Vidwan T.A.S. Mani

Excerpts translated from senior Mridangam Vidwan Sri T.A.S. Mani’s write up on TBN

I have known Sri. T.B.Narasimhachar from the time I was barely a kid as we lived in the same street in Malleswaram, Bangalore. I used to admire
his physique as well as his immense love for music.

Vidwan M. Chandrasekaran

We interviewed violin maestro Sri.M.Chandrasekaran at his residence in Chennai. He was very dear to TBN and had often stayed with him when visiting Bangalore.

Vidwan D. Balakrishna

Veena Vidwan D. Balakrishna kindly emailed us some of his personal memories of TBN:

It is a matter of great pride and pleasure to me to record my impressions about Sri T.B Narasimhachar, a great friend of my father Sangeetakalanidhi Dr. Mysore Doreswamy Iyengar and to many stalwart Musicians and Musicologists of his generation. I have benefited from my association with this eminent music critic who wrote for Deccan Herald, Indian Express , Prajavani and others.

A Mrudangist whose Art doesn’t cloy

The Indian Express – Thursday June 17^th 1976.

Almost every resident of Umayalpuram, a village near Kumbakonam, is steeped in hoary musical tradition, or so it seems. Two of Thyagaraja’s principal disciples were the Umayalpuram Brothers, Krishna Bhagavathar and Sundara Bhagavathar, who started a new school of rendering the saint’s compositions. Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer was the guru of that master of Lakshya Gyana, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. His own father Dr. Kasi Viswanatha Iyer was a great scholar, who was heir to a musical tradition.

Dr.S.Ramanathan

15th Jan. 1976  Indian Express 

In his preface to the edition of the Tamil classic ‘Silappadikaaram’ Mahamahopadhyaya U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer the doyen of Tamil literature, explained  that he had published the book in its original form and expressed the hope that some day some scholar would unravel the mysteries of its contents.

Vainika Shikhamani Seshanna of Mysore

Shanmukha, July 1978(Quarterly Musical Journal from Bombay) 

By

T.B.Narasimhachar

One of the most wellknown names in Carnatic music is that of Veena Seshanna of Mysore whose life-span covered the reigns three illustrious rulers of the erst-while State of Mysore and whose name continues to be mentioned with respect and regard wherever and whenever ‘Veena’ is talked about. Fortunately we have two types of corroborative material to assess his personality and explain to us the extent and nature of his greatness.

Musicians Then And Now

Indian Express Saturday June 7^th  1980

During a recent visit to Bangalore, I sought an interview with Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer for the benefit of the younger generation of musicians and music lovers. It was the morning after a successful programme of his and he was resting at the residence of a fan-friend. He greeted me with the remark that his great contemporaries had all departed from this world, leaving him alone to ‘face the music’. I pointed out that the unqualified success of his concert the previous evening, both in terms of attendance and ‘gate collection’(four figures), belied his fears.

Nedunuri Krishnamurthy

Around the early years of the past decade a bright and handsome young man from Pithapuram caught the imagination of the cognoscenti of Carnatic music.

Maestro’s Musings on Music

Indian Express dated 20^th Nov. 1975

The maestro was in a relaxed and expansive mood after a highly successful tour of the United States. Actually he should have gone round the world many times over by now, but his doting father would never bear to be separated from his pet son even for a few days at a stretch. The son was too obedient to defy the wishes of his parent and had stayed put in his own country. This entailed a considerable sacrifice on his part, both in terms of fame and lucre, but he had made peace with his career at home till at long last this our materialised.

A Musical Phenomenon

Indian Express 12th July 1980

A Musical Phenomenon

Among the many stalwart musicians of the latter half of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th century, Palghat Anantharama Bhagavathar was a unique personality. Tall, fair-complexioned and with a fiery moustache, he left an indelible impression on all those who saw and heard him. His senior contemporaries were Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer, Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer, Pallavi Seshayyer, Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar, Thiruvotriyur Thyagayya, Veena Seshanna, Dhanammal and Bidaram Krishnappa,  to name only a few.