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After the concert, the singer packed me off with my mridangam and a song by a bus to Kottayam after midnight. I had not met him since then. Two days after my return, I met the same singer, waiting to catch a bus to Triplicane from T Nagar. There is nothing amazing about it. It is quite natural that an artiste of his temperament would spend at least two or three months in Chennai.
Sadhaka, or practice, becomes more intense by the month of Karkkidakam as the artiste wants to overcome the boredom of the incessant rains of the month. Thus it is called Karkkidaka sadhaka. A fine aspect of the Karkkidaka sadhaka is that a number of artistes flock to Chennai to be disciples of stalwarts here. In fact, Chennai is a dream city for all Kerala artistes because of the number of famous artistes here. A few years ago, when I was in Kerala, I also longed to come to Chennai to learn under a great guru. Some of the fortunate (and, of course, talented) artistes who come to Chennai manage to become disciples of great artistes. Some of them may stay here for a year. But most of them return to Kerala by September carrying the 'bold' label: 'Disciple of Kalaimamani ---' and will begin to market himself on the new label during the next festival season. The less fortunate ones would stay with their fortunate friends here and try to outdo Ekalavya with the help of their friends. I don't know which category my friend belongs to. He told me, while we were in the bus, that he was going to study under Sangeethachoodamani, Kalaimamani ----.
I recalled three famous mridangists who appeared in these columns and who have offered to teach me. But I did not reveal it to him, and gave him a broad smile implying: "Why? Do you want me to accompany your not-so-great concert again for a song?" Salil Jose Readers' response/inputs can be e-mailed to salil@chennaionline.com.
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After a recent trip to Kerala, I was returning to Chennai via the enchanting Kumali route by bus. Half-an-hour before the hill station of Kuttikanam, I saw a tiny temple on a hilltop. I recalled a cold moonlit night when we had conducted a concert in the temple four-and-a-half years ago. The singer was noted for his fast-paced singing and loud voice, which, he claimed, was the style of a particular artiste in Tamil
Nadu.
By April-end, festivals in temples in Kerala come to an end, leaving the artiste to spend more time for sadhaka. The almost four-month-long asura sadhaka, set against the background of the rainy season, is called 'Karkkidaka sadhaka' by Kerala artistes.
As I was about to get down at Vani Mahal, when he advised me: "Any way you are staying here. Why don't you practise under a great artiste like…?"
