Mysuru

Mysuru (formerly Mysore) is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It serves as a cultural hub for Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, hosting annual festivals that attract classical artists and scholars. The city’s royal patronage under the Wodeyar dynasty (1399–1947) established it as a center for the arts, with institutions like the Jayachamarajendra College of Music and Dance (founded 1939) and the Karnataka State Open University’s Department of Music preserving traditional forms.

The Mysuru Dasara Festival, celebrated annually in September or October, features classical music concerts at the Amba Vilas Palace and other heritage venues. Notable performances include recitals by M. S. Subbulakshmi (1916–2004), who sang at the palace in 1965 during the festival’s centennial celebrations. The Sri Jayachamarajendra Art and Cultural Academy (1978) organizes year-round events, promoting Hindustani and Carnatic traditions.

Mysuru’s contribution to recorded classical music includes albums by local artists. Mysore Manjunath (b. 1972), a violinist trained in the Mysore baani (style), released Violin Melodies (2004, Saregama) featuring compositions by Mysore Vasudevachar (1865–1961). The album highlights the Mysore school of violin playing, characterized by gamaka-rich phrasing. Mysore Nagamani (1930–2010), a vocalist, recorded Devotional Songs of Mysore Composers (1985, HMV), compiling kritis by Muttiah Bhagavatar (1877–1945) and Veene Seshanna (1852–1926).

The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL, 1969) in Mysuru documents folk and classical traditions, publishing archival recordings of Yakshagana and Gamaka performances. The Mysore University’s Department of Studies in Music (1966) offers graduate programs in Carnatic music, with faculty including R. K. Padmanabha (b. 1950), a noted veena exponent. The city’s Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) hosts lectures on the intersection of music and visual culture, particularly the Mysore painting tradition’s depictions of ragas.

Contemporary venues like Ganabharathi (1985) and Kala Mandira (1973) provide platforms for emerging artists. The Mysore T. Chowdiah Memorial Hall (1980), named after the violinist Tirumakudalu Chowdiah (1895–1967), hosts the annual Chowdiah National Music Festival, featuring instrumental ensembles. While specific release dates for live recordings from these festivals remain undocumented, bootleg recordings of performances by Mysore M. Lakshminarayana (1911–1990) and R. K. Srikantan (1920–2014) circulate among collectors.

The Mysore style of Bharatanatyam, developed by Jatti Tayamma (1870–1950), emphasizes geometric patterns and sculptural poses. Dancers like Mysore B. Nagaraj (b. 1954) and Mysore A. Chandrasekhar (b. 1953) preserved this repertoire through performances and the documentary Nritya Mysore (1998, Doordarshan). The city’s Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashrama (1942) also promotes classical arts, with Sachchidananda Swamiji (b. 1942) composing devotional songs in the Carnatic tradition.

Limited commercial releases originate from Mysuru compared to Chennai or Mumbai, but its role as a nurturing ground for classical talent remains significant. The Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy (1972) awards annual honors to local artists, with past recipients including Mysore V. Doraiswamy Iyengar (1920–1999) for his contributions to veena music. Archival efforts by the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) include field recordings of Mysuru’s Devangan and Kuruba communities, preserving folk-classical fusions.