home. He was a master of many brilliant
double strike ideas in carrom, where he used to pocket coins
from almost impossible-looking situations. He used to beat all
of us hollow at the game, often starting the first strike and
going on to finish the game at one go, without allowing his
opponents any chance to strike. Such was his mastery at the
game! Mali's mastery at Carrom was only a reflection of his
inborn genius, capable of quickly grasping anything he chose
to concentrate on. The apex of his genius talent was his celestial
flute playing.
Mali never had formal training in music. His mother taught him
the rudiments of Carnatic music. And, he took a liking to flute-playing
in his childhood, when he heard great flute vidwans of those
days, Palladam Sanjiva Rao and his Guru Saraba Shastry. He started
playing on his own and became very proficient. His parents wanted
him to be trained by Palladam Sanjiva Rao and took him to his
home. But when Sanjiva Rao asked Mali to play, and heard his
celestial notes, he told him, "I have nothing to teach
you. You are a born genius. Go back. Just practice intensely,
hear all great masters of music, and use your own imagination,
you will become the greatest flautist of all time."
Sanjiva Rao's words proved to be prophetic and soon Mali rose
to become a darling of rasikas, who thronged his concerts to
be enthralled and held in captive by his sheer genius. An eccentric
genius, Mali often played truant at a number of concerts, choosing
to ditch his numerous exasperated fans, eagerly waiting for
him to arrive at the sabha and perform only to return home with
disappointments. When a close friend and disciple of Mali asked
him why he ditched his fans at various concerts, Mali, in his
typical nonchalant style, replied, ``for me, every music concert
is an act of giving birth to my creativity. I suffer labour
pains and birth pangs on every concert day.I set very high personal
standards. On the days, when my creativity runs dry, I am afraid
of not being able to meet the high personal standards I set
for myself, and thus, I would rather play truant at those concerts
than perform with mediocrity, bereft of creativity."
This showed that Mali was a true perfectionist at his craft.
He was grossly misunderstood by many of his critics. They dubbed
him arrogant, egoistic and what not, little realising that he
really worshipped music in all its divinity and chose not to
compromise on absolutely supreme standards he set himself.
On the days when his creativity was at its zenith, he used to
play celestial music, often plucking unheard of and impossible
notes, seemingly out of thin air, sending his audience into
rapturous delights and transporting them to an emotionally charged
musical bliss never heard before.
Here I must recall my nostalgic memories of a divine concert
that Mali gave at my eldest uncle Late Ramasubramaniam's marriage
reception, way back in the 1950's. He played a scintillating
Bhairavi and sent all of us into divine raptures. Many years
later, my uncle Venkataraman, complemented Mali for playing
a memorable Bhairavi at yet another concert. However, my uncle
inadvertently said, ``"Mali sir, neenga en anna kalyanathil
vasicha adhey Bhairaviyai, innikkku marubadiyum ketten. Romba
magizhchi" Mali stared at him with a disdainful look and
said, "adhey Bhairaviya?", implying that his creativity
was such that no two Bhairavis he played could be the same,
being the genius he was, and that he was capable of rendering
the same raga with two entirely different range of creative
ideas in two different concerts.
It is 22 years since the eccentric genius and legend passed
away, but his immortal and trail-blazing music will continue
to transport forever countless music rasikas to a celestial
world of divine bliss.
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