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A musical diary
 1940
This was the year when the Second World War really broke out in full fury for it was but a phoney war in 1939. N D Varadachariar’s (NDV's) diary is full of war news and the way Madras was reacting to it. There are no musical entries barring that on December 31, 1940:
'Tuesday Dec 31, 1940
In the night at TTK’s, SYK arranged Mahalingam’s flute performance with Papa violin and a mridangam. Superb performance, the youngster excelling beyond my expectation. A truly gifted boy. If he lives and progresses, he will perhaps be the master musician of the future. The old year passed in a glorious burst of music and we hailed the new with enchantingly rendered
bEhAg.'
1941
The war had intensified and as NDV himself writes it was a season of speeches and not much music. But there are a few entries in 1941 that are connected with music.
'Wednesday Jan 1, 1941
 Sir Shanmukham Chetty on art and music - he says an Academy which has no place for K B Sundarambal’s sweet melody is no good at all.'
(The Tamizh Isai Movement had begun and there was a marked polarisation in terms of 'us' and 'them'. KBS appears to have been axed from the Music Academy and Sir RK, a Tamizh isai proponent, was naturally most upset.)
'Monday Jan 20, 1941
In the evening to SV Ganapati’s where Sir Shanmukham and entourage were present for tea and some dance - a tiny girl of 10 called Saroja did very well and has a great future ahead of her. Muthukumarasami of the Pandanallur dance tradition is her tutor and himself at his 65th year, did abhinayam for varugalAmO, which was very interesting.'
(The tiny Saroja was of course E V Saroja of the future. Muthukumarasami was the celebrated naTTuvanAr and dance guru from
Kattumannarkoil.)
'Sunday Feb 23, 1941
To Prabhat Talkies to see a Tamil picture 'Sakunthala' starring M S Subbaluxmi and G N Balasubramaniam. The Tamil screen will never improve unless we have there a different set of actors - or is it that the Tamil genius abhors the histrionic art?
Tuesday Jun 3, 1941
M S Krishnaswami the auditor comes for a consulatation - to draft a contract for 'Kalki', a newspaper to be started by R Krishnamurthy, lately of Ananda
Vikatan.'
To be continued...
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