It is indeed with great pleasure that I write this foreword to the first volume of the book entitled Raganidhi by Sri B. Subba Rao, Retired Deputy Director of Agriculture, M.P., whom I have had the pleasure of knowing for many decades.
I do not pretend to be an expert in music, but I feel interested in the publication as it is the first effort in India at a comparative study of the raga-s of the North and the South, to be of help to the listeners of music broadcast from the A.I.R. The inspiration for this endeavour came from the well-known artist of Poona, Pandit Vinayak Rao Patwardhan. This is in itself a notable testimony of the merits of this book. Herein one will find many new raga-s which are composed by musical experts based on the original styles of the South and sung in the North to the delight of the listeners. It is high time that there is a blending of the two traditional styles in India.
The production of a book of this type is by no means an easy task. It could be successfully carried out by one like Sri. Subba Rao who devoted himself to the profound study of the subject for more than three decades, and had accumulated experience in a variety of ways.
It was through his efforts that music came to be introduced as a subject for the Intermediate and B.A. Examinations of the Nagpur University. He had been a member of the Board of Studies for ten years and took part in the preparation of the Syllabus of Studies.
He presided over the Birth Day Anniversaries of Sri Tyagarajasvami, Pandit Vishnu Digamber Paluskar and Pandit V.N. Bhatkhande, the celebrated musicians of India, and delivered enlightening addresses. He is not unknown to the listeners of A.I.R. He has also to his credit several compositions in Hindi, Sanskrit and Telugu which won appreciation. He had the privilege of learning Karnataka music at the feet of a great master, late Vina Vidwan Vishwanath Shastry, who was a disciple of Maha Vaidyanath Iyer. He had the privilege of learning Hindustani music from the well-known musician late Wamanrao Joshi of Amraoti.
Besides being a vocalist, he has a good command on such delicate and delicious instruments as vicitra vina and violin. He accompanied with remarkable success on the violin many top-ranking artistes of both North and South. He has been actively associated with the A.I.R., Nagpur, ever since its inception as an artiste, as a member of the Programme Advisory Committee, and by writing scripts for the item 'Bharatiya Sangit' which is broadcast on alternate Sundays.
I have no doubt that this publication will not only serve to shed light on the principles underlying the two traditions of Indian Music but also stimulate effort to co-ordinate the two, if not to fuse them together.
It is my ardent hope that the author's continued labour of decades will evoke appreciative response from the public to whom he presents it with great humility but confidence.
In 1956 I brought out a volume of my comparative study of the Hindust Hindustani and Karnatak raga-s. This book received a detailed review in the pages of the Journal of the Music Academy, Madras. This proved not only an encouragement to me but also the beginning of the interest which Dr. Raghavan, Honorary Secretary of the Music Academy, Madras, took in my book Raganidhi. I felt very happy when the Music Academy expressed its desire to publish the book. I could not think of a better body than the Music Academy, Madras, to publish my book, to compile which I had laboured for several years. I gave away as a gift to the Music Academy my life's work with a request that the Academy should publish the whole work early so that I may be able to scrutinize the proofs myself as mistakes were likely to creep in if those who corrected the proofs were not acquainted with both Hindustani and Karnatak systems of music. I am glad to see that volume 2 of Raganidhi comprising of raga-s under alphabets 'D' to J' is now ready for publication. 1 am eagerly looking forward to the publication of the remaining volumes including volume 1 which lies to be republished after revision. I shall consider my labours amply rewarded if my Raganidhi will be found useful by lovers of Indian music in this country and outside.
Bharatiya Sangit is like a tree with two branches called Hindustani and Karnatak. Hence there are many important features which are common to them. Differences are superficial and not very significant. A comparative study of the two systems is not only interesting but necessary for all students and lovers of Indian music.
In Raganidhi I have confined myself to the brief study of raga-s of North and South as raga-s form the soul of Indian music. Mostly raga-s in which popular compositions exist have been discussed. A few new raga-s which are interesting and deserve popularity are also included. A chapter is devoted to details regarding the nomenclature of the svara-s used in the two systems as an understanding of these is necessary to follow the book. When volume 1 of Raganidhi will be revised certain other aspects of the two systems will also be briefly discussed therein.
I am grateful to Dr. V. Raghavan for the many valuable suggestions given by him and for the many alterations and corrections which he made when going through the final proofs. I am indebted to Sri. K. Sitaramiah, Retd. District Forest Officer, M.P. and to Sri. K.R. Subramanyam, student, Engineering College, Mysore, for correcting the proofs. They have assured me that it was a great pleasure for them to associate themselves with this difficult job. I have to thank Sri. G.H. Rama Rao, Manager of the Mysore Printing and Publishing House, for printing Raganidhi Volume 2 neatly and quickly inspite of this work being the first of its kind undertaken by them.
I am grateful to the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, for having given a grant to the Music Academy, Madras, towards the cost of publishing all the volumes of my book Raganidhi.
I am under a deep debt of gratitude to the authors of books and journals which I have consulted while preparing Raganidhi.
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