Nurturing Carnatic music in the calm environs of Nidle village near Dharmasthala Premium

In his late 70s and standing under the chappara (pandal), surrounded by lush greenery, Udupi Gopalakrishna, a music teacher, is teaching students the nuances of singing.

In his late 70s and standing under the chappara (pandal), surrounded by lush greenery, Udupi Gopalakrishna, a music teacher, is teaching students the nuances of singing.

The class was part of the 24th annual edition of Karunbithil Shibira (Karunbithil camp), a residential workshops on Carnatic music and concerts, at the ancestral house of internationally acclaimed senior violinist Vidwan Vittal Ramamurthy in the calm Nidle village, near Dharmasthala, held for five-days recently (from May 15 to May 19, 2024).

This residential, free music camp, which has been attracting people from far and wide for over two decades, is all set to enter its sliver jubilee next year (2025).

Some of the well-known resource persons who have guided the students in the camp over the years include Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, M. Balamuralikrishna, Umayalapuram K. Shivaraman, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, M. Chandrashekhar, V.V. Subramaniam, Bombay Jayashree, T.M. Krishna, Nevyveli Santhanagopalan, Unnikrishnan and Abhishek Raghuram.

The picturesque house is surrounded by arecanut with cocoa plantations on both sides, rubber plantation on one side and a green hillock on another side. Music is pervasive in this house that the family inherited long ago.

Karunbithil is the name of the place where the house is located in the village. The word ‘Karumbu’ in Tulu language, which Mr. Ramamurthy’s family members speak, means sugarcane and ‘Bithil’ means backyard. It was the house in whose backyard a lot of sugarcane was grown in the past.

The senior most member of the family is Krishnaveni Amma, mother of Ramamurthy, who is 78 now. “Initially my father, violinist B.V. Subba Rao taught me music. I came from Coimbatore to Nidle at the age of 16 after my marriage in 1961. I continued to learn music from Udupi Gopalakrishna in Nidle. He used to come from Kanchana (near Uppinangady) and stay for a week or so teaching music,” she told The Hindu.