Chowdiah: Difference between revisions

← Older edit

Chowdiah (edit)

Revision as of 10:06, 2 January 2022

821 bytes added , 2 January 2022

m

clean up

CleanupBot

Bots

16,952

edits

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 ==Early years==
-Chowdiah, was born in [[Tirumakudalu Narsipur]] village on the banks of the river Kaveri near Mysore in a [[Vokkaliga]] family.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gowda|first=H.H.Annaiah|date=5 September 1971|title=Vokkaligas|magazine=The Illustrated Weekly Of India Vol.92, No.27-39(july-sept)1971|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.110098/page/n617/mode/1up?q=Vokkaligas|location=Bombay|publisher=Times of India Press|page=11-13}}</ref> He became a disciple of Mysore Royal Court musician, Ganavisharadha [[Bidaram Krishnappa]] in 1910 and underwent a very rigorous and disciplined training until 1918 in the gurukula system.
+Chowdiah, was born in [[Tirumakudalu Narsipur]] village on the banks of the river Kaveri near Mysore in a [[Vokkaliga]] family.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gowda|first=H.H.Annaiah|date=5 September 1971|title=Vokkaligas|magazine=The Illustrated Weekly Of India Vol.92, No.27-39(july-sept)1971|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.110098/page/n617/mode/1up?q=Vokkaligas|location=Bombay|publisher=Times of India Press|pages=11–13}}</ref> He became a disciple of Mysore Royal Court musician, Ganavisharadha [[Bidaram Krishnappa]] in 1910 and underwent a very rigorous and disciplined training until 1918 in the gurukula system.
-In his early years, he played the four stringed violin, and by 1927 he became an extremely well known violin accompanist. Those were the days when there was no sound amplification equipment and it was rather difficult for listeners who sat in the back rows of music halls to hear him playing the violin.
-Chowdiah realised this shortcoming and launched upon increasing the sound of the violin. He improvised the violin by adding three more strings such as
-Tara Shadja – Mandra Shadja, Madhya Panchama – Mandra Panchama and Madhya Shadja Mandra Shadja. After practising incessantly, he began to use this new seven stringed violin in all his concerts. He experimented, innovated and practised to achieve perfection, all without the knowledge of his Guru (teacher).
-In one of the vocal concerts of his Guru  Bidaram Krishnappa in Mysore, Chowdiah accompanied him using his new seven stringed violin. Krishnappa perceived the sound emanating from the violin was louder than usual. He stared at his disciple and his violin and noted that there were three additional strings. He angrily asked him '‘what is this contraption?'’ and had an outburst. Chowdiah, in all humility said that he added three more strings and evolved this seven stringed violin so that the sound of the violin could be heard even in the back rows of the concert hall. He was afraid of the Guru's outburst. Veena Seshanna who was also present in the audience, was aware of the seven stringed violin. He was pleased with  Chowdiah's accomplishment at innovating the violin, and told  Bidaram Krishnappa that Chowdiah must be allowed to play that violin. Sometime later, Chowdiah accompanied his master again in another concert using this new violin and his master was pleased with it. Thus Chowdiah brought about a revolution, in the field of music.
 ==Career==
@@ Line 48: / Line 41: @@
 Crowds would swell on the news of Chowdiah arriving in town. Such was Chowdiah's reputation; he had captured the hearts and minds of both ordinary listeners and knowledgeable artists and connoisseurs of carnatic music.
+===Seven-stringed violin===
+In his early years, he played the four stringed violin, and by 1927 he became an extremely well known violin accompanist. Those were the days when there was no sound amplification equipment and it was rather difficult for listeners who sat in the back rows of music halls to hear him playing the violin.
+Chowdiah realised this shortcoming and launched upon increasing the sound of the violin. He improvised the violin by adding three more strings such as Tara Shadja – Mandra Shadja, Madhya Panchama – Mandra Panchama and Madhya Shadja Mandra Shadja. After practising incessantly, he began to use this new seven stringed violin in all his concerts. He experimented, innovated and practised to achieve perfection, all without the knowledge of his Guru (teacher).
+In one of the vocal concerts of his Guru  Bidaram Krishnappa in Mysore, Chowdiah accompanied him using his new seven stringed violin. Krishnappa perceived the sound emanating from the violin was louder than usual. He stared at his disciple and his violin and noted that there were three additional strings. He angrily asked him '‘what is this contraption?'’ and had an outburst. Chowdiah, in all humility said that he added three more strings and evolved this seven stringed violin so that the sound of the violin could be heard even in the back rows of the concert hall. He was afraid of the Guru's outburst. Veena Seshanna who was also present in the audience, was aware of the seven stringed violin. He was pleased with  Chowdiah's accomplishment at innovating the violin, and told  Bidaram Krishnappa that Chowdiah must be allowed to play that violin. Sometime later, Chowdiah accompanied his master again in another concert using this new violin and his master was pleased with it.
+Seven-stringed violin was mocked by many critics and performers as an attempt at self-promotion. GNB mocked him as 'Soundiah', though the two reconciled later and performed together. C S Iyer, brother of Nobel Laureate C V Raman, was a performer and critic. He suggested at a meet in 1942 that seven-stringed violin should be consigned to the very depths of the Bay of Bengal. An enraged Chowdiah got up and ran towards the dais brandishing his violin bow. He was restrained from bodily harming C. S. Iyer. In 1947 Chowdiah came with a 12 stringed violin to demonstrate it but he was prevailed upon by Semmangudi who was that year's conference president not to go ahead with the demonstration.<ref>https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20902&start=150</ref> All major practitioners continue to use the traditional four stringed violin only.
 ==Achievements==