Sri R K Sriramkumar - Lec Dem @ Naada Inbam 21 Dec 2015

[raviraj]

Jananat Kamalalaye - A Musical Journey with Muthusvami Dikshitar

Vocal : R K Sriramkumar; Violin Amrutha Murali ; Mrudangam: Arunprakash

Songs rendered in full:

1. Hastivadanaya - Navaroj
2. Pancamatanga - Malahari
( both the above compositions were preceded by the shlokas from Mudgala purana which describe the Mahaganapathy and Heramba ganapathy 's iconography)
3. Neesati deivamu - Sriranjani - daru
4. Hatakesvara - Bilahari
5. Tyagaraja Mahadvajaroha - Sri
6. Tyagarajena - Salaga Bhairavi
7. Sri Nilotpala Nayike - Narireetigaula
8. Viravasanta Tyagaraja - Viravasanta
9. Sundaramurtim - Takka
10.Kamalamba Jayati - Ahiri
11.Tyagarajam - Nilambari
12.Sri Kamalambike - Sri

Summary :

1. RKSK said that MD has composed more than 40 kritis on specific deities who have a shrine in the sprawling Tiruvarur temple precincts.

2. MD had a special affinity for this place & hence one can see the connect in his compositions which present the sahitya and sangeeta as one wholesome unit.

3. His compositions establish nexus not only to the place but also to several other factors as follows including
- iconography & architecture ( hastivadanaya, Pancamatanga & Hatakesvara),
- stala purana ( Nee Sati deivamu), puja visesha,
- esoteric significance ( the letter ka, kHa, the numbers 3, 9 and 15 in the context of Sri Vidya Upasana - Kamalamba Jayati, Sri Kamalambike),
- pujA/utsava vidhanams or paddhathis ( Tyagaraja Mahadvajaroha), ancient puranas & texts.

4. His compositions have svaraksharas, sucita raga mudras segueing into the lyrics seamlessly and having very great musical & lyrical integration -
for example the lyrics "pAtala" is set in the mandhara stayi in the Bilahari kriti, the pAda darshanam is signified for its unique one time occurance every year with the singleton occurance of the dhaivatha in the raga Sri.

5.RKSK also highlighted then and there, the specific musicological aspects for example - the uniqueness of Salaga Bhairavi in contradistinction to Tyagaraja's treatment ; The use of MNDNS as a recurring motif in pancama varjya ragas- Sriranjani daru, vivadhi notes treatment - Viravasanta ; the unique take of point with dhaivatha in Bilahari kriti Hatakesvara.

6. RKSK also sang snatches of other compositions to illustrate the point such as Tyagarajaya Namaste( Begada), the caturdasa ragamalika Sri Visvanatham, Sarasvathi Manohari in the same raga, Kamalabike in Todi, Kamalamba samrakshatu in Anandabhairavi, Vinata suta- Jayantasena, Parvati Ninnu in Kalgada, Sri Guruna -Padi & Sri Nathadi - Mayamalavagaula

7. He also opined that despite the fact that the Sriranjani daru lacks the standard MD colophon, the composition was in all probability his only, based on the stylistic internal evidence. He highlighted how the sahitya of these composition has to be properly dealt with, for example the Nilamabari kriti pallavi is wrongly sung by some as " Tyagara...jam...bhajeham....satatam...aham..satatam". Actually it is "Tyagara ....jam ...bhajeham ..satatam ...hamsa...tatam' to yield the context of hamsAsoham- the esoteric significance of Vishnu's breathing and the ajapa dance of tyAgaraja & its all pervasiveness.

8. He also alluded to (a) the use of katapayAdi samkhya in olden time- for instance how from the name of (Adi) Sankara we can derive his birth day/month/thithi as per Hindu calendar (b) the 3 branches of Sri Vidya upasana (c) how the final avarana kriti in Ahiri is so significant for various reasons - usage of all vibhaktis, the occurrence of 'Im' just 4 times in the composition ( @ mahatripurasundarIm, rAjarAjesvarIm, nivAsinIm, suvAsinIm- all in the anupallavi) & how that elevates the status of the kriti to that of an all auspiciousness conferring benediction - as ordained in sAstrAs.

It was a very enriching experience and was a delight to hear him sing & drown us all in that shower of knowledge.

Ravi

[satyabalu]

Useful information for both -For those attended and who could not make it.

[satyabalu]

He narrated the presence of Five lingams inside Tiruvarur temple (as distinguished from Panchalingams ).One lingam is Vanmigalingam .There are two compositions on Vanmikalingam according to SSP .No Guruguhamudra found in these 2 Kritis .
While narrating about His composition in SriRanjani ,Sriram Kumar mentioned about special approach to Panjama Varja Ragas with " Ga Ma Ni da Ni Sa " Prayogam.
Hatakeshwaram in Bilahari has an unusual start with"Dhaivatham".
He demonstrated "Simhasana" is unique for Thiagaraja viz. Mention In Thiagarajaya namasthey Gaadyayani pathey Pasupathey SIMHASANA PaTHEY and in a few other Kritis .
Sundaramurthy Nayanmar had the privilege of treating Thiagaraja as His friend.
Dikshidhar had composed kriti on Sundaramurthy nayanar also. He sang "Sundaramurthim" in Takka.
He also explained about the significance of "Sri".

To be continued. To be edited.

[Jigyaasa]

the pAda darshanam is signified for its unique one time occurrence every year with the singleton occurrence of the dhaivatha in the raga Sri.

Wow, this is so apt! I have heard this song on loop many times and didn't know about the temple-specific reference of the pdnp usage. Could anyone shed more light on this practice in the temple?

[narayan]

Is there any vocal recording of the Sri ragam song available (Tyagaraja Mahadvajaroha)? Would like to listen.

[Jigyaasa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4VpPX8o-MA

[narayan]

Thank you very much. Of course RKSK knows pretty much all there is to know about Diksitar songs and a lot more, and it is nice to hear other vocalists who seem equally dedicated. Some non-standard sri ragam phrases here. Worth a study.

[CRama]

Thanks for the review on that delightful lec dem by RK Sreeramkumar. R.K.Sreeramkumar is storehouse on minute details of the Dikshitar compositions. A loss for people like me who could not attend.

Gayathri Girish, in her many episodes in Myriad Forms of Siva had covered extensively the Tiruvarur temple including Dikshitar’s compositions on the various shrines inside, panchalingams, iconographic details, utsava details, etc. It was through this series that we came to know and hear many rare compositions of Dikshitar which otherwise we would have never known or heard. The skillfully made Power Point presentations took us to the temple and witness the festivals. It is heartening that Gayathri Girish continues to include one or two rare songs from this series in her regular concerts. For instance, she sang the song Veeravasanta Thyagara in her recent concert in Mudhra.

[sureshvv]

the pAda darshanam is signified for its unique one time occurrence every year with the singleton occurrence of the dhaivatha in the raga Sri.

Also mentioned that in the chathurdasa ragamalika, it occurs in the beginning but eschews it in the end.