This Day In History- November 6

1926 – Eminent flautist who completely changed the style of flute-playing in Carnatic music, Tiruvidaimarudur Ramaswamy Mahalingam also referred to as ‘TRM’ or ‘Mali’ was born. TRM was a prodigy and had left many impressed especially stalwarts like Parur Sundaram Iyer and Musiri Subramania Iyer who draped a ‘ponnadai’ around him during one of his concerts. This was when TRM was just seven. TRM’s style prevailed over the already existing ‘Sarabha Sastri’ style. His style was devoid of any ‘gamakas’.

T R Mahalingam

T R Mahalingam ‘Mali’

TRM had an excellent control over his breath which enabled him to prolong a single note for more than 40 seconds. This helped him to increase the volume of both lower as well as higher octaves. He introduced the ‘parrot-clutch’, a style to grip the flute. TRM also redesigned the traditional bamboo flute by drilling an extra eighth hole that allowed control over the flute.The holes on his flute were of smaller diameter than usual and the reed thicker. TRM never cared for awards or recognition. In 1986, the Government of India decided to honour him with the Padma Bhushan, which he turned down.

1951 – The First Chief Justice of India Sir Harilal Jekisundas Kania passed away. He breathed his last while he was still in office. Sir H.J. Kania also served as the Judge of Bombay High Court and was appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of India which preceded the Supreme Court. He succeeded himself as the CJI of the Supreme Court of India on August 15, 1947. He was knighted in 1943.

Sanjeev Kumar

Sanjeev Kumar

1985 – One of the most talented actors in Indian Cinema, Haribhai Jariwala or ‘Sanjeev Kumar’, as he was popularly known, passed away. Sanjeev Kumar made his debut with ‘Hum Hindustani'(1960) but first featured as a lead in ‘Nishan'(1965). He starred in many successful films including ‘Khilona'(1970), ‘Seeta Aur Geeta'(1972), ‘Manchali'(1973), ‘Aandhi'(1975), ‘Mausam'(1975), ‘Angoor'(1981) etc.

However, he will  always be remembered for his portrayal of Thakur Baldev Singh in GP Sippy’s 1975 blockbuster ‘Sholay’ that went on to break and make many records. Sanjeev Kumar was seen in nine different characters in ‘Naya Din Nayi Raat'(1974) which elevated him to an even higher level as an actor. In 1974, Sanjeev Kumar won the BFJA Award for ‘Koshish’. He bagged the Filmfare Award thrice in his career. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Shikar'(1969) and as the Best Actor for ‘Aandhi'(1976) and ‘Arjun Pandit'(1977). He also won the prestigious National Film Award for Best Actor twice for ‘Dastak'(1971) and ‘Koshish'(1973).

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