Describe the contribution of Papanasam Sivan briefly.
Answers
We dedicate this feature to the memory of Papanasam Sivan (Sep 26, 1890 – Oct 1, 1973), one of the great composers of Indian Classical Music. The life of Papanasam Sivan, his contributions to the world of classical music, Tamizh Isai, and film music have all been documented in various sources. However, to our knowledge, his personal reminiscences (written in Tamizh) [1] have not been translated into English. Nor is this slim volume widely available. Therefore, we decided to translate some excerpts of Papanasam Sivan’s “enatu ninaivuk kadal” [2].
Papanasam Sivan with his wife Lakshmi
The aim of this exercise is twofold. First, there is not much information available in the literature about the (Carnatic) musicians of the early 1900’s, and Sivan’s reminiscences offer some interesting glimpses of this era. Secondly, and perhaps more interestingly, his recollections show the evolution of a great musical mind and the influence of another great musician, Konerirajapuram Vaidyanatha Iyer (1878-1921). In particular, since Sivan did not learn music formally for any significant period of time, his Kritis as well as the manner in which he handles different ragas, offer us a glimpse into the music of Konerirajapuram Vaidyanatha Iyer and other musicians of that era. We offer a sample of Sivan’s Kritis in audio clips, following the translated memoirs.
In the following, we present some excerpts from [2]. We make no attempt to bring the flavor of Sivan’s style of writing into our translation. For those who read Tamizh, we recommend the original for its Tanjavur flavour.
Between 1899 and 1910, Sivan lived with his mother in Tiruvanantapuram (Trivandrum), where he was inspired by the composer Nilakanta Sivan. Nilakanta Sivan passed away in 1903. However, Sivan says he had the fortune of attending Nilakanta Sivan’s bhajans during the years 1902 and 1903.