I was charmed by the way the author has crafted the book in
three major segments like the three segments of a krithi; pallavi, anupallavi,
and charanam. In her “pallavi”, Indira talks about the bhakti movement of
medieval times, about Tanjavur becoming the seat of Carnatic music and then she
moves on to focus on the fundamental contribution to carnatic music made by the
eminent trinity, Thyagaraja swami, Muthuswami Dikshithar, and Shyama Shastri in
the 17th century. The author also touches on women’s contribution to
the Bhakti movement and how the trinity’s music format helped, even if only to
a small extent, in the emergence of women as carnatic musicians.
This segment is followed by anupallavi, the transition phase in the 19th century, where Indira describes how art and culture were nurtured by devadasis and how the anti nautch movement towards the end of 19th century decimated the devadasi culture and their sadir dance that they had developed and evolved, under the patronage of royalty and rich businessmen. She comments briefly, without delving on it, on how sadir came to be known by the name bharata natyam in later years and how it gained respectability.
Indira takes us through the lives of floundering,
poverty-stricken devadasis, who were forced to channel their energy into music,
if only to carve out a living. Some renowned proponents (like Gowri ammal),
made ends meet by teaching music and died in abject poverty. In some ways
though, carnatic music became an accidental beneficiary of these developments. Indira
describes the emergence of some brilliant female musicians, who were
marginalized and kept at bay by the social and gender hierarchy of those times.
Veena Dhanammal, for example, rose to such great heights that she was acknowledged
as an equal by her male peers. This segment also describes how the seat of
music moved from Tanjavur to Madras during late 19th century.
The last and the main
segment, like the charanam of a krithi, is the main focus of the book. It expounds
on the dramatic, yet graceful entry of daughters and granddaughters of the
early women doyens, into mainstream carnatic music. These women daringly
challenged their male cohorts, and the prevailing social system that prohibited
them from exploring manodharma (creative) aspects of music, like raga
aalapanai, kalpana swaram, neraval, pallavi etc., which were considered too
cerebral for women! These illustrious women galvanized a social transformation
that led to women performing as consummate musicians, on an (almost) equal
footing with male musicians. (I say “almost” since prejudices still continued
to exist. Famous accompanists, like Lalgudi Jayaraman, continued to balk at
playing for women singers, however great they may be.) Technological advances
like the microphone, radio and the gramophone were timely in propogating music
of these talented women to the masses. The burgeoning nationalistic spirit at
that time, Gandhiji’s call for equality of women, and the spirit of
pre-independence India, inspired these exceptional women to excel and flourish in
their field. Prominent among these are MS
amma, T. Brinda, MLVasanthakumari, and DKPattammal, who reigned the world of carnatic
music for over half a century. DK Pattammal, a Brahmin amongst these, overcame
social prejudices against women of higher caste singing in public, and set a
glowing example for other Brahmin women to follow.
All these exemplary women, while steeped in the rich
cultural heritage and traditions, gave a new direction and freshness to Carnatic
music, by developing their own banis. These women broke the shackles of the social
system that held them back, without protests, by their sheer music genius, and
became legends in the field and a force to reckon with. At the end of reading
this book, one is left with a sheer feeling of awe, with his/her head bowing with
utmost respect to these idols.
The author Indira Menon has done a great service by researching
the history of music and the struggle of female musicians, a less charted territory
in music literature. The information packed in less than 200 pages opens the
eyes of the reader as it provides a wonderful journey into the lives and times
of the past.
The only minor criticism I have is in the flow of the
content of the book, for Indira’s writing style seemed a little staccato. I was
also a bit distracted by occasional irrelevant duplication of facts across
chapters, which led me to believe that the editors did not edit the book in one
go. (I, myself, did not notice this in my first reading. It is only when I
decided to sit down and read the book at a stretch that I noticed it!)
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