 |
| P Kalingarao |
Hail to thee, blithe spirit!
Bird thou never wert,
That from heaven, or
near it,
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of
unpremeditated art.
These are the immortal lines
from Shelley's poem, To a skylark.
One could apply these lines to P. Kalinga Rao
as well, whose immortal singing of Kannada lyrics and folk songs thrilled a
generation of audiences throughout Karnataka. He was verily a skylark, a
nightingale, and a cuckoo of Karnataka.
“In
the golden lightning of the sunken sun, over which clouds are brightening, thou
dost float and run, like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun,” — And the
cool, gentle evening breeze would carry the sweet strains of the Kannada song —
“Barayya Beladingale.” Hail to
thee O! Sweet moonlight, our town's milk - like moonlight! Instantly would the
audience go into raptures and would 'fade far away, dissolve and quite forget
what the singing bird 'has never known!'
Magical effect:
Kalinga Rao's singing would herald the coming of spring; whatever might be the
month of the year. The trees would be in blossom and spread their fragrance in
the evening air. Such was the magical effect of Kalinga Rao's music. If our
romantic poets of the early years of the last century wrote beautiful lyrical
poetry, it was Kalinga Rao and his tribe who came later that spread it far and
wide and reached out to the masses. Kalinga Rao was the undisputed monarch of
light music in Kannada.
“Kalinga”
means King Cobra! His name was misleading. When he entered the light music
scene in Karnataka, he practically sang his heart out. “Spring, the sweet
spring, the year's pleasant king, blooming each thing, the maids dancing in a
ring, the pretty - birds singing, cuckoo, jug - jug, pu - we, to – witta -
woo!”
And
Lo! Listen to Kalinga Rao, as if his song comes from the throat of the woods:
words mingling with music and producing a sublime effect. “The fields breathe
sweet, the daisies kiss our feet, young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,
in every street these tunes our ears do greet, cuckoo, jug - jug, pu - we, to –
witta - woo!”
Which
genre did Kalinga Rao's singing belong to — Hindustani? Karnatak? Or folk -
tunes? It was a confluence of all the three styles, and more — oriental and
occidental. East and west — the twain did meet in him! His music would at once
take off from the ground and reach transcendental heights.
Quick in learning:
Kalinga Rao's full name was Pandeshwara Kalinga Rao (1914 -1981). He was born
in Arur, a place in the present Udupi district. His father Narayana Rao was a
Yakshagana artiste. His mother was Nagamma. As a boy, he was very quick in
learning all the poems in the prescribed books, whereas the lessons in prose
were beyond his comprehension. He was participating in the local Bhajans.
He
had a sweet tongue and sang psalms and shlokas on such occasions. He was more
interested in music, drama and Yakshagana performances than in studies. Kalinga
Rao joined a drama company when he was a student of the sixth year class. The
company had on its rolls reputed artistes like R. Nagendra Rao, Gowri
Narasimhaiah and Ramachandra Buva. They were all highly appreciative of the
boy's melodious singing.
He
later joined the Gubbi Company and provided music for Dashavathara drama. He
acquired proficiency in the Agra Gharana style of Hindustani music. C.
Rajagopalachari, popularly known as CR or Rajaji liked his music and as per his
suggestion, he went to Madras (Chennai).
Glittering rainbows:
Kalinga Rao continued to be a theatre artiste and continued to take part in
dramas. Later he evinced much interest in movies and appeared in Rayara sose,
Vasanthasena, Krishnaleela, Jeevana Nataka, Mahananda and Sashidharan. Kalinga
Rao was on very intimate terms with Kanagal Prabhakara Sastry, Kanagal Puttanna
and G. K. Venkatesh. In due course, Mohan Kumari and Sohan Kumari joined him
and lent sweetness to folk singing.
The
trio travelled through the length and breadth of our land, like glittering
rainbows and took the audiences to great heights of ecstasy. Kalinga Rao's
rendering of Huyilagola Narayana Rao's popular lyric “Let my beautiful Kannada
Nadu awake!” thrilled the audiences and made them aware of the need to unify
Karnataka.
The
three decades of the mid-twentieth century was verily the golden age of Kannada
light music. Kalinga Rao with Mohan Kumari and Sohan Kumari carried the message
of our poets to the teaming masses who for the first time enjoyed the beauty of
our beloved language, when expressed in tunes.
The
richness and variety of Kannada folk - songs reverberated in the minds of the
common folks. Those were the days when there was no accompanying orchestra
drowning the literary beauty of the songs with a plethora of cluttering noises.
Lover of books:
Kalinga Rao generously sprinkled mirth and music. He would always attend
performances with a suit on and mingle with all and sundry. A lover of books,
he was on talking terms with scholars. Among his intimate friends were poets,
playwrights, philosophers, novelists, sculptors, painters, actors and
publicists. R. S. Naidu was one of his best friends.
Jawaharlal
Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was an admirer of Kalinga Rao. After
listening to Rao's singing, he went to him, patted his back and said, “You have
got a gold mine in your voice!”
Kalinga
Rao was not blessed with long life. Meenakshamma was his wife. He had four
children. Mark their names: Prema (love), Vasantha (spring), Sharat (autumn)
and Santosh (Joy).
His
music?
Still alive in our memories and in the cassettes.
Related:
Download/Listen to P Kaalingarao Film Songs/Folk Songs/Bhavageetegalu
Related:
Download/Listen to P Kaalingarao Film Songs/Folk Songs/Bhavageetegalu
No comments:
Post a Comment