36 l SRUTI May 2017

Neyveli’s disciples describe him as a meticulous teacher, a stickler for perfection, with tremendous patience. Some of his prominent disciples are

Sriram Parthasarathy, Sriranjani Santhanagopalan, Srividya Ramanathan, Revathi Subramanian, Dr. Sanjay Subramanian, Muthukrishnan, Geetha Shankar, Ajay Namboodiri, Chinmaya Sisters, N. Jayakrishnan, Deepika and Nandika, Vidya Kanthan, Vivrd Prasanna and flautists Heramba and Hemantha. Hari Devanath, Vivek Sundararaman, and Kasthuri Shivakumar are the main disciples abroad who coordinate Neyveli’s US projects and workshops.

His first disciple Srividya Ramanath who joined Gurukripa in 1983 when she was six, recalls that her guru advised her to practise to perfection and have the sangatis at her fingertips. She recalls that it was a challenge to keep up with his amazing creativity as he sang sangati variations with microscopic beautifications which left the students quite breathless.

N. Jayakrishnan describes the time spent travelling with his guru as the most enriching. “There were times when Sir would decide to teach or ask me to sing when I would least expect it— on platform benches at railway stations, in half-lit train compartments in the wee hours of the morning, on the terrace of a host’s house, in the hotel room, or while

driving from the hotel to the concert hall! Our guru taught us several points of concert etiquette: When to talk, what to talk, how to carry oneself in the presence of seniors, the right way to hold the tambura while taking it in and out of a hall, the right volume for vocal support—these are things that I have observed and also learnt from his senior disciples. He is also the most merciless of critics.”

Both Vidya and Jayakrishnan say that it is an experience to be part of the magic taking place on stage as they strum the tambura or provide vocal support to their guru. The sheer dynamism and burst of creative energy that he radiates on stage is awe-inspiring and need to be experienced to understand.

Guru Neyveli

Srividya Ramanath (centre) with her guru

Sriram Parthasarathy, Ajay Namboodiri, Heramba and Hemantha at the Sishyakulam celebrations in Chennai

37 l SRUTI May 2017

“Meeting my guru was the turning point in my musical life,” says Ajay Namboodiri. The training has virtually been like a gurukulavasam and this has enabled me to imbibe the aesthetic dimensions of the ‘Neyveli bani’. I cherish the lengthy sessions on the intricacies of music. He conveys the essence of music through his distinctive and explicit way of teaching.”

Young Vivrd Prasanna says that learning with Neyveli Sir is a profound experience as he shares his immense knowledge about the background and context of each kriti, and narrates anecdotes about the composers. “He is an eager rasika, keen to give constructive criticism, and even more eager to praise his students. I earnestly wait for my guru’s feedback as every sentence is extremely useful to my musical growth. He is so very tech savvy that he recommends many of the apps we use.”

Heramba and Hemantha whom Neyveli affectionately calls “HemHer” say that he is their biggest inspiration. “Every moment we spend with Sir is filled with joy, excitement and learning. Staying at his residence and learning from him is an experience. Neyveli Sir and Meera Mami treat us as their own children but he is a tough taskmaster. While teaching, he insists that we should sing through the flute. Since we both perform as a duo, he inspires us to try out some unusual experiments that would sound effective in a duet concert.”

The Chinmaya Sisters Uma & Radhika have been learning from Neyveli for about three decades. They describe

Neyveli as a creative person with a great sense of humour. “He did not just teach music, but inspired us to listen and to appreciate others, to gather positives from whatever we heard, to enjoy the sahitya bhava of the kriti taught, to try to be creative within traditional boundaries and also regaled us with interesting snippets he had heard about artists of yesteryear. Everything to him was about music.”

In almost one voice his students exclaim that their guru has instilled in them a strong sense of discipline, an ear for all forms of music and the broadmindedness to absorb aspects from them, and, more important, the thirst for knowledge. n

The Chinmaya Sisters with their guru

Guru Neyveli with his sishyas