INCEPTION OF
THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
On 19th May, 1932, the Registrar of the
University issued a notice announcing the starting of a department of Indian
Music. Hitherto music was taught only in Queen Mary’s College, an affiliated
college of the University, conducting the B.A degree course in the subject. A
one-year course leading to a diploma was instituted. The classes commenced on
Friday, the 26th August at 5 P.M. and were held in the Syndicate
Room of the Senate House for a few days. The
department then shifted to the Limbdi Gardens, Royapettah, from where it
functioned for a few years before shifting back to Chepauk. Along with the
Diploma course, admission to Research also started.
Thiru K. Varadachariar,
the great musician, respectfully and popularly called “Tiger”, was the first
lecturer and Head of the Department. With the help of two teaching assistants
he conducted the classes in Vocal, Vina and Violin and also guided Research
students. Eminent scholars like Thiru M.S Ramaswami Ayyar and Thiru P.
Sambamoorthi were invited to give lectures on The History and Theory of Music,
respectively.
The establishment of the department
was hailed in music circles all over India and very soon enquiries about the
course came pouring in even from far a place as Rajkot. The Diploma course was
soon intensified and made into a two-year course from August 1937. Two years
later the University also introduced an Oriental title course, Sangia
Sironmani, though the department as such did not offer this course. Enrolment
of Students for Research leading to the M.Litt. degree was also started and in
1940 the first M.Litt. degree was awarded.
In the late forties Indian Music was
introduced in Stella Maris College, Madras, also. In late fifties, M.A. course
was commenced there with its students coming to the department for the
Inter-Collegiate classes. Gradually enrolment for Ph.D. degree also commenced
in the department.
During the twenty-five years, i.e.,
from 1937 to 1961, Thiru P. Sambamoorthy was the Head of The Department,
initially as a lecturer and later from 1952 as a reader. This period witnessed
all round activity in teaching, performance and research. Dr. T. Vishwanathan
and Dr. Miss L. Isaac followed him as the Head of the Department. N 1975, Dr.
Miss S. Seetha, Lecturer, took over charge and became a reader in 1975 and in
quick succession was appointed the first professor in 1976. In 1991, Dr. M.B.
Vedavalli succeeded her and in 1995 Dr. N. Ramanathan took over the position as
the Head of the Department. In 1998 when the Chairperson until 2002-2004. Dr.
M. Prameela was appointed as professor and Head of the Department and
Chairperson from 2003. She belongs to the first batch of the M.A degree course
in Indian Music instituted in the department in the year 1976.
The M.A. teaching, which had been
suspended in colleges was revised and started in the departmentin 1976. With
this there was a spurt in teaching and research and other cultural activity.
Soon a long-time grievance - that there
existed no facility for men candidates to do B.A. degree course in music in
Madras University also got redressed. In 1982, the B.S. degree course in Indian
Music began to be conducted in the department. This course was later adopted in
the B.A. correspondence stream by the institute of Correspondence Education.
This course was, in 1987, introduced in the Open University system also. In
1986, the M.Phil course was commenced in 1998, the University adopted the
credit based semester system under which the curriculum in the department was
re-organised.
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