Legendary Musician Dr. S. Ramanathan. | Photo Credit: D_KRISHNAN

According to the late musician’s granddaughter and singer S. Sucharithra, by capturing the talent of the youth and nurturing their talent in groups, S. Ramanathan followed the Suzuki method of teaching which has yielded eminent practitioners of various styles of Carnatic music. Letting his students choose their tutoring time at his Chennai home on a first-come-first-served basis, the pedagogy was a perfect example of creating the right learning environment, said Sacharithra, ‘A day with Dr. S.’ said in his two-hour talk titled Ramanathan at Ragasudha Hall on April 6 under the auspices of Privardhini.

Ramanathan (1917-88) never reserved a special place for seniors, juniors or beginners among his students. Neither did he encourage notation while teaching melody or composition. Instead, Carnatic music maintained a strong oral tradition. He expressed his allegiance to talent education, a philosophy devised by Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998) whose philosophy involved educating individuals of all abilities, fostering peer relationships, and regular listening to music. is advised.

Young Soumya with her guru Dr. S. Ramanathan and her daughter Vanathi Photo credit: Special Arrangements

A typical day’s first teaching session at Ramanathan’s modest home would begin at 6.30 a.m. when the batch of eight to 10 students would be distributed, with the two-hour training session ending at 10 a.m. followed by Veena lessons. , in which he also excelled. Then there are evening and night classes. Apart from home tuition, there would also be lectures at institutes like Kalakshetra and Kalapitham, Suchitra recalled.

A scholar’s day usually began around 5 am with violin practice. “We kids would be in the living room, playing. Our mischief annoyed grandpa the least,” recalls Sucharita, whose father is noted recordist HMV Raghu (KS Raghunathan). In peak afternoons, even if the sun is merciless, Ramanathan will go for his walk, and on his return attend to household chores. “He must be drenched in sweat, but he never mentioned the weather once.” Food consisted of; Never liked. Late afternoon will be spent reading research material.

Sucharithra says that Ramanathan had a “photographic memory” for books. “He would clarify doubts by referring to specific pages of books. Equally amazing was his brilliance in connecting nuggets of knowledge to draw conclusions. After his association with the Satguru Sangeeta Samajam in Madurai, when Ramanathan 1970 Arriving in Chennai in the mid-1990s, he brought a “truckload” of tomes. Ever fascinated by the beauty of music — not just of Karnataka — Ramanathan never indulged in small talk. “Nobody made him sick. Did not even hear jokes spoken or insulting a fellow musician. He was kind, humble and approachable.”

During the Marghazi festivals, Ramanathan had a busy schedule. This did not include only sabha concerts, he was keen to promote the bhajan sampradaya, and would attend. unchavritti I mada vedhis Around the Kapaleshwarar Temple in Mylapore. Ramanathan was keen to learn more about Tyagaraja’s earlier compositions, delving into Bhadrachalam Ramdas, Anamacharya and Purandra dasa, among others. While popularizing the vintage Kavadi Chanthu, he also created the kritas of contemporaries like Ambujam Krishna and Tulsivanam Ramachandran Nair. With an open throat and a penchant for straight notes, his voice “never produced overtones,” as violinist M. Chandrasekaran used to say. Sucharithra proved some of Ramanathan’s highlights by playing his records. Although not mentioned, American Day was an ethnomusicologist at Wesleyan University, which awarded him a doctorate.