BENGALURU: What if you were to find out that there once existed a man of royal lineage who was born during wartime, lived through multiple famines, was instrumental in setting up some of the premiere research institutions in India, and was one of the most prolific composers in Carnatic music? Sounds pretty unbelievable right? Now, what if someone told you that there aren’t any biographical accounts of this man and his contributions in all the libraries of the world? At least, not until now.
Deepti Navaratna, the T V Raman Pai Chair Professor of Excellence at the National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, has come out with her book The Maverick Maharaja, based on the life and times of noble polymath Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. This book doesn’t only debut Navaratna as an author but also debuts the late Maharaja as the primary subject in a written text. “For the last seven years, I’ve been researching and archiving his music.
He was a Carnatic and south Indian classical music composer and his music in the 19th-century sort of reflected upon the sensibilities of the East and the West. He brought western classical syntax and grammar into Karnataka idioms and invented new ragas. He straddled the contemporary and the classical all at the same time. I was drawn to his music, writings, speeches, and maverick persona,” says Navaratna. The Maharaja had composed nearly 100 Carnatic kritis even before he turned 30.
While researching Maharaja Wadiyar, who ruled over Mysuru in the 1940s and was later the governor of Mysore, Navaratna felt it was important for the new generation to know about the man and his cultural contributions. “This book is about a man who lived multiple lifetimes before us and so, we as a generation, are looking at history. I wanted to present the account of an inspirational speaker, who lived gracefully and charted new possibilities of existence.
How often do you find a composer, a pianist, a philosopher, and a Maharaja all rolled into one? Through this man’s example, we find an exciting mix of artistry and leadership that India has produced. I want this book to be read by our generation and the generations to come. To celebrate the history and our identity as Indians” shares Navaratna, who aside from being a neuroscientist, is the regional director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Bengaluru. Regarding the writing process of this biography, Navaratna took the know-the-man through- his-muse approach.
“It is not a typical chronicle. What I mean by that is the book doesn’t just list down all the historic events in his life in a series of anecdotes. Instead, I have taken a holistic approach. The book also provides the context of all the major events that Mysore, his kingdom, went through during the birthing of India. Since he left us with an ample amount of literature, music, and archival data, I thought the best way to approach the book would be through his reflections because then I could scientifically reconstruct his personality, ” says Navaratna.
During the launch of the book, Maharaja’s compositions were played by the Mysore Police Carnatic Band. “Choosing this band came naturally since, historically, they were the royal orchestra of Mysore’s court. They’re the only Western ensemble that plays Carnatic music. Back then, Maharaja composed specifically for this orchestra because his compositions, just like the band, were a beautiful fusion between Western syntax and Eastern music. So most of his music was composed for this orchestra,” concludes Navaratna. The daughters of the Maharaja, Maharajakumari Kamakshi Devi Wadiyar, and Maharajakumari Indrakshi Devi Wadiyar also attended the event.