G.S. Mani’s penchant for composing
The Hindu
Veteran vocalist Madurai G.S. Mani’s Sanskrit kritis have been compiled into a book by his disciple
Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar, the great composer of the early 20th century, was visibly pleased with the little boy who had just sung Mysore Sadashiva Rao’s ‘Evarunnaru nannu brova’ (in Balahamsa). Earlier, the seven-year-old had been introduced to him as a “boy who sings well”. Muthiah Bhagavatar held the boy’s hand and made him sit next to him on the oonjal in his house. Who knows, may be it was in that moment that a transmission of the art of composing took place, for the boy, Madurai Gopala Swamy Mani, would produce hundreds of compositions, in three languages, in the coming years. G.S. Mani clearly remembers that 1941 incident, including the minutiae of Muthiah Bhagavatar’s sartorial resplendence and heady perfume. “Muthiah Bhagavatar and my father were friends,” says Mani, as he reminisces about the milieu in which he spent his formative years.More Related News