Ganakalanidhi Dr. Vinjamuri Varadaraja Iyengar

The anniversary of the great Musician, Ganakalanidhi Dr. Vinjamuri Varadaraja Iyengar falls on the 16^th of this month. Tonight we bring you a talk on this great musician. Paying Homage to him is Mr. GPS NAIR former station director All India Radio and a close associate of Dr. Varadaraja Iyengar.

During the last few years, death has made sad havoc among our great musicians to whom we are deeply indebted for the benificiable revolution in the system of classical karnatic music. To mention a few, Maharajapuram Viswanadha Iyer, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Palghat Ramabhagavatar, Musiri Subrahmanya Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, GN Balasubramanyam, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Papa Venkatarama Iyer, Chowdiah, Professor Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu violinist, Phalghat Mani Iyer, Palani Subbudu, all of them Mridangam Players, TN Rajaratnam Pillai, Thiruvengadu Subramanya Pillai Nadaswarm, TR Mahalingam, Palaadam Sangiva rao Flute players, I have mentioned only a few, but so many have gone leaving delectable expositions of the great compositions of saints and great composers and their own creations in Music.

In this brief talk I want to remember a superb musician whose third death anniversary will be observed by many sabhas on the 16th of August this year. His name, Vinjamuri Varadaraja Iyengar. He was a classmate of mine in the Music Diploma course of the Madras University in 1934. I remember, we had four professors, Professor Sambamurthy, Tiger Vardachariar, Parur Sundaram Iyer and Udayavarma Raja for Veena. All together there were only about twenty-five students for the entire Diploma course. Most of them were under Gayakasikhamani, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Tiger K Vardachariar and a few for Violin and Veena. Among the students for vocal music was the young, handsome Iyengar, Varadarajan. He was a soft-spoken charming conversationalist with a delightful voice. The master, Tiger was particularly fond of his young student because Vinjamuri, as we called him, excelled all other students in rendering his master's lessons. Vardaraja Iyengar, in course of time became an outstanding musician very knowledgeable, musicologist, a composer and like his guru, a loved and respected teacher.

For those who have not had the privilege of knowing about Varadaraja Iyengar, let me go back to his childhood days. Vardaraja Iyengar was born in Guntur town of Andhra Pradesh on July 15, 1915. His father was the late Sri. Bhavanachariar, and mother Smt. Kanakavalli. He was the youngest of 13 brothers and sisters, a talented musical family. One of his elder brothers V. Sreenivasa Chari was an advocate, a well-known flutist and founder secretary of Thyagaraja Gana Sabha at Guntur. Another brother, V. Anantha Chari was a fine Veena player. He stayed with Gandhiji at Wardha and often played for the Father of the Nation. I was told that our classmate Varadaraja Iyengar started singing at the age of three, a very attentive student while his sister was being tutored by Sri. Sankara Sastri, a deciple of Tiruvattiyur Thyagaraja, a deciple of Veena Kuppaiar and a sisya of Saint Thyagaraja. I mentioned about his family because his was a gifted family, all devoted to Music which is undoubtedly the greatest boon that God Almighty bestows on some selected devotees. No wonder that Varadaraja Iyengar became what he was, a well-known musician not only in India but also in south Asian countries and America. After his Diploma course, Vinjamuri continued his training under Tiger. The student used to accompany his master for all public concerts and he acquired the techniques Tiger Vardachariar, the master, and earned the title Kutty Tiger.

In 1940, I was pleasantly surprised to meet my old classmate again when he came for a broadcast at All India Radio, Madras. I was in-charge of Indian Music at that time along with the Late NS Ramachandran, an outstanding Veena Player. Varadaraja Iyengar became a frequent broadcaster and became very popular with the Music world. Varadaraja Iyengar considered Ariyakudi as his Manasa Guru. The Andhra public and media named him as Andhra Ariyakudi. Vinjamuri, like his Gurus was a pure classicist. His rendering of Ragam Tanam Pallavi was a model to promising musicians. AIR often invited him for this type of program. He was a master in Pallavi in Rakthi Ragas like Bhairavi, Thodi, Shankarabharanam, Kambhoji and ragas like Bhavapriya, Varali, Saveri, Begada etc. Varadaraja Iyengar wrote about Pallavi singing in an article. To quote Iyengar, I quote, "Pallavi singing is the yard stick to gauge the depth of knowledge one possesses in the Ocean of Music. Be it vocal or stringed instrument, it is by itself a separate art in the whole". When Vinjamuri sang, he was accompanied by some of the greatest artists like Kumbakkonam Rajamanikyam Pillai, Mysore T Chowdiah, Parur Sundaram Iyer and on the Mridangam Phalghat Mani Iyer, Dakshinamurti Pilllai and on the Ghatam like Bilvadri Iyer and others. I remember, once Vinjamuri was to give a concert at Madras; Chowdiah was to be his Violinist. Unfortunately, the Violinist could not reach Madras in time. The audience was getting impatient. Present in the hall was TR Mahalingam. He asked Iyengar whether he would sing to the accompaniment of Flute. Iyengar nodded. Mali played on the Flute, Iyengar sang and the audience had a three-hour glorious music recital, a fine concert. Perhaps that was the first time that Mali provided accompaniment to a vocal recital. Way back in 1939, Vinjmauri recorded two compositions to the Odeon recording company, "O Jagadamba" in Anandabhairavi and "Sri Subrahmanyaya" in Kambhodi. His master Tiger was not very happy about recording Music, especially for commercial purposes. Iyengar, although little disappointed, stopped the company from selling the records and according to the wishes of his Guru, Iyengar never made any more commercial disks. The Andhra government made him the principal of the college of Carnatic Music in Hyderabad. He was the founder but worked as a principal only for 2 years. In 1956, he took up the producership of All India Radio, Hyderabad. He worked in AIR from 1956 to 1964. I was then the director in Hyderabad and I knew the devotion with which he looked after his responsibilities. He was a composer. Some of his creations in Tana Varnams, in Ghanaragamalika, Sindhuramakriya, Mararanjani, he composed kritis, like, in Hemavathi, Bhilahari, Karaharapriya, Sankarabharanam etc.. His Tillanas are delightful and popular with dances. He could write well, he could talk well and he was a graduate and could explain the intricacies in music even to the western audiences. He considered Music as universal, easiest way to approach God. He was well versed in Hindustani Music. Bade Gulam Ali Khan, Pandit Omkarnath Tagore were all his friends. But Iyengar maintained pure Carnatic style. No adulteration. He had broadcast from almost all AIR stations. He was invited to sing in Rajbhavans and Rastrabhavans also. Dr. Rajendraprasad, our former President liked his Music. Dr. Giri, they all enjoyed his Music. He sang for the coronation of Maharaja of Mysore, Jaya Chamarajendra Wodiar. He performed at the Kowdiar palace in the presence of the Maharaja of Travancore, the late Sri Chitra Tirunal and her highness Maharani Sethuparvathi Bai. His superb rendering of Thodi earned him the title, Thodi Varadaraja Iyengar. He was associated with almost all the Music Institutions in India. Dr. Varadaraja Iyengar was a happy family man. He had five sons and five daughters; most of them are musically inclined. 5 of his children are in USA and others in India. They are all doing very well and they appreciate Music. When Vinjamuri Passed away on August 16, 1991, he was a happy man, content that his life has been devoted to Music and that he has fulfilled his master’s wishes.

The family members and deciples of Dr. Vinjamuri have created a Vinjamuri Varadaraja Iyengar Memorial Charitable Society to promote classical Music in it’s purest form. The Music Academy of Madras has accepted to present annually a Gold Medal for a senior Karnatic Musician for Pallavi singing. A Gold Medal had been endowed to be given to the best vocal student in M.A Music of the Telugu University. Varadaraja Iyengar will be remembered not only as a great Musician but also as a great promoter of classical Music. I remember him as a friend and as a gentleman and may his soul rest in peace.