Late Pt. ArjunSa Nakod - Divinity redefined
I was on a visit to Hubli, for my regular lessons with Pt. Arjunsa Nakod when I decided to pop a few questions to the man of few words, doyen of the Gwalior Kirana gharana. Arjunsa, father of such illustrious sons as Pt. Raghunath Nakod, Pt. Balachandra Nakod, Vishwanath Nakod and Rajendra Nakod, was known among the music circles as a ‘true gentleman’ who encouraged his youngers and respected his peers/senior artistes, regardless of their background. He began by narrating his journey, from his birth on 1st January 1928, in Bettgeri, to a brief training from Krishna Buwa, and then to the visit of the legendary Panchakshari Gawai, (who had heard about young Arjunsa’s ability) to his hometown then – Gadag. Reminiscing the turning point in his life, he said, “When I sang ‘Neer bharan’ in Tilak-kamod before Panchakshari ajjaru, he was overwhelmed and said that I had a bright future as a gawai, insisting that I should go with him to pursue music. My parents, though reluctant at first, agreed to let go of their ambition to see me as a school teacher and I was on my way to artistehood”.
Panchakshari Gawai belonged to Gwalior gharana and used to run a musical drama company – Sri Kumareshwara Natya Sangha. He travelled from place to place putting up his musical shows and was accompanied by young ArjunSa, who learnt music as well as acting. Barely a couple of months into his training, at the ‘Belli mahotsava’ of a Dharwad mutt, ArjunSa sang a couple of vachanas and immediately shot into fame for his eloquent and perfect delivery. There was no looking back since then for this classical singer-actor, popularly known as ‘Mallikarjun’ for his role. His wife Anusuya joked about the female characters he played saying, “All my good saris were used by him more than me!” Camp life was gruelling as the shows ran late and days began early; music lessons would start only late in the afternoon. ArjunSa affectionately recalled, “Panchakshari Gawai was a fatherly guru, he always taught while tabla was being played alongside so that students could master the laya and tal aspects.”
Having had an extensive training from Panchakshari Gawai, ArjunSa started learning from Pt. Dr. Puttaraj Gawai (after the demise of the former) renowned musician and spiritual head of the Veereshwara Punyashram for blind children at Gadag. Soon Arjunsa was running his own ‘Vasant Kala Natya Sangha’, staging shows all over the state, while he continued giving classical recitals all over India. Many a time, because of conflicting schedules he had to let go of classical programmes being the sole breadwinner. According to his wife, “He never got into the maze of fame or wealth; he earned enough to run his immediate family and the drama troupe.While he ran the show, I would work behind the scenes, preparing meals for the troupe and looking after the kids.”
Arjunsa enthralled his audiences wherever he performed and had earned the name ‘huli’ (tiger) by his fans for his reverberant voice and powerful delivery. He was at the peak of his career, when one fine day, he realised that a drink offered to him had caused him problems in his voice box. Slowly his voice began to fail him and he was forced to cut down on his performances. He searched high and low for a remedy and after multiple surgeries, he realised that the cyst in his voice box was not improving. Through such rough and trying times, Arjunsa did not lose heart - he put all his attention on teaching, and went on to start ‘Renuka Sangeet Vidyalaya’ in 1965.
He believed in sincerely imparting knowledge to anyone who knocked on his door, never once expecting that it would be remunerative. Resident disciples would stay with him in true guru-shishya tradition and those who could not afford to pay in cash, did some form of service as their gurudakshina. In the nineties, he started visiting Bangalore and taught a number of local students. More than his own, Arjunsa had now begun to draw satisfaction from performances of disciples – prominent among them were Pt. Bhalachandra Nakod (son), Hanumanth Rao Gonwar, Sadashiv Aiholi, D.S. Siddaramu (clarionet), Jayateerth Mevundi, Ravindra Sogavi, Renuka Nakod, Vasumati Raganathan, B. R. Geeta, Mouna Ramachandra to name a few. His advice to upcoming students was, “Be dedicated and determined to become a good artiste. Do thorough ‘riyaz’ and see how scales tilt in your favour.” “It is not necessary that a student should perform only after a certain (long) period of learning; smaller baithaks sharpen presentation skills, preparing the student for mehfils”, he encouraged.
Praising his contemporaries for their knowledge and skills he enumerated Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur and Ustad Amir Khan for their unique styles. Arjunsa maintained that any good music deserves appreciation, and that one must pickup good aspects from others’ music. Truly untouched by artistic rivalry or by competition, this ‘Sangeeta Ratna’ was a sensitive, scholarly and well-respected musician among peers, music lovers and critics alike. Among the many awards that he has won, the Sangeet Natak Academy award, the Karnataka State Rajyotsava award, Sangeeta Sudhakara award and the Dussera award are a few.
Urging the Government, educational institutions, music organisations and media to promote classical music he warned that unless propagated, this rich tradition might get restricted to just a few pockets of culture in the country.
As ArjunSa spoke that day, it seemed as though all the Zig Ziglar lessons on positive attitude were there in front of me in flesh and blood – having made his long and arduous musical journey through untold misery and financial hardships, sickness and loss of voice, there was not a hint of exhaustion from whatever he had undergone, on the contrary his twinkling eyes and radiant smile spoke of his contentment, inner peace and tranquillity. “What more do I want – I have travelled all over India on performances and have produced such good artistes among my disciples!”
Today although he is no more with us, his music lives on in the hearts of people and through his many disciples.
Panchakshari Gawai belonged to Gwalior gharana and used to run a musical drama company – Sri Kumareshwara Natya Sangha. He travelled from place to place putting up his musical shows and was accompanied by young ArjunSa, who learnt music as well as acting. Barely a couple of months into his training, at the ‘Belli mahotsava’ of a Dharwad mutt, ArjunSa sang a couple of vachanas and immediately shot into fame for his eloquent and perfect delivery. There was no looking back since then for this classical singer-actor, popularly known as ‘Mallikarjun’ for his role. His wife Anusuya joked about the female characters he played saying, “All my good saris were used by him more than me!” Camp life was gruelling as the shows ran late and days began early; music lessons would start only late in the afternoon. ArjunSa affectionately recalled, “Panchakshari Gawai was a fatherly guru, he always taught while tabla was being played alongside so that students could master the laya and tal aspects.”
Having had an extensive training from Panchakshari Gawai, ArjunSa started learning from Pt. Dr. Puttaraj Gawai (after the demise of the former) renowned musician and spiritual head of the Veereshwara Punyashram for blind children at Gadag. Soon Arjunsa was running his own ‘Vasant Kala Natya Sangha’, staging shows all over the state, while he continued giving classical recitals all over India. Many a time, because of conflicting schedules he had to let go of classical programmes being the sole breadwinner. According to his wife, “He never got into the maze of fame or wealth; he earned enough to run his immediate family and the drama troupe.While he ran the show, I would work behind the scenes, preparing meals for the troupe and looking after the kids.”
Arjunsa enthralled his audiences wherever he performed and had earned the name ‘huli’ (tiger) by his fans for his reverberant voice and powerful delivery. He was at the peak of his career, when one fine day, he realised that a drink offered to him had caused him problems in his voice box. Slowly his voice began to fail him and he was forced to cut down on his performances. He searched high and low for a remedy and after multiple surgeries, he realised that the cyst in his voice box was not improving. Through such rough and trying times, Arjunsa did not lose heart - he put all his attention on teaching, and went on to start ‘Renuka Sangeet Vidyalaya’ in 1965.
He believed in sincerely imparting knowledge to anyone who knocked on his door, never once expecting that it would be remunerative. Resident disciples would stay with him in true guru-shishya tradition and those who could not afford to pay in cash, did some form of service as their gurudakshina. In the nineties, he started visiting Bangalore and taught a number of local students. More than his own, Arjunsa had now begun to draw satisfaction from performances of disciples – prominent among them were Pt. Bhalachandra Nakod (son), Hanumanth Rao Gonwar, Sadashiv Aiholi, D.S. Siddaramu (clarionet), Jayateerth Mevundi, Ravindra Sogavi, Renuka Nakod, Vasumati Raganathan, B. R. Geeta, Mouna Ramachandra to name a few. His advice to upcoming students was, “Be dedicated and determined to become a good artiste. Do thorough ‘riyaz’ and see how scales tilt in your favour.” “It is not necessary that a student should perform only after a certain (long) period of learning; smaller baithaks sharpen presentation skills, preparing the student for mehfils”, he encouraged.
Praising his contemporaries for their knowledge and skills he enumerated Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur and Ustad Amir Khan for their unique styles. Arjunsa maintained that any good music deserves appreciation, and that one must pickup good aspects from others’ music. Truly untouched by artistic rivalry or by competition, this ‘Sangeeta Ratna’ was a sensitive, scholarly and well-respected musician among peers, music lovers and critics alike. Among the many awards that he has won, the Sangeet Natak Academy award, the Karnataka State Rajyotsava award, Sangeeta Sudhakara award and the Dussera award are a few.
Urging the Government, educational institutions, music organisations and media to promote classical music he warned that unless propagated, this rich tradition might get restricted to just a few pockets of culture in the country.
As ArjunSa spoke that day, it seemed as though all the Zig Ziglar lessons on positive attitude were there in front of me in flesh and blood – having made his long and arduous musical journey through untold misery and financial hardships, sickness and loss of voice, there was not a hint of exhaustion from whatever he had undergone, on the contrary his twinkling eyes and radiant smile spoke of his contentment, inner peace and tranquillity. “What more do I want – I have travelled all over India on performances and have produced such good artistes among my disciples!”
Today although he is no more with us, his music lives on in the hearts of people and through his many disciples.
- Smita Bellur
Author's note:
If there is anyone who could take happiness and adversity alike, it was my guru Late Pt. Arjunsa Nakodof Hubli Karnataka, disciple of the legendary Ganayogi Panchakshari Gawai of Gadag. He was fondly known as the 'Huli' (meaning tiger in kannada) and had a huge fan following across India during his prime. Later, when he lost his voice and stayed away from public performances, he did not despair - he took it as an opportunity to train disciples such as Jayateerth Mevundi, Sadashiva Aihole, Bhalachandra Nakod, Ravindra Sorgavi, shakti Patil, Renuka Nakod, Mowna, Vasumathi, Geeta and me. Nothing could touch his extermely modest, dignified personality - a true stoic and an exemplary human being; hard to come by such virtuos musicians in today's world!
posted by Smita Bellur at 9:22 AM
1 Comments:
Wonderful article! Thank you so much for sharing these gems about the Master! :)
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