Carnatic Music Songs on Sita Haran / Ram Sita Forest Exile

[raghukumar]

Dear Rasikas,

I have a friend who is proficient in Hindustani Music. One of her friends is a music professor who is looking for how the story of Ram and Sita's forest exile has made its way through arts and music in Asia. She said that she can't find much in the Hindustani tradition, but knows that Sita Haran is a very popular story depicted in Bharatnatyam / Kuchipudi.

Are there are songs (even semi-classical / folk) in Carnatic Music related to Ram and Sita exile or any episodes within that period?

Let me know if you can think of anything.

Thanks!

-Raghu

[rshankar]

Though not directly connected with sItA haran - uRaippAi nI hanumAnE describes how rAma prepares hanumAn for the search of sItA. I am sure the rAmanATakam of Sri Arunacala Kavi will have a description of sItA haran (his version will be similar to that in the kamba rAmAyaNa where rAvaNa doesn't dare to touch her against her wises, and carries the hut from pancvaTi with her inside). AK's kaNDEn kaNDEn kaNDEn sItayai describes sIta in the aSOk van of rAvaNa (I remember discussing it in detail, but I can't find it on the forum now)...

[ashasiva]

Smt Seetha Narayanan renders a Tulsidas bhajan in Jhinjuti, ‘Kahangke Pathik.' It is a conversation in the forest between Sita and the dwellers.

[rshankar]

Smt. MSS has also rendered it - wonderfully! It is a beauty from tulsIdAs - I am not sure if any of the other versions have this meeting between the villagers and rAm, sItA and lakshmaN as they head on for their vanvAs - it is also the only one (that I am aware of) where rAm says that he went to the forest based on the word of his 'mother' - typically the reason given is 'pitR vacan paripAlan'
kahAn kE pathik kahAn kInhO hai gamanvA?
kOn nAm kE gAun kE vAsi? kE kAran tum tajO hai bhavanvA?
uttar disi ik nagar ayOdhyA rAjA dasrath jahAn pAyO hai bhavanvA
unhI kE ham dOun kuMvarvA mAtA ke vacan suni tajO hai bhavanvA
gAv vadhU sab pUchE siyA sE 'kOn sO prItam kOn sO dEvarvA?'
siyA musukAi bOli mRdu bAni 'sAnvarE sO prItam, gOrE dEvarvA'
tulsI dAs prabhu As caranan kI mErO man hAr liyO jAnki ramaNvA

[trivenibhujbal]

hello,
could anyone please help me with the lyrics of ni urayipa? ......i have learnt this keertanam in bharatanatyam style.
thanks.
regards.
triveni

[rshankar]

hello,
could anyone please help me with the lyrics of ni urayipa? ......i have learnt this keertanam in bharatanatyam style.

We discussed this a while ago, here