Mysore Manjunath and children to perform at SVN Rao centenary celebrations

Mysore Manjunath and children to perform at SVN Rao centenary celebrations

For someone as accomplished as violinist Mysore Manjunath who has bagged national and global awards and performed in 40 countries, his enthusiasm to perform at the SVN Rao Centenary event at the Sree Ramaseva Mandali Trust at Nettigere, is refreshing.

“It is an honour for my children Sumanth Manjunath, Malavi Manjunath and I to pay tribute to classical music promoter SVN Rao for whom music was life. We have a long association with the Mandali — my brother Nagaraj and I are grateful to SVN for his encouragement,” says Manjunath, who spoke while travelling to Mysore, after a concert at Dharwad.

“The violin has been the life and soul of our family and it is gratifying that the third generation is continuing this legacy,” says Manjunath with quiet pride, when asked how it felt to have his children join in the family tradition.

“My father, Mysore S Mahadevappa, while receiving the Sangeetha Kalarathna of Bangalore Gayana Samaja in 2013 had commented, ‘I don’t know how much I have done to receive this, but I am content that my students, most importantly my sons, Nagaraj and Manjunath, are taking my violin legacy forward. Can a guru or father ask for more?’ My father would have been thrilled that a third generation is continuing the tradition.”

Mahadevappa, recalls Manjunath, had cherished teaching Sumanth as a grandpa-guru. “His teaching of kritis, raga and neraval was far more affable when compared to the rod of discipline Nagaraj and I experienced. Later, I took over Sumanth’s education. Learning to play the violin to master the instrument, and conditioning a musician to be concert ready are two different dimensions of learning and presentation.”

“Today, I am happy that Sumanth, who has a Masters in music and is planning to a pursue a PhD in music, has had solo concerts at international festivals and has held workshops in more than 15 countries, including Oxford and Cambridge Universities, over the past few years. He is preparing for another Europe tour in April.”

Manjunath’s daughter Malavi, named after the traditional Carnatic raga, who is in class VIII, “wants to catch up with her brother.” As a child, Malavi began vocal training with her grandfather, and later had her father’s guidance in learning the violin. “Three months ago we had her ranga-pravesha on the violin at the Yadugiri Yathiraj Mutt in Malleswaram in Bengaluru. She has been playing solo and with Sumanth as well. During our practice sessions, the three of us concentrate on improvisation and creative renderings, as kritis have to be extended to see imaginative and inventive renderings to establish an identity,” says Manjunath.