Cameos : A Collection of Writings on Karnatic Musicians of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries/Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar. Reprint. Chennai, Sunadham, 2005, xxii, 136 p., plates, $18 (pbk).

    Contents: Foreword. Preface. On the author: 1. The great man who visualized the Siva Lila/Avvai T.K. Shanmugham. 2. My experiences with Bhagavatar/K. Subramaniam. 3. Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar/P. Sambamoorthy. 4. One who was in the service of Tyagabrahmam/Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. 5. Memorial to late Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar/E. Krishna Iyer. 6. An incarnation of the trinity/Anantharama Dikshitar. 7. A few memories/N. Chidambara Subramanian. I. Translations by Professor P. Sambamoorthy: 1. Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar (vocalist). 2. Patnam Subramanya Ayyar (vocalist). 3. Kundrakkudi Krishnayyar (vocalist). 4. Sarabha Sastrigal (flautist). 5. Umayalpuram Krishna Bhagavatar and Umayalpuram Sundara Bhagavatar (vocalists). 6. Tanjavur Krishna Bhagavatar (Harikatha exponent). 7. Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar (vocalist). 8. Tanjavur Narayanaswamy Appa (mrdangam vidvan). Notes for Part I. II. Translations by R. Rangaramanuja Ayyangar: 1. Tanjavur Panchapakesa Bhagavatar (Harikatha exponent). 2. Kappanamangalam Swami Sastriar (Upanyasam artist). 3. Ramachandra Bhagavatar (vocalist). 4. Prataparama Bhagavatar (vocalist). 5. Izhuppur Ponnusami Pillai (vocalist and violinist). 6. B.A. Varadachariar (vocalist). 7. Sattanur Panju Ayyar (vocalist). 8. Kekarai Muthu Ayyar (vocalist). 9. Mysore Krishna Iyengar (vocalist). 10. Pazhamaneri Swaminatha Ayyar (vocalist). 11. Tirupambaram Swaminatha Pillai (nagasvaram vidvan). 12. Sivakozhundu (nagasvaram vidvan). 13. Kumbakonam Subramanyam (nagasvaram vidvan). 14. Uraiyur Muthuveeraswami (nagasvaram vidvan). 15. Sarangi Veerasami Naidu (sarangi vidvan). 16. Professor Ramdas Swami (mrdangam vidvan). 17. Tanjavur Sethuram Rao (mrdangam vidvan). 18. Srivanchiam Govindan (tavil vidvan). III. Translations by Padma Narayanan: 1. Vishnu Bava (Harikatha exponent). 2. Pundit Lakshmanachar (Harikatha exponent). 3. Tiruneytanam Narasimha Bhagavatar (Harikatha exponent). 4. Tirupazhanam Panchapakesa Sastrigal (Harikatha exponent). 5. Manalmelkudi Venkatachala Bhagavatar (Harikatha Pravachanam artist). 6. Kumbakonam Natesa Dikshitar (Harikatha Pravachanam artist). 7. Andameen Sivarama Bhagavatar (Harikatha Pravachanam artist). 8. Palakkad Anantharama Bhagavatar (vocalist and Harikatha exponent). 9. Marathurai (Konerirajapuram) Vaidyanatha Ayyar (vocalist). 10. Madurai Pushpavanam Ayyar (vocalist). 11. Tiruvayar Subramanya Ayyar (vocalist). 12. Talanayar Somu Ayyar (vocalist). 13. Pallavi Bheemachar (vocalist). 14. Namakkal Narasimha Iyengar (vocalist). 15. Srivilliputtur Muthayya Bhagavatar (vocalist). 16. Tiruvisanallur Narayanaswamy Ayyar (vocalist). 17. Visalur Girisayyar (vocalist). 18. Kurumangudi Sami Ayyar (vocalist). 19. Aludayar Koil Atmanatha Bharati (vocalist and Upanyasam artist). 20. Tiger Varadachariar (vocalist). 21. Tirukkodikaval Krishnayyar (violinist). 22. Tiruvayar Sivaramakrishna Ayyar (violinist). 23. Tirukokarnam Narayanaswamy Ayyar (violinist). 24. Seshayyar (violinist). 25. Padinaindu Mandapam Sambasiva Ayyar (violinist). 26. Vina Dhanammal (vainika). 27. Vina Seshanna (vainika). 28. Mayuram Vina Vaidyanathayyar (vainika). 29. Dholak Nannu Miya (dholak vidvan). 30. Tanjavur Tukaramappa (mrdangam vidvan). 31. Mamundiya Pillai (kanjira vidvan). 32. Umayalpuram Narayana Ayyar (ghatam vidvan). 33. Pazhani Krishna Ayyar (ghatam vidvan). 34. Tanjavur Mahadeva Nattuvanar (nattuvanar). 35. Tirumarugal Natesan (nagasvaram vidvan). 36. Pandanallur Veerusami (nagasvaram vidvan). 37. Keevalur Kandan (nagasvaran vidvan). 38. Jagan Mohana Chith Vilasa Sabha (Tamil theatre group). 39. Ananjaperuma Pillai (Kalattam artist). Appendix: transliteration scheme. Glossary.

    "Cameos is a translation of the writings of Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar (1866-1943), an influential figure in the performing arts at the turn of the nineteenth century in South India, on his contemporaries. The articles portray sixty-five musicians, composers and other artists, many of whom were shapers of the modern age in Karnatic music; several were legends in their own lifetime. Being first-hand accounts, they are unique for their historical authenticity. The Bhagavatar speaks with the authority of a master-musician and a doyen in Harikatha Kalakshepam; this lends an unusual objectivity to the writings.

    Among the author's good friends were such luminaries as Sarabha Sastrigal, Patnam Subramanya Ayyar, Tirukkodikaval Krishnayyar and Ramnad (Poochi) Srinivasa Iyengar. He thus had close access to some of the most creative and intense musical activity of the period, in which he himself played a considerable part.

    The reminiscences on the author by seven important personalities form a valuable introduction to this volume while the photographs and specially commissioned artist's sketches transport us to a different era."

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