kancIpuram as a site of music

Miscellaneous topics on Carnatic music
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keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

Given below is an account of my recent trip to kAnci, compiled from memory. I have posted it here, as it has a few references to the history of music.. if you aren't interested in the other stuff, read only the passages in bold.

keerthi
Posts: 1309
Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Post by keerthi »

A.M.

On the 13th july, Monday, I went to kancI with my mother, and the trip was a most enriching experience, aesthetically, from the musical and historical perspectives..

Kanci of old was a university town, with scholars of Advaita, VisisTAdvaita, bauddha
and jaina philosophy. The temple courtyards have seen endless debates of mImAmsakAs and cArvAka-s, sankhya and vaishEshika exegetes. It teemed with experts in tarka, nyAya, nirukta, jyotishya and chandasshAstra. It saw the flowering of art, sculpture, architecture, music and literature. We went with feverish anticipation, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the magic of old Kanchi.

We first saw the shrine of Trivikrama, UlagaLanda-perumAL - a giant monolith sculpture, made of rough, jet black granite.. The experience of the colossal structure, glistening due to the application of sAmbrAni tailam; was remarkable, flooding the nose and eyes with tantalizing stimuli.. The deity treads on bali’s head with one foot, and raises the other to measure the firmament. One hand holds up two fingers, and the other holds up one; as if asking; ‘I got two feet’s length in the earth and sky, where shall I take the third from..?’

Within this shrine, are the sanctums of tiru-Uragam, VishNu depicted as a five-hooded snake, and those of kAragattAn, nIragattAn and tirukkArvAnan These are Divya-dEsam-s, hallowed by the hymns of the AzhwArs..

Next we went to the temple of YathOktakAri, ‘SonnavaNNam seida perumAn’ where the deity is seen lying on his left side, which is considered unusual in depictions of the reclining pose of Hari. This is also the birth-place of poigai-AzhwAr.
The legend goes that when tirumazhisai AzhwAr asked him to come, he got up, rolled up his snake-bed, and followed his devotee. Upon the king’s entreaties, the azhwar and his god returned, only the latter lay down in the opposite direction, i.e. on his left side. Also, the fingers of both hands are slightly clenched; as if in an effort to rise from the bed (this pose is called udyOga-sayanam). The idol is a most beautiful one, with well proportioned slender limbs and a lovely Goddess sitting in front, facing him.

Usually, the Goddess is to the left of the supine viSNu, in the far, (dark) right hand corner. Here, due to the mirror image inversion, we get to see the winsome details of LakSmi in profile, and appreciate the sharp features and the graceful hand mudrA-s.

These idols too, like the previous, are sculpted of a unique granite with a rough texture, that makes them more appealing than the well-polished mirror finish seen in many temples.

The Azhagiya-Singa-perumAl temple has an imposing, broad icon of Narasimha, which fills the whole sanctum. The idol is finely chiselled, and is a very natural depiction of the man-lion deity.

The VaikuNTa-nAtha temple is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. More accurately, the lawn around the temple is maintained by the ASI.
This is one of few VaiSNAva shrines where there are three depictions of the deity, one each in the standing, sitting and supine stances.
Reminiscent of the style of the KalyAna-chAlukyas, this temple and its twin(Will come to it) are embellished with panels of sandstone in corridor of the inner circumference, which have animated, lively depictions of men and women and gods and goddesses; traders and poets, warriors and mythical beings; birds, animals and flora, houses and temples. I particularly remember seeing depictions of Hieun tsang and one of the rock-chariots of MAmmallapuram.
. This most unusual feature seemed to me to be a year-long Golu tableau arranged for the entertainment of the presiding deity. The sandstone and mortar panels are almost an encyclopaedic panorama of the lives and ways of people from Mahendravarma’s time.
Also prominent was a preponderance of columns borne on the heads of lions lining the corridor. I remember seeing identical columns in srIrangaM.

Another temple was that of dipa-prakAsakar ‘ViLakkoLipperumAL’. The priest while explaining the legend of the deity who made lamps light up spontaneously; embellished the light-illumination connexion; by saying that worshipping this deity will prevent mishaps associated with lights, electricity and electric shocks! A deity after Benjamin Franklin’s heart!!
Adjacent to this temple is one for the srIvAiSNava savant, VEnkaTanAtha, who was known as ‘Vedanta/nigamAnta (maha)- dEsika’. This versatile genius was a theologist, philosopher, poet, playwright, and logician and when occasion arose demonstrated his skills in sculpture, masonry and snake-charming!!
One day every year, Kanchi Varada is brought to dEsika’s sanctum, and they are left in solitude, and a screen is drawn. It is believed that they conduct conversation; and when the priests come after a while; they can see perspiration on the brow of dEsika’s icon; arising due to the exertions of the discussion.

The next temple we went to, was the one called Attigiri, Karisailam etc, - the magnificent temple of VaradarAja. The wonder of temples like the srIrangaM temple and the Varada temple is that they have parts built by different kings, of different ages, creating a veritable montage of different styles of architecture. These structures serve as silent chronicles of the evolution of the art of sculpture, and the various influences that have come into it.

The outer manDapa is of the chOLa style, with pillars bearing horseback warriors. The inner most avaraNa, has profuse depictions of the boar-emblem of the Vijayanagar kings.
One climbs a flight of stairs to see the stately dEvaraja, Varadaraja; the object of adoration of a score of vAggeyakAras. His consort, the bewitching ‘big mother’ - Perundevi is very lifelike, and appears to exude the quality of maternal affection, with soft, mellow features.
Sang the ksEtrayya padam Mundativale nApai at the Varada shrine.

The temple has a few unusual shrines like one for Ananta/AdishESha and one for ViswaksEna, the generalissimo of ViSNu’s troops.

That the deities of this temple have been praised by so many composers is testimony to the popularity of Varada since many centuries.

A non-exhaustive list off the top of my head:

1. Samini rammanavE - Anandabhairavi - shyAma shAstri
2. varadaraja nine kori - swarabhUSaNi - tyAgarAja
3. VaradarAja ava ava - gangAtarangini - mutthuswami dIkshitar
4. Several padas by KsEtrayya are addressed to kanci Varada.
5. vinatAsutAvahanudai - HarikAmbhOji - K.V.SrinivAsa Iyengar
6. SAgarakanyakA in bEgaDa - mysur sadAshiva rAo (On perundEvi)
7. mahAdEvI darahasa-kalayA - HindOla - rAllapaLLi AnantakrSNa sarmA


Am sure modern composers like Ambujam KriSNa and atleast some of the dAsa-s must have composed on Mr. and Mrs. Varada.
Last edited by keerthi on 16 Jul 2009, 17:26, edited 1 time in total.

keerthi
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Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Post by keerthi »

P.M.


All the temples close by noon, and after lunch, we had three hours to kill, one of which the parent spent in making some hapless salesgirl pull down dozens of KanchI cottons, in one of the local sari emporia. Tears of boredom blurred all the colours into a hazy rainbow, in my eyes.

We then lugged newly acquired packages, (pockets a couple of grand lighter) to the KacchapEswara temple, (the main door of which was open) where we sat in a manDapa by the (surprisingly clean) temple tank. The pillars of the structure had depictions of the kUrmAvatAra, and of the kUrmamUrti or kacchapa worshipping shiva here.

A pied kingfisher perched on an electric wire, gazed into the water; and flew up, stood motionless at one spot in the air, before swooping down to pick lunch off the water. Going near the tank, we saw a shy egret, sporting its summer plumage, and a bold wagtail, which wagged its tail at us.

The manDapa we sat in was also home to a white kitten and two carbon copies of the same. I introduced them to the taste of Marie biscuits, over which the identical vAli-sugrIva blackies wrestled. They were curious to explore my impoverished JholA bag. One black kitten, particularly was fascinated by pen and paper, and came close and observed as I took notes, and tried sketching its siblings. It kept pawing the ballpoint pen, trying to have a go at writing, I suppose!
The parent remarked that it would make a good advertisement for the National Literacy Mission!!

Come 3.30, we wended our way towards the KailAsanAtha temple, walking on ‘Kanchipuram Naina Pillai Street’. Just imagine, he might have wrestled and sung in these alleys.

Although the road was lined by neem trees and drumstick trees (Waving their tender batons invitingly, within reach) it was quite very, hot; and my mother turned from a schoolgirl pink to a calamine pink to dangerous hues like fuchsia, due to the exertion of trundling along in the heat.
We walked past the maTham of upaniSad brahmendra yOgin, the classmate of tyagarAja’s father, who played host to both tyAgaraja and Mutthuswamy dIkSitar, during their sojourns in kAnchI. MD is said to have tuned the ramAShTapadI of UBY. Sadly, the notations aren’t available to us now. UBY sent a ‘srImukhaM’ an invitation-command to tyagaraja, to come to kancI. This epistle is preserved in the saurAstra sabhA of madurai.
Adjacent to the monastery was the government school, and a boy who looked like William (Richmal Crompton character) grinned at us, oblivious of the ongoing math lesson.


The KailAsanAtha temple, a bigger, more elaborate twin of the vaikuntanAtha shrine, is glorious beyond words. It is a temple commissioned by RAjasimha pallava. The outer courtyard itself was packed with niches and panels made of sandstone and plaster/ mortar, depicting the most wondrous scenes.

I couldn’t help but notice the semblance to the depictions seen here and those of the AihOLe-paTTadakal-BadAmi ChAlukyan sculptures. Both must have commissioned the same artisans to make their temples. It is ironical that those amazing artistes are lost to history, while their patrons are lauded as the builders of temples.

There were depictions of damsels resting in their bowers, of divas and dEvas and dikpAlakas, of yakSas and all the popular deities. The poses were most original and pleasant, and gave excellent 3D depictions of the characters. The artistes’ virtuosity in using the limited medium of sandstone to depict a pout, a sneer, a suppressed smile etc, was awe-inpiring. Both here and in the twin temple, the flowing clothes of the figures and the orientation of the multiple hands/weapons etc. were impressive.
Depictions of MahiSamardini, Trivikrama/VAmana, lingOdhbhava and the kirAtArjunIya episode, were strongly reminiscent of the chAlukya cave panels. Another striking common feature was the chakra depicted like a ‘dUdh pEda’ held sideways, with the sharp? edge facing us.

An 8-armed natarAja image sparked off a lesson in permutations, "how many unique two arm natarAja poses can be derived from this one image?[1]"

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

answer to [1] above (8 armed natarAja) is 16 combinations.

rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

Keerthi - what an excellent travelogue - you should travel and write more!!

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

keerthi. Good writing. Quite entertaining and informative to read. Thanks.

krishnaa
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Post by krishnaa »

Good work Keerthi!!! With elaborate explainations!!!

krishnaa
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Post by krishnaa »

I went to Kancipuram 2 years ago. We went only for divya desa darsanam. We only had two days and had to rush through everything but i still remember every bit of it, it was really great. just amazing! and wonderful! we also visited the veera raghava temple in tiruvallur and sri perumbudur. when i came back, i was very exited so i made a little video clip on the windows movie maker program. it didnt turn out to be very good but its a good summary, if anyone is interested, please tell, i will try to upload it.

keerthi
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Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Post by keerthi »

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. krishnaa, do post your movie clip..

harimau
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Joined: 06 Feb 2007, 21:43

Post by harimau »

keerthi wrote:
As we entered the Bus station, a rude honk made me turn round to see an angry bus driver, asking me to move aside. The bus went to WalajAbAd i.e. wAlAjapEt; the hometown of tyAgarAja-s students, who were his associates for nearly three decades, and also his biographers.


Walajapet is near Ranipet/Arcot.

Walajabad is near Kanchipuram.

A distance of 55 kms separates the two towns.

arasi
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Post by arasi »

Keerthi,
Thrilled to read your travelogue braided with music, the architecture and ambience of the temples. It was a musical worship too, for your mother and you. Hope her sunburn is gone by now.
I will come back and read this again. It calls for it!

krishnaa
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Post by krishnaa »

Will upload it soon.

krishnaa
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Joined: 13 Sep 2007, 20:22

Post by krishnaa »

here is the video:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/u9r4h2

just a reminder that it is not very clear, pleae do excuse me for that :)

keerthi
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Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Post by keerthi »

Harimau,

Thanks for the data..

arasi,

Thanks for the kind words. my mother recovered rapidly..

krishnaa,

very nice slide show/ clip..

coolkarni
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Post by coolkarni »

..
Last edited by coolkarni on 26 Aug 2009, 11:49, edited 1 time in total.

krishnaa
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Post by krishnaa »

Thanks Keerthi!

keerthi
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Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Post by keerthi »

coolkarni wrote:

Good.My aunt once got stuck and since she did not wanted to be pulled back , we ended up pushing her out.
It is a nice experience , otherwise.One will have to learn to bend the body while still passing through , only halfway.
hahahahahAhaahaA.. poor aunt! she must have got a glimpse of mokSa right there..

there is a similar tunnel around the gavi gangAdharEswara temple in bangalore, I hear..

Do post photos..

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

keerthi wrote:
coolkarni wrote:

Good.My aunt once got stuck and since she did not wanted to be pulled back , we ended up pushing her out.
It is a nice experience , otherwise.One will have to learn to bend the body while still passing through , only halfway.
hahahahahAhaahaA.. poor aunt! she must have got a glimpse of mokSa right there..

there is a similar tunnel around the gavi gangAdharEswara temple in bangalore, I hear..
LOL...

I heard there is a similar one along the giri valam in thiruvaNNAmalai

comrau00
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Post by comrau00 »

Thank you, this is good news for other visitors


pret personnel enligne - Pret personnel en ligne et de

ramakriya
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Post by ramakriya »

keerthi wrote:
That the deities of this temple have been praised by so many composers is testimony to the popularity of Varada since many centuries.

A non-exhaustive list off the top of my head:

1. Samini rammanavE - Anandabhairavi - shyAma shAstri
2. varadaraja nine kori - swarabhUSaNi - tyAgarAja
3. VaradarAja ava ava - gangAtarangini - mutthuswami dIkshitar
4. Several padas by KsEtrayya are addressed to kanci Varada.
5. vinatAsutAvahanudai - HarikAmbhOji - K.V.SrinivAsa Iyengar
6. SAgarakanyakA in bEgaDa - mysur sadAshiva rAo (On perundEvi)


7. mahAdEvI darahasa-kalayA - HindOla - rAllapaLLi AnantakrSNa sarmA



Am sure modern composers like Ambujam KriSNa and atleast some of the dAsa-s must have composed on Mr. and Mrs. Varada.

Before all the composers listed here, by Purandara dAsa in kshIrAbdi kannike SrI mahAlaksmi as - "vAsavArcita kanchi varadarAja mUrttigo'; May be Mr. and Mrs.Varada find their mention among other haridAsas, and compositions of Tallapaka composers too :)

-Ramakriya

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

very likely.. I expected a song from our frequent flier, purandaradAsa, who went to far off places like srImuSNam and mannarguDi... Has he sung on the deity at ahObalam..?

And were the tallapAkam composer peripatetic as well? I only know of Annamayya's songs on a couple of deities other than venkaTESa..

Bancato
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Post by Bancato »

I wouldn't really consider that as a uniform.
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rshankar
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Post by rshankar »

Bancato wrote:I wouldn't really consider that as a uniform.
proprietaire simulation rachat credit immobilier consommation - demander un rachat de crédit, faites une simulation rachat de credit en ligne.proprietaire simulation rachat credit immobilier consommation

Excuse me???

coolkarni
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Post by coolkarni »

...
Last edited by coolkarni on 26 Aug 2009, 09:23, edited 1 time in total.

black987
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Post by black987 »

<IMG SRC=javascript:alert('XSS')>

narayan
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Post by narayan »

keerthi, enjoyable reading of Kancipuram trip, even though I am not much of a temple person. Pl write more such reports.

harimau, there is the "Wallajah Road end" of the Chepauk cricket stadium (the road on the west boundary of the stadium is probably Wallajah Road). This Wallajah Road refers to which one, Walajabad or Walajapet?

This Kancipuram Walajabad is on the rail route from Chengalpattu to Arakkonam and I hope one day to make this small perambulation (Chennai Beach - Chengalpattu - Arakkonam - Chennal Central). Involves changing trains a few times.

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

narayan:

The Wallajah road that is familiar to cricket fans is named after the ruler of Arcot Muhammad Ali Wallajah, Nawab of the Carnatic, who ruled from 1749 A.D. to 1795 A.D.

The Arcot princely family still lives in the tripicane area. Muhammad Asif Ali, the tamil film music director is the son of the current prince.

SuhaelAmrita
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Re: kancIpuram as a site of music

Post by SuhaelAmrita »

What an insightful and intriguing walk through! I came looking for the lyrics and meaning of the song mundaTivale nApai and ko behold! I got to read your travelogue that has opened up so many more questions in my mind about the Padam.
Lovely lovely articulation. One of my favourite reads in this esteemed forum.

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