Violin player and writer Dwaram Durga Prasadarao | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The violin player Dwaram Durga Prasadarao with a calm grace says, “The legacy of the Dwaram family is not alone for us; it belongs to every student trained under the veterans of this tradition.”
Our organization has trained many students, many of which lived with us in traditional Gurukula style. In fact, many people outside the family are true bearers of Dwaram Bani. We lived together and learned together. He is the beauty of that era, ”he says.
It is a sense of credit, honor and memory sharing that runs through the pages of his recently launched book Jeevali – Sangeeta, Literature, Jeevana Anubhavlu (NK publication)In Telugu.
Speaking on the phone from Vijianagaram, 82 -year -old Prasadaro appears as a rare mixture of literary depth and music mastery. He is a multidimensional artist, also a sculptor and painter. The cover photo portrayal of the book is also credited for it.
Jeevali – Sangeeta, Literature, Jeevana Anubhavlu Literary depth and music are a mixture of mastery. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
All in the title
Title of his new book, Jeevali …Herself is layered as a man. “The word only came to the end of the writing process,” Prasadaro says, describing a moment of insight that combines their music and philosophical world vision together. “In Tambura, ‘Jeevali’ refers to a small cotton thread, which is placed between string and bridge, a minor, but necessary. It makes partial vibrations or hormonics, which gives music to music. It is life within sound,” they say. Once used in Veena is also used – although not in practice now – this subtle component, he says, symbolizes hidden elements that echo music and life. This word also carries a Sanskrit meaning; Jeeva-Ali, which means progress of living beings.
The book is neither a traditional autobiography nor an academic book. Instead, it comes in the form of an individual collage of essays, anecdotes, and reflections – some philosophical, other humor, and tinged with many sadness. The book features more than 80 individuals, which, in some way, shape their journey. While he naturally writes about his offspring-his father Dwaram Narasinga Rao, Dada Dwaram Venkat Krishnay, and the grand-pride, the mythological violin player Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu-speaks of fellow musicians, colleagues and students with the same heat and reverence. The book makes the book particularly special, its tone, which is neither adulthood nor self-defamation.
Maharaja Government Music and Dance College was founded in 1919 by Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju, photo credit: Special Arangement
Family and city legacy
Asked about the unconventional format of his book, Prasadarao states that it was a conscious option, shaped by two powerful forces in his life. “One was my music inheritance. For five generations, the violin has been in the heart of our family. That legacy shaped me in every way.” The second was Vijiangaram, a city that he realizes that he is central for his story. Established and nurtured by visionary Maharajas, especially Vijaya Ram Raju, Vijianagaram (earlier Vijaya Nagaram) developed in a vibrant cultural center. “Kings not just protected the arts, they created institutions for music, Sanskrit, science and literature,” they say. With Ashtana Vidavan, like the Italian string band, like a western traditions and even the Western orchestra, the city saw a unique exchange of ideas. “This is not just my story,” he says, “this is the story of a place that quietly nurtured India’s cultural heritage.”
Readers who expect more than Prasadarao may have to wait. He believes that he wants to say a lot, which is the shape of conversations, comments and years of his own developed ideas. But there is hesitation with this. “There is always a fear … someone can get hurt, someone can be against you,” he says openly. Their concern is not just about personal decline; They are worried that giving strong opinions can also affect people close to them.
Unlike fiction writers, who can veil truth in characters and plot, Prasadaro does not see themselves taking that path. There is a desire to express, but the same is the conflict between honesty and consequences.
Published – August 12, 2025 05:47 pm IST
