Author: Nandakumar Nayar

My name is Nandakumar Nayar, but you can call me Nanda, Nandu, or Nandan, depending on who you’re talking to.  I studied Chemistry in college and ended up working in the airline and tourism industry. Back in school, I was part of a band that played a mix of Carpenters, Beatles, Eagles, CCR, Jethro Tull, and Indian popular music.  I’m a self-taught guitarist and keyboardist, but I also trained in vocal Indian classical music.  I’ve worn many hats over the years - making short films, composing music, podcasting, writing blogs, and more.  I’ve earned the title of ‘Jack of All Trades, but Master of None,’ but I often end up being better than a master of one. I’m not one to hide my accomplishments, so you can probably guess that modesty isn’t my middle name.

Ranganayaki Ammal – the woman who broke the gender barrier to become a percussionist par excellence!

Photo courtesy: Pon Dhanasekharan. Ranganayaki Ammal on the left

Playing the mridangam remains largely a male vocation, but Thirukokarnam T S Ranganayaki Ammal gained fame as an acclaimed mridangam artiste even as early as the 1940s. 

Some facts

  • Thirukokarnam Ranganayaki Ammal was the second of seven children, born on May 28, 1910. 
  • Her father, Thirukokarnam Sivaraman, was a well-known nattuvangam and Avadhana Pallavi performer. (Click on the link to learn what Avadhana Pallavi is)
  • When Ranganayaki wanted to learn how to play the mridangam, he sought out the legendary Pudukottai Dakshinamurthi Pillai. 
  • Her Bharatanatyam training was also extensive. 
  • She shared the stage with famous performers from the 1940s 
  • She began her teaching career in 1966 at India’s Padmavati College and taught at Madurai’s Sadguru Sangita Samajam.
  • Ranganayaki Ammal’s brother, Ulaganathan Pillai, was a violinist
  • Pioneering physician and social worker Dr. Muthu Lakshmi Reddy was a close relative
  • Her elder sister Siva Brinda Devi became the first-ever female Adheenam – head of a Saivite mutt

Even as the controversy over the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple is raging, it may be worth recalling that some 35 years ago, a woman became an Adheenam – the head of a Saivite mutt – in Tamil Nadu. No eyebrows were raised, and no questions were asked. 

In 1926, at 17, she accompanied Lakshmana Pillai at the music conference conducted as part of the All-India Congress session in Madras, now Chennai. She played for the Ustad Abdul Karim Khan concert that followed Lakshmana Pillai’s performance.

When M S Subbalakshmi performed on the stage, replacing her mother Madurai Shanmugavadivu at the Mysore palace for the first time, Ranganayaki accompanied her on the mridangam. Ranganayaki has played with stalwarts, including Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, T R Mahalingam, Mysore Chowdiah, and Veena Dhanammal.

It is well known that many senior and accomplished mridangam players refuse to play for women artists.  Although the reasons are not precisely expressed, some women artists guess it is because the mridangam has to be tuned to a higher pitch to align to the higher scale of the female singer. So, to align the mridangam to the higher pitch, the skin of the mridangam must be tightened, causing a lesser ‘give,’ which, in turn, makes it harder to play.   There is also a very misogynistic rumor that women generally had a poor sense of rhythm.  It is said that Palghat Mani Iyer, the legendary mridangam player, was averse to accompanying women musicians, but he made an exception for D. K. Pattamal, a famous singer. 

Here was Ranganayaki Ammal, a virtuoso, disproving this awful misogynic generalization. Weaving complex rhythm patterns during the Tani avartanams (solo performance during a concert) and highly complex jathis (beat patterns) and theermanams (usually an ending pattern played three times over), she used to leave her audience spellbound.

Guru Ranganayaki Ammal,  at an early age, performed in concerts across India, Singapore, and Malaysia. 

Ranganayaki Ammal began her teaching career in 1966 at Sri Padmavathy College in Tirupati. She worked as a part-time mridangam teacher at Sri Sadhguru Sangita Sabha in Madurai after a seven-year stint there. She participated in the artist selection process while working in Trichy for All India Radio.

She accompanied many leading artists during her time, including Veena Dhanammal, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, the Brinda-Mukta duo, and the genius Flute Mali (Mahalingam).  Accompanying a mercurial genius like Mali was no walk in the park.  He was a temperamental genius whom nobody could predict what he would do next in a concert.

M Karunanidhi, the then-chief minister of Tamil Nadu, bestowed the Kalaimamani, a prestigious State award, on her in 1971-72.

“T.S. Ranganayaki Ammal award,” named after her, is a prestigious honor given to mridangam artists. 

Ranganayaki Ammal also taught Bharatanatyam to many of her students, including Soudamini Rao.  Guru Soudamini Rao, now 88, remembers her guru Ranganayaki Ammal fondly. 

Ranganayaki Ammal was highly attached to her mridangam and rarely let anyone else come close to it. Usha Vijayakumar, an exponent of Gottuvadyam and a Bharatanatyam student at Padmavati College, recalls how Ranganayaki Ammal, despite her diminutive stature, commanded the stage. She could effortlessly recite elaborate laya calculations. She preferred an academic career to be a performer. She instructed students in not only mridangam but also Bharatanatyam. Some of her students, like Caroline, came from other countries to participate in the arangetram she orchestrated.

Ranganayaki Ammal passed away on August 15, 1998.

According to mridangam artist Charu Hariharan, the current gender gap makes it difficult for a female musician to thrive in this stifling environment. Hariharan believes women must carve a place for themselves in an unfair and competitive art world. It may be mentioned here that Thirukokarnam Ranganayaki Ammal, seventeen years old at the time, was the first woman to make a name for herself in the predominantly male domain of Carnatic Percussion.

All glories to her!

Korla Pandit, the mysterious musician who hid his identity

korlapandit.com

Korla Pandit was born in New Delhi, India, in 1921, the son of a French opera singer and an Indian ‘upper-caste’ government official. He was raised in an upper-class family and moved to England as a child to study music. He immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve, where he studied at the University of Chicago. 

He was quickly recognized for his talent in playing the keyboard, and when combined with his exotic Indian background, which Americans knew little about at the time, he was soon in high demand. By the late 1940s, he regularly appeared on radio shows such as Chandu the Magician and Hollywood Holiday. By 1949, he had his television show, Korla Pandit’s Adventures in Music. 

As his career progressed, his concerts became known for incorporating his music and spiritual ideology, about which he frequently spoke, much to the delight of many fans. For Pandit Korla, fame and fortune had come his way. Among his friends were actors Errol Flynn and Bob Hope, as well as Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian spiritual leader of the Self Realization Fellowship. 

On the nightclub circuit, he frequently performed with another up-and-coming pianist known as Liberace. Pandit helped Liberace become the consummate performer in some ways. Liberace took nuances from Pandit’s performance and worked them into his own, such as occasionally gazing up from the piano to engage the audience. By the 1970s, however, Pandit’s television work had dried up, so he supplemented his income with personal appearances and concerts. Fortunately, in the 1990s, his oriental allure attracted a new generation of fans and resurrected his career.

Korla Pandit died in October 1998 in California. His wife and two sons survived him. 

If you’re probably thinking, “All very interesting, but not an exceptional story,” you’d be right. Wait till you hear the truly fascinating part of this story which was only discovered after Pandit’s death. 

Korla Pandit’s ancestry claims were blown out of the water by R.J. Smith, editor of Los Angeles magazine, in 2001. While he was born on September 16, 1921, his real name was John Roland Redd, and he was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, rather than India. Ernest Redd, his father, was an African-American Baptist pastor, and his mother was of Anglo-African ancestry. As a result, John had fair skin and straight hair, making it relatively easy for him to pass himself off as of Indian descent. 

But why the trickery? 

His opportunities as an African-American in the early twentieth century United States were severely limited. At the time, there was a color bar, making it nearly impossible for African-American artists to perform. He could not have joined the Musicians Union, and most venues refused to hire African-American musicians. To get around this bar, John first went by the name Juan Rolando and pretended to be Mexican. By the 1940s, however, he and his wife, Beryl, had come up with the idea of creating the entirely new and exotic persona of Korla Pandit. Beryl made the make-up and clothing, which included a turban. Unlike many performers who choose to use a stage name for professional reasons, Redd had to always maintain the persona of Korla Pandit in public and private life, as revealing his true identity to anyone would have jeopardized his entire career and livelihood. Even after the color line was abolished in the United States, Redd refused to reveal his ethnicity. Even in those more enlightened times, he may have felt that doing so would have harmed his career. 

Redd maintained contact with his extended family, even though he always wore his turban and did not bring his own family with him when he visited. “Among the family, we knew what he was doing, and very little was said about it,” Ernest Redd, his nephew, said. Sometimes, he would drop by, almost like a surprise visit. He might come in the middle of the night and leave before we wake up. He had to distance himself from his family to some extent. They’d go to see him play but never say anything to him. They would attend his performance, then leave, and the family would meet him later.” His deception was so successful that even his sons were unaware of his and their African-American heritage. 

Korla, a documentary about the life of John Roland Redd, was released in 2014 and was marketed as a classic American story of self-invention. All right, but it’s an abomination that he was forced to live a lie simply because of his ethnicity in the ostensibly free country of the United States.

The Connecticut Yankee who came to be known as Higgins Bhagavathar!

My last blog was about how some Indian musicians were influenced by the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin, among many others, and became rock stars.  

Jon Higgins and his attraction to music

This is about an American, Jon B. Higgins. South Indian music, known as Carnatic Music, fascinated him. He moved to South India to study Carnatic music and the compositions of Thyagaraja Swami, Muthusamy Dikshitar, and Shyma Shastri. For this, he had to overcome language, culture, and a race barrier that existed (it probably still exists as a form of subtle racism). He overcame all this and sang at the Thyagaraja Aradhana, a festival where the best of the best performed. Not only was he accepted as a front-ranking Carnatic musician, but he was also given the honorific title of Bhagavathar or maestro. 

How I heard about Jon Higgins

Carnatic music, to me, was primitive and boring. Despite this, I do remember the name Jon Higgins. During my first listen, I think his exposition of the Raga Bhairavi (Bhairavi varnam) made me slightly curious about Carnatic music. It was probably the tinge of the American accent, the lack of rusticism or guttural vocalization that the average Carnatic musicians had in those days, and the revelation that this art form was not cloistered strictly for the Brahmanical community. In my later years, I began to learn and devour Carnatic music furiously. I had some fantastic gurus who were very kind and patient with me.

Early Days

On September 18, 1939, Jon was born in the Massachusetts village of Andover. Philips Academy provided his early education, where his father taught English, and his mother taught piano. Jon later earned three degrees from Wesleyan University. A B.A. in History and Music, an M.A. in Musicology, and a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology. John Higgins is a prominent Wesleyan, and the most famous American interpreter of Indian classical music. In 1973, the distinguished musician earned his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology. He founded the Indian Music Studies Program at York University, Toronto. He probably was the first Westerner to carve out a niche for himself in South Indian classical vocal music.

His first forays into Carnatic music

Higgins began studying Carnatic music at Wesleyan University under the tutelage of Robert Brown and T. Ranganathan on a Fulbright scholarship. He began studying music with Dr. T. Viswanathan in Chennai. Higgins was so enthusiastic about Carnatic music that he was ready to sing at the Thyagaraja Aradhana held at Thyagarajaswami’s Samadhi. He received much praise from stalwarts and scholars. Not many people seem to be aware that this distinguished musician had also studied Bharatanatyam music under the famous danseuse T. Balasaraswati, sister of T. Viswanathan, his guru, and had even written a thesis on dance music. Later in his career, he worked as a senior research fellow at the American Institute of Indian Studies. 

While most non-Dravidians find microtonal modulation in Carnatic difficult, this outstanding musician overcame this cultural barrier through sheer dedication. He continued to perform Carnatic music and recorded a few albums. 

His return to the USA

He returned to Wesleyan University to teach music and later became the University’s Center for the Arts Director. Wesleyan University still teaches Carnatic music.

Jon had put in countless hours of practice. He had mastered all aspects of a concert presentation, including appreciating accompanying artists such as the violinist’s ‘shabhash’ (bravo) and the mridangist’s (drummer) ‘bhale.’ (wow). 

Stage performances

When he was on stage, he wore a crisp white suit. During one of his concerts, when Justice K. S. Venkataraman acknowledged his musical knowledge and called it the “merit of a previous life,” Jon, ever smiling, humble, and passive, called it the “merit of this life” and attributed it to his knowledgeable guru. Here are some recordings of Higgins Bhagavathar.

Dinamani Vamsha – Raga Harikamboji – Thyagaraja Kriti

The end of a musician

Dr. Jon B. Higgins tragically died on December 07th, 1984, at the age of 45. While walking his dog, he was hit by a drunk hit-and-run driver near his home in Middletown, Conn.

He planned to do a protest concert against apartheid in South Africa but was snatched away too soon. Connecticut state police arrested Thomas Knight of Middlefield, Conn., and charged him with second-degree manslaughter by intoxicated driving.

He is survived by his wife, the former Rhea Padis. His two sons, Luke and Niko, and a brother, Hayden, a jazz pianist known professionally as Eddie Higgins, survive him.

Cultural ambassador

Jon Higgins will be remembered for his role as the cultural ambassador. A person who demonstrated to the world that music has no boundaries. To achieve the highest levels, one must have immense devotion, persistence, passion, and engagement. He was planning a South African concert to protest against the apartheid regime, but it never came about.

Namaskarams, Jon Higgins Bhagavathar, my namaskarams to you.

The man behind the growth of Radio Ceylon

Most of you who lived in India from the 60s until the late 70s must have tuned into Radio Ceylon to listen to film songs. Some of you must have been die-hard fans of that silken voice of Ameen Sayani, presenting the Binaca Geet Mala, a countdown of the top songs from Hindi films. 

Then there was B.H. Abdul Hameed of the Tamizh Sevai, with Tamil film songs. Radio Ceylon even reached remote points in Assam’s tea estates! For the budding rock stars of India, Radio Ceylon was the go-to source for their favorite music. 

Advertisers in the sub-continent flocked to Radio Ceylon. Their top salesman (back handed compliment) was an Indian minister, Balakrishna Vishwanath Keskar, also known as B. V. Keskar.

Keskar was the Minister for Information and Broadcasting from 1952 to 1962 who, amongst other things, banned filmed music from All India Radio, saying that it was morally corrupting.  

Keskar also prohibited the harmonium, saying that it was a Western instrument. Until 1972, the harmonium was banned entirely from the Radio. 

To Keskar’s credit, the man in charge of the Radio pre-independence, Lionel Fielden, a senior BBC producer and then Controller General of Radio, had a similar opinion.

The ban on the harmonium came about after John Foulds, an expert on Western music, said that the instrument was ill-suited to reproducing microtones, an essential aspect of Indian music. So, the harmonium was banned from All India Radio until about 1970.

Keskar hated cricket and predicted the game would die out soon since the British had quit India. He thought cricket was a British legacy and tried to ban cricket commentaries on AIR. Due to intense pressure and backlash, he relented.  

Keskar also tried to ban film music. He then relented a little bit and allowed 10% of airtime. He tried negotiating with the Motion Picture Producers Guild of India, who opposed this quota, which talks broke down, resulting in AIR stopping broadcasting film music for several years. 

BV Keskar also claimed that All India Radio was not likely to air musicians such as Kesarbai Kerkar or Omkarnath Thakur due to their high fees. As a minister, B.V. Keskar also banned the playing of folk films on Radio as he felt they did not have respect for higher culture. 

Film music had an increasing audience in India, and Keskar’s decision to prohibit it over All India Radio allowed Radio Ceylon to take advantage of this opportunity. 

Keskar would be outraged if he heard the music the film industry makes today. Still, it is ironic that some of the most iconic and memorable songs in newly independent India, made during the golden era of Hindi cinema, were once considered objectionable and would have been perhaps stifled by a draconian policy of a single man had a radio channel from a neighboring country not intervened. Filmfare magazine has described Keskar as a cunning person whose decisions were as much calculated shots to damage the movie industry’s image as they were to drive movie music from the market (August 1952 edition). Keskar believed that Indian music had become stale during the Muslim and British rule. B. V. Keskar wanted AIR to work towards the cultural growth of a young nation.

B.V. Keskar also discontinued the practice of advertising film titles along with the songs, as he felt that was marketing. Keskar was also responsible for establishing the Vadya Vrinda as a national orchestra and creating a new genre of lighter music, commissioning the Sitarist Ravi Shankar to lead Vadya Vrinda and to provide light musical alternatives to the broadcasting of classical music. Keskar was the third person to head India’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and had a ten-year stint at the helm, making him the longest-serving Minister in the Ministry.

The worst was in 1959, the Minister of information and broadcasting, B. V. Keskar, who is said to have had the barbaric opinion that Indian Christians should not be composing Indian music, refused to allow Anthony Gonsalves to write a piece of music for an animated movie. You can listen to Anthony in a rather painful conversation with Rajan Parrikar, a musicologist born and raised in Goa who moved to the USA in 1988 for graduate study and obtained a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder and currently lives in Iceland.

Rajan Parrikar in conversation with Anthony Gonsalves

.  I hate to end a blog this way but let this sting. 

Cited Sources

The Indian Rock stars of the 70’s – Simla Beat Contest.

“Beat, man, beat.”

Origins

Imperial Tobacco Company (I.T.C.) hosted the annual Simla Beat Contest, named after Simla Cigarettes, from the mid-’60s to the ’72 (exact years unknown), which featured a competition between several Indian beat groups from across India. The company also released a Shimla Beat compilation album every year, which included songs from some of the 1960s’ most talented bands.

The bands

Savage was the first Indian band to release a full-length album of Western rock music.

Human Bondage is a Bangalore-based rock and roll band formed in the 1970s. They were widely regarded as India’s best and tightest rock band. It was one of the most popular bands and is also considered a forerunner of the raga rock movement. The band split up in 1976.

The Combustibles rose to prominence on the Bombay rock scene due to their participation in the famed Shimla Beat Battle of Bands competitions and a nationwide tour from 1968 to 1969. The Combustibles performed well in the Shimla Beat Contests of 1968 and 1969. However, that didn’t result in an L.P. recording as in the 1970s and 1971 competitions.

The Black Beats was one of the Shillong, India, bands that competed in the Shimla Beat Contest in 1971.

Madras-based Frustration Amalgamated was the winner of the fifth All India Simla Beat Contest, held in 1972 in the Shanmukhananda hall, Bombay. After they disbanded, I remember watching their frontman Shyam Sundar sing at a restaurant called the Bamboo Hut, off Mount Road (now called Anna Salai) in Madras (Chennai) in probably late 60’s to mid 70’s. One of the often-requested songs was “I Married a Female Wrestler,” sung initially by Earnest Ignatius, an Anglo-Indian Goan. Apparently, the song was written by George Fegrado. Click here to see the video of George’s wife’s interview.

Says Shyam Sundar, the frontman of the band, “I was the lead singer from the Frustrations Amalgamated from Madras, which won the All India Shimla Beat Contest Award in 1972 at Shanmukhananda Hall, Bombay. That year, we won the Best Group Award, the Best Singer Award, and the Best Own Composition Award! Jaya Bhaduri gave us the awards to us. On winning the Shimla Beat Contest, we did a recording at the Royal Gems studio, but nothing came out of it.
Manu (Manohar Roberts, our lead guitarist) is in Chennai and still plays a mean lead guitar and is still in music. Ramji, our drummer, was with the Abhaswaram and is in Chennai, still very much into music. Dumbu, our bass guitarist, is in the U.S.A., and we are trying to get into contact again. Lawrence, our rhythm guitarist, is in Singapore and, I believe, still in music.”

Shyam relocated to Bangalore, had a group called the West Wind, and sang with his keyboard accompaniments and MIDIs, along with a good guitarist, Dominic. He passed away in Bengaluru on November 12th, 2021. Before relocating to Bangalore, he played at the Casino Bar in Cochin while working for a fertilizer company, F.A.C.T. I remember his wife, Hema, who used to be there for every one of his performances, used to help since Shyam had some difficulty walking.

The Mustangs were a Madras (now Chennai) rock band formed in 1965 and broke up four years later. They were one of India’s most popular groups from 1965 to 1968. They began with mostly instrumental surf songs before gradually incorporating vocals. They drew fans from all over the country with their aggressive brand of music, which included surf, blues, and rock. They all performed at Madras colleges in front of mostly Madras school and college students. They even released the first Western L.P. in India in collaboration with H.M.V.


In 1968, they released two 45 R.P.M. records for H.M.V. The first album featured ‘Escape’ and ‘Theme from the movie – Gonks Go Beat,’ while the second was an extended play with ‘Love Is Blue & Lies,’ ‘Nina’s Theme,’ and ‘Summer Wine.’

Derek, George, Kittu, Paddy, and Haroon reunited for a 45-year reunion jam session in Madras (Chennai) and Bangalore in January 2010. Their average age then was around 65! Moral of the story: it’s never too late to jam!

Voodoos
It was Sukumar Nambiar’s idea to form the band. Madhukar was to play lead guitar and harmony vocals and had a musical ear for picking up basic chords and simple lead solos, so he was self-taught.The idea of forming a band happened while listening to records at Suku’s father’s house. Suku’s father, M.N. Nambiar, was a successful and well-known actor with the funds and could cover the expenses.

Mohan Nambiar, Sukumar’s younger brother, played the drums. They were always having difficulty finding a dedicated bass player. The band even had a guy from Singapore who was so desperate to be in the Voodoos that he lied and said he was importing the latest Vox amps and other gear, similar to what The Beatles used. Patrice Dedeyn was the bassist who stayed with them the most extended (son of the then French consular in India.) Rajan Joshua, a ‘dummy-rhythm’ guitarist, was probably the first in a band. Initially, he also sort of forced his way into the band. He’d play even if his guitar wasn’t plugged in. It happened at a Loyola College annual event when there was no outlet for his amp to plug into.

Move to Bombay – Atomic Forest
After finishing high school and college, he relocated to Bombay and began working as an Art Director for advertising firms such as Interpub and Lintas, India.
While continuing to work in advertising, Madhukar led Atomic Forest, one of India’s premier Rock and Roll bands, as their male vocalist in 1972, alongside Neel Chattodpadyaya on lead guitar, Keith Kanga on bass guitar, and Valentine Lobo on drums.
Atomic Forest appeared at The Sneha Yatra Festival, also known as ‘The Indian Woodstock’) and were regulars at prominent Mumbai clubs and discos such as Slip Disc,[8] Blow Up at The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, and Hell at Hotel Hilltop.

Says Madhukar
“I joined the original Atomic Forest in 1971. I did attempt to put a few bands before that. “Burning Ice” was one of them. One gig with “Burning Ice” was hilarious, looking back. We were picked by J.S. magazine (Junior Statesman) to perform at their promotional event. Our part was to sit in the back of an open pick-up truck and sing all the way from Nariman Point to Juhu beach. There were no amps or mikes, just acoustic guitars. Man! And I sang like people were listening to me all along the busy roads of Bombay city. Eventually, we reached Juhu beach and were welcomed by the producer at a thatched-roof shack; the fireplace was dying out, and there were no throngs of fans like we were promised, for which he apologized. These initial efforts to hold bands together were unsuccessful because we had no way of sustaining ourselves. He had to get jobs to survive, which were very low-paying too.“

Following his departure from Atomic Forest, he began performing solo as a spot singer at 5-star hotels in India, as well as overseas at Oberoi Lanka and then hotels in South East Asia en route to the United States. Madhukar performed in front of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Mumbai. He also sang jingles for commercials, including one for Close-Up toothpaste, which was shown in all Indian movie theaters for eight years.

Remember this ad?

Rockers from India that became superstars
Some of the other rockers at the time became well-known and successful. Farrokh Bulsara, a Panchgani schoolboy who formed The Hectics with his classmates, was the most successful. Later, he would be known as Freddie Mercury, and his voice would be regarded as one of the greatest in rock and roll.

There was Biddu (Appaiah), a Bangalore native who founded the band Trojans and eventually made his way to London. He established himself as a notable songwriter and producer when his composition Kung Fu Fighting was performed by Jamaican singer Carl Douglas and became one of the best-selling singles of all time in 1974. Regrettably, he is better known as an Indipop producer for his song Aap Jaisa Koi Mere.

Then there was Ramesh Shotham, drummer of the 1971 band Human Bondage, who went on to learn the thavil, a Tamil Nadu temple music drum, and become a sought-after World Music percussionist.

Those were the days, my friend!

Cited Sources

Elis R. Dungan, the man who introduced MGR to Tamil films

Birth
Elis R. Dungan, or Dungan Ayya, as he was popularly known, was born on May 11, 1909, in Barton, Ohio, U.S.

In the early 1930s, foreigners were addressed as ‘master’ while Dungan was called Dungan Ayya, a more endearing term than ‘master.’ His first forays into photography came about when he bought a box camera to take pictures for his school yearbook. That was his first brush with photography.

Early days
Later, after having saved up enough money working in a gas station, Dungan traveled to Spain and bicycled through most of Spain. He later ended up in Paris, France, where he got a job in the American Library. Duncan’s interest in photography grew during his two years at the Library, and he began doing exhibitions. The library director asked Duncan to take his photography seriously and said he would sponsor him for a university course. That’s how Duncan returned to America. He enrolled at the University of Southern California in cinematography.

Serendipitous meeting
There he met with M. L. Tandon, serendipitously, the son of a wealthy film producer who invited him to visit India. Tandon wanted Dungan to direct Indian movies and raise them to the level of the existing Hollywood productions for viewers in India and the world. It was to be a six-month trial run. Manik Lal Tandon directed the 1935 Tamil film Bhakta Nandanar (transl. Devotee Nandanar) with K. B. Sundarambal, a Carnatic singer and stage artist, and made his film debut. 

This was also Ellis R. Dungan’s first film. There is no known print of the film, making it a lost film.

In a later interview, Duncan remarked that the six-month stint ended as a fifteen-year journey with the Indian movie industry.

Indian cinema in the 1930s
In the 1930s, the Indian film industry was at a nascent stage. Drama troupes were made to stage their plays in a studio. Nothing had to be done. The actors knew their dialogues, and everyone knew their part. A static camera was placed, and the stage was adequately lit up. This meant boring long shots, and most films had a theatrical feel with the actors exaggerating their emotions and delivering their dialogs at the top of their voices.

Changes to Indian Cinema
Dungan changed all that. He said that he had a tough time sobering down the actors of those days and getting them to deliver the dialogs in a normal tone. Most actors in those days were chosen more for their singing talent than their acting prowess.

Dungan struggled to get the actors to emote naturally during the close-up shots.

Dungan was also credited with using mid-range and close-up shots of the scene instead of a long static shot. He introduced a lot of Hollywood technics in his Tamil films, despite technical limitations at that time.

Around the same time, Himanshu Roy’s Bombay Talkies had hired a German crew led by Franz Osteen. Franz worked from 1935 until 1939 and directed the film Achuth Kanya, which starred Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar and was a super hit.

Ellis R. Dungan popularized contemporary makeup, the moving camera, and cabaret dance numbers for Tamil Cinema and moved Tamil cinema away from stage plays’ influence. Dungan, who trained in Hollywood, introduced some crucial techniques to the industry at its infancy in each department, which would have a unique place in its history.

Dungan also introduced the track and trolley to Indian cinema. In fact for a long time, it was called the Dungan track-and-trolley!

Popular films of Ellis Dungan
Dungan mainly worked on religious and historical films during the earliest days of Tamil filmmaking; the movie is talked about because it has daring close-up scenes. It was with Iru Sagodarargal (1936) that Dungan emerged as the leading filmmaker of the newly developing Tamil film industry. The film was shot in Bombay in the Saroj Filmtone studio. It was pivotal to establish a more polished film language for Tamil films, mainly merely photographed dramas and little else. Iru Sagodarargal (1936) is one of Dungan’s best-known films and one of his favorite. In a language and culture that he knew nothing about and was unfamiliar with Tamil. He hired translators, known as rush directors, who were fluent in English and Tamil.

Although born as an Irish American, Dungan made highly appreciated devotional and historical films like;

  1. Sathileelavathi (1936),
  2. Iru Sahotharargal (1936),
  3. Ambikapathi (1937),
  4. Sakunthalai (1940),
  5. Meera (1945),
  6. Ponmudi (1950) and
  7. Manthirikumari (1950)

The film Ambikapthi, starring the then superstar, M.K. Thiagaraja Bhagavathar, had the famous kissing scene with M.R. Santhalakshmi. It is said many returned to see the kissing scene repeatedly! Many at that time felt that M.K.T. did not know how to act. However, the same film was remade in 1957 with Shivaji Ganesan, one of India’s finest, in the lead. Many felt the earlier Ambikapathi was much better. Dungan’s Ambikapathy was filmed based on a Romeo and Juliet style, including the balcony scene, which resembled a Hollywood production.

Meera, starring M. S. Subbalakshmi Meera is a 1945 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film directed by Ellis R. Dungan and written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. 

The film, based on the life of the 16th century mystic and poet Mirabai, stars M. S. Subbulakshmi as the title character, a zealous devotee of Krishna who considers him to be her husband. 

Despite marrying Rana (Chittoor Nagaiah), she lives her own life, which her husband and family find unacceptable. 

Sadasivam wanted to make a film that would make his singer wife Subbulakshmi’s music accessible to the general public, so he began looking for a good story; Subbulakshmi chose Meera’s story. 

To maintain credibility and historical accuracy, the film was primarily shot on location in North India, including Jaipur, Vrindavan, Udaipur, Chittor, and Dwarka, at Newtone Studio in Madras. 

Meera was released on November 3, 1945, Diwali day, and quickly became a critical and commercial success. 

This prompted the production of a Hindi-dubbed version, with a few scenes reshot, which was released two years later on November 21, and was also a success. 

Despite the fact that the Hindi version made Subbulakshmi a national celebrity, it was her final film as an actress, after which she decided to concentrate solely on her musical career.

Introduction of M.G. Ramachandran
Ellis Roderick Dungan made his directorial debut with Sathi Lilavathi, the first film of the future Tamil Nadu chief minister, M.G. Ramachandran. Dungan had no Indian language skills, an issue that never affected his career as a filmmaker in Indian languages, mainly Tamil.

Dungan directed some renowned Tamil movie actors in his director role, including M. G. Ramachandran in Sathi Lilavathi, T. S. Balaiya, Kali N. Ratnam, and N. S. Krishnan. He was acknowledged for introducing various new techniques in Indian cinema.

Role in the Second World War
During the Second World War, the American Cinematographer made A Short-Return Soldier (1945), a Tamil movie starring T. S. Balaiah, to support the war effort.

From 1941-1945, the United States entered the Second World War. Dungan served as an official photographer for the Madras Government and made wartime newsreels, propaganda films, and a handful of documentaries for The Indian News Parade.

He also filmed the final journey of Mahatma Gandhi.

Return to the USA
Ellis R Dungan returned to the States. Before his final Tamil film, Manthiri Kumari was completed. His wife, Elaine Dungan, who was not an Indophile, didn’t share his passion for making movies and wanted to return to America. So, she gave him an ultimatum, which I am guessing went something like this: either me or the film. So, like any good husband, he dropped his project and returned to the States. T R Sundaram, the studio owner, completed the film. Thus, his last film in Tamil was Manthiri Kumari in 1950. Karunanidhi was the scriptwriter for this film, and much alliteration and social ideology were heavily promoted in the film’s dialogues.

Interestingly, Karunanidhi wanted M.G.R. to be the lead. Still, Dungan felt M.G.R. was not photogenic enough for the role because M.G.R had a cleft in his chin. Ultimately a compromise was reached, and in Mandiri Kumari, M.G.R is seen sporting a small goatee to hide the notch in his chin!

Projects in America
In America, he formed Ellis Dungan Productions, which made documentaries, industrial films, and similar films for almost two decades, starting in 1963.

An American in Madras, a documentary film by U. S. based filmmaker Karan Bali, examines Ellis R. Dungan’s contributions to the art of cinematography and his later years as a director of documentary films. The hour-long documentary on Dungan was made in 2013 using information from West Virginia state archives and interviews with people who knew Dungan.

Ellis R. Dungan, the man credited for launching M.G. Ramachandran into Tamil filmmaking with his 1936 movie Sathi Lilavati, passed away in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1958. He was paid Rs 100 to make his movie Sathi Lilavati.

“Of all the Tamil stage-movie films that I directed in India, my Meera is considered my best film by my peers and the critics in the field,” said Dungan.

I am inclined to agree.

M.K. Thiagaraja Bhagavathar – the first Tamil film superstar

M.K.T.

MKT’s birth

Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiagaraja was born on March 1, 1910, to Krishnamurthi Achari and Manikatthammal. His place of birth was close to Mayiladuthurai Town in Mayavaram, Tamil Nadu. The family occupation was making gold ornaments; the Visvabrahmin goldsmiths.

Krishnaswamy Thiagaraja later became a famous South Indian actor in Tamil films. He adopted the stage name Thiagaraja Bhagavathar, also known as M.K.T. He also worked as a producer and Carnatic music singer. M.K.Thiagaraja Bhagavathar is also widely considered the first Tamil cinema superstar.

The first superstar of Tamil films

Critics and movie historians have acknowledged Bhagavathar as the first Tamil cinema superstar. Together with Chinnappa, another famous actor, set the double-star culture that still rules the Tamil industry. MKT achieved demigod status in Tamil Nadu. From 1934 to 1959, Bhagavathar appeared in 14 films, 6 of which were box-office hits. 

Between 1934 and 1944, Bhagavathar made nine films, all hits. The movies were Pavalakodi, Sarangadara (1935), Sathyaseelan (1936), Chintamani, and Ambikapathi , Thiruneelakantar, Ashok Kumar (1941), Sivakavi (1942) and Haridas.

In 1937, Bhagavathar was cast as Bilvamangal in the Chintamani, directed by Y. V. Rao. The film was the second consecutive success for Bhagavathar in 1937, breaking records established by Chintamani. Bhagavathar’s next film was his production, Sathyaseelan (1938), which performed laudably. Bhagavathar’s second movie, Naveena Sarangadhara (1936), was directed by the film’s director again, K. Subramaniam, and was based on the play Sarangadhara.

In 1937, Bhagavathar was offered the lead role in Ambikapathy, made by American film director Ellis R. Dungan. The master filmmaker, K Subramaniam, saw a Hindu mythological drama. The play was Pavalakkodi (Coral vine), where Bhagavathar played the role of Arjuna. Thoroughly impressed by the performance, the genius moviemaker planned a movie in which Bhagavathar would star. Thoroughly impressed with the performance, businessman Lakshmana Chettiar decided to produce a film based on the same story, with Bhagavathar playing the lead role.

One of the immortal melodies of Tamil Cinema, which is classical Carnatic based, Elam inba mayam, was sung by M.L. Vasanthakumari-P. Leela as a duet, in Manamagal (1951), produced and directed by the iconic personality and comedic supremo, N. S. Krishnan.

Haridas – the film that held a record

Madurai-based distributor Royal Talkies released the movie Haridas starring the first Tamil film superstar, M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, in Tamil Cinema. The movie was released on October 16, Diwali day, 1944. Haridas created the record for the longest consecutive run in a single theater in Broadway theatres for 784 days. This record was, however, broken by Chandramukhi (2005), starring another very popular actor Rajanikanth.

M.K.T. was very popular, but his fame ended when he was arrested in 1944 for murdering Lakshmikanthan. 

First signs of trouble with the press

C. N. Lakshmikanthan was a well-known Madras Presidency film journalist. His foray into journalism began in 1943 when he launched Cinema Thoothu. This film weekly magazine was highly successful due to the extensive gossip columns. Many actors and actresses responded by shelling out big bucks to “buy” his silence. As a result, Lakshmikanthan established a prosperous career. 

Lakshmikanthan attempted to run the magazine with forged documents but was forced to close shop after a few months. Things came to a halt when film actors M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and N. S. Krishnan, as well as film director Sreeramulu Naidu, submitted a memorandum to Madras Governor Arthur Oswald James Hope, requesting that the magazine’s license be revoked. Governer Hope complied, and the magazine’s license was revoked.

Unfazed, Lakshmikanthan launched a new magazine, Hindu Nesan, in which he continued his scandalous stories about Bhagavathar, Krishnan, and a few other top actors, actresses, and film people of the time. The strategy paid off handsomely, and Lakshmikanthan purchased his printing press.

Life after jail time

Although M.K.T. went on to appear in Tamil films upon release from jail, none of them did very well. Before he was arrested, he had signed on to do another 12 films but lost interest, and the few films he did post-release were unsuccessful. In 1934, the film Pavalakkodi was made by Krishnasamy, Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, which began as a successful stage play performed by an ensemble that toured Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore, where the play was staged hundreds of times.

He is considered one of the most successful Tamil movie actors ever.

The entry of the atheist movement in the industry

It is believed that M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar’s absence from the film industry allowed Dravidian atheist movements to enter and make their mark on the Tamil film industry.

His end

On November 1, 1959, the superstar M.K.T. died in Madras. 

His mortal remains were brought to his Tiruchi home and buried at the Sangliyandapuram community cemetery.

Cited Sources

Chris Perry – arranger and the re-inventor of Konkani pop

Chris Perry – image courtesy Alchetron

Chris Perry was born in Borda in 1928 as Kristovam Pereira, the second of eight children born to Agostinho and Espiciosa Pereira.

Goa, the smallest Indian state, located on the Arabian Sea in southwestern India and was a Portuguese territory from 1510 until 1961. While Konkani is the official language, most Goans were taught in Portuguese before 1961. Many Goans are Catholic, speak Portuguese, and hold Portuguese family names. Goa was India’s most Westernized region during Portuguese colonization and 19th-century inflows of British and other Westerners. It is a home of Western music, with Goa being the home to most Indian jazz musicians.

Perry was raised in a musical family and began performing on the tiatr (musical theatre) stage at a young age, playing the role of Bab Pinto. He began to produce his own Tiatr plays and is known for the plays Noxibantlo Nhovro, Padricho Lob, and Vid Mog Kornaranchem in the region.

He became an accomplished musician, especially in the trumpet and the saxophone. He was known for perfect timbre (absolute pitch) and his ability to change between the trumpet and the saxophone mid-song. He was also a prolific singer-songwriter, having written several hits during his era.

Perry infused jazziness in the traditionally Goan music while Anthony Gonsalves, another arranger and violinist, helped introduce Western sounds to Bollywood.

Chris started working in the Bombay movie industry as a violinist during the 1940s, becoming one of Bombay films’ most important arrangers of music. He performed in many Hindi films, notably Kabhi Kabhi and Trishul.

One of the more recognized acts from the 1970s scene was trumpeter Chris Perry and singer Lorna Cordeiro, the resident artists at the Venice club in Central Bombay. Chic Chocolat, the trumpeter, became a fixture in downtown Bombays Taj Mahal hotel, (click on link to listen) working with Chris Perry, the genius who had re-invented Konkani popular music. (click to listen) If you read my article on Chic Chocolate, that is the same Chris Perry I am referring to. Perry moved between Bombay and Kolkata (now Kolkata) in the late 50s and had his own band, The Chris Perry Band.

Chic Chocolate – Taj Mahal Foxtrot

Perry had to engage in an accepted practice of finding gigs, even after making a name for himself. Goan musicians met at Alfreds, a Kolkata restaurant, every morning. Perry, Tony Cyril, Dennis Vazo, Johnny Rodriges, Johnny Baptista, and Mike Machado had tables. Anyone planning a nighttime event would “book” musicians, for example, “one trumpet, and one piano”. . Each musician was paid Rs. 15, and Rs.18 if he wore white jackets and black trousers.

Bombay was a very cosmopolitan city by the late fifties, and people came from around the world. Everything was becoming Westernized, with Western influences flooding, especially fashion and music. The best restaurants served Western food and had dance floors featuring Jazz bands. La Bella, located in the Bombays Fort area, was at the top of the list of such restaurants.

Image courtesy: Alchetron

Everybody was there, and every night was packed. Reporters kept away from the doors as alcohol was still tightly banned and obviously nobody wanted the goings-on to be reported in the Press. However, Chris Perry was known to get his feet into Bombay’s doors at La Bella, and since Goa was still under Portuguese rules, he had to get a special visa to perform there. Perry and his band were a regular act in the 1960s at the Venetian, the elaborate disco in Astoria hotel in Bombay. The Astoria was located on Churchgate Street, the city’s musical and entertainment district and Venice were known as the “jazz man’s jazz club,” drawing musicians from across India. In 1958, Dave Brubeck performed there, as did Duke Ellington in 1963.

Perry was considered to be brilliant, a perfectionist, and was obsessed about his musicality. His drummer, Diogo DeSouza, said, “Anyone who joined his band ended up honing their craft The group began touring, stopping in Delhi, Mussoorie, Shimla, and Ooty before settling in Bombay..”

He would carefully write out the arrangement for each player, expecting them to play exactly as he had written. Even if one note was misplayed on any instrument, he could detect it from afar. According to DeSousa, Perry once gave a black eye to one of the band members for not playing a note correctly. Since this happened on the performance day, he brought the musician an ice pack and gave the rest of the band dark glasses. This became a trend setter and since then, the band always wore dark glasses for night performances!

Perry saw 16-year-old singer Lorna Cordeiro performing “Underneath the Mango Tree” at the Bandra fair, Bombay, in 1960. Cordeiro, also from Goa, was brought to Bombay by musician Raymond Albuquerque after winning the Connie Francis Sound-Alike Contest while she was still at school. He offered her a place in his band, as she was outstanding and had received an excellent reaction from the crowd. She agreed, and Perry became her mentor.

Perry worked with her for six months before introducing her to audiences, teaching her to dress, move onstage, and use the mic. She made her debut at The Lido at Calcuttas elegant Firpos restaurant, singing an arrangement of Ella Fitzgerald’s “Cry Me a River.” Cordeiro was signed by His Master’s Voice company (HMV), which initially refused to let him record in Konkani. Perry fought on her behalf, and HMV relented. Cardeiros’s career took off following the album’s release. She became known as just Lorna and became a household name across India.

Perry’s songs were memorable, thumping, romantic, and blended Goan folk and jazz elements. These songs were immediate hits, getting lots of airplay thanks to their romances. Audiences were drawn to Lorna and the apparent chemistry between her and Perry.

Nachom-ia Kumpasar ( Let’s Dance to the Rhythm), a musical strung together with 20 of her songs composed by her music mentor, Chris Perry, in the Sixties and Seventies show cases their relationship both musically and socially.

Despite Perry being a Catholic man married with three children and the difference in their age, the two began an extremely public, non-marital affair. Offstage, Perry was jealous of Lorna and would hit any man that spoke to her. Their dalliance ended in 1973, with Perry returning to his wife and family.

The rumor was that he forced Cordeiro to sign a contract that she could not perform on stage with any other band. Perry was said to have used physical force to enforce that contract. However, Chris Perry’s son, Glenn Perry, challenged this. Perry claims in his lawsuit that Lorna and Monserrate worked together to bring up several allegations against his late father, including that Chris Perry had made a 20-year deal prohibiting Lorna from singing.

“Lorna was simply the singer that sang Chris Perry’s songs. She did not compose, write lyrics, or perform the music. She was an absolute newcomer to the musical world. Chris Perry molded her to become a great singer through teaching and mentoring her, just as a flower would blossom from a bud.

Glenn claimed her father had chronic Parkinson’s and was not able to speak out during the years leading up to his 2002 death. Glenn said: “I am 100% committed to telling the truth. To fight against that stigma, I am going to do what is necessary to reclaim the good name of my dad,” said Glenn Perry, adding that he has confidence in the legal system and that the truth will eventually prevail.

Despite being a megastar, Cordeiro was forced out of the music business. She never married and became a recluse and an alcoholic. She made a successful comeback in 1995.

A street in Margao was named after legendary singer Chris Perry at Goa’s Heritage Festival as a gesture of respect for his contributions to Konkani music and the film industry. Perry supported other musicians’ careers, with her songs being covered by Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Usha Uthup, Adolph Fernandes, Seby Fernandes, Hema Sardesai, Lulu Fortes, K. Alvares, Ophelia, Mohana, M. Boyer, and H. Britton.

Chris Perry died on 25 January 2002, following complications of Parkinson’s disease.

M. S. Subbalakshmi – the nightingale

BIRTH

Born on September 16, 1916, in Madurai to Subramania Iyer and Shanmukhavadivu, Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi, her brother Saktivel, and her sister Vadivambal grew up surrounded by classical music. Her grandmother Akkammal was a violinist, and her mother was a veena artist. M.S., as she became known, was introduced to music at a young age, learning her first lessons from her mother. She made her stage debut when she was only 13 years old.

RELOCATION

She was already a well-known Carnatic vocalist when she relocated to Chennai in 1936. Then, she met T. Sadasivam, a senior executive at Ananda Vikatan, a Tamil weekly. They married in 1940. During her more than 50-year career, M.S. received numerous awards. In 1998, she was awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna.

AWARDS

M.S. was the first woman musician to be awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi title by the Music Academy in Chennai in 1968. She returned to music after a brief stint in film. M.S. also received the Padma Bhushan (1954), Padma Vibhushan (1975), Kaalidas Samman (1988), and Ramon Magsaysay Award (1974). She performed at the inaugural India Festival in London in 1982 and in Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, and Malaysia. She introduced Carnatic music to the West at the Edinburgh Festival in 1963 and the United Nations in 1964. (1966). Many universities awarded her the Doctor of Letters degree, including Sri Venkateswara University (1971), Delhi University (1973), Benaras Hindu University (1980), and the University of Madras (1987). The Viswa-Bharati University, Santiniketan, bestowed her with the Desihothama (doctoral degree).

CHARITY

MS donated the proceeds from his recordings and concerts to various charities. M.S. raised crores of rupees for charity through her shows, with the help of her husband. In 1944, the first charity concert was held for the Kasturba Memorial Fund. The other beneficiaries were

  • The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams
  • The Ramakrishna Math
  • The Nanak Foundation
  • The Subramanya Bharati memorial at Ettayapuram
  • The Hindu Temple in Flushing, New York
  • Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
  • The Kamakshi temple in Kancheepuram
  • Sankara Nethralaya 
  • Cancer Institute
  • Voluntary Health Services
  • The Music Academy

FILM CAREER

Subbulakshmi appeared in four films directed by Ellis Dungan: Sevasadanam, Sakuntalai, Savithri (1941), and Meera (1945), two of which were successful. Sevasadanam, directed by C. Subramaniam and based on Premchand’s novel Bazar-e-Husn, was released in 1938. Meera, which first appeared in Tamil cinema in 1945, established Subbulakshmi as a national icon.

Following the film’s success, Indian classical singer MS Subbulakshmi left the industry to pursue live music full-time.

Images courtesy: IMDB

DEVOTIONAL MUSIC

Subbulakshmi dedicated herself completely to her chosen field, film or music, and her progress was meteoric. Movies did not interest her but her husband persuaded her to do some, keeping the concrete financial objectives, ensuring idealistic, saccharine themes, and emphasizing music. Subbulakshmi had reigned supreme for nearly ten years and five films.

She has sung bhajans in ten languages, each setting high standards for diction, purity and emotional content. Many leaders and political giants of the time, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Rajaji, praised her vocal abilities. M.S. was a devout follower of Kanchi Paramacharya. The Paramacharya wrote the benediction “Maitreem Bhajata,” which M.S. sang at the end of her concerts at the United Nations and Carnegie Hall. She recorded Venkatesa Suprabhatam for HMV, and the royalties go to the Tirupati Tirumala.

Devasthanam’s Veda Patasala (school).  Another of her recordings was Bhaja Govindam, a hymn by Adi Shankaracharya and Vishnu Sahasranamam, which contains 1000 names of Vishnu. I grew up listening to this particular vinyl since my parents would play this record every day, early morning!

THE END

ACCORDING TO HOSPITAL AND FAMILY SOURCES, M S Subbulakshmi died in Chennai on Saturday night, December 11, 2004, due to complications. She was 88 years old.

Sadasivam, her husband, died in 1997.

Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves – musician, arranger; unparalleled.

When composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal and lyricist Anand Bakshi sat down to work on the music for the film Amar Akbar Anthony, the original lyric was ‘My name is Anthony Fernandes”. After much humming and hawing, they concluded that ‘My name is Anthony Fernandes’ did not sound appealing and wasn’t rolling off the tongue well. Pyarelal suggested naming the character Anthony Gonsalves. It was his way of honoring his violin teacher, Anthony Gonsalves.

Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves was born in the picturesque coastal village of Majorda in south Goa in 1927. Jose Antonio Gonsalves, his father, was a choirmaster at Majorda’s Me de Deus church. 

Anthony studied Indian Classical Music and developed techniques for writing Indian Classical Music pieces in staff notation and harmonizing them with western music pieces. He could compose music and integrate it into a complete score for a song in western staff notation. This was the most challenging job those days since most music directors of the Hindi film industry were not familiar with Western staff notation. Pyarelal Sharma, of the Laxmikant Pyarelal duo, who is widely regarded as one of the best composers in the country, still speaks of him in awe. In 1958, Gonsalves founded the Symphony Orchestra of India, blending Indian and Western music, featuring playback singers Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey as soloists. Lakshmikant and Pyarelal, who were on top of the game as composers in the Bombay film industry, played in the symphony as instrumentalists.  Such was the respect the duo had for Anthony Gonsalves. 

Every Sunday, his apartment at Sushila Sadan on Bandra’s Linking Road was open to eager students, two of whom – R.D. Burman and Pyarelal – would go on to become significant composers themselves. Unlike many of his Goan contemporaries, whose western-trained ears couldn’t quite wrap themselves around the sinuous lines of Hindustani tunes (though they could play them well enough from a score), Gonsalves developed a deep love for raga-based music.

He also collaborated with Anil Bishwas, Gulam Haidar, Shyam Sundar, Naushad, Sachin Dev Burman, Ghulam Mohammed, Salil Chowdhary, and Madan Mohan, among others. 

Anthony’s psyche was harmed by an incident in 1959, from which he never fully recovered. B.V. Keskar, the then-Minister of Information and Broadcasting, refused to let Anthony compose a score for an animation film because Keskar held the barbaric view that “Indian Christians should not even be provided with jobs.” This was the same person who prohibited harmonium use on All India Radio. 

Anthony moved to Syracuse, New York, in 1965 to join the university’s music department. He became a member of the American Society of Composers, Publishers, and Authors after moving to the United States in 1958. There, his son Kiran and daughter Laxmi were born. He returned to India in the early 1970s and settled in his ancestral village of Majorda. He never worked in the music industry again. All the symphonies and orchestral scores he wrote and conducted during his career are housed in a rusted trunk. Symphony in Raga Multani, for example, is a testament to his lifelong love of Indian Classical Music. He still hopes that they will be revived and replayed someday.

At the 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji, Gonsalves received the Karmaveer Puraskar, a national people’s award, at 83. 

Anthony Gonsalves died on January 18, 2012, at 84, in Goa. 

Arrangements:

Hum Aap ki ankhon mein -Pyaasa

Baithi Hoon Teri Yaad Ka – Village Girl’ 45 – Shyam Sundar  |  Dil Jalta Hai to Jalne De – Pahli Nazar’ 45 – Anil Biswas  |  Zamaane Ka Dastoor Hai Yeh – Lajwaab’ 50 – Anil Biswas  |  Chhalak Raha Hai – Dholak’ 51 – Shyam Sundar  |  Seene Mein Sulagte Hain Armaan – Taraana’ 51 – Anil Biswas  |  Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni Phir Kahaan – Jaal’ 52 – SD Burman  |  ‘All Songs’ – Do Beegha Zameen’ 53 – Salil Chowdhary  |  Hum Aapki Aankhon Mein – Pyasa’ 57 – Sd Burman