Suswaralaya College releases 10th edition of Music Directory

From the time HS Sudhindra trained in percussion as a teenager, both his gurus, M Vasudev Rao and Srimushnam Raja Rao, were instrumental in making him expand his musical interests to include social service that would make a difference to music, musicians and society. Sudhindra recalls his teachers’ incessant prompting that “his hands should beat for percussion, and his heart for philanthropy to bring in a melodious balance.”

It has been 42 years since Sudhindra, principal and managing trustee of Suswaralaya, has been on stage as a performing mridangist, 25 years since he started Suswaralaya College of music where at any given point he has had 60 students being trained in vocal and instrumental music, and 20 years since he launched the Karnataka Directory of Musicians, which is regularly updated.

Sudhindra has also devised a unique medical assistance scheme for deserving musicians in distress. Suswaralaya has released 20 CDs and 20 books related to Carnatic music, and honours two musicians every year during their annual music festivals for their contributions.

Silver jubilee

This year, Suswaralaya’s silver jubilee celebrations at the Indian Institute of World Culture will host 13 concerts, two lec-dems, a Laya Vinyasa by Suswaralaya students and a special Tala Vadhya Cutcheri from a 25-member percussion team. “The valedictory programme is on November 9 at Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira in Banashankari to felicitate guru Srimushnam Raja Rao for his contributions to the world of laya,” says Sudhindra, a Ganakalasri and Vani Kala Nipuna awardee.

This year, Suswaralaya’s silver jubilee celebrations will take place from October 23 to 27, while the Suswaralaya Awards — Swaralaya Rathna for vocalist TV Ramaprasadh, and Swaralaya Shrunga for violinist Nalina Mohan — will be conferred during the valedictory function.

Nalina Mohan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Directory release

During the inauguration on October 23, the 10^th edition of Suswaralaya’s Directory of Musicians and Danseuses (Karnataka) will be released by the president of the Bangalore Gayana Samaja MRV Prasad. “This time, the updated listings in the 10^th edition will contain a total of 3,776 listings with photos of vocal and instrumental Carnatic and Hindustani musicians, apart from dancers and dance institutions in 65 different categories. This time, our listings also include music therapists as there has been a demand for this.”

According to the Suswaralaya team, the all-inclusive book that takes three months to compile, aims to be a self-contained reference book of listings and contacts of music institutions, sabhas, music shops and libraries, magazines, scholars and critics, music and dance photographers, and more. “We also carry information on awards instituted by the government and other organisations, related to music in Karnataka. I am reaching out to more Hindustani musicians as part of this endeavour as they can be permanently listed as contacts of Karnataka musicians,” says Sudhindra.     

TV Ramprasadh
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Other releases

Books on Ugabhogadarpana in Kannada and English; and Purandaradasa’s Navarathna Malike Kritis in English and Kannada with lyrics and notations will also be released on the occasion. “Guru mridanga vidwan M Vasudeva Rao, vocalist RK Padmanabha, art critic M Suryaprasad and vocalist and scholar TS Sathyavathi will be part of the inaugural programme,” says Sudhindra.

The silver jubilee celebrations will also see the release of a video recording of 37 rarely heard Dasa Sahitya Kritis sung by the students of Suswaralaya. Set to tune by Sudhindra, they will also be would be available on YouTube. “The works of eight prominent dasas of Karnataka (or Avatara Purusharu) includes Purandaradasa, Vyasaraja, Vadiraja, Sripadaraja, Jagannathadasa, Kanakadasa, Vijayadasa and Gopaladasa,” he says, adding, “Every year we plan to make recordings of such kritis found in books to help students and researchers.”

Suswaralaya College not only functions as an institute where one can learn music, but is also where students can recieve the required grounding in a domain of their choice. “We help interested students reach out to institutions such as the Centre for Cultural Resource and Training (CCRT) for scholarships in furthering their learning in fine arts, and keep them informed on state government scholarships. We help them gain their grading at AIR and produce recordings to aid their careers,” says Sudhindra.

The inaugural concert will see senior vocalist MS Sheela accompanied by Mysore Srikant on the violin, Ranjini Venkatesh on the mridanga and BS Arun Kumar on the morsing.  

Suswaralaya College of Music’s silver jubilee concert will take place from October 23 to 27 and on November 9 at the Indian Institute of World Culture and Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira. Visit www.suswaralaya.org for details