Tracing Bengaluru’s cultural heritage
The International Music & Arts Society’s 40th year commemorative volume shows how it became a trusted chronicler of art
The decision of the International Music & Arts Society to bring out a commemorative volume to celebrate its 40th year resulted in a gorgeous book, an invaluable record of Bengaluru’s cultural activity.
The idea of starting a cultural society was suggested in 1974 by the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar to his sister Rani Vijaya Devi of Kotda Sangani, who had settled in Bengaluru.
A fortuitous naissance indeed, as the Mysore royal family was known for its rich cultural heritage. An exceptional polymath, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was a noted scholar of
Sanskrit, a connoisseur and practitioner of both Carnatic and Western classical music. Mysore’s patronage also extended to visual arts.
The family wanted to share this signicant legacy with people, thereby continuing from court to courtyard, a tradition of royal patronage that enabled artistes to thrive and share their talents with the public, though IMAS has been careful in maintaining its high aesthetic standards while participating in a healthy democratisation of the arts. The volume is, incidentally, also a record of how patronage of the arts has shifted from royalty to corporates.
Chaired by Vijaya Devi, an IMAS committee was formed with a dedicated band of friends, who shared her views on promoting music and the arts. Accompanying her diplomat-husband, Thakur Sahib of Kotda Sangani, she had developed a network of Indian as well as international friends and experts in culture.
The opening essay is appropriately by Vijaya Devi on growing up in Mysore, those early years when the various strands of culture were woven indelibly into her life.
Thereafter, the book is divided into convenient sections, dealing with the society’s history and some of its major programmes in music, dance and the visual arts.
The Essay section alone would make this book worth acquiring, with Malavika Sarukkai’s ‘Tradition and Change in Bharatanatyam’; George Mitchell, famous for his explorations of Hampi, has contributed ‘From Vijayanagar to Mysore: Palace Architecture of Southern India’, and
Prateeti Ballal’s observations on Chamber Music, among others.
Such a review cannot do justice to the volume’s riches. Only the readers’ personal perusal of it can do so.