The thread was started with a preconceived notion that OVK 's period is after the Tiruvarur trinity
There is a bit of genesis to this.
(a) When Shri Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar first came to Chennai and gave a series of lec-dems including at the Music Academy, the vidvans here had not heard about OVK. So, their intrigue was quite understandable. NKB spent the next several decades dedicated to not only clarify such misconceptions but also to teach and share the intricasies of his ancestor's works.
(b) However, even in the 1955 Academy demo, there was
absolutely no doubt among the giants present including Prof T V Subba Rao about the
merit of the compositions. The 1956 Journal clearly documents the awe with which the compositions were viewed. Very soon, Shri GNB - himself no mean a musician or vaggeyakara (not to mention Devi upasaka) wrote an article on OVK 'Kattil vilainda kasturi'. He also organised a series on OVK in All India Radio by NKB.
(c) Others who learnt from NKB include stalwart violinist Smt Savithry Satyamurthy, Smt Aruna Sairam, Shri Kunjumani Bhagavatar - nephew of Papanasam Sivan, octogenarian jalatarangam exponent Smt Seeta Doraiswami, Shri T N Seshagopalan's mother, Shri Vijay Siva's mother and Ms Alamelu and Dr Subbaraman, who are active harikatha exponents
(d) These people have seen NKB first hand and spent years with him. Everyone agrees that
(i) his dedication to his ancestor's works and integrity were beyond reproach
(ii) his musicianship and scholarship was exceptional -
but
(iii) he only popularised the compositions and did not compose them
5. NKB himself has consistently explained that the compositions of OVK were copied periodically by his family for generations and other artistes such as Mannargudi Raju Shastrigal have also popularised them. (NKB attempted a handful of compositions but has clearly noted them in his book as 'idu sonta sahityam' - this is my own piece.)
Let me again summarise the external evidences that I have shared in this thread:
1. Non-family accounts which prove that OVK was a contemporary of Shri Ramasami Iyer, Minister of Serfoji - which also imply that he was a contemporary of Serfoji as well as Bhaskara Raya. Whether he was a disciple or not needs more follow up but the fact remains that he was a contemporary.
2. His compositions were quite popular by 1800s - as is clear from the fact that Raju Shastrigal (1815-1903) was considered a specialist in those (Ref. his disciple Paruthiyur Krishna Shastri learnt OVK and Arunachala Kavi's compositions from him).
3. Musicologist Shri B M Sundaram mentioned that Kattu Krishna Iyer (nephew of OVK) was a contemporary of King Amara Simha.
Now let us examine the compelling
internal evidence, of 400 plus compositions of the highest merit from a common source which is not merely OVK's family but also disciples in the strict sense of the term. If the number were 4 or 40, one can say all kinds of things about it but 400 is a huge number to merely speculate about. (I have said 400 because I have so far seen only 400-odd - there are several more that I have not seen and several that maybe lost forever.)
1. OVK has saluted the max number of historic personalities - as Rangaramanuja Iyengar says, "These are of historic significance". Any logical person in the world will list them and look for chronological references and inferences. The latest names in this are: Tulasidasa and (possibly Bhadrachala Ramadasa.)
2. Most of the 100 plus Krishna songs in Tamil are operatic - from Bhagavatam. A few more are from other operas of OVK such as Ramayana, Mahabharata and so forth. These are enough to prove his style - which can be used to extrapolate the other pieces of his including his kshetra krtis in Madurai, Kanchi, Chennai, Udupi, Pandarapur, Tiruvarur, Tirukkannapuram, Needamangalam, Sikkil, Pazhani and a host of general krtis on various dieties.
3. The village Oottukkadu has two main temples - Kalinga Nartana Krishna and Shiva. OVK is said to have spent a lot of time in the former temple and his personal favourite was Lord Krishna. So, many of his Taml and Sanskrit compositions have a clear signature that mentions or relates kalinga nartana (like bhujanga shirasi natana, nAga phaNa nartana etc).
4. In a rare few, we see the signature 'Venkata Kavi'. This includes a piece from the Navavarana krti (Shankari), his sankshepa Ramayana krti (Shree rama jayame jayam) and a few others that I have mentioned in my book.
4. The Krishna temple has a small sannidhi of Nartana Ganapati and the other one has sannidhis of Surya and OVK has composed on these as well (Ananda nartana ganapatim - Nattai and Padmini vallabha - Dhanyasi).
5. His family diety was Devi - the family has a Devi idol for over 600 years. So, his Navavarana krtis are hardly surprising as also other songs on Devi.
6. He is said to have spent his childhood in Mannargudi - so a plethora of songs on Rajagopala in both Tamil and Sanskrit.
7. He has composed at least 15 krtis on guru - I will be sharing some in the other thread but his guru-bhakti as well as his relationship with his guru is never in doubt. The songs prove the caliber of the guru as well - like any true sishya should. Out of respect, he has never even referred to him by name (at least in the songs I have seen so far).
8. Oottukkadu is known as Dhenushwasapuram in Sanskrit - OVK has composed a brilliant shloka on Krishna where every stanza ends with the phrase:
dhEnushwasapura dEva dEvaya namO namastE
He has composed several other shlokas like Madhava Panchakam and Ranganatha Panchakam.
9. OVK talks repeatedly about music and his compositions contain more musical specific terms than seen in any other part of CM literature.
10. His handling of talas and other rhythmic aspects (like gati-bhedam) that we consider challenging were much more in vogue then - as any study of dance and bhagavata mela repertoire will prove. But even here, he has revealed a level of musicianship that is rare.
11. There are a few songs of his in Marathi - which definitely diminished in significance by 1800s.
Given all the above, no rational person can continue to live in denial. Statements such as
(a) OVK was 'modern' - reveal continued or even deliberate ignorance
(b) he was fabricated - reveal the above plus and irrational bias not only towards the composer but also towards his descendants who have honestly and sincerely preserved a great treasure and shared with the music world
(c) his compositions are not upto scratch - reveal both (a) and (b) as well as a completely closed mind
And we must pause to think if our questions make sense:
1. When it is easy to spot even 4-5 spurious modern compositions such as Natajana or Needucharanamule, would it even be possible for someone to mass-produce 400 plus songs and palm it off?
2. Why would anyone - including NKB or his disciples
want to play an elaborate hoax on the music world? Those familiar with them also know them as impeccable, even if not infalliable, human beings. The music world needs to show them the same respect that have been accorded the parampara-preservers of the other great composers like Walajapet/Ambi Dikshitar and so forth.
3. Would someone hailed as a 'mahAkavi' not be aware of fundamental rules of prAsa, yati or chanda nor know when what can be used or when what should not be used? There was an instance when the
paramacharya of Kanchi - HH Chandrashekharendra Saraswati admonished NKB when the latter changed what he thought was a typo in a song of OVK. He said, "OVK knew what he was using. It is for us to contemplate much before we can understand them.'
It may be a truism but we must remember that facts cannot vanish just because they may be uncomfortable to a small section of people. They can neither be wished away nor washed away... Let us accept facts as we know them today and appreciate the monumental works of OVK with an open mind. We will only be enriching ourselves in the process...