 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
There is a story of a pregnant zamindarini Saraswathi
Devi, who went to Bangalore Nagarathnamma’s house in Madras, and begged
to be blessed that her next child should be a son as she already had two
daughters. In those days women of royalty never visited devadasi houses
no matter how respected they were. Nagarathnamma visited the
zamindarini’s house and blessed her giving her a lemon saying that she
would have a son. She did. And that lemon still exists in that lady’s
small silver puja box, much shrivelled after 80 years but still
recognisable. I know. I am that son. (‘Why not a biopic on Nagarathnamma?’ by V.A.K. Ranga Rao, The Hindu, Music & Dance, Nov 30, 2018) |
|
At a concert by Alamelu Jayarama Iyer, the first woman to run a Sabha,
there was a cry for Hindustani pieces towards the end. The singer gently
admonished the crowd and said that just because some of the end pieces
of a performance were set in ragas of North Indian origin, it would be
wrong to label them as Hindustani. That name applied to a great art she
said, one that was as ancient and evolved as Carnatic music. The
audience appreciated her remarks. (‘Music Season: It was like this only’ by V. Sriram, The Hindu, Music & Dance, Nov 30, 2018) |
 |