From his signature to the involvement on the stage, Saxophone Kadri Gopalnath surely states that his one and only obsession is music. 56 year old, Kadri Sir was born in Mangalore to Sri Taniappa and Srimathi Gangamma. Sri Taniappa was a great nagaswaram artist so music was not something new for the young Kadri Sir. He started learning the nagaswaram under his competent father at a young age. His path, however, soon took a sharp turn. Seeing the shiny, curved saxophone played in the Mysore Band Set, he immediately fell for the strong and beautiful sound it produced. It took him 20 years to win over this and earned him the title Saxophone Chakravarthy. Ever since then, Kadri Gopalnath has been a great asset in the field of carnatic music and a great person in the era of humanity.
On October 7, 2006, Chicago, IL had the privilege to listen to an outstanding concert by him and his team. They consisted of Sri Kadri Gopalnath, Sri Tripunithura Radhakrishna on the Ghatam, Sri Vittal Ramamoorthy on the Violin, Sri Selva Muthukumaraswami Thavil. I was very fortunate host them at my house. Each artist was very friendly and extremely nice. They willingly shared with me the hard path they went through before attaining the heights today. As a music lover and learner I felt very small in front of them. On our trip to the temple, I was asked to sing. I was a little nervous at the prospect of singing in front of these renowned artists. After composing myself, I started on the Kriti, Thulasi Dhala in Mayamalvagowlai. After singing, Kadri Sir complemented me on the way I rendered the song and suggested methods to improve it. It was truly an honor to be sitting with him talking casually about music. Before long, we pulled up to the temple and unloaded all the instruments. I had only half a mind to get out of the car and disrupt our conversation. However, I was also very eager to hear him play.
Before I knew it, the concert had begun. After the varanam, I was completely hooked. The strong, deep noise the Saxophone produced stunned me. The accompaniments were none the less. “Tak, Tharikita tak” came the loud sound of the Thavil. By listening carefully, I could decipher the thin beats of the Ghatam. The thani avarthanam was simply superb. Muthukumaraswami Sir almost broke his arm and the Thavil! The artists smiling and enjoying themselves up there made me envious. They were sharing something special, a juicy, fat secret and I wanted to be in on it. I resolved to work harder lest I be allowed to experience what those artistes were experiencing at that time. Suddenly, before I knew it, he started on the RTP (ragam, thanam, pallavi). Kadri Sir played so beautifully that I could make out the thanam. “Tha-a nom tha-a nomtha nomtha nomtha nomtha nom thaa.” My very favorite was the Punnagavarali mangalam. The usual ‘snake song’ was given an interesting twist. Unusually elegant.
The concert was an ultimate success. Everyone in the audience was so thrilled to hear such a magnificent concert, after a long time, in Chicago. Kadri Gopalnath is truly the Master of all Masters.
