Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 9:13 pm:

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Dr Chitti babu on Veena

Dr. CHITTI BABU - VEENA ARTISTE.............(b.October 13, 1936)
Chitti Babu was giving a veena concert at the Palace before the Royal Connoisseur, Jeya Chamaraja Wodeyar of Mysore in 1967. The virtuosity and excellence of his play was so enthralling that the reaction of the Maharajah was spontaneous. His hands imperceptibly removed the Golden Pendant from his neck, while he proclaimed
'We have been waiting to give this pendant, and the title 'Vainika Sikhamani' which was given to Sri Veena Seshanna a hundred years back to some renowned Vainika who reminds us of the Great Vainika and that Day has come now'.

The illustrious royal patron and man of letters honoured Chitti Babu with the pendant and the title. A gifted artiste, Chitti Babu coaxes out of veena 'the esoteric secrets of sound that it treasures in the depths of its soul'. He is noted for sweet, pleasing rendering rich with intricate and subtle turns, graces and embodiments. He is highly popular and his concerts are noted for dignified play on the celestial instrument.

The only child of Challapally Ranga Rao and Sundaramma of Kakinada, he was a child prodigy. Made his debut at the age of twelve. He had his initial training under Appalachariar for three years and then under the distinguished Emani Sankara Sastri. He had been giving hundreds of concerts on the All India Radio including National programmes, Television, Sabhas and elsewhere in India and abroad. His 'koel' song is a remarkable piece. A film called 'Kalai Koil' has come out based on his veena play.

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Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 9:09 pm:

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Sri Chittibabu increased the adhara shruthi of the veena to make the sound more pleasant to the ears. He was not only a performer but also a composer who had composed several kritis - `Sama gana vinodhini' in Chandra Kaus, `Pahi prabho' in Hamsanandhi and `Anandha raga nilaye' in Anandha, to name a few. He had also composed thillanas in ragas such as Vasanth Bahar, Kathanakuthuhalam and one in the raga Thilang in Misrajampai tala with the lyrics in charanam dedicated to his Guru Sri Emani Shankara Sastry. He was the first one to compose operatic pieces without lyrics to tell stories. Radha Madhavam and Shiva Leela Vilasam are two such compositions where the stories of Krishnas Rasa Leela and Shiva, Ganga and Gowri were told, respectively.

He was also an eloquent speaker, who had the command of the English language. He had written articles on rare composers such as Sarangapani and his padams and these articles were published in several prestigious newspapers and magazines such as The Hindu. Mysore Maharaja took the necklace that had the pendant of the state emblem of Eagle embedded with rubis, diamonds and other precious stones form his neck and presented it to Sri Chittibabu after listening to his explanations of the kriti Nee chithamu by Tyagaraja in the raga Vijayavasantham over 40 years ago.

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Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 9:02 pm:

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Chittibabu took his first lessons from Pandravada Upmakaya. Later, the celebrated Emani Sankara Sastry took him under his wing. After shifting to Madras, he gave his first full-fledged performance at the age of 12. Since then, he never looked back. He was noted for his sweet, pleasing renditions. He was an extremely popular artiste in his lifetime and is remembered for all the special effects (improvisations) he could produce on his Veena, which had a very clear and sweet tone. He was also conferred an honorary doctorate by the Andhra University.

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