LIFESTYLE - A Veteran classical music enthusiast who had been captivated by Tamil and Telugu music since his youth, recorded a CD of 12 carnatic and classical songs at the age of 88.
Muthusamy Ranganatha Naidoo, also known as Denis, of Somerset Park in Durban, said Beama Naidoo, his musical guru who recently died, encouraged him to record the CD.
Beama’s nephew, Ashley Kisten, assisted in the production of the recordings.
The CD was scheduled to be launched in March but was postponed because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Denis Naidoo, a first-generation Indian South African, said his parents came from India in the 1890s.
His father was 19 when he arrived from the village of Kalakad in Tamil Nadu.
Naidoo’s mother was 5 years old when she arrived from Andhra Pradesh with her parents.
After Naidoo’s parents married, they settled in Maidstone on the Natal North Coast. They had seven children - one daughter and six sons.
Naidoo, the last-born, was conceived in India when his parents moved to Tamil Nadu to find a groom for his sister.
“My dad insisted on taking my sister to India when she reached a marriageable age. After she got married, he stayed in the village for a while with four of my brothers and my mother.
“While there, my mother became pregnant with me. When my father realised he would have problems with immigration, they returned to South Africa.
“At this time my sister in Tamil Nadu gave birth to a girl and sadly she died after giving birth.
“This news came via cable at that time. It shattered the family, especially my mother. It took a toll on her. And being pregnant, this added to her misery.
“My mother gave birth to me and within a week or so she died. My father put me up for adoption to a prominent Naidoo family in Tongaat. After they adopted me, my adoptive mother gave birth to a daughter and thereafter 10 other children.”
Naidoo said his passion for Tamil and Telugu classical music and songs began when he was about 5 or 6 years old and his adoptive family moved from oThongathi to Overport.
“I listened to old 78 RPM and 48RPM (records) and later on LPs,” said Naidoo, who added he was a vocalist and did not play musical instruments.
“My adoptive father used to get records from India and our family home resounded with this music all the time. This is how I picked it up.”
He said he did not undergo formal training yet performed at temples, Tamil and Telugu school functions, family gatherings and other social functions.
Naidoo married Patmavathie Reddy in 1964 and they had four children.
They lived in Verulam after he opened his own retail shop. Patmavathie died in 2001.
Naidoo became an anti-apartheid activist and supported the Natal Indian Congress and the United Democratic Front in the 1970s and 1980s.
He said he relocated from Verulam to Somerset Park about 10 years ago and joined the uMhlanga Hindu Society’s service group that performed at the temple every Monday evening.
Naidoo, who retired in 2000 after running his retail business in Verulam for more than 30 years, said Beama heard him singing and encouraged him to record a CD.
“He was a musical giant and inspired me to continue with my singing despite my age. Sadly, he died just before I recorded the CD.
“Ashley guided me through the project, fully aware that I am a dialysis patient.”
Naidoo said he was glad he recorded the CD as the country geared to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the arrival of indentured labourers from India, to the former Natal colony.
For Naidoo, music is not only a form of entertainment but a vehicle that transports him to a higher level of spirituality.
“Classical music rejuvenates the mind, body and soul. You experience a sense of freedom and celestial joy. When you take part in music, it is like being in another world. Music is a vehicle that carries me to a different world.
“There are times when I listen to music and tear up. I think to myself, ‘Oh my God, I really have been gifted to appreciate this important segment in our lives and that is music’.”
Naidoo, a board member of Southside FM Radio, who has promoted carnatic and classical music for more than seven decades, turned 88 in April.
He still has relatives in India and has visited the country seven times - the last trip was in 2002 to his ancestral village in Tamil Nadu.