Cameos: A Collection of Writings on Karnatic Musicians of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

Cameos is a translation of the writings of Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar (1866-1943), an influential figure in the performing arts at the turn of the nineteenth century in south India, on his contemporaries.  The articles portray sixty-five musicians, composers and other artists, many of whom were shapers of the modern age in Karnatic music; several were legends in their own lifetime.  Being first-hand accounts, they are unique for their historical authenticity.  The Bhagavatar speaks with the authority of a master-musician and a doyen in Harikatha Kalakshepam; this lends an unusual objectivity to the writings.  Among the author’s good friends were such luminaries as Sarabha Sastrigal, Patnam Subramanya Ayyar, Tirukkodikaval Krishnayyar and Ramnad (Poochi) Srinivasa Iyengar.  He thus had close access to some of the most creative and intense musical activity of the period, in which he himself played a considerable part.  The reminiscences on the author by seven important personalities form a valuable introduction to this volume while the photographs and specilly commissioned artist’s sketches transport us to a different era.