Ghantasala still alive in our hearts

It was on December 4, 1922 that Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao was born at Chavatapalli near Venkatraghavapuram in Krishna district. He inherited a fondness and aptitude for classical music from his father Soorayya, a renowned mridangist and learnt the first lessons in music from him. Despite unspeakable penury confronting him, he joined the Vizianagaram College of Music and made an extensive study of raga, bhava and rasa in the musical compositions of saint-composers of yore.

It is also said that he had to knock at the doors of the people in the town to seek their hospitality for a morsel of food daily. Patrayani Sitarama Sastry, a maestro, taught him the subtleties of Carnatic music and blessed him with a bright future in the world of music, However, as good luck would have it, Samudrala Raghavachari who stumbled upon Ghantasala in 1944 discovered an exceptional talent in him and introduced him to the cine world. Since then, Ghantasala strode the cine world of music like a colossus and never looked back till his death on 11th February 1974.

Ghantasala was gifted with a profoundly sovereign voice that effortlessly echoed all the nine Rasas with equal felicity and gave vent to a myriad of joys and sorrows in human life in his melodious voice. The one and only reason for his matchless success was he was a consummate master of both the Hindustani and Carnatic music.

Such Hidustani ragas Dwija, Bhagasri, Behagand Darbari Kanada sparkled in his rendering of such lyrics as ‘Himagiri sogasulu’ (Pandava Vanavasam). ‘Manasu padenu sannayi’ (Punyavathi), ‘Rama sugunathama’ (Lavakusa) and ‘Sivasankari’ (Jagadeka Veerudu). Ghantasala was known for his fondness for the Carnatic ragas like Kalyani, Mohana, Yaman, Atana, Navarasa kanada, Gandharam, Sivaranjani, Sriragam, Madhyavathi, Malahari, Kapi, Peelu, Chakravakam etc .

Otherwise, such eternally appealing lyrics as ‘Madi Sarada devi mandiram’ and ‘Rave naa cheliya’ in kalyani, ‘Jaya Krishna Mukunda Murari’ in Mohana, ’Mohanaroopa’ in Hindola, ’Hey Krishna Mukunda Murari’ in Ragamalika ‘Ammaanipilichina’ in Sindhu Bhairavi, ’Manikya veena’ in Simhadri Madhyama and Ragamaika, ’Dinakara’ in Kamavardhini, ‘Sri Raghuram Jaya Raghuram’ in raga Hamsadhwani, and ‘Raska raja’ with a harmonious blend of Chakravaka and Darbari kanada would not have withstood the test of time and been immensely popular with Telugus.

As a singer of melancholy songs, Ghantasala was supreme. Who can remain unmoved by his voice in projecting the heart –rending pathos of all those broken-hearted lovers, betrayed by a ruthless conspiracy of a hostile fate? Doesn’t his rendering of a tragic song establish an instantaneous empathy with the audience and tug at their heart-strings? Besides presenting the distilled essence of philosophical thought in the poignant lyrics of the classic Devdas, Ghantasala elevated the image of the thespian A Nageswara Rao as a star-crossed lover in movie after movie.

Such songs as ‘jagame maya’ (Devdas), ‘Manasugathi inte’(Premnagar), ‘Manuna manasai’ (Dr Chakravarthi), ‘Paduthateeyaga (Moogamanasulu), etc., still haunt not only lovers of music but also those hapless lovers in real life cheated by merciless quirks of fate.

Ghantasala was equally at ease in romantic songs and brought out the ebullience of sprightly youth and romance as well as the pangs of separation of lovers as no other singer did in the South. His fame as a singer of devotional songs is unique. For instance, his evocation to Goddess Kali in the movie ‘MahakaviKalidasu’ is one of the most inspiring stotrams ever recited.

As music director of such classics as ‘Lavakusa’, he earned everlasting fame. Mention must be made of his supreme genius at reciting Pauranic poems in the mythological movies. He had delved deep into the art of rendering Pauranic poems on the stage by such celebrities as Vemuri Gaggayya, Banda Kanaka Lingeswara Rao, Addanki Sri Ramamurty ,Raghuramayya et al effected suitable changes and evolved a highly individualized style of his own to appeal to the modern generations.

He invested every single word in the Pauranic poems with a rare melodic energy and matchless dignity. While a consummate artiste like NTR breathed life into the Pauranic roles like Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Ravana and Bhimasena with aplomb, Ghantasala lent them ‘his sovereign voice’ and immortalised them. It is no exaggeration to say that apart from the acting prowess of an NTR or an ANR or a Nagayya or an SV Ranga Rao, the unparalleled fame of Telugu mythological movies rested securely on the majestic playback singing of Ghantasala for their roles.

Ghantasala’s rendition of the Bhagawad Gita deserves a special mention for its impeccable and chaste intonation and elucidation in an appealingly enjoyable Telugu. With a voice soaked in devotion, he popularised the distilled essence of the Gita in every nook and cranny of Telugunadu. It is a classic instance of a singer succeeding where eminent scholars and leaders of various Hindu mutts failed.

Ghantasala’s private songs comprising folk songs have retained their flavor and fervor even now. He was instrumental in popularising the acclaimed verse ‘ Pushpavilapam’ of the eminent poet Karuna Sri. A poet by aptitude, Ghantasala composed a song titled ‘Bahudoorapu Batasari….’and called it ‘the song of a man undaunted by death.’

A magnanimous soul in the cine world, Ghantasala was never domineering. He never tried of dwarfing all other talented singers like Madhavapeddi, Pithapuram Nageswara Rao, P B Srinivas, A M Raja and SP Balasubrahmanyam to prove their talent. Ghantasala, the inimitable and matchless singer of human sorrow and joy, passed away on 11th February in 1974.Yet, he lives in the hearts of millions of Telugus across the world. It is gratifying that with each passing decade, Ghantasala’s fame as the peerless singer is on the rise.

By S M Kompella