O.S. Thiagarajan: Classicism was his hallmark Premium

A sishya’s tribute to O.S. Thiagarajan

When I started lessons with O.S. Thiagarajan (OST), I was a young child, completely unaware of (and uninterested in) his musical skills or pedigree. The first piece he taught was Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s ‘Maha Ganapate’ in Natanarayani - he was kind and patient. He would come by bus to our house in Besant Nagar directly from a full day’s work at Shalimar Paints, before heading back to Kodambakkam. He was peaking in his career then and extremely popular, receiving awards from The Music Academy and other sabhas constantly.

O.S. Thiagarajan made everything he sang seem a cakewalk that I was convinced the artform itself was an easy one! I remember one concert where he sang Narayana Teertha’s ‘Govinda Gataya’ in Bhairavi and ‘Sama gana priyakaram’, a Swami Surajananda piece in Keeravani. I requested him to teach me both the pieces.

Years later, I realised that he could have easily (and very rightfully) said that I was not ready for a more complex raga such as Bhairavi – I had barely learned some 10 kritis. He taught any piece I ever requested unhesitatingly including in Varali (his ‘Kaa Vaa Vaa’ made this raga a favourite of mine) which traditionally was not taught. It was only after moving to the U.S., during practice sessions with erudite aficionados, that I realised what an enviable corpus of pieces he had imparted – many were magnum opuses and/or in nuanced/rare ragams such as Yadukula Khamboji, Urmika, Madhyamaravali, and Kedaram. He never told me they were tricky ragas. Neither did he say that Keeravani and Gaurimanohari or Devagandhari and Arabhi or Purnachandrika and Janaranjani or Surati and Kedaragowlai were closely allied, though he taught me compositions in all these ragas. Instead, he taught it like any other piece and ensured that I sang each one correctly– the raga swaroopa was thus automatically maintained.

O.S. Thiagarajan’s fidelity to sruti was awe-inspiring – veteran violinist TKV Ramanujacharlu, with 40 years of association, says, “He had a sruti suddhamaana tambura inside his voice.” I have heard him hold notes at all sthayis for 1.5 to 2 avartanams of 2 kalai Adi tala numerous times, without even the hint of a tremor – the transition following it would be the silkiest and gentlest glide. Absolutely routine for him and executed with consummate ease, it unfailingly excited audiences.

OST modulated his voice enviably, neither shouting nor crooning. He could render any briga or gamakam with the same felicity as a long stationary note, both combined in perfect balance. His kriti rendition followed the Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer style for the most part, but the ease with which he sang was reminiscent of K.V. Narayanaswamy. The most senior and storied violinists and percussionists accompanied him but he was also extremely encouraging of juniors. Several youngsters listed him as a senior musician they had played for, and he was a sought-after vocalist for arangetrams.

He was very articulate in English and it was an absolute pleasure to hear his excellent Tamizh. He had a fondness for Telugu and for Tyagaraja kritis in particular – performing many concerts of only Tyagaraja kritis, later in his career.

His three daughters, Archana, Aparna and Bhavani were musically talented, but he never used his stature to promote them.