Award a recognition to double my efforts: Satyanarayana

 With the total publications exceeding 20,000 pages — 23 critical editions of Sanskrit treatises on music and dance, 31 original works on various forms of art, 22 translations and commentaries on ancient works of music and dance, 13 edited works, over 70 research papers presented at various seminars and more than 200 published articles — R Satyanarayana is arguably the most prominent musicologist and danceologist of the country.

The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama choosing him for the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy fellowship for the year 2013 and naming him as ‘Akademi Ratna’, are two more feathers in the cap of the already decorated cap of the scholar.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, at his residence in Jayanagar, in Mysore, on Sunday, Satyanarayana, 86, feels that the award is just a recognition, so that he could ‘double his efforts’.

The prestigious fellowship, bestowed on only a few people has not affected the hunger of the scholar for research.

“We should not consider awards and recognitions as a significant part of one’s life. Rather, we should concentrate our efforts on continuing research as there are greater achievements to be made. Our vision must be to contribute to the well-being of the society, rather than aspiring for recognitions,” he said.

Irrespective of whether there is recognition by the government or not, if we are dynamic and interested in the things we do, there will be a sense of personal satisfaction, which no recognition can give you, he added.

Research

After studying several classical works on music and dance and publishing hundreds of papers, Sathyanarayana said, his current research concentrates on classical music and their benefits.

“My research will now try to shed light on what music is and how to develop it to benefit the society,” he said.

Researches have shown that the state of the mind of people with insanity or depression relaxes by listening to some kinds of music. Music in hospitals can accelerate the process of recovery of patients, he said.

He was critical of the types of research taken up in music colleges and universities. People who research on music should collaborate with musicians, to develop new forms of music.

On youth distancing themselves from classical forms of music, he said, it is wrong to differentiate music as classical, light or film music.

“We should consider all forms of music as one and work towards making common people appreciate music,” he said.

Family

Sathyanarayana was born in a family of musicians on May 9, 1927, in Mysore.
He started learning music from his mother Varalakshmi at the age of five. His brother, sister, wife, son and daughter-in-law are all musicians. He, along with his wife Gauri Sathyanarayana, still teaches music at his house.

“The purpose of life is served when we are of some benefit to society, even after we are dead. Youth should understand this aspect. We owe a lot to the society we are born in. We should try our best, within our limits, to return something to the society,” he said.