Morning sessions at the Music academy-talk by TNSeshagopalan
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TNS speaks
The remarks made byTN Seshagopalan in the morning conference of the Music Academy
hich proves this, he said. Extolling Gopalakrishna bharathy he pointed out that even another Gopalakrishna was present that day, meaning MSG.Gopalakrishna Bharathy through his nandanar charithram proved himself to be beyond caste and creed.He took the music and devotion to the common man and TNS compared him with Ramanuja, who shouted the ashtaksharmanthra from the temple tower for all to hear.
He was a harikatha exponent and was well versed in NorthIndian ragas. TNS said we owe to harikatha to have amidst us the ragas like jonpuri, maund etc.It seems , he said, that the song 'eppovaruvaro' was composed by Gopalakrishna bharathy when he was expecting the Governor for one of his programmes who arrived late.
TNS also quoted Embar who used to sing the krthi 'sabapathikku verudeivam' and said that the words 'orudharam sivachidambaram enru sonnal podume ' as sung commonly was a modification of the original 'sonnalpodhmaam.' Just because the vidvans found it easier not to close the mouth at the end of the line after elaboratesangathi etc they changed it to 'podhume.'
It is to be noted that TNS sings only the original form in his concerts when he sings the krthi and also when he uses the line as the pallavi in RTP in Abhogi.
Then he referred to the krthi 'varugalaamo' which is a classical eample of the raga manji and said manji has a definite moonji, face.
19-12-2006- compositions of Meesu Krishnaiyar by Chinglepet Ranganathan.
Geetha nivedana trust group presented a programme 'sriramadhootham sirasaa namaami,' songs on Anjaneya. TNS commenting on it said that as the sloka goes, 'yathrayathra raghunatha kirtanam,' Anjaneyaswami will be present in the kutthuvilakku wherever there is Ramanamasankirtanam or Ramayanapravachanam and surely he woild have been present there on that day, it also being Hanumatjayanthi.
He said when we say 'Ra' all our bad impulses go out and when the mouth is closed in saying 'ma' new sinful thoughts are prevented from coming in and said that not only the sins we know of but also those we are not aware of are expelled by chanting Ramanama.
Thyagaraja has said that Lord Siva , who revels in Ramanama 'ramanamsukhudu,'is the witness for the gloy of it ' kailasapathy sakshi.' TNS referred to the krthi 'Divakarathanujam' where the sani bhagavan is said to be 'athisayasubhphaladha,' the giver of wonderful benefits for the devotees of Siva and said that since Anjaneya is supposed to be the incarnation of Siva propitiating him is also extolled as a means of warding off the evil effects of the planet.
TNS praised the lecture demonstration of Chinglepet Ranaganathan on Meesu Krishna ayyar and said that Ranganathan is a great 'sangitha kalaacharya,' He is personification of humility and TNS compared him with Anjaneyaswami who was sitting quietly when everyone in the group of monkeys was talking about their respective ability to cross the ocean.
He referred to the Thyagaraja krthi 'Geetharthamu' in suruti and the words 'vathaathmajuniki bhaagathelusokora' denoted that the real meaning of Gitopadesa was understood only by the real sishya of the Lord, hanuman, whom He embraced in Ramavathara and placed him at the top of the chariot in Krishnavathara.
He said that Chinglepet Ranaganathan as a guru is as described in the thiruppavai 'Azimazaikkanna' in which Andal asks the rain cloud not to keep back but to give everything it has and like 'sarngam udhaittha saramazai,' the shower of arrows from the bow of the Lord.Like wise Ranganathan also gives out everything he has in music and the shower of his knowledge is neither overdone nor kept back , thatis, neither athivrishti nor anaavrshti.
20-12-2006-Compositions of haradasa by TKGovindarao
Sarasvathi Sankaran and party sang songs on Ganesa. TNS talked about th importance of propitiating ganesa before starting anything and said that He will bestow riches 'lambodhara lakumi kara' and knowledge 'sakalavidhyadhi' and quoted from Arunagiri nathar to show how sage Vyasa had the grace of Ganesa 'mutthamizadaivinai----murpada ezudhiya' and how even Lord Siva had to get His grace 'acchivanurairatham acchadhu podi seidha ' and Muruga needed his help 'akkurmagaludan acchiru muruganai akkabnamanamarul .' The idea of Ganesa being lakumikara is taken up by Dikshithar also, he said, in the krthi 'Sri maha ganapathi'where we find the word 'suvarnaakarshana ' and in the krthi 'vallabhaa nayakasya, there is a mention of valli episode 'vallivivaha karanasya.'
TNS reiterated his stand that music without bhakthi is flower without fragrance. The dasars or bhagavathas who propagated the cult of Namasankirtana were engaged in singing the glory of the Lord always, sadha, and he said when we say 'sadha sadha' it sounds 'dasa dasa.' They exhibited 'sadha bhakthi,' devotion all the time and 'sadha mukhamalarcchi,' always appeared with happy face because they are all the time enjoying the presence of the Lord in their hearts.
TNS insisted that the sampradhaya should be followed and the guide for the sampradhaya ragas can be obtained from the namasankirthana tradition propagated by Gopalakrishna bhagavathar and others.The raga singing must cause horipulation, said TNS as though witnessing the Lord in front like Thyagaraja said 'tanuvupulakarincha' which must have been the way the saints have sung. This rasika cannot help thinking that TNS is able to do that in his raga singing where even without words he brings the divine presence to the rasika inspired with his music.
Further he gave a beautiful explanation to the greatest devotee of all, the forerunner of bhakthibhava , sage Narada. He said na -Naryana,ra= rathi(bhakthi) and dha means dhdhaathi= gives. So Narada is the one who spreads Naryanabhakthi.
21-12-2006-compositions of Dikshithar parampara by R.Vedavalli
The members of the Karnaranjani group sang the devikirtanas of Shyamasasthri and TNS in his comment said that shyamasasthri was like a child of Devi. He had a dream in which Devi Meenakshi asked him why he did not sing on her.TNS said Meenakshi will grace by her mere glance like the fish which is supposed to nourish its young ones . This is the real meaning of the word meenakshi, eyes like the fish, which does not mean the mere shape of the eyes.The result of this dream was the meenakshinavavarana by Shyamasasthri.
TNS praised the lecdem of Vedavalli by saying that what ever Vedavalli said is like vedapramanam.He further said the krthis of Muthuswami Dikshithar ,the superstar of the Dikshitha parampara became known only through SubbaramaDikshithar as Vivekananda to Rmaakrishna. Muthuswami Dikshitar satisfies all the lakshanas specified for a utthama vaggeyakara.
22-12-2006- compositions of Mahavaidyanatha sivan
The group Maduradvani sang Annamacharya krthis.TNS remarked that the performance by Maduradvani was maduram adhimadhuram. He said that since the original tunes were not available the krthis of Annamcharya are sung in all possible styles, classical and folk.(He elaborated on this at a later date during the lecdem of the compositions.)
TNS praised B.krishnamurthy as a sincere and devoted musician and to the remark of his brother B.Rajam ayyar that Krishnamurthy knew how to work but not how to further his interests'uzaikkatherindhavan pizaikkatheriyadhavan,' TNS quipped that only due to such people music is living, 'appadippattavaalalaethaan sangitham pizaitthirukku.' TNS said that Mahavaidyanatha sivan was the hero of Poochi ayyangar.Ramaswami sivan, the brother of Vaidyanatha sivan used to play thambura for him and used to do japam when his brother was singing difficult Pallavi
TNS commended the simhanandanathillana of Mahavadyanatha sivan demonstrated by Krishnamurthy and said that his guru Mudikondan Venkataramiar was famous for the simhanandana tala. The tala is very difficult and has to be executed with care.
23-12-2006-Compositions of Svatitirunal by TNKrishnan
The devotional music was rendered by a group lead by the sister of haridas Giri swamigal.TNS said that Naat.AnnajiRao, their father was great in namasankirthasnam and the song 'prabho ganapathe,' now sung in almost all namasankirthna programmes was publicised by him, and later by Haridas Giri, his son.TNS said that the sampradhaya varnamettu of many compositions including abangs and bajans are preserved only through the namasankirthna tradition.
TNS said about svatitirunal that he was the patron of stalwarts in music who were not mere medhais, geniuses but mahaans, saints with whom Maharaja svatitirunaal had acquaintance from his childhood which explains his skill as a composer. It was Muthiah bhagavathar, said TNS, who collected the songs of svatitirunal and Sir CPRamaswami ayyar who was the principal of the Music academy at that time established svatitirunal as a composer and the first book on his krthis was published in 1947.Later they were pulicised further by Semmangudi Srinivasa ayyar.
TNS said that Svatitirunal was a kavya nataka tarka siromani and has composed dramatic pieces like ajamilopakhyana and kucelopakhyana but they are in malayalam and hence not known by many. Svatirtirual ,he said, did not have saivavainava bhedha and composed on all deities.He has specifically mentioned that both are one in his bajan 'visvesvar darsan kar,' where he says Padmanabha is dosvrupa, of both the forms of vishnu and siva.
TNS praised TNKrishnan saying that he was reknowned for three 'T's , namely,timbre,tone and tune.
24-12-2006- compositions of poochi Srinivasa ayyangar by B.Rajam ayyar.
The sunadam group members sang the compositions of Nelakanta sivan.The unique aspect of this orogramme was that they had flute as the accompaniment instead of violin and TNS speaking on this mentioned that in ancient times before violin was brought to India it was only flute which was the main accompaniment of concerts. He touched upon the ancient tamil music system in which Harkambhodhi was the basis of all ragas (harikkugandha Harikambhodhi) and it was called sempaalaippann from which all the other ragas came about by grahabhedha. In that programme it was beautiful that kural and kuzal were united.
TNS sang the krthi sadhguruswami of Poochi ayyangar in Anandabhairavi . It was. Bhaskara sethupathi, who was instrumental in sending swami Vivekananda to Chicago ,said TNS, was also the cause of Poochi ayyangar to come to pattnam, that is chennai, so called in those days.
TNS also supplied the information as to why Ramanathapuram Srinivasa ayaangara came to be called Poochi Srinivasa ayyangar. his saareera was like the fluttering of the bee . Also he was called 'bujji' meaning 'dear' in telugu by his rasikas and patrons in andhra where his singing of kondukootti following the ancient tamil tradition(resembling the ghana pata and consisits of joining the preceding words with the subsequent ones) and neraval.
The wellknown krthi 'saragunapalaimpa ' in kedaragoula was composed when he was suffering from arthritis in order to cure himself like Narayanabhattadri who composed narayaneeyam, himself also being a great devotee.
He had Sundaramurthi Odhuvar as his disciple and TNS said that who learnt from whom is not to be defined because Poochiayyangar also learnt the thevara isai murai from odhuvar and the 'saraguna palimpa' is similar to the thevaram 'idar varinum.'His association with thiruppugaz swami reflected in his chandha based music.
26-12-2006-compositions of Neelakanta sivan by V.Subramaniam
Devanagavalli group sang vachanas in kannada TNS remarked about the devotional compositions saying that through music one can attain the Lord and there is no need japa thapa etc. All paths lead to the same destination and sangeetham is the easiest bhakthi marga. When the devotion expressed through music the Lord will unite with the singer by mere thought of Him."ninaittha maatthiratthil iraivan irandarakkalappaan."
TNS said that all the mahatmas who sang about divinity are incarnations of the Lord for the sake of propagating bhakthi for the salvation of mankind. and said that Neelakantasivan was a contemporary of Vallalaar.The krthi 'sivanai ninaindhu' was in kambhodhi according to bajanai sampradhaaya paddhathi and he sang a composition of neelakantasivan 'hariyaui bajitthaalrenna haranaai bajitthaalenna iruvarum onru enru ari maname'in Huseni.
He also extolled the value of namasankirthanam where the great stalwarts like Mutthiah bhagavathar used to give the namasankirthan a status equal to a concert ,and he sang a namavali 'sivaya sasi sekharaya ' beautifully to illustrate this.The namasankirthan adopting all kinds of compositions became a hybrid variety of music, he said.
He mentioned about the ootuppirai where music and knowledge was distributed in those days along with food and said that those places were 'arivaiyum jnaanatthaiyum oottum pirai.' Neelakanta sivan composed the ashtaadasaragamalika and dasavathara krthi in five goula ragas.He concluded saying that these rare krthis should be collected and preserved. and praised the disciples of Subramaniam who sang with full throated voice.
28-12-2006-Compositions of Kshethrajna by Dr.SAK Durga
C.V.Bhavanisankaran and party sang thiruppugaz and commending their singing TNS said that as Arunagirnathar has mentioned in his kandharanubhoothi 'nenjakkankallum negizndhuruga' for even a stony heart to melt the only qualification required is the sravana, listening to thiruppugaz.
He further quoted one more verse from Kandharanubhoothi 'summaa iru sol ara enralume ammaa porul onrum arindhilane,' and said that to be quiet,'summaa irutthal' is not easy because even when the body is inactive the mind will not be quiet. And he also explained the sentence 'ammaa porul onrum arindhilane' splitting it as 'am + maa porul, that great meaning or truth,meaning that one does not understand that great truth which can only be grasped by quietening the mind.
TNS, commenting on the Kshethrajna padams, said that composing the padams and understanding them are like taking butter out of milk. He said that to boil the milk and make it into curd is easy but in irder to take butter out of it one has to undergo some effort,parisrama. Similarly the responsibility of composers of padams is great as the butter signifying the jnana is to be got by much effort as the whole pot of milk gives only small amount of butter.Likewise the essence of Madhurabhakthi is to be churned out of sringarabhava depicted by the padams.
The madhurabhakthi is portrayed by the azvars, jayadeva, Narayanthirtha and kshethrajna, all the three of them being considered as the same incarnation. The nayaka-nayaki bhava is the central theme of the padams, the sentiment being the sringara, called the rasaraja, king of all sentiments.
TNS extolled the Nowkacharithra of Thyagaraja in which he has dealt with the sringarabhava, as perilous as walking on a sword, without any virasam.(rasam when crosses the limit of decorum becomes virasam=without rasam)
Namasakirthanam includes songs of sringara like ashtapadi wich are treated as absolute and pure music, said TNS , the great devotional singers saw to it that the rasabhava reached the heart of the people. The song 'enraikku sivakrpai ' which is usaully sung beginning wih the anupallavi'kanrukuralaikkettu,' and 'pasyathi disidisi;' which was sung in sanakarbharanam were made wellknown through namasankirthanam only.
TNS further said that the voice culture is incorporated in our music right from the beginning on learning the abhyasaganam in Mayamalavagoula where the svaras are taught only with gamaka.The practice of starting from anupallva usuallty done in singing a padam has originated from namasankirthana paddhathi in which the astapadis are sung only from anupallavi. The method of singing in madhyama sruthi also is found in practice during namasankirthana.
The great masters, singers or poets never underestimated the sravana and had the broad mind to learn from any source. TNS cited an incident about the great poet Kamban who, on hearing the words sung by a farmer 'moongililai mele ' followed him throughout his chores to get the remaining words which came in instalments as 'thoongu panineere,' and then 'thoongupanineerai vaangu kadhirone,' and marvelled at the poetic essence of the song, portraying the dew drop(panineer) settled on( thoongu) the bamboo leaf(moongil ilai) and the sun takng up,(vaangu) that is, making it evaporate.
29-12-2006-Compositions of Annamachrya by M.Chandrasekharan
Shubhsruthi group sang the pasurams of Thirumangai azvar. TNS speaking about it said that Thirumangai azvar robbed Him, who robs all the heart and hence became a devotee.'Ullam kavar kalvanidame kalvanaaga irundhu bhakthanaaga maariyavar.( The Lord also proved that He is the greatest robber by robbing the heart of the robber who came to rob Him!)
M.Chandrasekharan sang the songs and TNS extolled his singing as parmaganam and pavithraganam. He also said that Annamacharya was born with the same star and month as nammazvar, vaikasi vishakham.The jeeyar of ahobilamutt, satagopayathindhra was the guru of Annamacharya.
Similar to what happened to Ramadasar, Annamacharya was also put in prison. The king wanted him to compose song on himself which Annmacharya refused saying that he will not sing about anyone else except Lord Venkatesvara.So he was imprisoned and he sang on the Lord and his chains were loosened. When it happened more than once the king came to know of his greatness and asked forgiveness and honoured him.
TNS explained why the Lord tests His devotees like this. It is because, he said , the lord wants the krthis from them before saving them from their calamity."sodanai for kirthanai." He will not let them suffr in reality. It is also to show to the world their greatness.
The krthis of Annamacharya, TNS pointed out are of two kinds, of adhyathma bhava, spititual and srngarabhava.The krthi 'namoralakimpave' used to be sung only in Namasankirthana in the raga yadukulakambhodhi and the wellknown krthi 'saranu saranu' was originally in Devagandhari and later on it was changed to Arabhi, may be for convenience, said TNS. Another one 'devesaganaraadhitha---hecchariga ' was in saveri.He has also sang' lali ' on the Lord and his kirtanas are about all forms of the Lord ,all of which is only Venakatesvara as far as he is concerned as Rama was everything to Thyagaraja.
The srngarabhava can be seen in the kirthana in vasanthabhairavi 'priyasakhi venkata.' and the suprabhatha krthi 'meluko sridevi meluko bhoodevi' is in Bouli.
TNS said that the sampradhaya ragas can be known from the namasankirthana and there is no need to change the tune For instance the raga of the famous song 'thandhanana ---brahmamokade,' which has been made into a folksong, is given as sankarabharanam in the book by Dr. Pinakapani, he said, and sang the krthi to show that the raga is in accordance with the bhava, brahmamokade. He insisted that the sampradhaya should be preserved and the vidvans have the responsibility to do so.
30-12-2006-Rare compositions of Thyagaraja by PSNarayanaswami.
Abhirami satsangam members sang songs on vishnu and TNS said that the reward of singing about Him is He only and all those who sang will be blessed. The day being VaikuntaEkadasi, whatever name by which one calls Him the vaikunta vasal will open.
TNS commended PSNarayanswami that his seva to the caiuse of music is great. His lakshyajnana is enormous and he also distributed it to others and is an ideal acharya.
Then TNS talked about the operas of Thyagaraja, nowkacharithram and prahladabhakthivijyam mentioned by Narayanaswami and said that the song by the gopis in devagabndhari is composed to show their ahamkara by referring to the thrimurthis, who themselves are under the spell of love and Krishna being a mere boy could not resist them , for which they were humbled by the Lord.
Prahlada bhakthivijaya was composed only to highlight bhakthi, said TNS, and there is no Hiranyakasipu in it. He referred to the krthi 'vatsulu hari ' which is in the form of upadesa of samudraraja to Prahlada and is in kalyani. It means "the Lord will come to you Himself and He will appear not through japa or thapa but only through n bhakthi and sangeetha.
This krthi and others in kalyani like 'vasudevayani' start from lower note according to sampradhaya singing .said TNS, and the thala of 'vathsulu' is rupakam and not adhi. Similarly 'naradamuni vedalina ' is sung with chapu thala in bajanai sampradhya.
TNS reiterated his view said earlier that the ragas according to sampradhaya should not be changed and said that we should be thankful that the trinity have established a sishyaparmpaa because he shuddered to think what would have been the fate of their compositions if it was not so.
Bajanai is not religious rap ,he said and he vastly amused the audience by singing 'vatapi ganapathim' in the manner of rap, to show that what would happen if the tradition is not preserved.
The great souls like Thyagaraja had a glimpse of darsan of the Lord but grieved that others could not see it and we have great kirthanas from them expressing their wish, .Arunagirinathar has asked Muruga to come with all his family members and retinue in 'athalachedanarada.' Similarly Thyagaraja calls everyone to come and have the darsan in 'sriganapathini' and in srirangapanchatrathna etc.
TNS concluded in a light vein by referring to the kakasuravrtthantha mentioned by Thyagaraja and said that kakkapidikkiradhu has its value.but the kaka here is the two protectors, ka,ka, the Lord and the Divine mother.
On the whole the speeches of TNS had been a treat for the rasikas who thronged to the morning sessions if only to hear him speak.As someone remarked, there has never been such a crowd in the mornings, with no one leaving the hall even to have a cup of coffee! TNS also spiced his talks with his singing which added to the joy of the rasikas.One rasika remarked that TNS is setting a precedent for the president of the conference which the succeding ones will struggle to keep up. if they try to follow his example!
The remarks made byTN Seshagopalan in the morning conference of the Music Academy
hich proves this, he said. Extolling Gopalakrishna bharathy he pointed out that even another Gopalakrishna was present that day, meaning MSG.Gopalakrishna Bharathy through his nandanar charithram proved himself to be beyond caste and creed.He took the music and devotion to the common man and TNS compared him with Ramanuja, who shouted the ashtaksharmanthra from the temple tower for all to hear.
He was a harikatha exponent and was well versed in NorthIndian ragas. TNS said we owe to harikatha to have amidst us the ragas like jonpuri, maund etc.It seems , he said, that the song 'eppovaruvaro' was composed by Gopalakrishna bharathy when he was expecting the Governor for one of his programmes who arrived late.
TNS also quoted Embar who used to sing the krthi 'sabapathikku verudeivam' and said that the words 'orudharam sivachidambaram enru sonnal podume ' as sung commonly was a modification of the original 'sonnalpodhmaam.' Just because the vidvans found it easier not to close the mouth at the end of the line after elaboratesangathi etc they changed it to 'podhume.'
It is to be noted that TNS sings only the original form in his concerts when he sings the krthi and also when he uses the line as the pallavi in RTP in Abhogi.
Then he referred to the krthi 'varugalaamo' which is a classical eample of the raga manji and said manji has a definite moonji, face.
19-12-2006- compositions of Meesu Krishnaiyar by Chinglepet Ranganathan.
Geetha nivedana trust group presented a programme 'sriramadhootham sirasaa namaami,' songs on Anjaneya. TNS commenting on it said that as the sloka goes, 'yathrayathra raghunatha kirtanam,' Anjaneyaswami will be present in the kutthuvilakku wherever there is Ramanamasankirtanam or Ramayanapravachanam and surely he woild have been present there on that day, it also being Hanumatjayanthi.
He said when we say 'Ra' all our bad impulses go out and when the mouth is closed in saying 'ma' new sinful thoughts are prevented from coming in and said that not only the sins we know of but also those we are not aware of are expelled by chanting Ramanama.
Thyagaraja has said that Lord Siva , who revels in Ramanama 'ramanamsukhudu,'is the witness for the gloy of it ' kailasapathy sakshi.' TNS referred to the krthi 'Divakarathanujam' where the sani bhagavan is said to be 'athisayasubhphaladha,' the giver of wonderful benefits for the devotees of Siva and said that since Anjaneya is supposed to be the incarnation of Siva propitiating him is also extolled as a means of warding off the evil effects of the planet.
TNS praised the lecture demonstration of Chinglepet Ranaganathan on Meesu Krishna ayyar and said that Ranganathan is a great 'sangitha kalaacharya,' He is personification of humility and TNS compared him with Anjaneyaswami who was sitting quietly when everyone in the group of monkeys was talking about their respective ability to cross the ocean.
He referred to the Thyagaraja krthi 'Geetharthamu' in suruti and the words 'vathaathmajuniki bhaagathelusokora' denoted that the real meaning of Gitopadesa was understood only by the real sishya of the Lord, hanuman, whom He embraced in Ramavathara and placed him at the top of the chariot in Krishnavathara.
He said that Chinglepet Ranaganathan as a guru is as described in the thiruppavai 'Azimazaikkanna' in which Andal asks the rain cloud not to keep back but to give everything it has and like 'sarngam udhaittha saramazai,' the shower of arrows from the bow of the Lord.Like wise Ranganathan also gives out everything he has in music and the shower of his knowledge is neither overdone nor kept back , thatis, neither athivrishti nor anaavrshti.
20-12-2006-Compositions of haradasa by TKGovindarao
Sarasvathi Sankaran and party sang songs on Ganesa. TNS talked about th importance of propitiating ganesa before starting anything and said that He will bestow riches 'lambodhara lakumi kara' and knowledge 'sakalavidhyadhi' and quoted from Arunagiri nathar to show how sage Vyasa had the grace of Ganesa 'mutthamizadaivinai----murpada ezudhiya' and how even Lord Siva had to get His grace 'acchivanurairatham acchadhu podi seidha ' and Muruga needed his help 'akkurmagaludan acchiru muruganai akkabnamanamarul .' The idea of Ganesa being lakumikara is taken up by Dikshithar also, he said, in the krthi 'Sri maha ganapathi'where we find the word 'suvarnaakarshana ' and in the krthi 'vallabhaa nayakasya, there is a mention of valli episode 'vallivivaha karanasya.'
TNS reiterated his stand that music without bhakthi is flower without fragrance. The dasars or bhagavathas who propagated the cult of Namasankirtana were engaged in singing the glory of the Lord always, sadha, and he said when we say 'sadha sadha' it sounds 'dasa dasa.' They exhibited 'sadha bhakthi,' devotion all the time and 'sadha mukhamalarcchi,' always appeared with happy face because they are all the time enjoying the presence of the Lord in their hearts.
TNS insisted that the sampradhaya should be followed and the guide for the sampradhaya ragas can be obtained from the namasankirthana tradition propagated by Gopalakrishna bhagavathar and others.The raga singing must cause horipulation, said TNS as though witnessing the Lord in front like Thyagaraja said 'tanuvupulakarincha' which must have been the way the saints have sung. This rasika cannot help thinking that TNS is able to do that in his raga singing where even without words he brings the divine presence to the rasika inspired with his music.
Further he gave a beautiful explanation to the greatest devotee of all, the forerunner of bhakthibhava , sage Narada. He said na -Naryana,ra= rathi(bhakthi) and dha means dhdhaathi= gives. So Narada is the one who spreads Naryanabhakthi.
21-12-2006-compositions of Dikshithar parampara by R.Vedavalli
The members of the Karnaranjani group sang the devikirtanas of Shyamasasthri and TNS in his comment said that shyamasasthri was like a child of Devi. He had a dream in which Devi Meenakshi asked him why he did not sing on her.TNS said Meenakshi will grace by her mere glance like the fish which is supposed to nourish its young ones . This is the real meaning of the word meenakshi, eyes like the fish, which does not mean the mere shape of the eyes.The result of this dream was the meenakshinavavarana by Shyamasasthri.
TNS praised the lecdem of Vedavalli by saying that what ever Vedavalli said is like vedapramanam.He further said the krthis of Muthuswami Dikshithar ,the superstar of the Dikshitha parampara became known only through SubbaramaDikshithar as Vivekananda to Rmaakrishna. Muthuswami Dikshitar satisfies all the lakshanas specified for a utthama vaggeyakara.
22-12-2006- compositions of Mahavaidyanatha sivan
The group Maduradvani sang Annamacharya krthis.TNS remarked that the performance by Maduradvani was maduram adhimadhuram. He said that since the original tunes were not available the krthis of Annamcharya are sung in all possible styles, classical and folk.(He elaborated on this at a later date during the lecdem of the compositions.)
TNS praised B.krishnamurthy as a sincere and devoted musician and to the remark of his brother B.Rajam ayyar that Krishnamurthy knew how to work but not how to further his interests'uzaikkatherindhavan pizaikkatheriyadhavan,' TNS quipped that only due to such people music is living, 'appadippattavaalalaethaan sangitham pizaitthirukku.' TNS said that Mahavaidyanatha sivan was the hero of Poochi ayyangar.Ramaswami sivan, the brother of Vaidyanatha sivan used to play thambura for him and used to do japam when his brother was singing difficult Pallavi
TNS commended the simhanandanathillana of Mahavadyanatha sivan demonstrated by Krishnamurthy and said that his guru Mudikondan Venkataramiar was famous for the simhanandana tala. The tala is very difficult and has to be executed with care.
23-12-2006-Compositions of Svatitirunal by TNKrishnan
The devotional music was rendered by a group lead by the sister of haridas Giri swamigal.TNS said that Naat.AnnajiRao, their father was great in namasankirthasnam and the song 'prabho ganapathe,' now sung in almost all namasankirthna programmes was publicised by him, and later by Haridas Giri, his son.TNS said that the sampradhaya varnamettu of many compositions including abangs and bajans are preserved only through the namasankirthna tradition.
TNS said about svatitirunal that he was the patron of stalwarts in music who were not mere medhais, geniuses but mahaans, saints with whom Maharaja svatitirunaal had acquaintance from his childhood which explains his skill as a composer. It was Muthiah bhagavathar, said TNS, who collected the songs of svatitirunal and Sir CPRamaswami ayyar who was the principal of the Music academy at that time established svatitirunal as a composer and the first book on his krthis was published in 1947.Later they were pulicised further by Semmangudi Srinivasa ayyar.
TNS said that Svatitirunal was a kavya nataka tarka siromani and has composed dramatic pieces like ajamilopakhyana and kucelopakhyana but they are in malayalam and hence not known by many. Svatirtirual ,he said, did not have saivavainava bhedha and composed on all deities.He has specifically mentioned that both are one in his bajan 'visvesvar darsan kar,' where he says Padmanabha is dosvrupa, of both the forms of vishnu and siva.
TNS praised TNKrishnan saying that he was reknowned for three 'T's , namely,timbre,tone and tune.
24-12-2006- compositions of poochi Srinivasa ayyangar by B.Rajam ayyar.
The sunadam group members sang the compositions of Nelakanta sivan.The unique aspect of this orogramme was that they had flute as the accompaniment instead of violin and TNS speaking on this mentioned that in ancient times before violin was brought to India it was only flute which was the main accompaniment of concerts. He touched upon the ancient tamil music system in which Harkambhodhi was the basis of all ragas (harikkugandha Harikambhodhi) and it was called sempaalaippann from which all the other ragas came about by grahabhedha. In that programme it was beautiful that kural and kuzal were united.
TNS sang the krthi sadhguruswami of Poochi ayyangar in Anandabhairavi . It was. Bhaskara sethupathi, who was instrumental in sending swami Vivekananda to Chicago ,said TNS, was also the cause of Poochi ayyangar to come to pattnam, that is chennai, so called in those days.
TNS also supplied the information as to why Ramanathapuram Srinivasa ayaangara came to be called Poochi Srinivasa ayyangar. his saareera was like the fluttering of the bee . Also he was called 'bujji' meaning 'dear' in telugu by his rasikas and patrons in andhra where his singing of kondukootti following the ancient tamil tradition(resembling the ghana pata and consisits of joining the preceding words with the subsequent ones) and neraval.
The wellknown krthi 'saragunapalaimpa ' in kedaragoula was composed when he was suffering from arthritis in order to cure himself like Narayanabhattadri who composed narayaneeyam, himself also being a great devotee.
He had Sundaramurthi Odhuvar as his disciple and TNS said that who learnt from whom is not to be defined because Poochiayyangar also learnt the thevara isai murai from odhuvar and the 'saraguna palimpa' is similar to the thevaram 'idar varinum.'His association with thiruppugaz swami reflected in his chandha based music.
26-12-2006-compositions of Neelakanta sivan by V.Subramaniam
Devanagavalli group sang vachanas in kannada TNS remarked about the devotional compositions saying that through music one can attain the Lord and there is no need japa thapa etc. All paths lead to the same destination and sangeetham is the easiest bhakthi marga. When the devotion expressed through music the Lord will unite with the singer by mere thought of Him."ninaittha maatthiratthil iraivan irandarakkalappaan."
TNS said that all the mahatmas who sang about divinity are incarnations of the Lord for the sake of propagating bhakthi for the salvation of mankind. and said that Neelakantasivan was a contemporary of Vallalaar.The krthi 'sivanai ninaindhu' was in kambhodhi according to bajanai sampradhaaya paddhathi and he sang a composition of neelakantasivan 'hariyaui bajitthaalrenna haranaai bajitthaalenna iruvarum onru enru ari maname'in Huseni.
He also extolled the value of namasankirthanam where the great stalwarts like Mutthiah bhagavathar used to give the namasankirthan a status equal to a concert ,and he sang a namavali 'sivaya sasi sekharaya ' beautifully to illustrate this.The namasankirthan adopting all kinds of compositions became a hybrid variety of music, he said.
He mentioned about the ootuppirai where music and knowledge was distributed in those days along with food and said that those places were 'arivaiyum jnaanatthaiyum oottum pirai.' Neelakanta sivan composed the ashtaadasaragamalika and dasavathara krthi in five goula ragas.He concluded saying that these rare krthis should be collected and preserved. and praised the disciples of Subramaniam who sang with full throated voice.
28-12-2006-Compositions of Kshethrajna by Dr.SAK Durga
C.V.Bhavanisankaran and party sang thiruppugaz and commending their singing TNS said that as Arunagirnathar has mentioned in his kandharanubhoothi 'nenjakkankallum negizndhuruga' for even a stony heart to melt the only qualification required is the sravana, listening to thiruppugaz.
He further quoted one more verse from Kandharanubhoothi 'summaa iru sol ara enralume ammaa porul onrum arindhilane,' and said that to be quiet,'summaa irutthal' is not easy because even when the body is inactive the mind will not be quiet. And he also explained the sentence 'ammaa porul onrum arindhilane' splitting it as 'am + maa porul, that great meaning or truth,meaning that one does not understand that great truth which can only be grasped by quietening the mind.
TNS, commenting on the Kshethrajna padams, said that composing the padams and understanding them are like taking butter out of milk. He said that to boil the milk and make it into curd is easy but in irder to take butter out of it one has to undergo some effort,parisrama. Similarly the responsibility of composers of padams is great as the butter signifying the jnana is to be got by much effort as the whole pot of milk gives only small amount of butter.Likewise the essence of Madhurabhakthi is to be churned out of sringarabhava depicted by the padams.
The madhurabhakthi is portrayed by the azvars, jayadeva, Narayanthirtha and kshethrajna, all the three of them being considered as the same incarnation. The nayaka-nayaki bhava is the central theme of the padams, the sentiment being the sringara, called the rasaraja, king of all sentiments.
TNS extolled the Nowkacharithra of Thyagaraja in which he has dealt with the sringarabhava, as perilous as walking on a sword, without any virasam.(rasam when crosses the limit of decorum becomes virasam=without rasam)
Namasakirthanam includes songs of sringara like ashtapadi wich are treated as absolute and pure music, said TNS , the great devotional singers saw to it that the rasabhava reached the heart of the people. The song 'enraikku sivakrpai ' which is usaully sung beginning wih the anupallavi'kanrukuralaikkettu,' and 'pasyathi disidisi;' which was sung in sanakarbharanam were made wellknown through namasankirthanam only.
TNS further said that the voice culture is incorporated in our music right from the beginning on learning the abhyasaganam in Mayamalavagoula where the svaras are taught only with gamaka.The practice of starting from anupallva usuallty done in singing a padam has originated from namasankirthana paddhathi in which the astapadis are sung only from anupallavi. The method of singing in madhyama sruthi also is found in practice during namasankirthana.
The great masters, singers or poets never underestimated the sravana and had the broad mind to learn from any source. TNS cited an incident about the great poet Kamban who, on hearing the words sung by a farmer 'moongililai mele ' followed him throughout his chores to get the remaining words which came in instalments as 'thoongu panineere,' and then 'thoongupanineerai vaangu kadhirone,' and marvelled at the poetic essence of the song, portraying the dew drop(panineer) settled on( thoongu) the bamboo leaf(moongil ilai) and the sun takng up,(vaangu) that is, making it evaporate.
29-12-2006-Compositions of Annamachrya by M.Chandrasekharan
Shubhsruthi group sang the pasurams of Thirumangai azvar. TNS speaking about it said that Thirumangai azvar robbed Him, who robs all the heart and hence became a devotee.'Ullam kavar kalvanidame kalvanaaga irundhu bhakthanaaga maariyavar.( The Lord also proved that He is the greatest robber by robbing the heart of the robber who came to rob Him!)
M.Chandrasekharan sang the songs and TNS extolled his singing as parmaganam and pavithraganam. He also said that Annamacharya was born with the same star and month as nammazvar, vaikasi vishakham.The jeeyar of ahobilamutt, satagopayathindhra was the guru of Annamacharya.
Similar to what happened to Ramadasar, Annamacharya was also put in prison. The king wanted him to compose song on himself which Annmacharya refused saying that he will not sing about anyone else except Lord Venkatesvara.So he was imprisoned and he sang on the Lord and his chains were loosened. When it happened more than once the king came to know of his greatness and asked forgiveness and honoured him.
TNS explained why the Lord tests His devotees like this. It is because, he said , the lord wants the krthis from them before saving them from their calamity."sodanai for kirthanai." He will not let them suffr in reality. It is also to show to the world their greatness.
The krthis of Annamacharya, TNS pointed out are of two kinds, of adhyathma bhava, spititual and srngarabhava.The krthi 'namoralakimpave' used to be sung only in Namasankirthana in the raga yadukulakambhodhi and the wellknown krthi 'saranu saranu' was originally in Devagandhari and later on it was changed to Arabhi, may be for convenience, said TNS. Another one 'devesaganaraadhitha---hecchariga ' was in saveri.He has also sang' lali ' on the Lord and his kirtanas are about all forms of the Lord ,all of which is only Venakatesvara as far as he is concerned as Rama was everything to Thyagaraja.
The srngarabhava can be seen in the kirthana in vasanthabhairavi 'priyasakhi venkata.' and the suprabhatha krthi 'meluko sridevi meluko bhoodevi' is in Bouli.
TNS said that the sampradhaya ragas can be known from the namasankirthana and there is no need to change the tune For instance the raga of the famous song 'thandhanana ---brahmamokade,' which has been made into a folksong, is given as sankarabharanam in the book by Dr. Pinakapani, he said, and sang the krthi to show that the raga is in accordance with the bhava, brahmamokade. He insisted that the sampradhaya should be preserved and the vidvans have the responsibility to do so.
30-12-2006-Rare compositions of Thyagaraja by PSNarayanaswami.
Abhirami satsangam members sang songs on vishnu and TNS said that the reward of singing about Him is He only and all those who sang will be blessed. The day being VaikuntaEkadasi, whatever name by which one calls Him the vaikunta vasal will open.
TNS commended PSNarayanswami that his seva to the caiuse of music is great. His lakshyajnana is enormous and he also distributed it to others and is an ideal acharya.
Then TNS talked about the operas of Thyagaraja, nowkacharithram and prahladabhakthivijyam mentioned by Narayanaswami and said that the song by the gopis in devagabndhari is composed to show their ahamkara by referring to the thrimurthis, who themselves are under the spell of love and Krishna being a mere boy could not resist them , for which they were humbled by the Lord.
Prahlada bhakthivijaya was composed only to highlight bhakthi, said TNS, and there is no Hiranyakasipu in it. He referred to the krthi 'vatsulu hari ' which is in the form of upadesa of samudraraja to Prahlada and is in kalyani. It means "the Lord will come to you Himself and He will appear not through japa or thapa but only through n bhakthi and sangeetha.
This krthi and others in kalyani like 'vasudevayani' start from lower note according to sampradhaya singing .said TNS, and the thala of 'vathsulu' is rupakam and not adhi. Similarly 'naradamuni vedalina ' is sung with chapu thala in bajanai sampradhya.
TNS reiterated his view said earlier that the ragas according to sampradhaya should not be changed and said that we should be thankful that the trinity have established a sishyaparmpaa because he shuddered to think what would have been the fate of their compositions if it was not so.
Bajanai is not religious rap ,he said and he vastly amused the audience by singing 'vatapi ganapathim' in the manner of rap, to show that what would happen if the tradition is not preserved.
The great souls like Thyagaraja had a glimpse of darsan of the Lord but grieved that others could not see it and we have great kirthanas from them expressing their wish, .Arunagirinathar has asked Muruga to come with all his family members and retinue in 'athalachedanarada.' Similarly Thyagaraja calls everyone to come and have the darsan in 'sriganapathini' and in srirangapanchatrathna etc.
TNS concluded in a light vein by referring to the kakasuravrtthantha mentioned by Thyagaraja and said that kakkapidikkiradhu has its value.but the kaka here is the two protectors, ka,ka, the Lord and the Divine mother.
On the whole the speeches of TNS had been a treat for the rasikas who thronged to the morning sessions if only to hear him speak.As someone remarked, there has never been such a crowd in the mornings, with no one leaving the hall even to have a cup of coffee! TNS also spiced his talks with his singing which added to the joy of the rasikas.One rasika remarked that TNS is setting a precedent for the president of the conference which the succeding ones will struggle to keep up. if they try to follow his example!
Last edited by sarojram18 on 09 Jan 2007, 09:38, edited 1 time in total.
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Thanks Saroja - I was there for the last of the above session as you put it "only to hear him speak" since the topics were otherwise unappealing since I prefer lec-dems which provide some technical insights.
Anyway, it was another revelation of the maestro's genius. This was supposed to be a demonstration on "rare krithis" of Thyagaraja - even someone like SRJ admitted he his ignorance of one of the krithis. Not only was TNS familiar with them, he was actually able to provide a background/observations on almost all of them!
Another instance of his extraordinary perceptiveness was seen when he could immediately relate one of the krithis (I think in Madhyamavati) to the Pallavi of a Papanasam Krithi! "Periyavaal eduvume miccham vekkalai", he said. I don't agree with that entirely - and TNS is probably the last person to be saying something like that - but one had to salute his brilliance.
Anyway, it was another revelation of the maestro's genius. This was supposed to be a demonstration on "rare krithis" of Thyagaraja - even someone like SRJ admitted he his ignorance of one of the krithis. Not only was TNS familiar with them, he was actually able to provide a background/observations on almost all of them!
Another instance of his extraordinary perceptiveness was seen when he could immediately relate one of the krithis (I think in Madhyamavati) to the Pallavi of a Papanasam Krithi! "Periyavaal eduvume miccham vekkalai", he said. I don't agree with that entirely - and TNS is probably the last person to be saying something like that - but one had to salute his brilliance.
I keep wondering whether this Kalanidhi year would have had such an impact on us , without these exchanges here.
Somehow , the full impact of this years SK has opened up in front of our eyes ,though these periodic reviews.
And I can see ignoramus's finger twitching at the thought of SK 2007
No guesses here, for He is a Birthday Boy today !:D
Somehow , the full impact of this years SK has opened up in front of our eyes ,though these periodic reviews.
And I can see ignoramus's finger twitching at the thought of SK 2007
No guesses here, for He is a Birthday Boy today !:D
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sarojaram18
Thanks for the elaborate coverage and the details you have furnished.
It is extremely unlikely that oDeyar had left it to others to chip in with aid.
Thanks for the elaborate coverage and the details you have furnished.
This is factually incorrect. Swami Vivekananda's Chicago trip was sponsored by the Mysore mahArAja oDeyar (KRW-IV I think) and Vivekanada had written a letter of gratitude acknowledging this help. Raja chandra had posted it on the forum earlier. I could not find it. Anyone here please post it. RC- elliddIra?TNS sang the krthi sadhguruswami of Poochi ayyangar in Anandabhairavi . It was. Bhaskara sethupathi, who was instrumental in sending swami Vivekananda to Chicago ,said TNS, was also the cause of Poochi ayyangar to come to pattnam, that is chennai, so called in those days.
It is extremely unlikely that oDeyar had left it to others to chip in with aid.
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vijay
that genre was already there , I thought.
some very big names doing it here

http://rapidshare.com/files/10920705/so ... 1.mp3.html
that genre was already there , I thought.
some very big names doing it here

http://rapidshare.com/files/10920705/so ... 1.mp3.html
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- Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01
Gotcha! Here is the letter to HHJC oDeyar from Vivekananda. I have highlighted the relevant bit.
OUR DUTY TO THE MASSES
(Written from Chicago to H. H. the Maharaja of Mysore on June 23, 1894.)
Shri Nârâyana bless you and yours. Through your Highness' kind help it has been possible for me to come to this country. Since then I have become well known here, and the hospitable people of this country have supplied all my wants. It is a wonderful country, and this is a wonderful nation in many respects. No other nation applies so much machinery in their everyday work as do the people of this country. Everything is machine. Then again, they are only one-twentieth of the whole population of the world. Yet they have fully one-sixth of all the wealth of the world. There is no limit to their wealth and luxuries. Yet everything here is so dear. The wages of labour are the highest in the world; yet the fight between labour and capital is constant.
Nowhere on earth have women so many privileges as in America. They are slowly taking everything into their hands; and, strange to say, the number of cultured women is much greater than that of cultured men. Of course, the higher geniuses are mostly from the rank of males. With all the criticism of the Westerners against our caste, they have a worse one — that of money. The almighty dollar, as the Americans say, can do anything here.
No country on earth has so many laws, and in no country are they so little regarded. On the whole our poor Hindu people are infinitely more moral than any of the Westerners. In religion they practice here either hypocrisy or fanaticism. Sober-minded men have become disgusted with their superstitious religions and are looking forward to India for new light. Your Highness cannot realise without seeing how eagerly they take in any little bit of the grand thoughts of the holy Vedas, which resist and are unharmed by the terrible onslaughts of modern science. The theories of creation out of nothing, of a created soul, and of the big tyrant of a God sitting on a throne in a place called heaven, and of the eternal hell-fires have disgusted all the educated; and the noble thoughts of the Vedas about the eternity of creation and of the soul, and about the God in our own soul, they are imbibing fast in one shape or other. Within fifty years the educated of the world will come to believe in the eternity of both soul and creation, and in God as our highest and perfect nature, as taught in our holy Vedas. Even now their learned priests are interpreting the Bible in that way. My conclusion is that they require more spiritual civilisation, and we, more material.
The one thing that is at the root of all evils in India is the condition of the poor. The poor in the West are devils; compared to them ours are angels, and it is therefore so much the easier to raise our poor. The only service to be done for our lower classes is to give them education, to develop their lost individuality. That is the great task between our people and princes. Up to now nothing has been done in that direction. Priest-power and foreign conquest have trodden them down for centuries, and at last the poor of India have forgotten that they are human beings. They are to be given ideas; their eyes are to be opened to what is going on in the world around them; and then they will work out their own salvation. Every nation, every man and every woman must work out their own salvation. Give them ideas — that is the only help they require, and then the rest must follow as the effect. Ours is to put the chemicals together, the crystallization comes in the law of nature. Our duty is to put ideas into their heads, they will do the rest. This is what is to be done in India. It is this idea that has been in my mind for a long time. I could not accomplish it in India, and that was the reason of my coming to this country. The great difficulty in the way of educating the poor is this. Supposing even your Highness opens a free school in every village, still it would do no good, for the poverty in India is such, that the poor boys would rather go to help their fathers in the fields, or otherwise try to make a living, than come to the school. Now if the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him. There are thousands of single-minded, self-sacrificing Sannyâsins in our own country, going from village to village, teaching religion. If some of them can be organised as teachers of secular things also, they will go from place to place, from door to door, not only preaching, but teaching also. Suppose two of these men go to a village in the evening with a camera, a globe, some maps, etc. They can teach a great deal of astronomy and geography to the ignorant. By telling stories about different nations, they can give the poor a hundred times more information through the ear than they can get in a lifetime through books. This requires an organization, which again means money. Men enough there are in India to work out this plan, but alas! they have no money. It is very difficult to set a wheel in motion; but when once set, it goes on with increasing velocity. After seeking help in my own country and failing to get any sympathy from the rich, I came over to this country through your Highness' aid. The Americans do not care a bit whether the poor of India die or live. And why should they, when our own people never think of anything but their own selfish ends?
My noble Prince, this life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive. One such high, noble-minded, and royal son of India as your Highness can do much towards raising India on her feet again and thus leave a name to posterity which shall be worshipped.
That the Lord may make your noble heart feel intensely for the suffering millions of India, sunk in ignorance, is the prayer of —
VIVEKANANDA
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Ok wise guy. Please check this website and tell me if there is reference to help from anyone else, particularly zamindar of Ramanathapuram.jayaram wrote:This statement doesn't preclude help recd from others. Plus, kings tend to receive more attention than commoners.
http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/ ... _works.htm
All his letters are there.
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Ughhhh!!!coolkarni wrote:vijay
that genre was already there , I thought.
some very big names doing it here
http://rapidshare.com/files/10920705/so ... 1.mp3.html
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- Joined: 27 Dec 2006, 23:17
sorry. I must have heard it wrong and mixed up the names of patrons of Poochi ayyangar and Vivekananda By the way TNS sang Vatapi only at at the end. I called it rap because he referred to the term earlier.I don't know what is rap and I may be wrong again.
Last edited by sarojram18 on 10 Jan 2007, 18:20, edited 1 time in total.