Coimbatore Thayi was perhaps the first singer from this region to have been recognized internationally. The city hosted a number of musicians during the days when cinema ruled to roost.
Coimbatore Thayi was perhaps the first singer from this region to have been recognized internationally. The city hosted a number of musicians during the days when cinema ruled to roost.
Quite a few musicians lived in the city in order to work in the world of cinema. Singers like Pithukuli Murugadas hailed from the old town area. A number of musicians lived in Thomas Street or near the Pettai Visweswaran Temple for centuries.
Many of them used to perform in temples or give concerts. Music was in their blood. Kovai Subri, the freedom was another achiever. Advocate Vaidyanathakrishnan used to do his best for music through the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. S.V.Krishnan of 'Ragasudha' was also known for his contribution to the world of music.
C.R. Gopinathan used to be on a first name basis with a large number of musicians. The people of this region used to patronize musicians on every given occasion. Quite a few musicians had added musical fervor to the city on the banks of the historic River Noyyal.
The general public of the city had a fine taste for music. Lovers of music came from all walks of life and the members of the mercantile community of Vysial Street were no exception. Leading Jeweller V.B.Rangiah Chettiar ( 1901 - 1960 ) and his wife Vasavamba were keenly interested in music.
V.B.Rangiah Chettiar ( VBR ) used to tie anklets to his legs and render 'Panduranga bhajans' for years. He was also known as 'Natanam Rangiah' . His wife Vasavamba could play the harmonium quite well. The kids Alamelu Sriram Guptha and V.R.Ramadoss ( 1936 - 2019 ) had inherited the musical faculties of their parents. Ninety year old Alamelu Ammal continues to teach music (free of cost) from her apartment on Perur Road.
"I began to learn music from the age of 5 from Subbiah Mudaliar ( Chinthamani Group ) and I have been singing for the past 85 years. I taught thousands of songs to numerous people absolutely. Played violin and veena too. We never had a note book and our memory was the source. My teacher used to literally carry me and teach me. Father was a great motivator.
He used to ensure that we get up early and sing. My brother Ramadoss was a child prodigy. He picked up music on his own. Ramadoss used to sing in his sleep ! My maternal grandmother Bhagyalakshmi Ammal of Pattikarai, Palakkad was also good in music."
Alamelu Ammal has a marvelous voice and it belies her age. The father had been a successful jeweler. He had stores in Coonoor and Coimbatore. The family home had all kinds of birds and animals. "Our monkeys were kept secure with the aid of silver chains and we had parrots in silver cages. On learning about the story of Bhadrachalam Ramadoss, my father set the parrots free.
Deer, horses and dogs were bred at home by our family. Father used to ride horses along with members of the Puravipalayam Zamindari family. He had a lot of customers in places like Thondamuthur, Semmedu, Kanuvai and Alandurai. Allandurai Ramakka was a client of our jewellery store.
A number plays used to be performed in the villages and I used to play the harmonium for those groups as a child. I have sung songs in a number of Indian languages. My brother V.R.Ramadoss did his music arangetram at the Vasavi Kannika Parameswari Temple in Coimbatore and this was followed by a performance in Thiruvayaru at the age of 13 because of the famous Rathnamma.
Ramadoss and myself used to do concerts during our family occasions. In fact Ramadoss used to sing for the All India Radio ( Trichy ) too. I have no count of the ragams and songs over the years. People used to bring song books and I used to create the swaram in a particular ragam and teach. I sing everyday," smiled Alamelu Ammal just before rendering a song in her fabulous style.
"Grandfather was a visionary. He was the first jeweler to have a cellar in his store on Big Bazaar Street those days. The family has been known as the 'Varapatti' family and we used to sell gold coins and jewellery in the 'Varapatti Shandy' more than 100 years ago. It was a popular and big shandy those days.
Later on, the family moved over to Coimbatore. My grandfather had lost his father Balagurumurthy Chettiar when he was just 13 years of age and therefore his mother Sharadhambal made him take up business early in life. He used to strand corals pretty early in life. Our household had a number of cars which included Aston Martin.
Father ( V.R.Ramadoss ) used to have a 'Fantabulous' cycle and his 'Triumph' bike took him to college. He did his BA in both - English and Tamil literature. A proposed project with a technical tie up with Rolls Royce in Kerala was dropped by him because of the growth of the communist movement in the region.
Father was a fabulous singer and was once given an offer to sing in movies. He used to sing all the time and music was his life. Ramachandra Rao and Sharma used to accompany him for a long time. Father had won a number of prizes and he was a top class singer," stated the nostalgic Vidyasagar.
V.R.Ramadoss used to play the ganjeera, harmonium and violin. "Father used to play the cymbals quite fast. He would be humming all the time. My mother Mahalakshmi passed away quite early. Father was the Secretary in the Students Congress. Being the son of V.B.Rangiah Chetty gave him a lot of connections.
Leading Advocate P.S.Narayana Iyengar was quite close to our family and his son N.Parthasarathy was my father's classmate. The fabulous cotton merchant Chennimalai Krishna Chetty was well known to my grandfather. The wife of Chennimalai Krishna Chetty used to possess the first big diamond necklace in Coimbatore. Grandfather was quite conversant in Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. He could converse in broken Hindi and English.
The famous jeweler P.A. Raju Chettiar was very close to my grandfather. Our shop was made of concrete and the cellar had been a novelty. Therefore a number of people used to visit our store in order to see things for themselves. I am grateful to D.Seshappa Chettiar of Sri Krishna & Co Jewellers for sharing a lot of inputs about my grandfather during the early days of my career," smiled Vidyasagar.
"One day I got a song in my dream. I got up and wrote it down immediately. The song runs like this...'Kalakantini Nenu Kalakantini...Kalalo Naa Thallini Kanukuntini….. I have also written a song on Goddess Koniamman, the tutelary deity of Coimbatore. 'Kovaiyin Kaniamudhe Koniamma' is the song.
The Sathya Sai movement has honoured me with a shield for having completed 50 years of service as a lead singer. I teach 27 slokhams from the Bhagavad Gita to my students. If one recites these, it equals the recitation of all the entire 700 slokhams. I have performed with eminent people like Devudiah," added Alamelu Ammal.
Coimbatore is fortunate to have blessed with the singing siblings - Alamelu Ammal and V.R.Ramadoss (1936-2019), who have taken Carnatic Music forward as service.