'Music Should Take The Course Of A Flowing River'

It was soon after Hindustani maestro Pt M Venkatesh Kumar turned 69 in July 2022 that veteran filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli’s directorial won the National Film Award for the documentary ‘Naadada Navaneeta’. 

It captured the journey of this vocalist whose erudite khyals and devotional Kannada vachanas and dasarapadas have won the hearts of millions across the globe. 1 July this year is special as the master turns 70.

The documentary was adjudged the Best Arts and Culture Film in the non-feature film section. 

Produced by the Department of Information and Public Relations, Karnataka, the near 45-minutes film, for most part, traces the intense four-decade musical journey of the classical singer — defined artistically by Kasaravalli’s striking eye, characterising each phase of his life through a vachana — be it Akka Mahadevi or Allama Prabhu amongst others.

Panditji is a “people’s musician”

Although Pt Venkatesh Kumar is considered a rock-star in Hindustani renderings with a booming voice flowing through his towering musical persona, the humble artist is most approachable.

“This quality brings him that much closer in proximity to people’s affection and praise,” says Hindustani vocalist Iman Das, A-Grade artiste of AIR and Doordarshan, and founder of Omkar Music Academy in Bengaluru“.

Amongst his several renderings, his raag Komal Rishabh Asavari in my Omkar Music Fest or his Miyan ki Malhar meanderings have left me in complete awe and reverence.

His roaring taans, sheer energy and tenacity, perfect sur, masterful raagdaari and his own thoughtful stamps on each raag can prove a subject of research for students in the future generations. Whenever Panditji is appreciated all he says with his customary smile is “Guru Krupa”.

Cut to the film, and consider Kasaravalli’s  brilliance when he slips in Pt Kumar’s traditional music practice, and teaching sessions as a guru. Nuances of his methodical synthesis in raag Bihaag with students mirror the ‘maestro in him’ making any music aficionado thirsting for more!

What is more of a wonder is his love and affection for his disciples and other junior musicians which is exemplary, continues Iman Das, who considers Pt Kumar his Guru.

“Otherwise how can you explain this unpretentious maestro coming and sitting onstage and blessing me throughout my performance at the Panchakshari Gawai Ashram Festival in Gadag? The National Award to Kasaravalli’s film on such a realised musician is timely and well-deserved one for the septuagenarian,” he says.

Apart from the generous and ingenious ways of bringing out Venkatesh Kumar’s music, etched perfectly into the musical narrative of ‘Naadada Navaneeta,’ speakers as writer-director Girish Karnad and noted tabla artiste Ravindra Yavagal’s accounts on the maestro makes it a well-explored work on the accomplished musician.

Throughout the documentary, the tuneful tanpura tantalizes one into complete submission to melody; Venkatesh Kumar’s classical bandishes, dasa sahitya and vachanas are a treat all through the docu-feature.

We also learn how much Akashavani played a role in his life, apart from his associations with classical legends as Bhimsen Joshi and Hangubhai Hangal.

Traditional schooling

The Hindustani classical vocalist conscientiously mirrors his schooling at the Veereshwara Punyashrama in Gadag where he was trained by the visually-challenged Veerashaiva Saint and eminent Hindustani musician Puttaraj Gawai. 

“I was born in a village and took music lessons from Pt Puttaraja Gawai by staying at his Punyashram in Gadag. The documentary has brought out all the key elements of my vocation and progression exceedingly well. After all, Kasaravalli, the master, has steered the flow,” noted Pt Venkatesh Kumar.

The maestro has recorded multiple devotional and classical CD albums, received a postgraduate degree in music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, and served as professor of music at the University College of Music in Dharwad for 33 years until he retired in 2015.

“I have performed in multiple venues around the world, what I look forward to is response from audiences. If they want dasarapada I gladly give them, if they want thumris, I generously spread them out; if classical is what sangeet sammelans look at along with  gharana-based-gayaki I am most at home,” says Kumar who blends Gwalior and Kirana schools, and hugely admires Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana.

“Music should take the course of a flowing river, not stagnant water. One has to discover new paths of learning, and every concert is a different experience. These days most of my concerts too have become riyaz (practice) sessions,” he believes, adding that his passion to teach music also has lessons of varied kind.

From the world of devotional music

Venkatesh Kumar hails from a family steeped in fine arts. His agriculturist father Huleppa was a Janapada folk singer, theatre artist and leather puppeteer, while his mother Parvathamma was a true connoisseur. Young Kumar, one amongst the six siblings, wouldn’t miss a chance to observe his father perform. “I often insisted that I sing along with my father,” he says.

For the Panditji who hails from Laxmipura in the border Ballari district of Karnataka, he later made Dharwad his home.

Those were days when Raichur and Ballari districts were brimming with Harikathe, theatre and singing artistes. North Karnataka then had more of devotional musicians before they got into khyal.

Some legendary devotional saint-composers and musicians hailing from the region included Sripadaraya, Vyasatirtha, Vadirajatirtha, Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa.

Dharwad district too was known for singers like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur and Basavaraj Rajguru.

While Venkatesh Kumar dedicated himself to devotional music cutting several albums later on, his joie de vivre philosophy was in a sumptuous amalgam of khyal and devotional, just as he was trained in.

Panditji’s initial years of struggle….

 Considering the poor economic background the family was into, it was young Kumar’s focus and fortitude that later catapulted him to receive the highest of honors - becoming a top artiste of AIR since 1988 and his receiving the Padma Shri Award in 2016 — apart from Kalidas Samman and the State Rajyothsava Award.

Panditji was happy to rewind some of the factors that led him to the Gurukula. 

“My family members recognized the musical traces in me when I was a teenager. Since a private guru was astronomical for us, in 1966, in the month of Shravana, my maternal uncle, musician Belagallu Veeranna helped us meet Gawai saab which proved the defining factor. We were given a rebate and asked to deposit Rs 65 for a 12-year Gurukula in music! After many years I gradually realized that it’s the guru that sets one’s life on the rails,  just a blessing,” laughs Kumar. 

The rigorous in-house training at Gawai’s ashram may have been the path to his national recognition, but young Kumar had run away turning truant in many music classes, unable to come to terms with the strictures laid out for teenagers. 

“Thanks to Gawai saab, his inimitable ways to put the young ones into their comfort zones was magical. It can prove to be management lessons today. That’s the kind of samskara we grew up with in the ashram. Panchakshari Gawai and Puttaraj Gawai gave life to thousands of down-trodden, visually-challenged children by sheltering and educating them at the Punyashrama,” he says.       

Voice culture

And what are the secrets to the famous Venkatesh Kumar’s sonorous range’?

“In these contemporary times, they would call it voice culture, perhaps. But our guru’s ways were different with assorted lessons for riyaaz (practice). The time table that was prescribed for following raga renditions was according to time, for example, Todi or Lalath in the morning;  Sarang, Bhimplas or Patdeep for the afternoon, and Maarva, Purya dhanasri or Yaman in the evening, although one had to widen the raga-repertoire as we grew along”.   

Consider his ‘Ondu Baari Smarane Saalade’ the Devaranama that set a record for him for his range! Known for his coherent blending of key elements of the Kirana and Gwalior gharanas, the veteran’s uninhibited full-throated style is enriched by characteristics of the Patiala school, especially Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. 

“Our schooling was a rich platter that opened us to assorted styling and genres. Take our initiation lessons for example: Sarali-Jante-Alankara, and then Swara-geete & Lakshana-geete set in many ragas. After that, Chota Khyal and Bada Khyal in ragas, and then shastriya sangeet Vilambit.  In between there would be Vachana and Dasara pada lessons, all this taking nearly 5 to 6 years of schooling,” explains Pt Kumar.  

The Punyashrama Gurus — founder Panchakshari Gawai, and Puttaraj Gawai — apart from singing Hindustani and devotional, were proficient in Carnatic and Hindustani. 

Known for his deft harmonium play, Puttaraj Gawai had mastered the tabla, veena, sarangi and the seven-stringed-violin. 

Along with his founder-guru he had undertaken a prodigious documentation on multiple styles of thumri.

“We were taught thumri, tappa, gori, kajri amongst others. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, DV Paluskar amongst others, each had their own styles.  Bade Ghulam Ali Khan would know how to blend ragas into thumris that had inspired my melodic consciousness. I intentionally added this feature into my presentations, just as my sargam ornamentations bring up Carnatic touches and sweeps,” declares Venkatesh Kumar.