Each year, just around this time I write an article for the Sruti magazine on the December Music Season 75 years ago. And so it was this time too, the focus being on what happened in the Margazhi of 1948. It was while I was researching for it that I realised that the Tamil Nadu Government Music College, located at historic Brodie Castle aka Thenral, will embark on its 75th year sometime in 2024. I am not sure of the exact date, but the year was 1949 when the Central College of Karnatak Music, as it was known, came into existence.
During his brief tenure as Union Minister for Education after Independence, Rajaji suggested that there be two Central government-funded institutions, one each for the promotion of Hindustani and Carnatic music. The 1926-established Marris College in Lucknow, now the Bhatkhande Music Institute University, was selected for the former. For the south Indian art form, however, a fresh institution had to be created.
A committee was formed in Madras. It comprised T.S. Avinasilingam Chettiar (Education Minister, Government of Madras), Dr. Sir A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar (Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras), P.V. Rajamannar (Chief Justice, High Court of Madras and Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi), K. Srinivasan (Vice-President, Music Academy and Editor, The Hindu), Rao Bahadur K.V . Krishnaswami Iyer (President, Music Academy), ‘Rasikamani’ T.K. Chidambaranatha Mudaliar (noted Tamil scholar and authority on Kamban), Professor P. Sambamoorthy (musicologist), S. Venkateswaran, ICS, and Tiger K. Varadachariar (musician and academic). A powerful outside influence, though not in any official capacity then, was T.T. Krishnamachari.
