Fitting tribute to a pioneer

PARUR SUNDARAM Iyer was born in 1891. He learnt violin under Trivandrum Ramaswamy Bhagavather, Asthana Vidwan of Travancore Palace. Once, when he was performing in Cochin, Sait Govindanaik, a great connoisseur of music heard the concert, was very pleased with his performance and sent Sundaram Iyer to Mumbai, where he was introduced to Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, principal, Gandharva Maha Vidhyalaya. Panditji appointed Sundaram Iyer as professor of violin and also taught him Hindustani Music. Thus violin was first introduced in Hindustani Music in 1909 by Sundaram Iyer. In 1916, he was awarded a gold medal and a Certificate of Proficiency. In 1922, he proceeded to Chennai. He was a Faculty Member of the University of Madras in the Music Department. He created a new style of playing the violin known as the Parur style, which is widely followed by violinists today. Now this style is well established and is followed by his son, Parur M. S. Anantharaman and grandsons M. A. Sundareswaran and M. A. Krishnaswamy. Prof. Sundaram Iyer was the Founder of Sri. Thyagaraja Sangeetha Vidwat Samajam, Mylapore. He was highly respeted by all his contemporary vidwans and they visited him and gave Chamber Music performances at his residence.Sundaram Iyer had two sons and four daughters. Both his sons, M. S. Anantharaman and M.S. Gopalakrishnan, earned fame in their own right as violin maestros. All this daughters were proficient on the violin. As an accompanist on the violin, Sundaram Iyer played in many concerts with all the well known vocalists of the 1920s and 1930s. Later on, he began giving solo performances, very soon it became a trio, with Gopalakrishnan providing the third violin.

Anantaraman's two sons are also accomplished violinists. M. A. Sundareswaran and M. A. Krishnaswami are both top artistes on the staff of All India Radio, Chennai. Anantaraman is continuing the Parur tradition, and giving concerts with three violins, including his two sons. Anantaraman has travelled abroad several times, and I have myself heard him many times at various cities in the U.S. It is altogether fitting that Anantaraman has decided to establish the Parur Sri Sundaram Iyer Trust, in memory of his revered father, who passed away in December 1964.

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Celebration

IN COMMEMORATION of the centenary of Parur Sundaram Iyer and to mark the completion of seven decades of service to the field of music by violin maestro M.S. Anantharaman, the Parur Sri Sundaram Iyer Trust has been formed. The Trust will be inaugurated by Sri Jayendra Saraswathi and Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi at 6 p.m. on October 8 at Sadguru Gnananda Hall, Narada Gana Sabha. Several musicians will felicitate Sri Anantharaman. A compact disc,``Samarpanam'', comprising a violin recital rendered by M. S. Anantharaman, M.A. Sundareswaran and M.A. Krishnaswamy, will be released on the occasion. The celebration will include a violin ensemble by the Parur family.

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