Remembering the evergreen voice of Madurai Somu
Feb 27, 2020, 04.07 AM IST
Chennai: He was one of the rare Carnatic vocalists who was a musician of the masses. So it comes as no surprise that Madurai S Somasundaram’s birth centenary celebrations are continuing for more than a year, with Sangita Kalanidhi Madurai Seshagopalan paying tributes to the master at Ragasudha Hall in Mylapore this weekend.
But if his parents had their way, rasikas may not have had the pleasure of knowing his mesmerizing voice. Somu, as he was popularly known, was the tenth child, who was initiated into music as a ‘shruti-petti’ accompanist. As a child he showed keen interest in vocal music, but those at home didn’t seem to approve. Belonging to the family of nagaswaram vidwan Srinivasa Pillai, he was expected to take up this instrument. But the headstrong boy, captivated by singing, joined the theatre group "Boys Company" on his own.
Bowing to his preference, his parents took him to veteran vocalists Abhirami Sasthriar and Sesham Bhagavathar. Later in 1930, he began taking lessons from Chitoor Subramaniam Pillai in the gurukulam style for 14 years, at the end of which he debuted on the stage at a concert in Tiruchendur in 1945.
A faithful to the grammar prescribed by music pundits, he never allowed this to imprison his creativity. One could equate the popularity of Somu with that of Madurai Mani Iyer. Somu’s music, his abilities in all domains of Carnatic music — the ‘alapana’, rendering of the ‘kriti’ and ‘swaraprastharam’ — was engrossing. He would explore known ragas to unknown depths.
His concert-framework had special time for Ragam Tanam Pallavi. His pallavis used to be tough on the accompanists who used to dread these. He always demanded the full-bench when it came to supporting (pakka vadhyam) laya artists. The picture of Somu at the centre, as if on a pivot swirling around, encouraging these performers is etched in the memory of those who frequented his concerts. His concerts would follow the pattern of temple nagaswaram concerts, commencing in the evening and extending into the small hours of the day with unflinching vitality. He tried to mimic the nagaswaram and it is well-established that his raga phrases were imitative of the nagaswaram ‘bhani’ (pattern).
During his concerts there was the less heavy phase where he used to sing self-composed Tamil pieces as ‘ragamalika’(in a string of ragas). His evergreen songs are "Enna Kavi Padinalum", "Ullak Kovilil" and "Madumeikkum Kanna". Listeners would not let him go without singing these. After he had made his conspicuous entry into cinema with ‘Deivam’ as a playback singer, requests included the number "Maruthamalai Mamaniye", a song that made him popular instantly among the masses.
In spite of being a star, Somu was easily accessible, amiable and an endearing personality. And probably his goodness of heart also reflected in his voice too. People used to say his voice would improve qualitatively, get stimulated, mellow and attain sweetness as the concert progressed — an eternal experience of rasikas.
Feb 27, 2020, 04.07 AM IST
Chennai: He was one of the rare Carnatic vocalists who was a musician of the masses. So it comes as no surprise that Madurai S Somasundaram’s birth centenary celebrations are continuing for more than a year, with Sangita Kalanidhi Madurai Seshagopalan paying tributes to the master at Ragasudha Hall in Mylapore this weekend.
But if his parents had their way, rasikas may not have had the pleasure of knowing his mesmerizing voice. Somu, as he was popularly known, was the tenth child, who was initiated into music as a ‘shruti-petti’ accompanist. As a child he showed keen interest in vocal music, but those at home didn’t seem to approve. Belonging to the family of nagaswaram vidwan Srinivasa Pillai, he was expected to take up this instrument. But the headstrong boy, captivated by singing, joined the theatre group "Boys Company" on his own.
Bowing to his preference, his parents took him to veteran vocalists Abhirami Sasthriar and Sesham Bhagavathar. Later in 1930, he began taking lessons from Chitoor Subramaniam Pillai in the gurukulam style for 14 years, at the end of which he debuted on the stage at a concert in Tiruchendur in 1945.
A faithful to the grammar prescribed by music pundits, he never allowed this to imprison his creativity. One could equate the popularity of Somu with that of Madurai Mani Iyer. Somu’s music, his abilities in all domains of Carnatic music — the ‘alapana’, rendering of the ‘kriti’ and ‘swaraprastharam’ — was engrossing. He would explore known ragas to unknown depths.
His concert-framework had special time for Ragam Tanam Pallavi. His pallavis used to be tough on the accompanists who used to dread these. He always demanded the full-bench when it came to supporting (pakka vadhyam) laya artists. The picture of Somu at the centre, as if on a pivot swirling around, encouraging these performers is etched in the memory of those who frequented his concerts. His concerts would follow the pattern of temple nagaswaram concerts, commencing in the evening and extending into the small hours of the day with unflinching vitality. He tried to mimic the nagaswaram and it is well-established that his raga phrases were imitative of the nagaswaram ‘bhani’ (pattern).
During his concerts there was the less heavy phase where he used to sing self-composed Tamil pieces as ‘ragamalika’(in a string of ragas). His evergreen songs are "Enna Kavi Padinalum", "Ullak Kovilil" and "Madumeikkum Kanna". Listeners would not let him go without singing these. After he had made his conspicuous entry into cinema with ‘Deivam’ as a playback singer, requests included the number "Maruthamalai Mamaniye", a song that made him popular instantly among the masses.
In spite of being a star, Somu was easily accessible, amiable and an endearing personality. And probably his goodness of heart also reflected in his voice too. People used to say his voice would improve qualitatively, get stimulated, mellow and attain sweetness as the concert progressed — an eternal experience of rasikas.
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