Sakiye ... Intha ve e e e e lai ... yi il ...
That was my first varnam. At first I thought it was boring, neither this nor that, I took me a while to "get" the melody. I thought other varnams were more "fancy" and this was just a 'beginner' varnam because that's what everyone started with in his classroom. Oh how wrong I was! It is every bit a "big" varnam. It can stand right next to "Sami Ninne" and "Adimogam" and "Danike" and the Huseini. Later, like 5 years later, when I could talk and chat freely and discuss things with Master, I broached this topic: what did he think of this versus that, was one varnam bigger or more important than the others. No, they're all "periya varnam", in all of them there is "azhagu".
By the way, it took years before I would discuss things freely with Master. I mean, initially, from 94-97, I would just say nothing at all. It was like I'd taken a vow of silence. That was because I knew I was still "on probation". He didn't really know me. I was just a visitor like so many others. I knew that he would quickly throw out people who were impertinent or crossed the line. I just didn't know where that line was and didn't want to take any risks. So to show him that I was serious and willing to play by the rules, I just kept quiet in class and didn't say anything.
And of course Master was not a "theory" person. He didn't talk about it. He just did it. And I suppose I imbibed that from him unconsciously. I remember in 2000 or 2001, this man from would come, he always had some book or another and was always keen to describe but it was like he was talking round and round in circles. It just seemed kind of meaningless. He had this idea that was so crazy and he wanted to discuss it with Master and see what Master thought: he was "making up" the kai (hands) for "Mogamana" and for the line "Nagariga" he wanted to know if he could put a water tank in that town just to show how beautiful that town was. I bit my lip when he told me this. I didn't say anything. After lunch this man hung around and broached the topic to Master.
"To show that it is a beautiful town" .... "can we have a tank or a water tank".
Master just asked him to repeat it ... either he didn't hear or couldn't believe what this man was saying.
"A water tank" he repeated "since it is a big town".
- "A water tank?"
- "Yes, you know, a nice developed town has to have a water tank" and he made a square pattern with his hands to show a water tank.
- "A developed town will have a water tank, yes, also a bus stand, a railway station, an airport" said Master and just left that hanging.
I was just dying. I couldn't laugh with this man sitting right there. But he looked serious, maybe he didn't get it that Master was joking because he said it with an absolutely straight face. I was thinking to myself: "what if this man had a kutcheri and his disciple learnt Mogamana and suddenly there were planes taking off and water tanks and buses and railway stations. It would be hilarious!
No, no. SP is very orthodox. Or just basically honest. There were no "new items". He taught what he had learnt and just stopped with that. At that time I didn't realize how ethical and honest and rare that was. Only when I saw other performances where people would just pack in whatever they liked and sometimes even let you think that it was "authentic" or old - that's when I realized how much integrity SP had as an artist and Guru. No water tanks, nothing fake, no "making up" stuff. The real thing ... nothing but the real thing.
But getting back to "Sakiye", that was my first varnam. I learnt it in 94 and would always the tape playing it softly, in the car, on my walkman, at home. So that during my return trips when he asked me to sing it along with him, it would just get closer and closer to what he was singing. I knew that's what he was looking for. If I could learn this properly, others would follow, if not, well, that would be that. So it took me 4 years. 94, 95, 97, - I didn't come in 96, and to this day I regret missing a year. I went off to Paris for a holiday and come December I had run out of money and couldn't go. Not to mention all those monthly payments - believe me, as long as you have those high monthly payments (whatever it maybe, loans, credit cards) and you are locked in - it's like a ball and a chain, a jail sentence. You can't leave your job and go away. Anyway, by 98 everything was paid off and I cut up all my plastic cards into little pieces and threw them away. No more plastic! So by my 97 trip I knew from his reaction and also from the way he was teaching other parts of the varnam ( he wouldn't get into the neraval until you had the "basic" or the "plain" - as he called it - down correctly). So by 97 since he was getting into the neraval and ornaments and style, I knew he was satisfied with the foundation.
During my trips in 97, 98 and 99, his relative who played the violin visited. Master had many relatives. They would all visit from time to time. They knew about me and would come up to listen. Naturally, every one is different. Some people have more natural aptitude or talent than others. Some are more discerning than others. So this elderly gentleman Mr. S. S. - who played the violin - I really respected him. He was so sweet, so unassuming, he had absolutely no airs about him. And as a musician he was just really wonderful. I had been to his house along with Master when he visited for family functions like valayakapu and all that. I would speak only when spoken to, and even then, very minimally, just to let him know that I respected his seniority and his quality as an artist. This gentleman had been a professional violinist and had lived in very modest circumstances during his youth but then his children got into a lucrative career and so they became very well off. But still, this man was still very sweet and had no airs about him. One time he came in 99 when I was on my 3 month trip and class was going on and I was singing along with master and it was "sakiye" (magithalam) - it was just great to be sitting next to both of them, as he was humming along as well.
It's funny how each of those varnams have their own "mood". Anyway, that's the first time I had this experience of how a varnam has its own personality. I felt like I was getting to know a person. A very old and complex person who had many many fascinating layers or aspects. It just happens on its own, you can't force it, and I needed SP singing it to me, or with me, for "n" number of times over "n" number of years - without that, it would just not have happened. But when it did, it was just magic. I was singing, he was singing, we just hit that state of feeling. It was just so good.
