THE MUSIC ARCHIVE OF MONASHUNIVERSITY

presents

A SUNDAY AFTERNOON OF MUSIC: THE TASTES OF INDIA

in and with the

Monash MPavilion

followed by

AN

EXHIBITION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND ARTEFACTS FROM

INDIA

in the Foyer of the Music Auditorium, Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music

launched by

Dr Adrian McNeil Senior Lecturer

Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music

Sunday 7 April 2019

About the Concert

Curated by master musician Ravi M. Ravichandhira OAM and Narmatha Ravichandhira MA, this concert of mainly South Indian music and dance will showcase works performed by emerging artistes, students and alumni of the Academy of Indian Music Aust. Inc. and Sruthi-Laya Kendra Aust. Inc.

Enjoy the captivating sounds created by a series of ensembles namely, classical Carnatic vocal, Carnatic violin (moving from classical to contemporary music), and Carnatic percussion that includes drums (mridangam and North Indian tabla), jews harp and konnakkol (vocal imitation of drum sounds).

Also featured is a series of colourful and expressive South Indian (Bharathanatyam) dance.

About the Principal Artists

GURU SRIMATHI NARMATHA RAVICHANDHIRA

Narmatha Ravichandhira is a highly respected mentor, composer, choreographer, performer, examiner on boards of Indian classical arts and collaborator of Indian and inter-cultural arts.

Narmatha received her initial training from her father, the illustrious vocalist Sri Ayyakannu Thesigar, and holds a Masters degree in Carnatic music from Madras University. She received advanced training in violin from Padmabhushan Lalgudi G Jayaraman and in Bharathanatyam (an important Indian classical dance genre) from Padmashree Adyar K Lakshman. In 1992, Narmatha founded the ‘Bharatha Choodamani Australia’ branch of her guru’s dance schools.

Narmatha is Co-Artistic Director of Sruthi-Laya Kendra Australia and the Melbourne Trinity Festival. She has coached a number of Australian born students, guiding them from basics to presenting full-length debut recitals in vocal, violin and Bharathanatyam. Narmatha was also

the first instructor to be awarded Teacher’s Certification in Indian classical Vocal, Violin, Bharathanatyam and Kathakali by the North Ceylon Oriental Music Society. She became a graded artiste of the All India Radio & TV.

Narmatha has performed at many events including the International Women’s Festival and the UNESCO World Conference in Paris for mainstream audiences, and was selected to record a sound-scape of Indian classical music for broadcast in the Olympic Village during the Olympic Games in Sydney.

In 2007, Narmatha was recognised by the Australia Council for the Arts as a creator of ‘new works’ in Indian Classical music and dance. In 2015, she was given the prestigious State of Victoria award, which recognises her excellence in Performing Arts and Education. In 2016, she published a compilation of her own dance choreographic works (in a suite of three DVD’s) of ‘Lalgudi’s Melodies’ as a tribute to the legendary Padmabushan Lalgudi G Jayaraman. Narmatha and her husband, M. Ravichandhira OAM (Order of Australia Medal Holder), work closely with Government agencies regarding curriculum advocacy, and the development and expansion of Indian Fine Arts at secondary and tertiary entry levels in Australia.

SAI-SARANGAN RAVICHANDHIRA - Mridangist

Sai-Sarangan Ravichandhira began learning mridangam from his father, M. Ravichandhira OAM, at the age of 4, and received advanced training from Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani from the age of 8. Sai-Sarangan also learnt carnatic singing from his mother, Narmatha Ravichandhira.

Sai-Sarangan made his concert debut at the age of 12, and at 13 he showcased the mridangam in a percussion ensemble at the Victorian Art Centre. In 2014, he was selected to play for Channel 7’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’, and in the same year he became the first recipient of the 'Mridanga Kala Nipuna' award bestowed by the legendary ghatam (clay pot percussion instrument) maestro Vikku Vinayakram at the Traditional Music Foundation India.

In 2015, Sai-Sarangan was awarded a scholarship by Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) to undertake a Creative Intensive workshop in Tasmania. For the past 5 years, he has featured annually on Nadaneerajanam TV performing with his father in the Tripathi Temple, India, and for the past 10 years has been the lead mridangist in a number of ensembles, playing at all the major institutions during the Chennai Music Festivals (in India), Trinity Festivals (in Melbourne), Melbourne Polytech Concerts, and a Mental Health Foundation of Australia Fundraiser. He performed at the Gokulashtami concert series at Krishna Gana Sabha in August 2015, and in 2016, become a graded artiste of Chennai AIR/TV. On 7 December 2018, Sai-Sarangan was invited to perform mridangam in an ensemble at the prestigious Melbourne Recital Centre in collaboration with four masters of western instruments. At present, he is a part-time lecturer in mridangam at Melbourne Polytechnic.

SAI-NIVAEITHAN RAVICHANDHIRA - Mridangam

Like his brother, Sai-Nivaeithan learnt the art of playing mridangam from his father, M. Ravichandhira OAM, and maestro Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani.

At the age of 12, Sai-Nivaeithan made his concert debut performing with flute maestro Balasai and gottuvadyam (long-necked plucked lute) exponent Durgaprasad. In 2014, Sai-Nivaeithan along with his brother Sai-Sarangan became the first recipients of the 'Mridangam Kala Nipuna' award bestowed by ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakaram.

For the past 5 years, Sai-Nivaeithan has played mridangam annually at both the prestigious Music Academy in Chennai and Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. The latter institution bestowed on him the mridangam Murugabhoopathy Award in 2016. He is also a B-High grade artist of AIR-Chennai.

At present, Sai-Nivaeithan is teaching mridangam and konnakkol (voice percussion) to students interested in pursuing this art form. He is a part-time lecturer in Indian percussion at Melbourne Polytechnic.

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Sai-Sarangan and Sai-Nivaeithan are the Assistant Artistic Directors of The Melbourne Trinity Festival and Nandhikeshwara Festival in Melbourne.

PROGRAM

Part 1: Carnatic Vocal Segment led by Narmatha Ravichandhira

PerformersGroup 1:1) Narmatha Ravichandhira2) Angayan Mayooran3) Adsaran Mayooran4) Abina Kajendran5) Anvitha Santhosh6) Harrsini Thushyanthan7) Kailash Namasivayam8) Lakshmi Sivasuthan8) Meera Mohanathas 10) Nishkria Sanjiv

Group 2: 1) Ilakkiyan Yathavan2) Kruthika Suresh Priya3) Lavenyah Santharajah4) Nartana Rajeevan5) Samyukta Saravana Babu6) Vysnavi Sivasuthan7) Varun Sujanthan

Group 3:1) Aaradhana Sujanthan2) Hareni Sivasuthan3) Haripriya Pathmaraj4) Kaaviyaa Yathavan5) Meena Sathiyanarayana 6) Shaania Daniel7) Saithirie Ravishankar

Supported on violin for Part 1:Performers: 1) Aditi Sirugudi2) Akshayan Manivannan3) Basaban Thulasithasan4) Nikhita Rajaram 

Supported on percussion for Part 1:Performers: Athavan Wijeyamanoharan (Mridangam)Sai-Nivaeithan Ravichandhira (Tabla)Adrain Sherriff (Jewharp/Morsing)

Part 2: Carnatic Violin led by Narmatha Ravichandhira

Performers1) Narmatha Ravichandhira2) Maiyurentheran Srikumar 3) Athi Pandithan4) Akshayan Manivannan5) Basaban Thulasithasan

Supported on percussion for Part 2:Performers:Sai-Sarangan Ravichandhira (Mridangam)Sai-Nivaeithan Ravichandhira (Tabla)Athavan Wijeyamanoharan (Kanjira)Adrian Sherriff (Jewharp/Morsing)

Part 3: South Indian Classical Bharathanatyam (Dance)

PerformersGroup 1:1) Hema Krishnan2) Sanika Trivedi3) Namrata Jivanjee4) Sahana Inpanathan 5) Aarthy Parathan

Group 2:1) Saachi Trivedi2) Vidya Jivanjee3)Shrriya Saravanaraja

Group 3:1) Vaheni Sivakumar2) Vaishkarni Saieasan3) Manini Bhatia

Formal Interval :10 minutes [Note: Audiences are welcome to watch the next performance while having snacks and drinks om sale]

Part 4: Percussion (mridangam) Ensemble

Performers1) Ilakkiyan Yathavan2) Maaran Parathan3) Senan Niranjan4) Shion Daniel5) Deepak Natam

6) Pranav Ramesh7) Gajan Saieasan8) Jeremy Anthonypillai9) Varun Sujanthan

Adrian Sherriff (Kanjira)Athavan Wijeyamanoharan (voice percussion)

Part 5: Carnatic Violin Classical to Contemporary

PerformersMaiyurentheran Srikumar (violin) Sai-Naivaeithan Ravichandhira (tabla)Sai-Saranga Ravichandhira (mridangam)Athavan Wijeyamanoharan (kanjira)Adrian Sherriff (Jewharp)

THANK YOU TO ALL THE PERFORMERS AND INSTRUCTORSFOR THE MANY REHEARSAL HOURS AND DEDICATION TO THE TASK

THAT YOU UNDERTOOK TO PRESENT THE PROFESSIONAL AND POLISHED PERFORMANCES WE ENJOYED TODAY.

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We continue now to MAMU’s

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

Australia is blessed with a rich tapestry of peoples and cultures, many of them from distant lands. Our monthly concert series presents examples of music and dance enjoyed and performed by members of some of the cultural groups who have made Australia their home. To demonstrate the general wealth and breadth of the artistic traditions that have helped propagate the various performances for your viewing and listening pleasure, each concert is accompanied by an exhibition of associated instruments, artefacts, books and audio/visual media.

This month our Concert focus is India, as the information of the previous pages indicates, and our Exhibition theme showcases the cultural engagement between Australia and India that has been ongoing since the late 19th century. In 1880, Raja Sir Sourindra Mohun Tagore (1840-1914) donated approximately 30 Indian musical instruments to Melbourne’s Exhibition Building which had been recently completed for the inaugural Melbourne International Exhibition. The instruments subsequently became the property of what is now known as the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). In 1975, MAMU was delighted to receive the Tagore Collection on permanent loan from the NGV. MAMU’s Louise Lightfoot Collection reveals another example of Australia’s association with India. Louise Mary Lightfoot (1902-1979) was a dancer, choreographer and entrepreneur who spent several months in Kerala (which in the south-west part of the country) in 1937 studying Kathakali dance. She intended to create an Indian ballet upon her return to Australia, and in 1947 brought Kathakali dancer Shivaram to our shores to help choreograph and star in her creations for the Australian stage. Since that time, there have been many more instances of intercultural activity between

Australia and India. Examples that pertain directly to Monash University (since the 1970s) include performances by visiting and local artists for lunchtime or evening concerts in the Music Auditorium or the Robert Blackwood Hall; the visit by sarod maestro and teacher Ashok Roy who was artist-in-residence in the Music Department (as it was then called) in 1980; master of tabla, researcher and teacher Dr Aneesh Pradhan as the inaugural Indian Council and Cultural Relations Chair at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music (as it is now called) in 2016; and today, the stunning concert of Indian ragas and rhythms in our MPavilion. An important facet of our Exhibition is the evocative music associated with the instruments in our display, and we have provided audio and audio-visual clips that are accessible on our interactive iPads. The clips include examples of the Carnatic songs and Kathakali dances of South India, and Hindustani music of North India. You are invited to press the icons on our iPads and listen to the music examples with the headphones provided. We hope you enjoy browsing the Exhibition and experiencing the sounds, images, artistry and riches of India’s cultural heritage.

Bronia KornhauserArchivist and Curator

About Indian Music from an essay by Allen Roda,Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

India has two major traditions of classical music: Hindustani music of North India and Carnatic music of South India; many regions of India also have their own musical traditions independent of these. One of the main differences between North Indian and South Indian music is the increased influence, beginning from the late 12th century, of Persian music, musical instruments and genres in the north. No such influence reached the south.

Both Hindustani and Carnatic music use the raga system – sets of pitches and patterns as the basis for a musical creation. Likewise, tala is a system of rhythmic structures based on stressed and unstressed beat combinations on which musicians build their pieces.

Hindustani classical music is largely known for its instrumentalists, while Carnatic classical music is renowned for its virtuosic singing practices. When played solo, instruments are even made to imitate the voice, using the human vocal range and characteristics of vocal music.

Instruments most commonly used in Hindustani classical music are the sitar (fretted plucked string instrument), sarod (fretless plucked string instrument), tambura (long-necked plucked string instrument), sahnai (conical oboe), sarangi (bowed fiddle) and tabla (drum pair); instruments commonly used in Carnatic music are the vina (fretted plucked string instrument), mridangam (double-headed elongated barrel-shaped drum), kanjira (frame drum) and violin.

About MAMU’s Tagore Collection and S. M. Tagore

The Tagore Collection in MAMU includes classical Hindustani, folk and hybrid instruments, and some experimental specimens. In addition to the collection residing in MAMU, Raja Sir Sourindra Mohun Tagore donated sets of instruments to similar institutions in Europe (in places like Oxford, Brussels), Japan (Tokyo), China (Peking) and North America (New York). Born in the Bengal region of north-east India, and belonging to the upper-class Brahmin caste, Tagore became an influential local figure in musicology. He studied both Western and traditional Indian musical forms and worked to integrate the two in the Bengal Music School and the Bengal Music Academy which he established in 1871 and 1882 respectively. He also founded Kolkata’s first orchestra (as opposed to military band) for which he developed hybrid Indian/European instruments in the hope of combining and preserving the best of both worlds. His other scholarly interests included the music history of India, music theory, notation, composition, and organology. In fact, his compendium of musical instruments, Yantra Kosh, is considered a landmark work in organology. Published in 1875, and written in Bengali, it sets out the traditional Indian 4-part classification system of instruments into chordophones (vibrating strings), aerophones (vibrating winds), membranophones (vibrating skins) and ideophones (vibrating solid bodies), a system later adopted and adopted by Sachs and Hornbostel and others. Tagore was also one of the earliest Indian musicologists to publish works on music in English.

Selections from MAMU’s Tagore Collection, North India

Rudra Vina (called by the North Indian name of Bin by S.M. Tagore)

The rudra vina or bin is an ancient plucked string instrument used in Hindustani classical music and is rarely played today. It comprises a long tubular wooden body secured to the top of two dried and hollowed out gourds that act as resonators. Usually 24 frets are firmly fitted along the tubular body, but the number can vary. Our instrument has 20 frets. The bin has seven strings – four main strings and three used as chikari (that is, closely strung into a group and used for droning). When playing the instrument, a musician has the upper gourd slanted on the left shoulder and the lower gourd resting on the right knee, and uses plectra on the index and middle fingers of the right hand to pluck the strings.

Nyâstaranga

The nyâstaranga or ‘Throat Trumpet’ has the form of a straight horn but is not a wind instrument or aerophone (using Tagore’s terminology) because the manner of producing sound is not through vibration caused by wind. Rather the nyâstaranga is a membranophone because a vibrating membrane makes the sound. The mouthpiece, covered with a spider-web, is pressed into the larynx. The web membrane vibrates when the musician hums. The vibrating spider-web generates the sound which is oboe-like and amplified by the conical body of the instrument.

From the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin online collections database.

It is often used in pairs pressed into each side of the larynx (near the vocal chords as shown in the image at right) to augment the volume. Although it is part of Hindustani classical music tradition it was rarely used due to the difficulty of playing it.

Sarangi

The sarangi is a short-necked fretless bowed string instrument with a rectangular body that becomes slightly waisted towards the upper side which is covered with skin. A bridge is attached to the skin and kept in place with a reinforcement strap. The sarangi has three main strings and many sympathetic strings. When played, the instrument is held upright and pitch is determined by sliding the fingernail against the string (instead of pressing the string onto the fingerboard as is done with a violin), which requires a high level of skill and artistry. The sound produced is often compared to the human voice. The sarangi was used extensively as a folk instrument before being incorporated into Hindustani classical music from around the 17 th

century.

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Selections from MAMU’s Collection of Instruments from South India

Mridangam

Saraswati Vina

The saraswati vina is one of South India’s oldest musical instruments and a descendant of the early lute. It is often called ‘The Queen of Instruments’ and has retained that distinction to this day, with ‘Sarawasti’ referring to the Hindu goddess of learning. The instrument comprises a hollowed-out resonator and long neck fashioned from the one piece of wood, with a gourd attached underneath the neck’s end. In our case, the material of the gourd is man-made and green. Past the gourd, the neck slopes down and is completed with a carved

The mridangam is the primary rhythmic instrument accompanying the voice in a Carnatic music ensemble. This two-headed drum is made of wood and each head, usually of goatskin, is tightly held in place with leather or rope lacing. Small wooden dowels under the lacing control tension and affect pitch. Definite pitch is achieved by a removable patch that can be fixed to each head; the larger head is usually tuned an octave lower than the smaller one. A mridangam is held across the lap when played and the drummer beats both heads with hands and fingers to create complex rhythmic patterns.

dragon’s head. Strings are metal and consist of four main playing strings (plucked by the index and middle fingers) and three drone strings (sounded by the little finger); 24 frets are secured to the neck. Before the introduction of the violin to South India, the sarawasti vina was often used as the melodic accompaniment for classical vocalists.

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To many listeners, the classical Carnatic music of South India has a restrained, contemplative and intellectual quality. As well, fewer instruments are used in this genre (than in northern Indian classical Hindustani music), and there are no exclusively instrumental forms. The greatest number of Carnatic musicians, and the most outstanding performances, are found in the city of Chennai (formerly Madras).

Another notable performance genre of South India is Kathalaki – a dance-drama form originating from Kerala, and one that caught the attention of Australia’s Louise Lightfoot in the

1930s.

About Louise Lightfoot and her Bequest to MAMU

Louise Lightfoot was the first woman in Melbourne to graduate in architecture; she worked as an apprentice, then a qualified architect with Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Her first experience of Indian dance was in Paris when she saw a performance of the famous Uday Shankar’s troupe, but her real introduction to India came when she made a visit in 1937.

For several years, her Indian teachers taught her their art and related cultural and religious beliefs. She was the first Western student of the South Indian dance, Kathakali, and became an artist herself with a quest to promote the art and technique of other artists in India, Australia and elsewhere. In the 1940s, she spent an extended sojourn in Manipur, in north-east India, and learnt a great deal about the dance-form (Manipuri) of that region.

Promoting both styles of Indian dance involved very demanding and practical elements including planning programs, organising performance venues and travel arrangements of artists. In her project of cultural translation, she saw the need to adapt Indian dance for Western audiences to elicit greater understanding and

appreciation. Unusual for an Australian in the 1930s and 1940s, Louise Lightfoot wanted her compatriots to know and engage with their South Asian neighbours on a basis of equality.

MAMU received her collection of scrapbooks, photographs, tapes, records, books, costumes and other memorabilia in 1979.

KathakaliKathakali, meaning ‘story-play’, uses stories from Hindu epics such as the ‘Mahabharata’ and the ‘Ramayana’ as the basis for performance. Make-up and costumes are intricate and elaborate and intended to disguise completely the identity of performers in order to cast them as divine beings. There are roughly ten character types, each of which has its own particular costume and make-up.

Kathakali troupes usually comprise twenty-five members and include dancers, make-up artists and musicians. Performances are incredibly detailed and technically demanding, with certain expressions and gestures requiring years to master.

Louise Lightfoot worked closely with renowned Kathakali dancer Shivaram, touring many parts of the world with him and other Indian dancers. The image below shows him practising the expressive eye movements needed for demanding Kathakali performances.

Shivaram’s eye exercises

According to Louise Lightfoot’s notes, Shivaram practised these eye exercises at 3:00-4:00am after he inserted drops of clarified butter in his eyes and massaged them.

Newspaper cuttings from Louise Lightfoot’s Scrapbook covering Shivaram’s first Australian tour in 1947.

From Louise Lightfoot’s scrapbook covering Shivaram’s 1950 tour of Australia. Here the Women’s Weekly 15 April 1950 edition included a spread on him, the other dancers and the tour.

Shivaram’s musical

accompaniment selections

Notice of Shivaram performing at Monash University in 1976

Members of Louise Lightfoot’s Katha Kathakali dance troupe in costume

ManipuriManipuri dance dramas are often based on the Rasilila, the love story of Radha and Krishna. We have showcased the richly ornate headpieces and side and front panels worn during these performances.

Legend holds that the indigenous people of the Manipur Valley were the dancers revered as gandharvas (heavenly beings/master musicians) in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which suggests that the dance tradition has existed in Manipur since antiquity, passed down orally from generation to generation.

Manipuri dance is very religious in character and the movements refrain from all possible poses that may infer sexual overtones. In keeping with this policy, costumes cover the body from just below the neck down to the feet.

Headpiece for Krishna Smaller headpiece for Radha(Hindu deity) character, Krishna’s beloved character,part of Manipuri dance part of the Manipuri dance costume costume

Part of the Manipuri dance costume’s ornate side panels, and front panel

Manipuri full dance costume from page 67 of Louise Lightfoot’s book Dance Rituals of Manipur published in 1948.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Heartiest thanks to past and present students and staff of the Academy of Indian Music Aust. Inc. and Sruthi-Laya Kendra Aust. Inc., to members of Melbourne’s Indian

communities, and to other generous individuals and groups for their input and participation in today’s Concert. We are particularly grateful to Ravi M. Ravichandhira OAM and Narmatha Ravichandhira MA for curating and speaking at the event.

Curating an Exhibition also requires team effort and my thanks go to Dr Annette Bowie - my intrepid Assistant Archivist, and to Tate Lawler - MAMU’s current intern, for their many hours spent in sorting, researching, mounting and labelling the items on display.

I also wish to thank Professor Margaret Kartomi for introducing the event and for all her behind-the scenes activities, both for the Exhibition and Concert; Brendan McCleary and Jarryd Redwood for organising and attending to the promotional work and materials for the Concert; Steven Makris and Ines Sincock for their invaluable assistance in managing data for the interactive iPads; Karl Willebrant and his resource people for taking care of all our needs for the Concert and Exhibition.

Finally, thank you to Dr Adrian McNeil, a highly regarded scholar of Indian music, for launching the Exhibition. Adrian has been studying Hindustani music (sarod) for 35 years with Ashok Roy, Sachindranath Roy and Dr Ashok Ranade. And last but not least, a big thank you to Ravi M. Ravichandhira OAM for his insightful additional commentary at the launch.

Bronia Kornhauser

MPavilion and Music Archive of Monash University (MAMU) Concert and Exhibition series at Monash University, Semester 1, 2019