DR. VIJAYALAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAM-KSHETRA SANGEETHAM

[CRama]

The 17TH episode of the above series was held on 07 Sep 2013 at NGS Mini Hall. The programme has received the acknowledgement and appreciation of the music lovers and continuing upto 17 th episode is ample testimony to the dedication in which the episode is presented by Dr VS coupled with the lectures preceding the concert by eminent personalities. Somehow I had missed attending the above series so far. I was expecting that these episodes will be commercially released as CDs. That has not happened so far.

The present episode featured temples in Tiruchirapalli district. The Main temples in this area are Uchipillayar kovil, Mathrubhootheswarar kovil, Thiruvanaikkavl, Samayapuram, Vayalur, Uthamar kovil etc. Sree Rangam has already been covered exclusively.

Before the concert, Sri R.Krishnaswamy, Secretary of Narada Gana Sabha gave an introduction about the places. He opened by saying that due to Vinayaka Chathurthi no distinguished speaker was available and he had to take up the mantle. I am putting in a nutshell what he spoke on the occasion.
He started by telling the reason behind the name of the town- Tiruchirapalli. Even though there was no concrete evidence of the period of evolution of this town, yet from the available puranic references it can be construed that this town must have been existing since 2000 B.C. There was one asuran named Thirisiran having three heads who did penance to seek the blessings of Lord Siva. It was in this place that he did the penance and got darsan of Lord Siva. Hence the place came to be called Tirusirapalli. In 3 century AD, Cholas ruled the place with Turayur as its capital. The first dam in the world- Kallanai was constructed by the Cholas in the 5th centure AD. Subsequently this province had been ruled by Pallavas, Nayaks, Marathas, Nawabs etc. That speaks of the antiquity of this town.

Next he mentioned about the puranic reference to Uchipillayar kovil. After the Pattabhishekam of Sree Rama, he gave gifts to all his devotees. He gave the Ranganatha idol which he was worshipping to Vibheeshana and asked him to install the same in Lanka. He also added that the idol should not be placed any where on the ground on his way to Lanka. As Vibheeshana was carrying the idol, it became evening and he had to do Sandhyavandanam. At the same time, Agasthyar met Vinayakar and requested him to stop the idol from leaving our country. So Vinayakar appeared as a small boy. On seeing the boy, Vibheeshanan handed over the idol to the boy and went to do Sandhyavandanam. Because of the weight of the idol, the boy kept the idol to the ground. Vibheeshanan came running and tried to lift the idol. But it could not be lifted from the ground. He got angry and ran chasing the boy. The boy ran towards the top of the hill and he gave darsan to Vibheeshanan as Lord Vinayakar. That is the origin of Uchipillayar kovil. The place where the idol was kept became the Sreerangam Temple.

We had discussed the story of Mathrubhootheswarar or Thayumanavar in other threads. So I am not repeating that. Two great religious savants were also born in this place- One is Nama Sankeerthanam founder Sreedhara Ayyaval and another Thayumanavar Swamigal who wrote 1452 songs.
Uthamar kovil is one among the 108 Divyadesams and a place where Thirumangai azhwar did Mangalasasanam. Another temple is Bikshandar kovil which also we had seen in another thread.

Thiruvanaikaval is another famous temple in this district. The Lord is called Jambukeswarar and Ambal Akhilandeswari. It is one among the Panchalinga Kshetrams and called Appulingam. The sanctum of Jambukeswara has an underground water stream and in spite of pumping water out, it is always filled with water. Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar, Deekshithar and Syama Sastri had sung songs in praise of the presiding deities of this temple.

The story behind the Samayapuram Mariamman was explained. Mariamman is another form of Ambal herself. Jamathagni Maharishi had his wife called Renuka Devi who was very devoted to her husband. She used to make pot out of sand and bring water for the pooja of her husband. One day, as she was making the pot the Asura Karthaveerarjunan flew over the sky and his shadow fell upon Renuka Devi. That day she could not make the pot. The rishi got angry and he told his hundred sons to behead their mother. Every one refused. His last son Parasurama beheaded his mother. Pleased upon his act, the father granted the boon he wanted- life of his mother. With the head of his mother Parasuramar went to the dead body of his mother. There he found another dead body of a hunter lady beside his mothers. He fixed the head on the body of the other lady. The other lady got her life and went to the Maharishi whom he refused to accept. But the Maharishi granted boon to Renuka Devi that she will remain as Kaval devatha in all the villages and people will worship her. She is Mariamman. In many places, the idol of Mariamman is seen without the head (To continue..)

[CRama]

continued...
The next speaker Shri Cleveland Sundaram also paid accolades to Dr.VS after which the concert started. The list of songs.

1. Kaithalaniraikani-Nata- Thirupugazh on Vayalur Murugan
2. Akhilandeswari Namosthe-Arabhi-Deekshithar
3. Jamboopathe-Yamunakalyani-Panchalingakshetra kriti-Deekshithar
4. Slokam- Sreeyam Sivam from Mathrubhootha Sathakam composed by Sridhara Ayyaval
5. Sree Mathrubhootham-Kannada-Deekshithar
6. Samayapurathu Maari-Sahana –D.Pattammal.
7. Enneramum un naamam-Poorvikalyani-Syama Sastri. Thani
8. Saantham Venneerai poosi-Thevaram-YKambodi-Sambandar
9. Verse from Mathrka Pushpa Mala Sthothram by Adi Sankara in Hindolam and Dwijavanthi . followed by Akhilandeshwari - Dwijavanthi - Dikshitar.
10. Mayil Meedu virainthodi vaa- Charukesi in Madhyama sruti- Composer-Calcutta - Sri. L.N.Gurumurthi --- This was on Vayalur Murugan
11. Pasuram - Thirumangai Alwar (Periya Thirumozhi) - This was on Uthamar Kovil – Purushotamar Kovil - Thirumangai Alwar is the only Alwar who has composed on this Divya Desam
12. Virutham on Bhikshandar Koil - Sivagnana Swamigal
13. Angai Kodumalar - Thayumanavar - (Verse from Chinmayananda Guru Pathikam) -- Kurinji and Nadanamakriya.

Dr VS was accompanied by Kumbakonam MR Gopinath on the violin, Sherthalai Ananthakrishnan on the Mridangam and Trichy AS Murali on the Ghatam.

In any concert of Dr VS, she spreads a serene divine spirit enhancing aura around her which is unique to her. The start of the concert with Kaithalaniraikani in an appropriate kalapramanam provided ample evidence of the standard of the concert that was to follow. Arabhi song was new to me. The song was decorated with adding a fair dose of swarakalpanas. Yamunakalyani was the first ragam taken up for elaboration. This ragam is rarely handled in this detail with emphasis on its moorchanas and key prayogas. Normally we will hear a very brief sketch of this ragam as a part of the ragamalika slokam. But here it was given the pride it demands given the keerthanam which was to follow. The ragam contained many sancharas with special tinge of Hindustani flavour which was a pleasurable experience in itself. The song was rendered in a leisurely tempo which bore similarity to Dhrupad style. The slokam of Sreedhara Ayyaval was rendered in scintillating Saveri which morphed into Kannada and followed by the kriti in Kannada. A few rounds of quick second kala swaras at Suvasitha javanthipushpa (Madhymakalam) added pep to the concert. A song on the Mariamman of Samayapuram followed. This song was popularized by TRS, one of her Gurus. The composer of this song Smt D. Pattammal has composed songs on all the 72 melakartha ragams.

Poorviklayani was taken for the main song. The alapana was systematic which went through impressive passages with the usual stop-overs and extensions at right junctures. Her voice that remains strong across all three octaves was put to the best use during the alapana of this ragam which consumed a solid 15 minutes. A rare tamizh song of Syama Sastri Enneramum un naamam was presented to the enjoyment of the discerning audience. Elaborate neraval at Anaithum arintha Aadisakthi neeye Aravanaithennai Aadari en thaaye. The voice modulation of Dr VS was very effective when it reflected the plea of the composer to Goddess for protection. This was followed by a short thani.

All the post thani pieces were well received especially the ever green Akhilandeswari in Dwijavanthi. Her music is unique,uncompromising & innovative which got reinforced in this concert also. She needs to be complimented for unearthing so many rare songs in praise of the various temples and present them in each episode. In my opinion musically, classically & repertoire-wise, she is many notches above many of her women peers. I think others will agree with me on this.

There was the PP presentation in which the details of the temples, picture of the God and Goddess were shown. But the font used was so small that it was not possible to read. The lyrics of the songs also can be given in the PP which will enhance the listening pleasure.

The accompanists did a good job. Gopinath’s essays of Yamunakalyani and Purvikalyani was succinct. The strokes of Ananthakrishnan during the Yamunakalyani piece were so soft and gentle that much suited the song. The thani was rather short. Trichy Murali gelled well with the rest of the team.

[rajeshnat]

Crama
Thank you for your review , you have become a thematic specialist. :ymapplause:
I have had quite a bit of experience listening to NGS krishnaswamy, he is a wonderful orator . His speech apart from having right content also has a right temperament.

[satyabalu]

" Her music is unique,uncompromising & innovative"..
"In any concert of Dr VS, she spreads a serene divine spirit enhancing aura around her which is unique to her. "
"In my opinion musically, classically & repertoire-wise, she is many notches above many of her women peers. I think others will agree with me on this"
C.Rama! I totally agree with these observations which coincide with my responses to her various programmes I have been attending.It is good fortune for all of us to have the benefit of your elaborate review with an eye on details which I am sure will enthuse more rasikas to attend the future episodes.
*It is high time she is conferred with a truly deserving honour in recognition of her painstaking efforts &scholarly presentation as an "ALL ROUNDER"in all the facets of CM&HM.
*Again as observed earlier she has been particular in bringing forth less known (pracharathukku varatha)Composers &kritis.
*Her balancing act of covering both Shaivat &Vaishnavait oriented kritis in almost all the episodes I had attended (be it Chidambaram &Govindaraja Perumal ..Alagarkoil &Pazhamudircholai in Madurai ...besides Bharathiyar on Chennai temple not to leave out without mention of her inclusion of a Tirupugzhal in her theme on Sringeri ) is another special feature.
*She has taken it as a Challenge to structure the concert with careful selection of ragas talas &compositions combining depth&knowledge .
* As I have mentioned in some other thread when We get to know the significance of each kshetra through such presentations We realise the aspects We had missed out during our earlier visit to shrines & try to plan the visit to the place soon to understand the significance.(e.g Jadayu kuntam in Vaitheeswaran koil where Lord Rama performed rites for Jadayu-open for correction!)
* I will only supplement that in her rendering of "Sri Mathrubhootham-Kannada she was giving emphasis on diction on one side while the beauty of Kannada (R S N S D P) was heard in the background bringing to attention the creativity of Dikshidhar.
"But the font used was so small that it was not possible to read. The lyrics of the songs also can be given in the PP which will enhance the listening pleasure." This time a portion of the captions/descriptions on the screen was not visible due to Ghattam eclipsing the bottom lines !

[thanjavooran]

Shri Rama
ThanQ very much . An excellent and detailed review. Dr V S's presentation is always interesting. NGS Krishnaswamy a very learned man and his speech will be educative.
Thank you once again.
Thanjavooran
10 09 2013

[CRama]

Thanks to Satyabalu and Tanjavooran for your nice words.
Satyabalu, Thanks for supplementing. I am glad that you could evaluate her music in a much deeper sense as you had attended the previous episodes as well. In fact, I have attended very few of her concerts eventhough I am fully aware about her vidwat and capabilities. This is the third or fourth concert I am attending of VS. I have noted to attend more of her concerts in future.

[HR]

Thanks CRama and BaluSatya - for the very detailed writeup on Kshetra Sangeetham - Tricuhirapalli .

The violinist that evening was Pakala Sri. Ramdas.

@Crama - you have captured so well, the details of temples , composers and saints mentioned by the speaker Sri. Krishnaswamy, as well as the finer details and nuances of the music concert . was excited to read the words "scintilliating saveri" - because I too really enjoyed the pure essence of Saveri sung in those few minutes (Dr. VS had tuned the verse from Mathrubhootha Satakam in Saveri and Kannada). Also, your observation about the style in which Yaman Kalyani was rendered - is so true. The disctinct style of S.Rajam sir's school was evident in the rendition - plain notes sung in a serene manner, thereby beautifully highlighing whereever there is a swaying note / gamaka.A very similar observation can also be made of Akhilandeshwari in Dwijavanti - it was a beautiful rendition , brimming with plain notes and very delicately handled sangatis .

The song Kaithalaniraikani - in Naatai - is on Poyyaa Gapanthi.

[rajeshnat]

The song Kaithalaniraikani - in Naatai - is on Poyyaa Gapanthi.

I am sure you meant poyyA gaNapathi(Lord vinayakA)

[HR]

Yes Rajeshnat - it is on Poyyaa Ganapathy - Lord Vigneshwara

[HR]

Capturing a moment at KS - TIRUCHIRAPALLI