Bellary Raghavendra's concert at Raghavendra Mutt,B'lore

[vs_manjunath]

Bellary Raghavendra & Party presented an excellent "Devara Naamas" concert @ Devagiri Raghavendra Swmy Mutt, BSK II stg as part of Sree Raghavendra Swamiji's 341 th Aradhana on 5 Aug.

Partial list of Songs:
1. gajavadana bEduve-Hamsadhwani
2. sripathiyu yemage sampadavIyali-Sri
3.gurucharanam bhajare, mAyAviduram- Gangeya Bhushini*
4. indu yenage gOvinda- Bhairavi
5.Danda kamandala karadali pidiDu-Aarabhi
6.paripAlisO sri guru rAghavEndra- Kadana kuthuhalam*(same tune as raghuvamsha sutha- sang the same Chita Swara)
7.prAna dEva nInallade-Hamir Kalyani^
8.saJana hitha rAghavendra-Harikamboji
9.bA thande guruvarya-Shahana^
10.shrinGara nOdire bangAra kalashada-Thodi*
11.rAghavEndra guru mAnathOsmi- Durbar^-(Mysore Vasudevachar)
12.rAghavEndra sadguna sAndhra-Kalyani +
13. ??
14. ??
* (r & s) ^(r) + (r,s & thani)
Bellary Raghavendra is an accomplished Vocalist hailing from the famous Bellary Brothers family.

[kssr]

Is it a full Kannada concert? Amazing. I heard him on TV. Very impressive.

[vs_manjunath]

Items 3 & 11 are in Sanskrit.

[rajeshnat]

Bellary Raghavendra & Party presented an excellent "Devara Naamas" concert

Manjunath,
WHat is devara nAma in general , does it include all krithis or a subset of krithis. I typically hear few krithis of PD addressed as devara nAma . May be keerthi or sreeniraja rao can give a crisp definition of devara nama putting a boundary condition of what it is and more importantly what it is not?
Tx for your review

[varsha]

Boundary Conditions ???? About what is and what is not ???
About the chant worshipping a Lord who reveals his secrets in miniscule doses ?? Over millions of years ???
In an existence ( universe as we understand it ) where the boundaries are increasing at a frenetic pace ???
On a planet that is hurtling through space where matter gobbles matter , dark holes defy explanations .... ????

Devara Nama ... Probably , is that song that one blurts out after sinking to the knees , on realising that the answers are unknowable
Over to the experts

[CRama]

Very happy to read the review of Bellary M.Raghavendra's concert. He is avery fine musician and an excellent teacher. I was fortunate to learn under him for a brief spell in Bangalore. He was soon transferred to Mysore. I am hoping of hearing him one day in Chennai music sabha.

[ganeshkant]

I heard him once @ B'lore Vani VidyAlayA grounds during a rAmanavami concert in 2007.He is an AIR artist I suppose.He sang an excellent 'yAgapriyA' that day.

[keerthi]

...
What is devara nAma in general , does it include all krithis or a subset of krithis. I typically hear few krithis of PD addressed as devara nAma . May be keerthi or sreeniraja rao can give a crisp definition of devara nama putting a boundary condition of what it is and more importantly what it is not?

The name 'dEvara nAma' translates to 'the names of god'; indicating that the origins of the dEvaranAma lie in the recitation of nAmAvaLis in a melodious fashion.

dEvaranAma is synonymous with (hari)dAsara padam / padagaLu. these are also called kIrtanas, rather than kRtis. They are all in kannaDa, all composed by monks/ householders of the haridAsa order, also called the dAsakUTa; which was related to the vArkAri tradition of MaharASTra, and also (in part) to the dvaitin (mADhva) theology.

The major haridAsa composers include srIpAdarAja/rAya, vyAsarAja/rAya, kanakadAsa, purandaradAsa, mahIpatidAsa and vAdirAja. There are many more such composers.

They have composed a variety of long and short compositions, prominent among which is the pada or the kIrtana. These vary in their structure in that they could have a pallavi-anupallavi-multiple caranams format, or had a pallavi-multiple caranams format. Since they derived from the literary traditions of sanskrit and kannaDa, the songs conformed to the metrical requirements of south indian poetry like prAsa and yati.

The musical content of the dEvaranamas - Some songs have been sung for at least a couple of centuries now, in the same traditional tunes/ ragas, while many of them have flourished in multiple tunes. Many of the songs have been tuned by contemporary singers, much like the songs of annamAchArya.

[rajeshnat]

dEvaranAma is synonymous with (hari)dAsara padam / padagaLu. these are also called kIrtanas, rather than kRtis. They are all in kannaDa, all composed by monks/ householders of the haridAsa order, also called the dAsakUTa; which was related to the vArkAri tradition of MaharASTra, and also (in part) to the dvaitin (mADhva) theology.

I remember long time back there was a kirtana and kRti discussion , cannot locate that thread . Can I say kIrtanas(particularly haridasa composers) are subset of the superset devaranAma?.

[varsha]

The musical content of the dEvaranamas

The lyrical Content . Are they not more closer-to-ground-realities in the social context . Than say the works of the Trinity ( limited to Trinity here only for arguments sake ).
I cannot think of a Krithi of Trinity that would employ words like
lokada donkeke thidduviri or
hannu bandide kolliro
antharangada kadavu
ragee thandeera bhikshakke
ramanama payasakke krishna nama sakkare ....
I mean a bit of the bottoms-up approach in the evolution , reaching a zenith by the time the Trinity got into the act .
Also considering that most of these poets were wandering monks (A tinge of Kabir here and Shivram Karanth there .....) Poets putting their arms around us and whispering fine truths into our ears
I can't be sure if the plantain was the cheapest fruit in the times of Trinity , But the Dasar Pada which sings Aggada Hannu throws some light .

[kssr]

Kannada sahitya and sangeetha are huge treasure houses. I was one of many who had greatly underestimated their breadth and depth. I had a lucky opportunity to listen to a lecture by a literary/ religious scholar a couple of years ago. He talked like the flood gates were opened. During the 1 hour lecture, he just "listed" the various works by the maadhva gurus. Hundreds of works. I was totally floored.

Besides the high tathvams relating to vedas/ upanishads, etc., the daasara padams and keerthanas are delightful. I heard RK Srikantan sing some of them with verve. You can almost follow the meaning and spirit as he sings.

There was a musical drama "Dasa Purandara" where RK Padmanabha is PDasa. Amazing work. During serious sequences in the drama there was hardly anyone in the audience, who did not wipe away his/her tears. The actors themselves moved by the intensity of the presentation were weeping without glycerine. PD taking sanyas, his singing raagi thandeera, his final leaving the world- simply great.

Some passages which have impressed me:
"Naadapriya sivanalla- vedapriya sivanalla- (but) Bhakthi priyanamma koodala sangama deva!" Interesting idea.

" Chandrachooda siva sankara parvathi....... rudraksha darisidha parama vaishnavanu neeney"- What audacity to call Siva himself a parama vaishnava

The sweetest of all - "ramanama payasakke krishna nama sakkare" - As I did not know the sahitya any further, I filled up with "Vittala naama mundiri paruppu, Govinda naama kismissu". Needless to say I was sharply reprimanded by the family for my impiety

Not only Rama naamam, I can confidently say that daasara kritis are all paayasams and as you keep listening to them, "Inba thean vandhu payuthu kaadinile"

[vs_manjunath]

kssr ;" Chandrachooda siva sankara parvathi....... rudraksha darisidha parama vaishnavanu neeney"- What audacity to call Siva himself a parama vaishnava " ............

This is with ref to vishnu sahasra naama in which Ishwara uVaacha ( to Parvathi): " sri rAma rAma rAmethi rame rAme manOrame sahasra nAma thathvulyam sri rAma nAma varAnane ". For PD, all visnu avathaaras depict vaishnavisim.......hence Lord Shiva himself is "Parama Vaishnava".

[kssr]

kssr ;" Chandrachooda siva sankara parvathi....... rudraksha darisidha parama vaishnavanu neeney"- What audacity to call Siva himself a parama vaishnava " ............

This is with ref to vishnu sahasra naama in which Ishwara uVaacha ( to Parvathi): " sri rAma rAma rAmethi rame rAme manOrame sahasra nAma thathvulyam sri rAma nAma varAnane ". For PD, all visnu avathaaras depict vaishnavisim.......hence Lord Shiva himself is "Parama Vaishnava".

Of course. I know. But the jolly conflict between the two throughout our puranas are quite interesting and amusing.
In the tamil book "Ponniyin Selvan", this is elaborated as a side comedy in the historical novel.

MDR's Hariyum Haranum ondru is a popular composition.

I am not aware if any other composer has called Vishnu a parama saivaite

The main theme of my writing is essentially about the vast and deep content in a lot of Kannada/ Karnataka based compositions.

[vs_manjunath]

kssr: "I am not aware if any other composer has called Vishnu a parama saivaite"

In Chidambaram Temple complex- there is a Vishnu Shrine too........but this may not be true in Vaishnavite temples.

[varsha]

no need to start the debate from the beginning . others have done it here
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=7735

[varsha]

The sweetest of all - "ramanama payasakke krishna nama sakkare" - As I did not know the sahitya any further, I filled up with "Vittala naama mundiri paruppu, Govinda naama kismissu".

you have gained entry into an elite club . :@
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReCpEfbtQvU

[vs_manjunath]

Kssr:The sweetest of all - "ramanama payasakke krishna nama sakkare" -

As I did not know the sahitya any further, I filled up with "Vittala naama mundiri paruppu, Govinda naama kismissu". Needless to say I was sharply reprimanded by the family for my impiety

Let us be reminded that Thyagaraja himself has paid tributes to Purandara Daasa in his Prahlada Bhakthi Vijayam.......I hope i need not repeat the lines ! Daasa sahithyam can be treated almost equivalent to NalAyara Divya Prabhandam. As i am not competent to write on the latter,we mortals let us pay respects to all our Saints/Daasas/Alwars/Nayanamars without any language barrier.