<p>It is perhaps one of the more scenic villages in Hassan district, with the serene Cauvery flowing by. What is also striking about Rudrapatna is its clean environs. These nondescript features, with a charm of their own, have enhanced the appeal of the little hamlet, poised to come to life with music and dance, come March. As the Rudrapatna Sangeetotsava marks up a decade of celebration of classical and traditional arts from March 2, it is time to pay obeisance to one of the most sacred spots of Karnataka, and pledge to keep its cultural legacy alive for posterity. <br /><br />Who has not heard of R K Srikantan, R K Suryanarayana, Rudrapatna Brothers, Ratnamala Prakash, R S Sreelatha, and R K Prakash among others, all well-known musicians hailing from a single village - Rudrapatna. Perhaps it’s most prominent descendant today is R K Padmanabha, who has not only helped the village regain its lost glory, but has re-created it as a cultural nucleus, the touchstone of which is permanence. <br />The visionary Padmanabha defies categorisation. He is an ace performer, teacher, mega-event organiser, and music messiah, all rolled in one. The pioneer of the goshti gayana concept, he has been teaching music free of cost for years, having groomed many such concert-level troupes. Spreading music to the common man has been his single-point mission in life, and the transformation of Rudrapatna from a village gone to seed, to one pulsating with classical notes, is entirely because of his enterprise and efforts. <br /><br />Rudrapatna is to Karnataka what Thiruvaiyar is to Tamilnadu. It is not just that the top musicians of the state have been from here. Vedic scholars and harikatha vidwans are as much a part of its venerable past, Shathavadhani Venkataraya, R K Krishna Shastry, R. Venkataramaiah, and R S Keshavamurthy being some of its progenitors. <br /><br />When Rudrapatna lost out...<br />As greener pastures beckoned the innate musical talent of people from Rudrapatna, the village lost its identity by the 1950s. The musicians went places individually, but Rudrapatna got blanked out from collective memory as a cultural confluence with an ancient history. “Two varnas of Venkataramanaiah, in the then little-heard ragas Nayaki and Kedaragowla, got me thinking about the depth and creativity of its musicians. Parallel to Thyagaraja’s time, a musical richness evolved and flourished in Rudrapatna. For people to get to know its greatness, they needed to be enticed to the village. This was the genesis for its rejuvenation”, says Padmanabha. <br /><br />Temple devoted to composers<br />Temples dedicated to even minor gods and village deities are not unusual. But one devoted to the composers of Carnatic music, is a revolutionary concept. Out of Padmanabha’s myriad ideas to create a lasting monument for Rudrapatna, and to music itself, arose the 70 feet, tambura-shaped architectural beauty, the Saptaswara Devatha Dhyana Mandira, incorporating every aspect of the instrument in its structure including the 72 melakarta ragas. The substance of Carnatic music is rivetted to the compositions of Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Shyama Sastry, Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa, and Vadiraja, and they, along with Saraswathi—the goddess of learning—are the seven presiding deities of the Mandira. They also represent the saptaswaras. <br /><br />Equally unconventional is the “naada pooje” or musical worship, which is as pleasing as it is apt, culminating in a lyrical introduction of each of the composers. <br /><br />Linking the past with the present is also the newly-renovated ancient Prasanna Rameshwara temple right on the banks of the Cauvery. Along with the other age-old Chennakeshava temple, and the Dhyana Mandira with its manicured garden, Rudrapatna makes for an independent temple circuit. A decade of well-thought-out cultural happenings has brought Rudrapatna on to the cultural map of the world, Padmanabha’s innovative, year-round events wooing enthusiastic crowds. <br /><br />The nomenclature of the programmes is immaterial. Their sanctity and seriousness of approach are the foundations on which the edifice of modern-day Rudrapatna is being sculpted. Nowhere else in the country is the Thyagaraja Aradhana observed with such heartfelt gratitude. It is food for the soul while being a musical feast. <br /><br />Over 1,000 artistes have been presented at Rudrapatna, observes Padmanabha. <br />In Bangalore too, the expansive Vadiraja Bhavana built by him, reverberates to music all through the year. Periodic health camps and refurbishing of the primary health centre are part of the service activities got up the seasoned artiste in his native village. Community involvement is evident everywhere.<br /><br />Circa 1830, Rudrapatna resonated with Vedic chants and Carnatic music. Today, it revels in similar ambience, Padmanabha having re-invented it as a distinctive cultural and pilgrim destination. </p>
<p>It is perhaps one of the more scenic villages in Hassan district, with the serene Cauvery flowing by. What is also striking about Rudrapatna is its clean environs. These nondescript features, with a charm of their own, have enhanced the appeal of the little hamlet, poised to come to life with music and dance, come March. As the Rudrapatna Sangeetotsava marks up a decade of celebration of classical and traditional arts from March 2, it is time to pay obeisance to one of the most sacred spots of Karnataka, and pledge to keep its cultural legacy alive for posterity. <br /><br />Who has not heard of R K Srikantan, R K Suryanarayana, Rudrapatna Brothers, Ratnamala Prakash, R S Sreelatha, and R K Prakash among others, all well-known musicians hailing from a single village - Rudrapatna. Perhaps it’s most prominent descendant today is R K Padmanabha, who has not only helped the village regain its lost glory, but has re-created it as a cultural nucleus, the touchstone of which is permanence. <br />The visionary Padmanabha defies categorisation. He is an ace performer, teacher, mega-event organiser, and music messiah, all rolled in one. The pioneer of the goshti gayana concept, he has been teaching music free of cost for years, having groomed many such concert-level troupes. Spreading music to the common man has been his single-point mission in life, and the transformation of Rudrapatna from a village gone to seed, to one pulsating with classical notes, is entirely because of his enterprise and efforts. <br /><br />Rudrapatna is to Karnataka what Thiruvaiyar is to Tamilnadu. It is not just that the top musicians of the state have been from here. Vedic scholars and harikatha vidwans are as much a part of its venerable past, Shathavadhani Venkataraya, R K Krishna Shastry, R. Venkataramaiah, and R S Keshavamurthy being some of its progenitors. <br /><br />When Rudrapatna lost out...<br />As greener pastures beckoned the innate musical talent of people from Rudrapatna, the village lost its identity by the 1950s. The musicians went places individually, but Rudrapatna got blanked out from collective memory as a cultural confluence with an ancient history. “Two varnas of Venkataramanaiah, in the then little-heard ragas Nayaki and Kedaragowla, got me thinking about the depth and creativity of its musicians. Parallel to Thyagaraja’s time, a musical richness evolved and flourished in Rudrapatna. For people to get to know its greatness, they needed to be enticed to the village. This was the genesis for its rejuvenation”, says Padmanabha. <br /><br />Temple devoted to composers<br />Temples dedicated to even minor gods and village deities are not unusual. But one devoted to the composers of Carnatic music, is a revolutionary concept. Out of Padmanabha’s myriad ideas to create a lasting monument for Rudrapatna, and to music itself, arose the 70 feet, tambura-shaped architectural beauty, the Saptaswara Devatha Dhyana Mandira, incorporating every aspect of the instrument in its structure including the 72 melakarta ragas. The substance of Carnatic music is rivetted to the compositions of Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Shyama Sastry, Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa, and Vadiraja, and they, along with Saraswathi—the goddess of learning—are the seven presiding deities of the Mandira. They also represent the saptaswaras. <br /><br />Equally unconventional is the “naada pooje” or musical worship, which is as pleasing as it is apt, culminating in a lyrical introduction of each of the composers. <br /><br />Linking the past with the present is also the newly-renovated ancient Prasanna Rameshwara temple right on the banks of the Cauvery. Along with the other age-old Chennakeshava temple, and the Dhyana Mandira with its manicured garden, Rudrapatna makes for an independent temple circuit. A decade of well-thought-out cultural happenings has brought Rudrapatna on to the cultural map of the world, Padmanabha’s innovative, year-round events wooing enthusiastic crowds. <br /><br />The nomenclature of the programmes is immaterial. Their sanctity and seriousness of approach are the foundations on which the edifice of modern-day Rudrapatna is being sculpted. Nowhere else in the country is the Thyagaraja Aradhana observed with such heartfelt gratitude. It is food for the soul while being a musical feast. <br /><br />Over 1,000 artistes have been presented at Rudrapatna, observes Padmanabha. <br />In Bangalore too, the expansive Vadiraja Bhavana built by him, reverberates to music all through the year. Periodic health camps and refurbishing of the primary health centre are part of the service activities got up the seasoned artiste in his native village. Community involvement is evident everywhere.<br /><br />Circa 1830, Rudrapatna resonated with Vedic chants and Carnatic music. Today, it revels in similar ambience, Padmanabha having re-invented it as a distinctive cultural and pilgrim destination. </p>
