History |
| The center appropriately named Sampradaya was inspired by the musical integrity and genuine affection of Sri. H. Ramachandra Shastri, Smt. Savitri Rajan, Mr. Ludwig Pesch, disciple of the former and Mr. Michael Nixon, disciple of the later. What brought these people together in a common quest was that little attention has been paid to senior musicians and lesser known music teachers and scholars. So many of them had spent all their lives to cultivate and pass on a particular asset of music that they held sacred. How better to do justice to their contribution than by listening to them and learning from them. On the basis of this valuable insight Sampradaya was founded 25 years ago in 1980. For the first few years Max Muller Bhavan, the German Cultural Institute in Chennai graciously provided funds and facilities for the first few years until the newly founded Society could take care of itself with financial assistance from the Ford Foundation. |
Hundreds of musicians and scholars have since demonstrated in association with Sampradaya, that music which is rare and endowed with the special quality can indeed be cultivated, disseminated without having to make any concessions to mass appeal. The purpose for which Sampradaya was founded, and to which the center continues to be devoted could be summerised in terms of simple questions like which factors have shaped musical life in South India , who are the exponents of traditional music and what are the experience that they can and wish to share with others. From the beginning they had decided to prepare and document musical experience in all conceivable ways so that others could also benefit from it always. To place this music in proper perspective documentary material was gathered or prepared by way of interviews, recordings and photo sessions and field trips etc. Later on the laborious work of complementing it with additional research data and documentary material as well as cataloguing was undertaken. For this reason the establishment of a center soon became necessary with help from members of the music fraternity of Chennai notably our Land Lord Major General Balasubramanian and his wife Kalpagam Balasuramanian, the dream came true and continues to be a source of strength in South India 's classical music circle for two and a half decades. |
| The success story of Sampradaya (in spite of several ups and downs also reflects the self rejuvenating forces inherent in South Indian Music in general and Carnatic Music in particular. |
| Anybody interested in the (after all not so long) history of this center will be delighted by the fact that many among the better-known musicians of the younger generation have been associated with the projects initiated by Sampradaya, or |
