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 Godavari
district in Andhra Pradesh has produced many sons of the soil
who have nurtured and enriched Carnatic music. Palakollu is a
vibrant town in Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh which has
gifted to the world musicians who excel in Mandolin, a western
instrument. The quartets who have made Palakollu global are
Srinivas who has become synonymous with the mandolin, his
brother Rajesh their cousins Raju and his wife Nagamani. This
mandolin family holds sway over rasikas and music buffs and they
are trend setters of some sort.
I was able to capture in a nut shell the
musical odyssey of Raju and Nagamani the husband and wife duo
who are unraveling the mysteries of nadam through mandolin.
Incidentally Nagamani has the unique distinction of being the
first woman to play mandolin. Raju’s father Veerabhai had a
light music troupe and Raju used to perform with them. It was a
pot pourri of music of different genres states Raju. Though
there are several instruments my eyes fell on Mandolin because
Srinivas is my role model and I want to emulate him declares
Raju.
Music courses his veins as his father and mother Ravanamma are
connoisseurs and patron of fine arts .His father was also keen
that he should learn the instrument and placed Raju under the
tutelage of Subburaju .They shifted from their home town to
Chennai the Mecca of Music to swim in the ocean of nadam.
Raju used to play verbatim when Subburaju sang. My icon is my
guru who has honed my skills and channelised my potentials
declares Raju who venerates his guru. Raju practiced his lessons
assiduously and his maiden performance at the holy Samadhi of
Thyagaraja in Thiruvaiyaru caught the attention of the music
fraternity. He was offered to perform in the concert halls and
sabhas from then on. Kelvi gnanam is vital to increase our
repertoire and it intellectualizes our manodharma opines Raju.
Mandolin was thrust on me declares Nagamani as her rendezvous
with the instrument was when she was barely five years old. Raju
is her uncle and she used to listen to him while he played. It
is not by choice , but by force that she began to learn mandolin
Nagamani s guru is Raju who is not only her concert partner but
also her life partner. They practice together often but not
always. We stick to the prescribed format and do not detract
from classicism declare the duo. Nagamani’s debut was in
Thiruvaiyaru like Raju.
They have traveled widely in India and abroad and are heaped
with laurels from the press and the public. They have a legion
of sishyas and are passionate about training them Music is the
soul of their life.
Mira
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