A Colourful Sadhaka

The name of S. Balachander (1927-1990) is less well known now than it used to be, but there was a time when he was regarded by many, and certainly by himself, as a major player on the Carnatic stage. Younger readers will scoff, but there was a world before internet and Wikipedia. Indeed there was even a world before audio cassettes, when sabha concerts in towns across India, big and small, were the norm, when music reviews in the daily newspapers were the staple source of information, and when All India Radio could make or break artistes. Balachander strode that world with ease and confidence, a surprisingly volatile and voluble representative of that most stately and dignified instrument, the veena. Great musicians dominated the Carnatic landscape in the twentieth century. The vocalists are well known and many; the instrumentalists fewer in number. The percussionists were necessarily cast in a role as accompanists to the main performer. Violinists could be accompanists. Indeed every singer had to have an accompanying violinist, but violinists could also be solo players. The veena, (and, it must be added, the flute) was always an instrument which commanded the stage on its own.