K Srikantiah, who died on September 4, was a music connoisseur and patron known for his endearing work in Karnatik music for about seven decades. He was 96.
It was Srikantiah, who along with his family, helped perpetuate the memory of the great violin maestro Tirumakudalu Chowdiah, by building the violin-shaped auditorium in Bengaluru.
The Chowdiah Memorial Hall, a magnificent structure, serves as an important venue for music performances and cultural events.
Hailing from one of Mysuru’s illustrious families, Srikantiah was one of the many sons of the renowned lawyer K Puttu Rao, a great patron of the arts. Puttu Rao was instrumental in running the famous Bidaram Krishnappa Prasanna Sitarama Mandira and worked closely with the legendary violinist
T Chowdiah.
After Puttu Rao’s death in 1959, Srikantiah, then in his late 20s and a lawyer by profession, stepped into his father’s shoes to carry on the musical legacy, living in the family’s heritage house ‘Parvathi’, deemed second only to the Mysuru Palace in its benevolence to art and artists.
Parvathi was always overflowing with music. It was but natural that in such a household, the violin maestro T Chowdiah should have carved a warm niche for himself. “It was a home where music, prayers and congregations would resound through the day; a home away from home to which Chowdiah, even an R K Narayan or a Veena Doreswamy Iyengar would come at all hours, unheralded, to revel in passionate ideas of artistic merit. Such a life went on for decades,” according to Shruti magazine’s 1987 issue dedicated to Chowdiah.
Given his natural passion for the arts, especially Karnatik music, Srikantiah left no stone unturned to continue with his father’s vision, hosting music concerts and bringing the best of musicians to perform at Parvathi.
Although concerts at Parvathi eventually stopped, the K Puttu Rao Memorial Music Concerts continue annually at the Jaganmohan Palace.
Somewhere down the years, the vision to create a memorial for Chowdiah became apparent to Srikantiah, who shared this idea with his brother K K Murthy, then president, Academy of Music, Bengaluru. The two brothers lived up to their father’s dream and the promise they made to him when the memorial hall came into being in 1980.
When Chowdiah was unceremoniously dropped from the management of the Bidaram Krishnappa Mandiram which he lovingly nourished and served with dedication after the death of his guru, it was Srikantiah who came to his rescue by setting up the T Chowdiah Memorial Sri Ramaseva Samithi.
Srikantiah also authored a book on T Chowdiah.