He comes. He squats. He delivers from his presence. He is the Abu Ben Adam of Carnatic music. Towers above the rest, in terms of artistry to attract overflowing audiences, filling up halls, dais’, and then the aisles too, even for ticketed concerts. It was no different on December 6 for Karthik Fine Arts, at Narada Gana Sabha. Sangita Kalanidhi Sanjay Subramanyan, opened his seasonal
conquests nay concerts with a performance truly singing to the Gods, as only he can. He does not possess the golden timbre in his voice, several others are gifted with. There is an undeniable element of ‘coarseness’ which imbues the manliness that elevates not detracts.
The man has simply practised his way to perfection, to be in his elements consistently. Dressed in his customary lily white veshti with a whiter half slack and angavastram thrown across his right shoulders, he briskly walks in to take his seat - to occupycentre-stage, which he richly deserves. The virtuosity of the performer comes through shining, as he belts newer and newer numbers- Paarukku Ponnambalan- from his vast repertoire built over 4 decades. Mind you, by carnatic music standards of yesteryear, he may well have begun his reign on anointment as Sangita Kalanidhi by the Music Academy, three years ago . Surely, not old at 50 years.
Sanjay Subrahmanyan
He always kept himself to himself. Or opened up to only his close friends or inner circle .When he spoke in public, however, he comes through as a
friendly and gregarious soul with no hang ups of any genre. He wears his status as the prima donna lightly.
He is a self-confessed cricket fanatic (who is not in India where cricket is religion, you may ask? ) mobile fan crazy. He is on Twitter handle @sanjaysub, and rarely tweets for a thoughtful person.
While, our friendly neighbourhood maverick musician maestro TM Krishna effortlessly wades into controversies
willingly, Sanjay meticulously keeps off them like a plague. Rarely, if ever, he has been caught napping with a misplaced word or syllable in his utterances. And, mind you, TM Krishna respects and regards Sanjay in these words “Every generation
produces gifted artists - each with a different lineage, expression and intent in the pursuit of Carnatic music. But only one among the many
redefines the idea of music and leads the way for the rest to marvel at and learn from. Vidwan Sanjay Subrahmanyan is just that. His uniqueness is the
combination of his musical insight and an immensely forthright personality, which made a huge impact on every musician who came up from the ranks in the 1990s. Honestly, for some of us, Sanjay was quite frightening. I use this word in the most positive sense, because he made us realise all the inadequacies in our music, not
intentionally, but just with his sharp intellect”.
He is an atheist or agnostic, as is your pick, and does not wear it on his sleeve. But, when he tucks into Thiagaraja or Muthusamy Dikshithar or Shyama Sastri, the passion and Bhava he brings to the fore, would have moved not only the Vaggeyakaras but divinity too. You can see Mylapore mamas and mamis tap dancing and swaying in their seats, even as their wobbly knees troubles them, with tearful eyes, as he breaks into eulogies of Karpagambal or Sri Ranganatha. It is tough to believe that a performer as he, could be a
non-believer. That is the beauty of this artiste.
In cricketing parlance, he can be likened to the little master Sachin Tendulkar who despite his prodigious talent always was prayerful in net
practice. Sanjay is no less devoted lending consistency to his faculties. He has that inscrutable X factor that catapults him to ‘star’
status across ages. He always has aces up his sleeve to regale his adoring rasikas. In the wake of DeMonetisation he hit upon a Samuel Vedanayakam Pillai’s piece “Panamay Unnal Enna Gunamay” so apt and hilarious that it went viral and continues to.
As Sanjaya Uvacha - Sujana Jeevana Rama - an all time crowd favourite, the day was made. He let the Swaras dangle in front and plucked them as they drift, to form a sparkling
necklace of phrases. He caresses, cajoles and coaxes them into forming innovative patterns of his own. He has patented his raga alapanas and as he stays put at higher octaves, the lung power on display is unmatched. Stunningly beautiful. He has the knack of deciphering the
composition of the audience to sing those compositions that touch their souls. Today was no different.
Remember the Leigh Hunt poem that philosophers and Bhagwad Gita exponents freely quote in their expositions . Abou woke up in dream to see an Angel putting together a list of those who ‘loved God’.
Abou posed whether his name found a place. The Angel said No. Abou responded that he would like to be in a list of those who loved his fellow beings. Angel came back the next day with a list of those whom God loved and Abou’s name led the rest. Sanjay loves his fans, and never disdainful of them, and endearingly feeds them the fare they desire and deserve. He is a living embodiment to demonstrate that rasikas matter and without them there is no season to
celebrate. He mused with Isai Paada Vendumay - exactly what his rasikas want him to.
He closed with a sweet dessert in Raagam, Thanam Pallavi to the delirious joy of his legion of fans. No wonder ‘Abou Ben Adhem’, of Carnatic music towers above the rest.
( Author is practising advocate in the Madras high court)
