Spotlight on Mysore Vasudevachar’s compositions

An ode to Mysore Vasudevachar

Among the post-Trinity composers, Mysore Vasudevachar holds a special place. In her lec-dem on the ‘Compositions of Mysore Vasudevacharya’, veteran Rama Ravi presented a wealth of information. She was vocally supported by Nandhitha Ravi, with R.K. Shriram Kumar on the violin and K. Arun Prakash on the mridangam.

Rama said she was happy to be a student of Kalakshetra when Vasudevachar was one of the faculties. Born in Coimbatore, he moved to Mysore at a young age when his father migrated there. He was inducted into the study of vedas and shastras by his father. Soon he got the patronage of the Mysore royal family to pursue his passion for music. His initial music training with Patnam Subramania Iyer in Madras was daunting as he learned the Begada varnam for six full months to understand the swaras, akaras, speeds and tala. His training continued for nearly six years.

Vasudevachar returned to Mysore and performed his first concert at the royal court and in front of experts such as Veena Seshanna. Vasudevachar composed kritis, varnams, javalis and darus. His Mandari varnam ‘Vanajaksha’, was presented by Nandhitha. His compositions were mostly in Telugu and Sanskrit.

His notable kritis include ‘Brocheva’ in Khamas, ‘Pranathartha’ in Abheri and ‘Raghavendra’ in Darbar. He also composed kritis in Melakarta ragas such as ‘Bhajana seya’ in Dharmavati and ‘Neelakantane’ in Bhavapriya.

Rama Ravi presented an interesting nugget about how Swadesamitran, the weekly, used to publish Vasudevachar’s compositions every week with clear notations. His penchant for chittaswaram is well-known. Rama and Nandhitha presented some chittaswaras of his compositions set in the western style.

A kind and accessible teacher, he ensured students understood the nuances of the ragas and kritis he taught. Interestingly, Vasudevachar tuned many Sanskrit shlokas too. He was among the composers of Rukmini Devi’s Ramayana ballet.