The golden touch that elevated Sitar to its divine height

Dr. Nirmala Kumari Rodrigo is a Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Visual and Performing Arts and an avid proponent of classical music in Sri Lanka.

She strongly believes, like in India, that Government should sponsor the classical music and should also be responsible for creating an audience for classical music by allocating air time in radio and television as well as allocating substantial funds at national and provincial level for the propagation of classical music.

Referring to her student days in India, she recalled with vivid memories of the Lucknow

Festival of Music which lasts for seven days. The annual festival (it is also held in other cities) was fully sponsored by the Government which also bore the accommodation and travelling expenses of the visiting artists.

However, the festival did not confine itself to music but also happened to be one of the biggest trade fairs. Traders from neighbouring provinces set up stalls at the fair. The Music Festival which was free of charge would commence at 6.00 p.m. and would continue till the next day morning.

Dr. Nirmala Kumari pointed out that the Indian government and provincial governments have allocated substantial funds for the propagation of classical music. For instance, the Indian audience has been exposed to classical music as government had run large number of programmes in radio and television. People can watch classical music recital throughout the day on television as there is a dedicated channel for classical music.

Indian Government, a trial product

Dr. Nirmala Kumari is of the view that compared to India; Government sponsorship for classical music is almost zero and government had even stopped the little space that classical music enjoyed in *Rupavahini and SLBC. * The programme which was dedicated to classical music has been cancelled though the classical musicians were willing to make their contribution to the programme free of charge.

It is pathetic that in Sri Lanka the artists have to organise their own concerts at their own expense and that the response from the public is also not encouraging. She attributed the total apathy on the part of audience to classical music to the lack of exposure of Sri Lankan audience to classical music and general tendency to associate classical music with funerals of political leaders.

This practice has created a negative perception on the part of listeners of classical music in general and Sitar recital in particular.

It is imperative that aesthetic subjects should be made a mandatory in *syllabi* in order to make an informed audience who would be able to appreciate Sri Lankan as well as Hindustani and Western classical music rather than producing an uprooted generation who will embrace cheap forms of entertainment such as clubbing and attending social dance classes.

Currently, the aesthetic subject is not a compulsory subject. On the other hand students do not like to choose Music as it would not lead to lucrative career. Parents also are not happy about children studying music.

She is of the view that in order to reverse this negative attitude that it is necessary for the government to make a platform for classical music by allocating sufficient air time in national channels as well as offering its patronage for classical music.

In 2006 in the month of July she with some academics and music lovers formed the structure Shawathi with the intention of promoting classical music in Sri Lanka. Shawathi conducts classical music recitals at 544/10 Hena road, Rammuthugala, Kadawatha, free of charge and music lovers could contact 011-2973658.

Delicate hand that stirred the strings of heart

Perhaps, the singular characteristic of Dr. Nirmala Kumari’s Sitar recital is her innate ability to infuse divine notes into it. She exploits every string of Sitar to render it a divine tone, spell bounding the audience. It is indeed the amalgamation of the human touch with divine music in its varied manifestations.

Her performance is an embodiment of the purest version of classical music, a mixture of academic excellence and perfect application. It is this technical perfection and deep knowledge of classical music that make her Sitar truly an instrument which can address the inner temple of heart and creates a sublime happiness in the listeners.

The soothing notes that emanates from her Sitar is like a cadence of crystal clear water flapping onto a placid lake. It is indeed the purest Hindustani tradition that she wants to preserve in Sri Lanka.

Mockery of awards

Although she is the only classical Sitarist in Sri Lanka who had earned a name for herself in India and other parts of the world, she has still not been considered for most of the so called awards in Sri Lanka. When I questioned about it, her answer was a vacant smile.

It is obvious that some award committees are, perhaps, being dominated by gangsterism and personalities with fake credentials. Is this the way that Sri Lanka treats the genuinity of talents which undoubted is the forte of Dr. Nirmala Kumari? Some of the awards given away in Sri Lanka is dubious of their worth.

The opinionated judges distributed the lion share, perhaps on the basis of their affiliation for the cheap fantasies rather than on the basis of merit, originality and genuinity. Their social outlook too is not dynamic which has become miserably static and ‘dud’.

It has no urge, no inspiring saga of its own like ‘the Lady of Shallot’ waiting in vain for Sir Lancelot. Though some present themselves as academics and claim that they have visited countries like Japan. They are worse than peasants because peasants are not wicked. We need modern men and women to develop our society and make our motherland, a cultural paradise.

She is not awarded the Bunka award yet. She completed her Doctorate in Music in 1984 and since then is contributing to the field of art. It is pertinent to mention here that a modern woman Benazir Bhutto in her speech ‘Asian Countries must work together’ delivered in Colombo, emphasised the fact that not recognising talents is the main factor for the present degeneration in South Asian societies.

Milestone in her life

Nirmala fell in love with Sitar ever since she was shown the picture of goddess Saraswathi with Sitar by her mother Merlyn Rodrigo who was a pupil of the first batch of music students of Heywood College Colombo (now the University of Visual and Performing Arts) established by late Dr. Lionel Edirisinghe.

On completion of GCE O/L Nirmala left for India in 1973 and joined, as a residential student, at Bhatkhande College of Music Lucknow, India.

During the first 5 years of her stay at the university, she learned sitar under Shri Naveen Chandra Pant and vocals under Shri Lele and Prof. Premsing Kinot.

In 1978 she passed both Vadya Visharad (Sitar) and Sangeet Visharad (Vocal) Bhathkande Degrees.

>From 1978 to 1981 she continued her study at the same College under the highly reputed sitar guru of Lucknow tradition, Ustad Illiyas Khan and completed the Bhatkande post-graduate degree course in sitar and passed the Bhathkande Degree Vadya Nipun in Sitar and then left for Benaras for further studies.

Nirmala holds the record for obtaining the highest marks at examinations during the entire period of 9 years of study at Bathkhande College of Music and won the Best Results Award continuously. As a hard working student from Sri Lanka, she received special attention and blessings from her teachers.

In 1982 she was enroled as a research scholar at the Faculty of Music of the Benaras Hindu University. Taking the study of Indian ragas and compositions as her subjects, she worked under the guidance of Prof. K.O.

Gangarade, a fountain of knowledge and experience in Indian music.

In 1984 she obtained the Degree of the Doctor of Music, Performances and Compositions. She is the first Sri Lankan to have obtained this qualification from the Benares Hindu University.

She also studied Music at the University of Cologne, Germany and attended seminars on Music Ethnology under Prof. R. Gunther. At the same time she held lecture demonstrations in Indian music to the students of the said University and held many classical sitar concerts in Germany.Since 1978 she has been presenting sitar recitals on All India Radio and Indian television and various music festivals in India.

She has won several trophies and medals including the Award “Sarva Shreshta Vadak” which was awarded to the Best Instrumentalist in 1980 at the Bhatkhande Music Competition, Lucknow.

She has performed with great Indian tabla masters such as Ustad Afaqe Hussain Khan, Ustad Ahmed Miyan, Pt. Choote Lal Misra, Prakash Maharaj, Pt. Ram Kumar, Pt. Paban Borduloli of Lucknow and Benares.

After returning to Sri Lanka in 1987 she held solo performances in sitar at Lucknow, India at the Umanath Bali Music Festival in 1988 and in 2002, at the Faculty of Music of the Benaras Hindu University as an invited artiste from Sri Lanka with great musicians of India, on the same stage.

This she recalls was a great achievement in her life. In 1991 Nirmala was appointed as a Lecturer of the University of Visual and Performing Arts. Since then she has held many solo sitar concerts and recitals in Sri Lanka. She is a Super Grade Artiste of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation. She works as the Sitar Teacher at the Indian Cultural Center.

The National Award for Instrumental Music from the Government of Sri Lanka and International Women’s Day Award were also conferred on her.