HYDERABAD: A music-maestro, a guru who groomed great artists through whom his legacy lives on, an outstanding music-director who managed to unite talented musicians for highly creative orchestra-music, a composer of extraordinary merit, a performer who teamed up with other legends of his time with great elan, and a man who received a long list of titles and awards with modesty and graciousness ...Emani Sankara Sastry (1922-1987) was all this and much more.
The illustrious Sankara Sastry aka Emani was a vainika (veena player) and composer who gave widely appreciated performances in India and around the world. As a teacher, he groomed several brilliant vainikas including the legendary C. Chittibabu and Palagummi Viswanadham besides his own daughter, the accomplished vainika Emani Kalyani Lakshminarayana.
In his capacity as Chief Producer of Music as well as Conductor and Director of Vadya Vrinda, National Orchestra, All India Radio (AIR), New Delhi, Emani composed awe-inspiring orchestrations. This work during the AIR tenure earned him lasting fame and respect. Emani was considered among the earliest Carnatic musicians to play jugalbandis with famous Hindustani classical musicians. Emani played duets with the likes of the iconic Ravi Shankar and Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan.
Moreover, he received admiration and respect from a world violin legend Yehudi Menuhin. Emani also left his mark in the world of cinema. He composed music for hit Indian films during his association with Gemini Studios, in then-Madras. Last week, on his 98th birth anniversary, an online tribute was organised in his honour. Students, admirers, family members, from all over the world and different walks of life came together to offer their homage to this musician of great stature.
His disciple-daughter and noted veena artiste Emani Kalyani organised a function at her home in Hyderabad where she rendered some of his rare compositions like Neerajakshi and a Tulsidas bhajan tuned by him. Another daughter, a well-known ghazal singer Devi Ramana Murthy of Hyderabad, sang a couple of bhajans tuned by Emani, a Surdas bhajan ‘Guru Bin Kaun Batave’ and Saraswati Vandana.
In London, Emani’s musician-granddaughter Padmini Pasumarthy, paid her respects through a vocal rendition of a few songs tuned by him. An admirer, Cherukuri Sharma from Melbourne, Australia, shared a poetic tribute to Emani which was impressive. An interesting speech was given by VSR Murthy, a scientist from Hyderabad in which he talked about Emani’s contributions to and impact on the world of classical music.