Remembering Semmangudi Mama – My Guru and God: Part 1

Sangita Pitamaha Padma Vibhushan 

Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

Today is the birth anniversary of Sangita Pitamaha Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. As I sat sipping a cup of hot orange tea this afternoon listening to Semmangudi Mama’s awesome “Ksheenamai” in Mukhari, my thoughts went back to the memorable experiences that my sister Lalitha and I have had with this great doyen of Carnatic Music. I thought that penning my experiences with mama would be an apt tribute to this music legend on his birth anniversary, hence this post on a day that will be fondly remembered by all aficionados of Karnāṭaka Saṅgītam .

My earliest memories of Semmangudi Mama, was listening to his LP’s that were played often at home. Listening to his “Dēva Dēva” – Māyāmāḷavagauḷa with an exhilarating Niraval at “Jātha Rūpa” and the majestic “Ō Raṅga Śāyi” in Kāmbhoji, were firmly etched in my mind, even in my childhood days. I never dreamed that in future I would be fortunate to learn the very same Ō Raṅga Śāyi from none other than mama himself ! (I thank my Sathguru for having blessed me with this wonderful opportunity in life, which I will treasure forever)

My mother, Smt. Subbulakshmi Muthuswamy was a disciple of Semmangudi Mama. We lived in the same street as mama did – Lloyds Lane in Madras, and she would frequent his house for learning from him. She would take Lalitha and me along with her to visit mama, especially on Vijayadasami. I vividly remember going to Mama’s house and entering the huge inviting hall with walls lined with photos of great musical doyens of yesteryears like Ariyakudi, Musiri amidst the photos of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Raghavendra Svami. As soon as we entered mama’s face would light up and he would joyfully say “Vango , Vango”. My mother would always tell us about the greatness of her Guru and his music and all the compositions- Kamalāmba Navāvarnam, Navagraha Krithi-s of Śri Muthusvāmi Dikśitar et al, that she learnt from him. So even at a young age I was fill with awe, reverence and last but not the least, a lot of affection for this great persona – whom I regarded as my grandfather.

To Lalitha and myself Semmangudi Mama (as we would call him) was like our own grand-father. My grand father Sri V. Lakshminarayana Iyer was a good friend of his and he would always talk about him. He would start of saying that “uṅga thāthāvum nānaum rōmba friends.” He would always refer to my father Sri. K. Muthuswamy as “Māpiḷḷai” – son – in – law. My parents would often take us to listen to Mama’s Kutcheri’s . Today as I turn back to nostalgically remember those golden days, I feel blessed to have grown up listening to the magical music of Semmangudi Mama.

As we grew up we realised the great phenomenon that was Semmangudi mama. When we learnt to appreciate the fine subtleties, nuances and greatness of his music and a sense of awe set on thinking that we had the opportunity of closely associating with him and to be his sishya!

Well how did Lalitha and myself end up as his Sishya-s ? I will write more in my next post, meanwhile here is a fantastic rendition of Marivērē Gati of Syāmā Śāstri by Semmangudi Mama in Ānandabhairavi….. enjoy :)

(Please note: This was an earlier post written to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer on July 25th)