These days, the gush of water in the Cauvery that flows by Rudrapatna seems to symbolise a new spring of energy — and hope. This idyllic village in southern Karnataka is slowly regaining its cultural legacy that had once fetched it a big name on the map of Carnatic music. All because of the efforts of a senior classical vocalist — the Bangalore-settled R K Padmanabha.
Paradoxically, the revered musician is himself part of a pattern that had till recently led to Rudrapatna’s depleted status as a heritage hamlet. Padmanabha, who turned 60 this September, is one of those renowned practitioners of his art who had to leave his birthplace in Hassan district, looking for better career prospects. Now living in the state capital, the initials of Padmanabha’s name resound with a distinction that at least the connoisseurs in the field cannot afford to miss.
For Carnatic music, the initials R K are more of a brand name. The second letter of Rudrapatna’s musicians is a variant — it can thus be R N and R S, among others. For instance, one of present days’ leading singing duo in the field is known as Rudrapatna brothers — R N Thyagarajan and R N Tharanathan. And, one of the most senior vidwans of our times, R K Srikantan, is a native of this village. Why, even the young Chennaiite flautist S Shashank traces his ancestors to Rudrapatna.
And it wasn’t just a nucleus of practising musicians, the village also boasted of quite a few Vedic scholars and Harikatha vidwans.
Rudrapatna-origin musicians from past to present can make a long list. To mention a few, veena players like Shathavadhani Venkataraya, Shamanna, Ranganath, Srikantaiah, R S Keshavamurthy, R N Doreswamy, R Venkataramaiah, R K Suryanarayan and vocalist-Harikatha exponent R K Krishna Shastry besides R S Ramakanath, Ratnamala Prakash, R K Prakash, R N Sreelatha and R K Srinivasamurthy.
Yet, for the last few decades, Rudrapatna began slipping into oblivion — culturally. Most of its vintage buildings, which used to resonate with classical music, lie dilapidated now. True, the tragedy of Rudrapatna was the migration of its worthies leaving for greener pastures, yet the fact remains that there aren’t too many houses even today that have no acquaintance with the village’s musical legacy. And, if there is fresh vivacity now, the chunk of the credit goes to Padmanabha.
He is the man behind what has now turned out to be the most riveting spot of Rudrapatna. The only-one-of-its-kind Sapta Swara Devatha Dhyana Mandira he conceptualised as a tribute to six classical composers has become a pilgrim destination for art lovers — even the general tourist. The shrine deifies Thyagaraja, Shyama Shastry, Muthuswamy Dikshithar, Vadiraja, Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa in the midst of Goddess Saraswati. It conducts an unconventional yet apt worship through routine music — or naada puja, each stage of which is exemplified through ragam-tanam-pallavi renditions. The lyrics are descriptive and narrative, giving a compact history of the composers and their lives — all done through a bouquet of ragas and culminating in “maha mangala arati” for the welfare of the mankind.
What’s more, sensors come alive as one touches the feet of the idols, giving a brief commentary about the composer. “It’s a big crowd on weekends,” says Ravi, who does the floral decoration of the deities. The gathering further swells when the mandir hosts music festivals like Thyagaraja Aradhana in January (featuring 24-hour relay concerts) and the annual three-day Rudrapatna Sangeetotsav towards summer — in May.
The new generation feels proud, while old-timers are happy. “The new events bring back memories of days when frontline artistes used to perform in my village — in the 1960s,” says Tulasamma, in her eighties.
The structure, consecrated in May this year, is in the form of a 70-foot-tall tambura, with every detail of the instrument incorporated in its edifice. The sapta swaras or seven notes have been given a sacred status in the entire scheme of things, symbolically manifesting as seven steps to the mandir, besides as many gopuras, segments (on either side) and blocks (on each side of the tambura) that house various musical instruments. The white-star motifs, 36 on each side of the tambura, represent the 72 Melakarta ragas. The seven deities inside represent a swara each. A well laid out garden with a manicured lawn, slim stone pillars entwined by vines, gurgling fountains and a vantage spot for music performances, complete the aesthetics. The diffused lighting in the evenings lends it a classy touch.
The earliest recorded history of Rudrapatna goes back to 1830 — the year of birth of Ranga Shastry, a composer and musician of standing, who became a court musician of the Wodeyars. It is said Rudrapatna was formed by settlers from Sengottai in southern Tamil Nadu — Sanketis, as this community is known.
That past blends seamlessly with the present is seen in the ancient Chennakeshava temple, nestling right beside the Dhyana Mandir, the two structures anything but incongruous. Adjacent to this is Naada Loka, another Padmanabha brainchild that has realised his dreams of a housing colony where music lovers can come together to enjoy rural life.
And of late the veteran musician takes frequent breaks from Bangalore, and spends more time and money on such missions “closer home” in Rudrapatna — single-handedly.
— jyothi@expressbuzz.com