Thiruppugazh Guruji A S Raghavan passes away !!!

[mahesh_narayan]

Noted Guruji A S Raghavan of the Thiruppugazh Anbargal group passed away in Chennai today. He was 85. He tuned many Thiruppugazh songs and popularized them across the globe in the last 50 years. I was very fortunate to have learnt a lot of Thiruppugazh songs from him directly and to have participated in a lot of Thiruppugazh Vazhipadus in Mumbai. May the Lord of Kailasa and the Lord of Chendil, whose worship and service was the sole aim of his life, shower their choiciest blessings on the departed soul.

Some of his compositions can be found here: -
http://www.kaumaram.com/audio_k/graudio.html

Regards,
Mahesh.

[srkris]

Condolences

[thanjavooran]

My deepest condolences.
Thanjavooran
17 05 2013

[rshankar]

Condolences!

[arasi]

Sorry to hear this. Condolences to the family and students...

[cmlover]

Shocked at the news. May he find rest on the Lotus feet of Lord Muruga.

[vasanthakokilam]

Very sorry to hear the news. Condolences. We will remember him for the excellent tuning of Thiruppugazh. I heard pakkuva vAchAra in Desh a long time back but the melody is still fresh in my mind.

[mahavishnu]

Great loss. My sincere condolences.

[maduraimini]

Condolences to the family.

[Ponbhairavi]

condolences.
his contribution is unique and that of a lifetime and should be preserved in audio form

[PUNARVASU]

A great loss. Condolences to his family, friends and his disciples.

[malavi]

We have lost our respected Guruji. He was like a banyan tree spreading its branches all over the world. The organisation Tiruppugazh Anbargal started in Delhi with just 4 people more than 50 years ago is now all over the world. Apart from many places in India there are members in Canada, USA, Singapore, Malaysia, London and the Gulf countries taking classes and conducting bhajans on special occasions. He has tuned a total of 502 songs. The last song was tuned last year. He has also tuned Kandar Anubhuti in ragamalika and Vel Mayil Vruthams in different ragas. His tunes in Desh, Tilang, Chandrakauns, Bhagesri, Sindhubhairavi, Kalyanavasantam in addition to many ghana ragas are a pleasure to listen. He has also tuned Abhirami Andadi and Padhikam in ragamalika. He was a perfectionist and expected that from his students.

He was invited by kanchi mutt 2 years back and was awarded the title Tiruppugazh Chakravarthi by His Holiness Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal. He never liked publicity.

Now he has reached his Ishta Deivam Senthilandavan. A big strong pillar supporting such a big organisation has fallen down and we his students are helpless.

May His soul rest in peace.

[vasanthakokilam]

Malavi, Thanks for sharing your deeply felt words about Guruji. While I was not directly involved with or learnt from a Thiruppugazh group, I sensed the passion and devotion to Guruji and Thiruppugazh from a wide variety of people over the past 25 years, from people who are deeply into Carnatic Music to the casual listeners. That is when I realized that this is indeed a movement with a strong foundation and undercurrent that is bringing such a wide variety of people together.

The movement encourages people to learn to sing the songs with his excellent and attractive tuning who otherwise would not have considered learning carnatic music formally. This is a formidable breakthrough indeed since as many of us know, the words of Thiruppugazh are not easy.

Incredible achievement indeed and a great contribution and I am sure this will thrive for a long time in the future for numerous generations.

If you can, please share the biography of Guruji, on how it started and grew in Delhi and then spread to all over the world.

[cmlover]

An important aspect of the Thiruppugazh movement by Guruji Ragahavan is the involvement of Children.
He used to emphasize that children be involved and taught Thiruppugazh and incidentally CM as a vehicle.
He was also a laya wizard being a mridangist himself. He had taken the intiative to make Thiruppugazh
available in Roman script and even in Malayalam to ensure the Bhajan/Bhakti transcend language boundaries.

His loss is mourned by thousands all over the globe!

[mahesh_narayan]

A bio of Guruji can be found here: -
http://murugan.org/bhaktas/raghavan.htm

I believe the speciality of Guruji's tunes is the weight of their classicism. Having been a student of classical carnatic music himself (he used to actively participate in Thyagaraja Utsavams in Mumbai) and having obtained divine sanction from Sri Chendil Andavan, he composed amazing tunes in classically weighty ragas like Todi, Kambhoji, Bhairavi, and also other ragas like Chandrakauns, Brindavani, Desh, Hamsavinodini, Nalinakanti, Andolika, Charukesi etc. In fact, some of his tunes in ragas like Shuddha Dhanyasi, Poorvi Kalyani and Lathangi are majestc enough to be sung as regular pieces in classical carnatic concerts. Good insight into ragas can be obtained by listening to his tunes.

Just as Nedunuri Garu always unequivocally credits Lord Venkateshwara with the tunes of his Annamayya padas, Guruji always said (he perhaps spiritually knew also) that Lord Subrahmanya was the one who passed on the tunes to him in the form of inspirations. I have heard him state during a conversation that he received tunes in a flash on occasions when he was praying in front of the shrine at the Thiruvanmiyur Shiva temple. He breathed and lived Muruga all his life. The works of Arunagirinathar found mass revival and appeal under his capable leadership.

His uncompromising quest for perfection and discipline were reflected in his 24x7 daily life.

In one of the Thiruppugazh songs, "Aradhanar Adambaratthu", Saint Arunagirinathar says: -

neerALaga neerman janaththa: You are delighted to bathe in the abundant tears of ecstasy (from Your devotees)!
needAraga vEdhaNda maththa: You are elated at the chanting of the primordial PraNava ManthrA, OM!
neenAnaRa vERindri niRka: In order that the concept of You and Me (as duality-dwaitham) is gone and Oneness (adhwaitham) is achieved,
niyamAga neevAvena neeying azhaiththu: You should call me here towards You without any differentiation,
pArAvara Anandha sidhdhi: offer me the blissful heaven as wide as the ocean and
nErE paramAnandha muththi tharavENum: immediately bestow on me the Supreme joy of Liberation!

I personally believe this is what has been conferred on Shri Guruji too by the Lord of Chendil !!!

-Mahesh.

[Meenalochani]

I am delighted to join in offering my homage to Guruji A S Raghavan along with other board members. Though not directly involved myself, I feel my close connection to Guruji through one of his earliest students commonly known as Kumari Mami and whose daughter Vijayalakshmi (Dilla to her family) happens to be my daughter-in-law. Kumari Mami learnt Thiruppugazh, Abhirami Andadhi and Patikam from Guruji over four and a half decades ago and since then relentlessly and with great devotion has been teaching the songs to students in Delhi and Chennai and still continues to do so. Dilla was also fortunate to become his student since the age of 7 or so and continues to visit him and offer her respects to him whenever she travels to India from the US. For her parents and the entire family, Guruji's passing away has been a great shock and a great loss as much as felt by all other Guruji’s disciples and their family.

I am sure that the Thiruppugazh songs set to attractive and amazing tunes by Guruji have mass appeal not only to Carnatic music lovers like me but also to devotional and casual music lovers. Guruji’s passing away will encourage and motivate his students as well as those who have learnt from his students to spread his Tiruppugazh and other tuned songs even more rigorously than before as their tribute to the great master.

May Guruji’s soul rest in peace in the feet of his beloved Lord Muruga.

[rajeshnat]

Condolences to his family and his sishya parampara

[rbharath]

my condolences

[Pasupathy]

An article in The Hindu about Guruji Raghavan:

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday ... all&test=2

[Pasupathy]

An article that appeared in Thiruppugazh Malar (1998) that gives the biography of Guruji Raghavan:

OUR GURUJI by S.K.R.

The life of Sri. A.S.Raghavan has been a saga of total surrender to the Lord of Chendil whose grace has been pervading his personality from infant-hood to the present day. So in appreciating Sri. Raghavan's service in the Tiruppugazh field .the focus has to be distinctly separate. In other words,Sri. Raghavan is an ordinary human being but only his transformed role with the appellation of 'guruji' he has offered to the society at large the gift of the Lord by tuning Arunagirinathar's hymns to chaste carnatic ragas set to chanda Tala as so ordained.

Sri. Raghavan was born on 4th september 1928 at Tutticorin as the second son of Subbiah Sastrigal and Ramalakshmi Ammal of Arumugamangalam in Tirunelveli district. Born in a middle class family of moderate means. sri. Raghavan as a child was afflicted with debilitating illness such as small pox, diarrhoea etc. and added to that he was a victim of polio. The Child's restoration to normal health and mobility was posing an intractable problem when through divine intervention one Sivalinga Nadar of padaravilai village, an expert in the indigenous system of Orthopaedics offered to treat the child He took up the treatment only after taking an undertaking that the child will be offered to chendil Andavan. After the treatment lasting for about forty days, signs of recovery through the strengthening of the affected leg of the child was perceptible. At that stage as arranged earlier, the child was taken to Thiruchendur. In those days nearly seven decades back the approach to the chendil Andavon's temple at Tiruchendur on the shores of the Bay of Bengal for nearly a mile from the Vinayagar temple was through loose sand. When child Raghavan was taken by the parents upto the vinayagar temple, the child began running towards the chendil Andavan's temple to the surprise of all leaving others behind and heading straight to shunmuga vilas and on reaching the sanctum crying back 'appa' 'Amma', a magic transformation from a sick polio - ridden child to a normal child with mobility and expression. This initial phase of God's acceptance of the child and benediction to walk around the world normally must have created in the child's mind a deep devotion to the lord and face the future life in the path to be laid from time to time by the Lord.

Sri Raghavan had his schooling in Tuticorin. After finishing school he straightaway went in search of a job initially in nagpur and later sertled down in bombay for a considerable period of his early youthful days. It is during his stay ar Bombay that his innate interest in Music began to unfold itself. Born in a family with musical attainments it was no wonder that Sri. Raghavan, under the tutelage of Sangeetha Bushanam Vaidyanatha bhaghavathar and Gana Bhusanam Vaidyanaiha Bhagavathar attained high standards of proficiency in carnatic music Later•sri. Raghavan took up a job at New Delhi, and there also continued to hone up his musical talents by associating himself with kadayam krishnamoorthy and participating in music festivals. Incidentally It needs to be mentioned that sri Raghavan is a graded artiste ofthe All india Radio (AIR) and he is giving frequent performances in classical canatic music. Thus he continues to keep in touch with classical carnatic music.

(to be continued)

[Pasupathy]

Our Guruji by S.K.R
Part 2
(continued)
It was in 1958 that his two friends Sri. R. Narayanan and Sri.M. Mahalingam came up with a request to sri . Raghavan to teach Tiruppugazh songs. Until this time sri. Raghavan had no special acquaintance with thiruppugazh. Thus this request from two friends of whom one was a vaishnavite, was to be the starting point for the great mission Sri. Raghavan was destined to lead and it was the Lord's wish that Sri. Raghavan should popularise the compositions of Arunagirinathar to the world at large. It has to be appreciated in this context that the personality of Sri. Raghavan was allthrough guided by the early divine experience at the Lord’s feet as it were at the most sacred (MahaPunitham Thangiya) temple at Tiruchendur.
The divine spark continued to inspire Sri. Raghavan and after the initial introduction to Thirupugazh Sri. Raghavan began a deep study of the saint's compositions and became totally immersed in it as time went on. The light of the divine guided him right through and inspired him to set to tune, one by one, Arunagirinathar 's Thiruppugazh songs. Bestowed with a rich voice and spurred by devotion and talent conferred by the Lord, Sri. Raghavan attracted atrention from the lay public and the knowledgeable. The appeal of the songs as tuned, in appropriate ragas conforming to the chanda tala was making waves as it were throughout the length and breadth of the country. It was in 1958 that classes were starred in Mr. Sundaram's (Brother -in-law of Sri.Raghavan) flat at connaught place in new delhi. From small beginnings it swelled into a mighty movement with classes spread over entire new Delhi Area. As if by divine guidance a distinctive pattern of recital of the songs in a Bhajan was introduced with emphasis on devotion and discipline. Apart from the intrinsic appeal of the songs what attracted the increasing number of participants was the way the songs were taught with clear diction with emphasis onwards and bhava to convey the import of the words used by Arunagirinathar. By God’s will the uniformity obtained in absorbing what is taught has been such that in a mass prayer during each bhajan the rendering sychronises as though in one voice.
Apart from standardising the pattern of a Bhajan duly allowing for different works of the Saint, such as thiruppugazh, Alankaram, Andhati, Anubhuti, Vel, Mayil, and seval Vrithangals and Thiruvahupugal, the tuning of thiruezhukootrirukkai is a marvel indeed and its recital in final reaches with a crescendo is an enthralling experience. No wonder the movement began spreading to Bombay, Bangalore, Chennai and Calcutta.
It is in handling the problems of expansion that the administrative capacity of Sri. Raghavan came to the fore. In the first place the movement was sustained by constant touch. with all these centres on major occasions such as Arunagirinathar day on 15 August, padivizha in the new year. Skanda Shashti, Panguni Uttaram etc. Each centre has its own important festival to benefit from Guruji Sri. Raghavan’s participation. With sustained expansion the need for proper organisational setup, provision of teachers and availability of books had to be looked into. Organisationally Thiruppugazh Anbargal (Regd.) with Sri. Raghavan as president was set up. And it helped smoothen out financial and infrastructural problems.
By divine grace the demand for teachers was automatically met with necessary number of competent teachers migrating from delhi. Initially the students had to depend on supply of books from private agencies containing assorted Thiruppugazh songs. As this was not satisfactory, Thiruppugazh lsai Vazhipadu with all the songs (430) taught by Sri. Raghavan was brought out. It became very popular and a third edition of the books is being shortly released.
(to be continued)

[Pasupathy]

Our Guruji by S.K.R
(continued)
Part 3

Earlier, ‘Thiruppugazh Madani’ containing all the available works of
Arunagirinathar was brought out.

Among some notable events in Sri Raghavan’s life and association the following deserve special mention.
a. Sri Raghavan’s services to the Thiruppugazh movement are greatly appreciated by the Heads of the Mutts. Sri Abhinava Vidyathirtha Swamigal had great personal affection and appreciation of sri Raghavan’s services and he demonstrated it as such with a wish that Sri Raghavan’s Shashtiabdhapoorthi should be celebrated at sringeri and so it was. He conferred the title Thiruppugazh Tondan on him. The reigning head of the Mutt His Holiness Bharathi Theertha Swamigal equally showers his affectionate benediction on sri Raghavan. Similarly their Holiness Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal and Vijayendra saraswathi Swamigal of kanchi mutt continue to bless the services of Sri Raghavan. Another great head of Sivananda Ashram, divine life Society, Rishikesh , Swami Chidanandji Maharaj has expressed his appreciation by conferring the title ‘Bhaktha Rathna’.

b. Great scholars in tamil such as the Late Ki.Va.Ja., then Editor of Kalaimagal was a great admirer of Guruji’s Thiruppugazh Tondu and their association was very close. That link still continues in its institutionalized form through the celebration of Ki.Va.Ja day. Many others of repute in the literary and pravachana field such as Late Thirumuruga Kripananda Variyr , late Sri Keeran and many others were intimately associated with the activities generated under Sri Raghavan’s leadership by thiruppugazh anbargal.

c. the deepest association of Guruji almost on a daily basis with Late Ramnad Eswara Iyer, a Mridanga Vidwan attached to AIR. The Bhajans at which Eswaraiyer participated with late Sri Narayanan on the Harmonium were the most enjoyable as the synchronization was perfect. The trio enjoyed a rare rapport which lasted for a couple of decades. Another musician of repute in the concert platform, late Sri Devakottai Sundaraja Iyengar , a Kanjira player, played a great part in encouraging Sri Raghavan in his work.

d. Apart from Thiruppugzh, another memorable service sri Raghavan has rendered is in setting to tune Abhirami Andhathi and Abhirami Padikam which are very popular and they are recited by the ladies on important occasions sacred to Ambal.

e. The most important contribution towards ensuring the purity of the songs taught for posterity was the release in 1993 of 37 cassettes containing 430 songs and a model Bhajan. This enables teachers also to refresh themselves for their own benefit.

f. The spread of Thiruppugazh overseas has been given further fillip by Guruji’s visit to UK in 1980 and 1998, Canada in 1998 and 1991, USA thrice in 1988, 1990 and 1997. This has resulted in a branch being established in the USA –chicago Chapter.

It was the great Yudhishtra who in reply to Yaksha Prasna said Bharya Deivakrutha Sakha. In the case of Sri Raghavan, God has ordained that Smt Janaki should be his life partner. She has been an ideal companion in every sense of the word. Transported as an unlettered young girl from a village on the banks of he Thambrabarani river in Tirunelveli District to a totally different environment in cities like Bombay and New Delhi she adjusted herself initially as an ordinary housewife and later with Guruji emerging into the society as a great savant she not only rose to the challenges of the new status but by sheer will power and devotion proved an inseparable part in Thiruppugazh Bhajans by providing vocal support fully in tune and diction. She is an example of how even a very raw student with absolutely no pretensions to musical knowledge much less its grammar can succeed in reciting the Thirupugazh songs as taught by Guruji.

[ Thanks to Dr. V.S.Ananthanarayanan for providing the original images of the article ]

[cmlover]

Thanks Pasupathy for the inspiring Biography.
Guruji Raghavan is indeed a divine soul blessed by Lord Chendil Andavan!
His service to Thiruppugazh through CM is a lasting legacy!

[cienu]

Heartfelt condolences.

[Pasupathy]

FYI:
I have placed two of Guruji Raghavan's Tamil articles at:
http://s-pasupathy.blogspot.com/2013/05/5_19.html

and
http://s-pasupathy.blogspot.com/2013/05/2.html

[Pasupathy]

Peerless Propagator
Charukesi

An article in The Hindu about Guruji

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday ... 765669.ece

[RKrishnamurthy]

Another shocking news. We had the good fortune of Sri Raghavan agreeing to Rohan play for a 3hour Thirupugaz concert organized by Detroit Tamil Sangam years ago. Rohan was 10 years old and at the end of the concert Sri Raghavn said" you have full kadakashma of Murugan. Otherwise you can not play so well for thirpugaz that is noted for complicated thalams". We were alert enough to make a video recording of the event. He was a colossus and a genial person. May the soul rest in peace.
Rama Krishnamurthy

[Pasupathy]

Dear Rama Krishnamurthy,

Thanks for remembering the Detroit Bhajan! It was on Nov 2, 97, as I remember. Sangeetha Vidwan Madurai Sundar too was in the audience , as I recall. Some of us had come from Toronto to participate in the Bhajan.

I wrote a short article in Tamil about it in Feb 98 issue of ' Sarigamapadhani', a magazine with a focus on Music and Dance. You can read that article in my latest blog-post:
http://s-pasupathy.blogspot.ca/2013/06/7.html

[RKrishnamurthy]

Thank you Pasupathy for providing that article and it brought back memories of that evening. I do remember that there was a good representation from Canada.
Rama Krishnamurthy

[Pasupathy]

Another Tamil article by Guruji ;

http://s-pasupathy.blogspot.com/2013/07/8.html

[Pasupathy]

Another Tamil article by Guruji A.S.Raghavan written in 2002.

மே 17. ’திருப்புகழ்’ குருஜி ராகவனின் நினைவு தினம்

மருதமலை மாமணி
குருஜி ஏ.எஸ்.ராகவன்
http://s-pasupathy.blogspot.com/2015/05/4.html

[maduraimini]

Very sorry to hear about Guru Raghavan's passing away. Sincere sympathies to his family and sishyas.

[Rajani]

Maduraimini, 17th May was his second anniversary.

Recently Thiruppugah Anbargal ( his organisation for teaching Tiruppugazh and conducting Bhajans, called Isai Vazhipadu) has brought out a 6-CD pack called "Navamanigal'. It is distributed free and has a message asking people to make copies and distribute to others who wish to have a copy.

One of the CDs has Vintage Isai Vazhipadus led by him from the 1980s and many of the songs, particularly his Viruttams from Kandar Alangaram are very beautiful, and the beauty of the Ragas are brought out wonderfully in these as well as the songs he has set music to.

[varsha]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iy11uesvtnfis ... 9.mp3?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4brbb8hxlu3gv ... 0.mp3?dl=0
such pristine beauty .

It is distributed free and has a message asking people to make copies and distribute to others who wish to have a copy.

This body of work will survive the ravages of time indeed .