Jayachamaraja Odeyar (Mysore Maharajah) - Part II

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 31 Aug 2006, 22:18

Thanks Coolkarni. I was thinking of dhani and here you post a recording. Talk about telepathy.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 31 Aug 2006, 22:29

Notes on ||vandE jagadambikE||

rAga: vasantabhairavi ; khaNDa jhampe tALa

vandE- I bow to; jagadambikE- Mother of the universe; SivE.

vimalAtmikE- You with a pure soul; hamsagamanE- You with the gait of a swan; lalanE- beautiful woman;
parvatAtmajE- Daughter of the mountain;
sampatpradE- You Who bestow prosperity/ riches;
samsargE- Union [She is in union with kAmESvara in the bindu of the SrIcakra. The union is such that they are one(advaita)];
dum- dum is the bIjAkShara of durga; durgE.
da durgAvAcakam devI ukAraScApi rakShaNE |
viSvamAtA nAdarUpA kurvarthO bindurUpakaH |
tEnaiva kAlikAdEvIm pUjayEdduHkhaSAantayE ||

ayana samvatsara mAsa pUjitE- You Who are worhipped over various time cylces such as ayana(half-year), year and month;
amarESanuti hitE- You Who are favourable/partial to praise by indra; paradEvatE;
anyAdRSa karuNAnidhi iti sukhyAtE- You Who are famous by the names such as anyAdRSa karuNAnidhi [A treasure of compasssion of a different kind(None other like it)]
aruNAcalESvara dayitE- Consort of aruNAcalESvara; mahitE- Honoured one;
AryasamskRti mUlabhUtE- You Who are the origin and foundation of the Aryan/noble (sanAtana) culture;
ajAta guruvara sampUjitE- You Who are worshipped by divine preceptors (that have not been born.);
AyuH ArOgya aiSvarya pradE- You Who grant longevity, god health and prosperity;
Adi- The origin of everything; SrI mahAvidyE- The personification of SrIvidyA.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 31 Aug 2006, 22:40

DRS,
Not all of the Maharaja's compositions have the rAga mudra woven in the sAhitya, then?
Ravi

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 31 Aug 2006, 22:41

Yes. Most do. A few dont have them.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 31 Aug 2006, 22:45

Also, in the vasantabhairavi kritI, I noticed that the reference to srI vidyA is covert, and not overt as it has been in all the previous ones discussed.
Ravi

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 31 Aug 2006, 23:25

ajAta guruvara sampUjitE
na jAta guru yasyA sA ajAtaguru shrEShThA iti ajAtaguruvara iti samyak pUjitA
Supreme one for whom a guru (preceptor) is not born and as such well worshipped!

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 31 Aug 2006, 23:36

CML
That is one nice interpretation. ANother way of looking at it is taking "ajAta" meaning unborn as Her epithet and the rest as one unit. "O unborn One Who are worhipped by worthy preceptors"

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 31 Aug 2006, 23:40

Only problem is it has to be ajAtE (to be in the vocative!)

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 31 Aug 2006, 23:46

No problem there CML. I said ajAta is an epithet/adjective not a noun.

meena · Post by **meena** » 01 Sep 2006, 00:40

VK Raman on flute plays sri mahaganapatim- atana of HHJW (kriti has been discussed earlier)-
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/P4Q ... one_detect

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 01 Sep 2006, 00:47

very nice! Thanks meena!

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 02 Sep 2006, 14:50

paripAhimAm mahAdEvi in ShaNmukhapriya, miSra jhampe

Clicke here to download paripAhimAm- ShaNmukhapriya- jhampe- oDeyar

I keep getting an error message while trying to download anything from uploadsolution. Could someone upload this krithi onto another site or send me the file by email - it's on my profile. Thanks in advance.

mnsriram · Post by **mnsriram** » 02 Sep 2006, 14:59

http://rapidshare.de/files/31661893/par ... u.wma.html

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 02 Sep 2006, 16:01

Dear all
Now that we have discussed 90 kRtis and those were all we could get hold of, I will leave the thread open for a few more days and then formally close the thread. oDeyar should not be left unattended and we should bid him a formal farewell. So folks(Including all those silent ones), if you have something to say, now is the time. Speak up

Of course if someone wants to post something later, that is fine. But lets us bid farewell first.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 02 Sep 2006, 19:14

Ravi
Did you hear TRS singing "cikkavanE ivanu" of purandara dAsa(Posted by coolkarni)? This is one of those dAsara padas replete with SRngAra bhAva.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 02 Sep 2006, 19:21

This has been a wonderful journey. Once that old thread comes up alive (anytime now), these two should be dedicated to oDeyar himself.. what a magnificent legacy he has left behind!

This has been a mammoth task, involving hundreds of man hours for its creation. My thanks are due in no small measure to DRS, Sri Raja Chandra, CML, Coolkarni and all others who have contributed a lot in paying a most fitting tribute to this Maharaja among composers.

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 02 Sep 2006, 21:16

Friends,

I will certainly post the remaining 4 kRuti's and i would like to end with his kRuti in his own creation - rAga jayasaMvardhini. Give me some time, before you can formally say au revoir ! I

sriucl · Post by **sriucl** » 02 Sep 2006, 22:12

Great work , DRS.

Thanks for sharing all these true treasures. Thanks for Raja Chandra for his contributions as well and the others.

Also, wondering if there are any speeches or lectures of JCW ..short clips or excerpts , any video footage... RC might be able to get something ??

Thanks,

Srivathsan

meena · Post by **meena** » 02 Sep 2006, 22:44

RC

look fwd to the remaining kritis. thanku

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 03 Sep 2006, 03:23

Also It would be good to discuss the influence of other composers like Vasudevachar, Channakeshavaiah etc. on the Jayachamaraja Odeyar (if anything is documented)

-Ramakriya

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 03 Sep 2006, 03:48

Ramakriya.
There was some discussion about oDeyar and MV which you will find in the old thread. To sum up, bothe MV and Chennakeshavaiah have a gurursthAna with respect to oDeyar, MV laying the foundation and Chennakeshaviah gilding the lily so to speak. But when it comes to his compositions, oDeyar is on his own. There is no similarity betwee the 2 in style or use of words(ajagajAntara). HMB and oDeyar have used some rare rAgas in common.

If you/anyone have more information, please feel free to share it with us. As I said earlier, discussions can continue even after bidding adieu to oDeyar. For we are only sending him off, not our meomories of him or his compositions. In fact the whole purpose of my discussion is to inculcate and encourage interest in oDeyar. It is very much in order to have informal discussions after the meeting is formally closed

Holding the thread together and running it smoothly was a great responsibilty which I have handled with help from everyone here. I want to be relieved of that resposnibilty. Now that RC has promised to find the 4 remaining compositions, I will wait a while longer.

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:05

Can someone upload the Madhyamavathi composition of Wodeyar?I remember recording that and the Bruhannayaki composition in the last episode,but have left it on tape in India and forgot to convert it to mp3.can some kind soul upload it for me?
Thanks

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:08

And just as a quick one,is the Tirupathi Girivasa composition in Sri Krishnadevaraya in lalithapanchamam or paras?

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:09

hehe Kartik. That is one composition we havent been able to find. You should visit ore often to keep abreadt. Is there someway you can get somebody to post it from your tape in India. That would be really great.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:13

kartik wrote:And just as a quick one,is the Tirupathi Girivasa composition in Sri Krishnadevaraya in lalithapanchamam or paras?

pharas I go for. Here it is

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/0q3 ... As1NMvHdW/

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:22

Even better,here is the video of Tirupati girivasa and Anna avaru

http://www.kannadamusicworld.com/videos/devotional.html

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:22

There is a lot more pacama usage in pharas. Also we can arrive at pancama directly from above or below. No need to do it in a roundabout was as "DMP". You can observe this in the song.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:23

Cool man. Thanks.

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:24

Does paras employ ri in the arohana?Is it not sgm as against srgm?

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:27

SGM is common. But SRGM can occur. In fact, the scale given in the SSP is kramasampUrNa both ways.

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 03 Sep 2006, 07:34

DRS and others,
As an aside,I am interested to know if you have spotted whether JCW has benefited from his exposure to western music,he was a topper.Especially ragas such as garudadhwani,shankarabharanam or any other where we can spot touches of western music influence?Good article at-
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanheral ... 4/fac2.asp
(Again not sure if this was posted,sorry if it has been).

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 03 Sep 2006, 23:45

sriucl wrote:Great work , DRS.

Thanks for Raja Chandra for his contributions as well and the others.

Also, wondering if there are any speeches or lectures of JCW ..short clips or excerpts , any video footage... RC might be able to get something ??

Thanks,

Srivathsan

sorry, Sri. srivatsan,

I do not have any audio or video footage. But i have posted many of his lectures and excerpts from book from time to time. MAy be you have missed them.

But here are some rare and unusual pictures

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 03 Sep 2006, 23:47

I have removed the picture as kartik has posted it again down below!

This is a very rare photo of JCRW's uncle , Maharaja Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar holding durbar at Amba Vilas durbar hall @ Mysore Palace, where in the great asthan vidwans are performing. May be some of you can try identifying them !

meena · Post by **meena** » 04 Sep 2006, 00:09

Thanks RC for rare pics

May be some of you can try identifying them !

QUIZ time folks

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 04 Sep 2006, 08:31

Rare picture of His Highness. Never seen him without his turban. The other one is a look into the old era. DhanyavAdagaLu, Raja ChandrarE.

Difficult quiz, Meena. I mean, to discern the facial features under those voluminous turbans...

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 04 Sep 2006, 08:51

Raja Chandra wrote:May be some of you can try identifying them !

RCji,

Definitely not Chembai, we know he refused to perform with turban (and with court attire) in Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar's durbar. He also denied being nominated as asthana vidwan.

I'm able to locate a veena and violin there, apart from a tambura, so it's not a hindustani concert. The picture is very hazy, though.

meena · Post by **meena** » 04 Sep 2006, 09:45

RC is also not being fair, all of them have their backs turned to us, and we have to guess eh

here's a upclose pic of HHKW:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnaraja_Wodeyar_IV

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 04 Sep 2006, 12:11

Thanks meena,

I am sorry i cannot help if all of them have their back turned to us. This i got recently while organising a belated birhday of JCRW at Mysore in association with Bramhavidya. A book called "maisUrina nAlvaru saMhItarAjaru" written by Prof. R.satyanarayana was released on that occasion.

As for as wiki site, the post including the photo was by yours truly !

sriucl · Post by **sriucl** » 04 Sep 2006, 12:31

RC,

Thanks for the photos. I did see the lectures from books, but was curious to listen to his voice if there were any recordings of speeches...

Srivathsan

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 04 Sep 2006, 17:47

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 04 Sep 2006, 17:51

RC,
Do you by any chance have scanned photos of the potraits inside the Mysore palace?I know it is difficult but the potraits of Lakshmi,Bhuvaneshwari were so beautiful.some the potraits of the Wodeyars were also beautiful.

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 04 Sep 2006, 23:46

Kartik,

who elase could have identified HMB. Good show.

The portriats in the Public Durbar Hall originally contained paintings by Raja Ravi Varma sponsored by KRW IV. At that time the present Open Durbar HAll was yet to be built. Later JCRW' time when it was completed he shifted the Ravi VArma Paintings to JCRW ARt gallery at Jagan MOhan Palace and got the present paintings done from his guru Shilpi Siddalingaswamy.

Though i have few smaller original paintings by him at home, i havn't got the Durbar Hall paintings scanned !

meena · Post by **meena** » 05 Sep 2006, 00:01

Wow kartik, U win

Behind all those turbans u can find sree HMB is something.

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 05 Sep 2006, 00:04

ramakriya wrote:Also It would be good to discuss the influence of other composers like Vasudevachar, Channakeshavaiah etc. on the Jayachamaraja Odeyar (if anything is documented)

-Ramakriya

i will try to throw some light on this issue again thro' some articles by the people who were involved !

First i will post an article by S.Krishna Murthy written in 1978 as part of a souvenir brought out by International Music Arts Society ( founded by Rani Vijaya Devi sister of JCRW on his advice but after his death !)

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 05 Sep 2006, 00:08

A Prince Among Composers

Sri S. Krishna.Murthy

AS I write of Jayachamaraja Wadiyar. a veritable prince among composers. I am naturally reminded of a well-known vachana (a literary form meaning a saying), which marvels at-the mysterious affinity between the cuckoo and the tender mango leaf, the berry of the rugged hillside (nelli) and the salt of the sprawling ocean.

Vasudevacharya, the legendary composer, whose honours were as crowded as his life of 86, had the distinction of adopting Jayachamaraja Wadiyar as a pupil. Acharya was my grandfather and that explains how I come into the picture. In a way, but not entirely.

Royal vow

A zealous devotee of Chamundeswari, the family deity, who guards Mysore, capital of the former princely state. (The little city lies at the foot of the famous hills bearing a name after the deity installed at the summit). Jayachamaraja Wadiyar vowed to compose songs in praise of the deity.

It was in the fulfillment of the vow that Jayachamaraja Wadiyar sought my grandfather's instruction in Karnatic music, and grooming as composer; and as my grandfather's aide, thirty years ago, I was set on a course, called upon to act little parts, which brought me into intimate presence of a statesman who was both a scholar, patron of arts, and composer and performer.

At the time Jayachamaraja Wadiyar turned to my grandfather for guidance he was a maestro in Western music; the piano was his forte. Between Western music and Karnatic music was a gulf, my grandfather used me as a bridge. It was my task to introduce the Maharaja to the world of Karnatic music through western music. I used its notation in a process of translation.

Royal Academy

Music is part of the heritage of the Mysore Royal family. Jayachamaraja Wadiyar's uncle. Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was a connoisseur of music: Western music, Hindustani music, Karnatic music. His predecessor, Chamaraja Wadiyar was a violin virtuoso and the Royal family was a patron of learning and arts. The palace was a Royal academy in perpetual session: artistes from far and near not merely came, but were sought.

Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, the last in the Wadiyar line to reign, was a gem of many facets. He corresponded to the ideal of philosopher-king. Well versed in the philosophy of the East, he was familiar with the best minds of Europe. He traveled widely and wrote for the West. His work Dattatreya was hailed the world over.

Near Century

Jayachamaraja Wadiyar had set a high target: He set it at 108 kritis; the figure 108 has a mystical appeal. In the event, he composed 94 songs or kritis, with Sri Vidya as the signature. His compositions run the whole gamut of ragas; he not only exploited rare ragas, but also improvised new ones.

To illustrate the latter: Brihaspatipriya. It was appropriately celebrated, my grandfather composing Pannaga shayana pari pahimam. And both the raga and the kriti were the delight of a galaxy of vidwans, who had expounded its intricacies at length at the Music Academy, Madras.

Jayachamaraja Wadiyar's wide-ranging scholarship in the theory of music was the despair of vidwans in a way. On one occasion, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar was launched on a rare raga, Dhenuka. Jayachamaraja Wapiyar's interest prompted Ariyakudi into further explorations: he thought that would help the connoisseur identify the raga. He could scarcely hide his embarrassment, and other vidwans their admiration, when, later. Jayachamaraja Wadiyar gave a rapturous account of the raga!

With Tiger

Jayachamaraja Wadiyar was the kind of connoisseur who would willingly wait for the musician's mood. My grandfather wanted him to listen to Tiger Varadachar, but he knew his demand on patience. Warming up was no short step in Tiger's case: it was a tortuous process. But patience had its reward, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar's thirst for music was such, he readily agreed. Tiger came to the Mysore palace only to stay. So pleased was Jayachamaraja Wadiyar with the discovery of the hidden treasure in Tiger's almost truant voice, he conferred on the musician the distinction of asthan vidwan.

Jayachamaraja Wadiyar's compositions have won high acclaim; some have raised them to the rank of Dikshitar's compositions. M. S. Subbulakshmi, the queen of melody, has immortalised Shiva Shiva Shivabho in Nada Nama Kriya raga. In fact she chose the forum of the United Nations to render the kriti. Jayachamaraja Wadiyar's compositions now are part of the repertoire in many a concert.

Rare Ragas

Janaka ragas seemed to enjoy greater favour with Jayachamaraja Wadiyar: about 30 compositions make use of them. He also used the less known ragas, like Bhoopala panchama, Bhoga vasanta, Balachandrika, Bhanuchandrika. Hansanatini, Hansavinodini. Neelaveni. Nadabrahma. Durvanki, Shivakambodhi. Shuddhasalavi, Suranandini. Thanks to his compositions, these ragas have come into their own. What better tribute can the music world pay to its prince?

Raja Chandra · Post by **Raja Chandra** » 05 Sep 2006, 00:25

arasi wrote:Never seen him without his turban.

see another picture of JCRW without turban but in western attire :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayachamar ... ar_Bahadur

meena · Post by **meena** » 05 Sep 2006, 03:32

RC

thanks for the article.

any chance of Tiger pic @ the palace performing or with company of His highness ?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 Sep 2006, 03:58

RC,
Thanks for the article. A true Renaissance noble. I did not realize the extent of his interests, talents and service to music and musicians until now.
As for the picture (taken while he was in the west??), my, isn't he handsome! A cross between Gary Cooper and TS Eliot, it seems. Even in later years when he had gained considerable weight, in close quarters one saw on his face a certain glow...

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 05 Sep 2006, 07:14

RC

What was the cause of his untimely death? Excuse my medical curiosity! Dont answer it if it will embarrass!

mnsriram · Post by **mnsriram** » 06 Sep 2006, 21:48

drshrikaanth wrote:Dear all
Now that we have discussed 90 kRtis and those were all we could get hold of, I will leave the thread open for a few more days and then formally close the thread. oDeyar should not be left unattended and we should bid him a formal farewell. So folks(Including all those silent ones), if you have something to say, now is the time. Speak up

Of course if someone wants to post something later, that is fine. But lets us bid farewell first.

Dear DRS,

All I can say is that not all composers have the good fortune of having all their compositions dealt with in such detail. This is the greatest gift that a composer can possibly get.

We would be grateful if you could maybe take up compositions of another composer on similar lines, in addition to yours (we are waiting for you to resume the rAmAyaNa discussion and also get a taste of some of your other compositions

).

Regards,
Sriram