Vijay,
The following Post was sent by Sri "T.M.Sivaraman" <
tm_sivaraman@yahoo.com> to my account, which has been reproduced:
Hear what the renowned carnatic musicologist, Shri Ranga Ramanuja Iyengar had to say about the
colourful and charismatic personality of Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar in his book,"The
History of Carnatic Music":
" He was a rare phenomenon, an institution by himself. His indomitable
energy, infectious good humor and affability, large heartedness, and
happy-go-lucky indifference to economy and the devil-take-tomorrow abandon
to hedonism had a blinding glamor with an amalogam of the sublime and the
ridiculous.. . If anyone carried the day through physical makeup, Muthiah
Bhagavathar did. He spurned cotton and silk and was attired in gorgeous
clothes made of gold lace. He surrounded himself with a cloying aroma of
Javad used in profusion! His walking stick (was) engraved with gold and
silver..."
"With a loud thundering orchestra in the background he filled the
atmosphere with his own euphoria one moment; The next moment he switched
over to display of voice jugglery with striking effect. A low hum blending
with Tambura sruti, would present in a nutshell the core elements of a Raga
like Punnagavarali. The brief treatement buttressed with effective gestures
that would do credit to a dancer suggested a world of ethereal sound
images. Verily, he was wizard of sound, the soulf of music. He made a
raucous voice dance to the magic tune of a snake charmer..."
That,indeed, aptly describes the sway and mesmerising influence that Muthiah Bhagavathar held
over his audiences and his patrons, when he was at the peak of his career.
Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar belongs to the realm of great post-trinity composers.He
carved a niche for himself with his unique contribution to carnatic music.He was one of the
pioneers in creating innovative,erudite ,lyrical and bhava-purna compositions that touch the
chords of both the heart and the head.
Bhagavathar was a multi-faceted and highly talented personality. His main contribution to carnatic
music can be summed up here:
1.CREATION OF NEW RAGAS AND POPULARISING RARE RAGAS,hitherto not brought into the
limelight,like Urmika, vinadhari, vijayasarasvati, mayapradIpam, nagabhushani, gaudamalhAr,
chakrapradipa, vijayanagari, valaji, budhamanohari gurupriya, hamsanandi, hamsadipakam,
hamsagamani, and niroshta.An exhaustive list of new ragas created by him is available here at:
http://www.geocitie s.com/harikesa/ .
2.A PROLIFIC AND VERSATILE COMPOSER: He has to his credit some 400 highly creative
compositions in Sanskrit,telugu, tamil and kannada.
His compositions include 10 Thana Varnams, 1 Pada Varnam, 4 Darus, 3 Ragamalikas, 11
Thillanas, the famous English "Note" (western melody, popularized by Madhurai Mani Iyer), and a
host of 355 krithis. Besides many krithies on various deities, the krithi list includes the following
noteworthy group compositions.
-Chamunda Ashtottarashatha Keerthanams: 115 compositions : this monumental work earned him
the title of "Gayaka Shikamani" from the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnadeva Wodeyar,with a cash
prize of Rs.10,000 and royal patronage by appointing him as the asthana vidwan of Mysore.
-Shiva Ashtotharashatha Keertanams: 116 compositions
-Vara krithies (on seven days of the week): 7 compositions
-Songs on Mavur Mahakali: 7 compositions.
3.A GREAT EXPONENT OF HARIKATHA SANKEERTANAMS (KALAKSHEPAMS) : He had a powerful
and melodious voice,and this,combined with his great knowledge of puranas and shastras and also
his ready wit,humour and wisdom made him the rage of the day, with thousands of people flocking
to his harikatha performances. Richly enhanced with his classical keerthanams and light classical
pieces like "Kavadi Chindu",his Harikatha performances caught the imagination of the public and
made him a super star in the field.
4.HIS ROLE AS AN ERUDITE MUSICOLOGIST: His scholarly treatise in Tamil titled,"SANGEETHA
KALPADHRUMAM" earned him a Doctorate from Travancore University.Besides this, he is also the
author of a highly poetical work in Sanskrit,"Thyagaraj a Vijayam", comprising of 487 slokams.
Muthiah Bhagavathar' s Biography:Born in Janurary 1887 at Harikesanallur (Thirunelveli Dist),to
poor brahmin parents,Lingam Iyer and Anandam, he lost his father at an early age of 6 and was
then brought up by his maternal uncle,who disliked his leanings towards carnatic classical music
and forced him to learn Sanskrit to train him to be an temple archaka.But young Muthiah,had his
heart set on learning and mastering carnatic music.So he left his uncle and went in search of a
guru to train him.He met a well known vidwan in Thiruvarur, Sambasiva Iyer, who took him as his
student and trained him in both the grammar and practice of music.He studied under Sambasiva
Iyer for 7 years and became highly proficient in his art.
He returned to his native village,Harikesanal lur as a youngster of 20, and started giving vocal
performances. But,in those days, there was not much fan following for classical carnatic music, and
his performances did not bring him much money and he had to struggle through lot of financial
hardship initially.
He decided to try his luck elsewhere and so he went to Travancore, where he managed to impress
the Travancore Royalty with his musical talent.He received many awards and this enabled him to
pursue his musical career with great zeal.
There was no looking back for Muthiah Bhagavathar after this and he became very famous as a
musician,harikatha performer and a scholar of music.He received Royal patronage of Mysore
Royalty also and was highly respected as their Asthana Vidwan.
He was awarded the title of Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1930 by the Madras Music Academy and he
then settled down in Madras,where he lived till his death in 1945.
The Hallmark of Muthiah Bhagavathar' s Compositions: In the early stages of his career, he was
greatly influenced by Saint Thyagaraja, who was his role model.Thus his compositions of this
period were largely "madhyama kala'krithis, interspersed liberally with a series of "sangathis". His
"Thyagaraja" influence is reflected in his preference for composing in some of the Saint's favourite
ragas like Huseini,Sudha
Seemanthini, navarasakanada, sindhuramakriya, hamsanadham, jingla,saraswath i manohari,malavi
etc.
The Dikshithar influence: can be traced in his compositions after 1931, with "Vilamba Kala" krithis,
laced with lots of gamakams.He composed during this period in Muthuswamy Dikshithar's favourite
ragas like
Gopikavasantham, Dwijavanthi, Pahadi,Madhavama nohari,Mangalaka isiki,Kadanakuth oohalam etc.
Muthiah Bhagavathar was a well respected figure in the Madras Music Academy and was a part of
their Experts Committee and regularly participated in their annual music conferences, often
weighing in with his expert scientific deliberations in music and if one reads through the past
archives of the Music Academy's Expert Conference of 1930, he would realise the enormous
contribution of Muthiah Bhagavathar in laying down the scientific grounds for the structure of
carnatic music.
The Human Facet of Muthiah Bhagavathar' s Character: He was a most compassionate person and
always was willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who went to him for aid.Remembering his own
days of hardship, he was ever willing to feed and host poor relatives and friends at his place.At any
time,during the peak of his career, there were at least 15 people being fed and looked afer at his
home.
In conclusion, it would be no exaggeration to emphatically aver that with his demise in 1945, the
Carnatic Music world lost one of it's most creative,erudite and colourful personalities who adorned
it's portals.
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Now let us partake of some divine Muthiah Bhagavathar melodies from my music collection.Here are the download links:
1. D.K.Jayaraman. Vanchatonuna. Karnaranjani. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490085/ D.K.Jayaraman. Vanchatonuna. Karnaranjani. mp3
2. Chinmaya_Sisters. Gam_Ganapathe. Hamsadwani. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490087/ Chinmaya_ Sisters.Gam_ Ganapathe. Hamsadwani. mp3
3. D.k.Jayaraman. Gam_Ganapathe. Hamsadwani. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490088/ D.k.Jayaraman. Gam_Ganapathe. Hamsadwani. mp3
4. Krishnakumar_ Varma.Gam_ Ganapathe. Hamsadwani. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490090/ Krishnakumar_ Varma.Gam_ Ganapathe. Hamsadwani. mp3
5. Priya_Sisters. .Sikhivahana. Hamsadeepam. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490091/ Priya_Sisters. .Sikhivahana. Hamsadeepam. mp3
6. T.N.Seshagopalan. Ganapathe. Janaranajani. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490092/ T.N.Seshagopalan .Ganapathe. Janaranajani. mp3
7. T.N.Seshagopalan. Manamu_kavalanu. Sahana.mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490093/ T.N.Seshagopalan .Manamu_kavalanu .Sahana.mp3
8. T.N.Seshagopalan. Moovasai_ konda.Karaharapr iya.mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490094/ T.N.Seshagopalan .Moovasai_ konda.Karaharapr iya.mp3
9. T.N.Seshagopalan. Raja_raja_ rajithe.Niroshta .mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490095/ T.N.Seshagopalan .Raja_raja_ rajithe.Niroshta .mp3
10. T.N.Seshagopalan. Sarasadala_ nayane.Saramathi .mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142492532/ T.N.Seshagopalan .Sarasadala_ nayane.Saramathi .mp3
11. T.N.Seshagopalan. Sharanam. Vijayasaraswathi .mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142492533/ T.N.Seshagopalan .Sharanam. Vijayasaraswathi .mp3
12. T.N.Seshagopalan. Thillana. Mohanam.mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142492534/ T.N.Seshagopalan .Thillana. Mohanam.mp3
13. D.K.Jayaraman. Sri_Mahabalagiri .Kesamanohari. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142492535/ D.K.Jayaraman. Sri_Mahabalagiri .Kesamanohari. mp3
14. M.S_Sheela.Shree_ Mahabala. Saranga_Malhar. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142492536/ M.S_Sheela. Shree_Mahabala. Saranga_Malhar. mp3
15. Madurai_Mani_ Iyer.Sahasrakara _mandithe. Vachaspathi. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142492537/ Madurai_Mani_ Iyer.Sahasrakara _mandithe. Vachaspathi. mp3
16. O.S.Thyagarajan. Vijayambike. Vijayasaraswathi .mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142492538/ O.S.Thyagarajan. Vijayambike. Vijayasaraswathi .mp3
17. Geetha_Rajashekar. Amba_Vani_ ninnu.Keeravani. mp3
http://rapidshare. com/files/ 142490089/ Geetha_Rajasheka r.Amba_Vani_ ninnu.Keeravani. mp3
Enjoy the divine music.