THE TIGER THAT ROARED LIKE A LION

He was drinking toddy and singing Thodi

For Tiger Varadachari,the music maestro, it was a journey from one Kutcheri to another Kutcheri.He was,at 23, a clerk in the survey department at Calicut Mananchira Huzur Kutcheri.
Tiger had come from Madras to Calicut because of financial constraints and worked in the office at a salary of Rs 12/- a month.Out of office,he began to sing in marriage and other ceremonies.His name spread and an invitation came from Mysore Palace to sing in Dussehra celebrations.Maybe,Mysore Varadachar,his close friend interfered on his behalf.It changed his life.He became Tiger there.

Tiger Varadachari

Tiger Varadachari(1876-1950) was born in Kolathur, Chengalpet.He was the son of Tamil,Telugu and Sanskrit scholar Sriman Kandadai Ramanujachari.He had two younger brothers.Veena Krishnamachari and Musicologist K V Srinivasa Iyengar.But Tiger has said he learnt much from his sister.All the three who were musically mad were disciples of Patnam Subramanya Iyer(1845-1902).Iyer was resident of Tiruvaiyar when they began studies and moved with him to Madras.Tiger was with Iyer for three years from age 14.They learnt from Thatchur Singaracharya Brothers too.In Madras they stayed in Kaladipet and were called Three Musketeers of Kaladipet.Tiger drew inspiration from street dramas,bhajans and stray contacts like Fiddle Ramachandrayyar.Photo Masilamani and Pedda Singaracharyalu encouraged Tiger in musical pursuits.Krishnamachari was taught veena by Kalahasthayya.
At Patnam Subramanya Iyer's house,Mysore Vasudevachar was also a disciple.When the invitation came from Mysore King Krishna Raja Wodeyar to sing on Mahanavami day,Tiger took leave from the Calicut office for the whole week,reached a day early and stayed with Vasudevachar.He composed an intricate pallavi in praise of the King in Raga Poornachandrika.On the morning,he found his throat  filled with phlegm and drank boiled water.His voice became trim and he sang the pallavi for four hours,was conferred the title,Tiger.He was invited to the Court of Mysore; he resigned his job in Calicut.
He had gone a day early to Mysore to know what to wear at the durbar. He was seen always wearing a monkey cap after that.He used to admire himself wearing it,in front of the mirror,greeting himself,Anjaneya Namaha.His obsession with the cap made him a laughing stock and his friends requested Vasudevachar to interfere.One day when he went to Vasudevachar's house,he was singing Kamboji.He suddenly paused but resumed at Tiger's request.After two hours of singing,Tiger offered whatever he has.Vasudevachar asked for the monkey cap!

Tiger playing Kabaddi

Not the cap alone;Tiger was seen with the caste mark on forehead,a coat and upper cloth,an umbrella in hand and betel case made of coconut leaves.Vasudevachar in his memoirs,Na kanda Kalavidharu has called Tiger an unparallelled genius.Tiger left for Madras after a decade.There he became Principal of the Teachers College of Music started by the Madras Music Academy.After five years,he became Head,Department of Music,Madras University;Principal,Music College,Annamalai University and finally Principal,Music section,Kalakshetra.It was there MDR became his disciple.Tiger used to drink-MDR once commented it was not liquor,it was his Raga,Toddy!

Tiger

Of course,he was fond of Raga,Todi.Endless talks had bored people in Ranade Hall in Mylapore during Shyama Sastri's anniversary conducted by Music Academy.Tiger,when his turn came contemplated a moment on whether to talk.Then he began singing:kannatalli gada biddayani kanikaramintaina Ieada,Amba?".Anupallavi of Keerthanam in Todi,Ninne Namminanu...
Tiger was in Mylapore during his teaching days.It was a practice to have concerts on friday evenings at Tiger's place or Veena Dhanammal's place.On a Friday at 7PM,Flutist Virinjamuri Sreenivasachari went to Tiger's house and Tiger sent him back saying he is not in a mood.Virinjamuri went back to his sister's home which was close by.He began sleeping in the yard in front of the house since it was a summer night.At around 10 PM,Tiger came,woke him up and asked whether he was ready to listen to him.At his home,he sang one keerthanam for eight hours,till 6.30 AM,when his wife came around with coffee and asked him to stop.
His voice was gruff.If he had trouble with his voice,he used to become more animated with exaggerated actions and gestures.
And he used to snore.Raga Begada was his forte. He sang Begada in Tiruvaiyar Thyagaraja festival in 1940 when he was in Chidambaram,Annamalai University.He stayed in Kalyana Mahal.There was no electric power.So he slept at night on the pathway between two rooms.Restless by Tiger's loud snoring,a Parsi engineer asked:"Is this fellow a tiger?he is making all sorts of funny noises!".
"Yes,yes",Tiger replied,"this fellow is Tiger,he is set to make  wider varieties of sounds shortly".It was the first time the engineer was encountering a bhagavatar speaking in English.Tiger sat up and began to sang Begada once again.

Tiger with class of 1935;Parur Sundaram Iyer,left

He had sung Begada at a concert in 1937 during a marriage ceremony in Veena Dhanammal's house.She was a harsh critic known for her knowledge and intolerance of mediocrity.Though he had to catch up a train to reach Chidambaram,he went on at the encouragement of Dhanammal who was in the audience.Not only that,a solid foundation for ragaprasthara had been laid after ragam,thanam and niraval.After the kutcheri he told Dhanammal:"Dhanamma! I have been singing myself hoarse.Did you really have to ask me to sing before you?".Dhanammal presented him a silver trophy filled with sugar candy.
Tiger knew his sore points.He had replaced another vocalist who could not make it on time for a radio programme.Accompanists were Chowdiah and Palakkad Mani Iyer.The Tambura player asked Tiger for Shruthi."My Shruthi"?,Tiger told him,"it is low,very low,reaching almost the bottom of the well".
Like his voice,he had a rough exterior.He was benign inside.

MDR by R K Laxman

According to S Y Krishna Swamy,Tiger felt it is "pure music which is important  in a Pallavi,it depended very little on words".T K Sethuraman remembers a Kamboji in the village of Seerkazhi.After a concert in which he elaborated a Pallavi in Kamboji,Tiger returned to his resting place with Sabesayyar, Inchimudi Varadaraja Iyengar,Mysore Varadacharar and MDR.A challenge was put before Tiger to recite a Pallavi not heard sofar.Suddenly a street vegetable vendor,a woman, shouted:kathirikkai,kathirikkai(Brinjal for sale).Tiger began the Pallavi:Kathirikka Vangavayendi,adi Thozhi(come with me to buy brinjal,lass!).Another Pallavi of him was:Uppuma Kindadi Penne,nanna(Hey lass,stir the uppuma well).He composed the keerthanam,Eediname Sudinamu when Sir C Rajagoplachari as Governor General visited Kalakshetra.
Tiger is responsible for the position Raga Kharaharapriya adorns in concerts today.Before him,it was treated only a minor Raga.The devadasi nautch was renamed Bharatanatyam after he presented a resolution in 1935,in the midst of a clamour to ban it.
Once Tiger sang in a Music Academy festival in a ground close to the Madras Zoo.Veena Seshanna said the Tiger became a lion!

Patnam

MDR,in honor of his guru,adopted Varadadasa as signature in his compositions.They were very close.Once when Tiger shook his left hand several times and showed unfamiliar gestures with it to exhibit his new wrist watch, MDR publicly told him in the class:"you are not only a guru,a watchman too!".
MDR was by Tiger's side when he breathed his last;MDR was asked to sing,Entharane of Tyagaraja during those last moments.He did it with tears in his eyes,in a choked voice. 
You may have heard MDR singing Entharo Mahanubhavulu.He repeats mahanubhavulu several times before he enters the Pallavi.It is MDR's pranams to his guru.Hence rasikas said,Tiger was a Janaka Raga;MDR was its Janya Raga.
Reference:
1.Isai Maethigal/T Sankaran/VOC Noolagam,2004
2.Kedaram/Krishna Murthy/Current Books,2006
See my posts,VIOLIN COMES TO CHENNAI,A SPRING IN MEMORY