TNS season continues
Review of the concert on 9-3-2007 at Raja annamalaipuram bhakthajanasabha
There was a felicitation to TNS as sangeethakalanidhi before the concert and the function itself started late and the speeches went on and on so that when the concert started it was almost 8pm and TNS had to catch the train at 10.30! He was awarded the title of sangeetha seva siromani by the organisation and he thanked them nicely and mainly the rasikas who have nurtured him and he said that it is a great blessing to be able to appreciate good music .The greatest rasika of all was Srirama himself whom Thyagaraja gave the title (TNS said here is the instance where a man gave title to God ) rasika siromani and that great rasika inspires the musician to sing and the listener to derive joy from his music..It made this rasika to feel that we are indeed blessed by the Lord to be able to hear and understand and experience the joy of listening to such a great genius of music, TNS.
The concert started with the krthi 'sadguru swami' in ritigoula, a composition of Poochi Iyengar on Thyagaraja as it was the first concert during Thyagaraja aradhana celebrated at sringeriparavachana mandapam by that organisation,.Hence all the rest were Thyagaraja krthis.
'Thelisirama' in Poornachandrika that followed was gripping with his racy but beautiful svara, Neraval-svara was at 'rAmayani brahmamulaku peru, and the sahithyabhava itself was not sacrificed for the speed and he brought out the difference in the two usages of the word 'rAma,' one meaning women and another, Srirama, with his expressive way of singing.the sangathis.
The next was a mukhari krthi 'Epanitho,' rarely heard, which was followed by 'sari evvare,' in gangeyabhooshani.The sangathis in 'nagadhara sura,' with akAra were beautiful and followed nocely by the violinist Shertalai Sivakumar. The various inflexions in 'sari evvare' were in keeping with the sahithyabhava.
TNS took up next the Yadukula kambodhi piece , 'heccharigaga ra ra,' and brought out the whole picture of the raga without the alapana, but through the singing of the sahithya itself by hearing which, one could imagine the way it would have been sung by Thyagaraja himself. Surprisingly , may be not so to his rasikas, TNS sang the neraval-svara for this , at 'ninnujoodavacchi bagini.'
After a quick ,'vidamuseyave,' in karaharapriya there was a bhava-laden 'Etijanma' in Varali.which made one exclaim 'Etijanmamihti hA' not to listen to such music forever without break
Then came 'sarsasamadhana,' in Kappinarayani, which was full of the stamp of his excellence everywhere. Long since, this krthi has been adopted by him by sealing it with his mudra and today it was even more explicit. The marks of his special effects were:
1.
1. The first line 'sAti dheyvamamevvare brovave' was split into 'dheyvam evvare' to bring out the meaning clearly and also in anulpallavi, the line was sung as 'paramasambhava agresarundanutsu' and not as 'gresarundanutsu' as it is sometimes sung.
2.In 'Paluku ravanundu theliya leka poye' TNS displayed the anguish that Thyagaraja would have felt that Ravana did not know that Rama was the supreme purusha.
3.'Hithavu matalentho' in the charana showed Rama send message to Ravana with well meaning words, by TNS singing the word 'hithavu mata' with a lot of 'hitha,idham,' and the next line 'Sathavu gana ayodhya nicche nantivi,' where TNS stressed the word 'nicche to bring the meaning that Rama offered even ayodhya to him to bring him to senses.Here this rasika is reminded of the Thyagarajaramayana Harikatha by TNS where he expalned the reason why Thyagaraja said that Rama offered Ayodhya to Ravana. Rama has already promised Lanka rajya to Vibhishana and performed his coronation. But he had Ayodhya within his power as Bharata would offer it to him as soon as he goes back after fourteen years which was drawing to a close.So he thought that it is safe to offer him Ayodhya and keep his word.Then in singing the word 'ragahathamuchesithivi,' the raga flowed like anything through sangathi and in short, the krthi was never heard like this before.
.Last but the best was Saramathi, which was saravathi, full of essence. It flowed like a pravaha of ganga, sometimes like a bindusaras at others like the cataract and became a torrent later, as ir was 9pm and getting late for his journey, and flooded the hearts of the rasikas.When he started 'mokshamu galadha ' it left no doubt in the mind of the rasikas that for only those who worship the Lord by music the moksha is assured, which was emphasised by TNS by singing 'sadbhakthisangitha jnanaviheenulaku mokshamu galadha.' In 'sAkshathkaranee,' one could feel the sakshshatkara of the nadha brahman.
Then TNS sang 'meluko,' in bouli, 'pahi kalyanaram' in kapi and ended the concert with 'srirama jayarama,' inmadhyamavathi.
Shetalai Sivakumar who accompanied on Violin and the veteran accompanist Guruvayur Dorai on the mridangam gave beautiful assistence despite the paucity of time with 100% cooperation.
Others may have had high BP because it was late for him to catch the train but not TNS He took his time to give a full fledged concert within the span of one and a half hour.! An elixir of high potency!
Thus the mini season was concluded gloriously and the next awaited event is on 27th March when TNS is going to do Harikatha on Valmiki ramayana in Hamsadvani for five days. Await day to day reviews of the same.
Veena concert at Hamsadvani on 7-3-2007
TNS started the concert with Anandhabhairavi and the krthi was 'marivere' of Shyama sastri and it was delightful anandha bhairavi.Next was raga alapana in Panthuvarali, the raga with Poorvikalyani, which alternatively finds place in most of his concerts,especially in veena.The krithi was 'apparamabhakthi ' of Thyagaraja with beautiful svaraprasthara, just as he would in his vocal concerts.
After a quick 'sarasasamadhana,' TNS played Hemavathi, doing grahabhedha and the Dikshithar krthi 'srikanthimatheem' with the kalpana svara at 'sukasounakadhi,' as usual. Next was 'sallare rama, ' of Thyagaraja in ahiri, a melodious rendition and the kadhankuthoohala krthi 'raghuvamsasudha ' that followed proved to be off -beaten track and was gamaka oriented and did not sound like playing on a typewriter.
The main raga was bhairavi which was lustrous but soft like the autumn sun, (bhA raveh iva) with the spectrum of colours(ragas) in the thanam, the ragsa being, kedaram,kanada,sahana,subapanthuvarali,begada, hameer kalyani, revathi and surutti. Giving rise to wild guesses as to what would follow next, TNS chose to play the royal krhi of Thyagaraja ,'kolyvaiyunnade.' It was just like hearing him singing and he also sang the pallavi a little as a treat to the rasikas.
The concert ended with a javali in kamas, chinnanjirukiliye of Bharathi and thillana of svathithirunal in dhanasri.
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Monday, March 12, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
TNS season continues
TNS season continues
Concert review -TNS at connoisure's club, Bharathiyavidyabhavan-chennai
0n 6-3-2007
To describe today's concert in one word, it was 'mAttrArai mAttrazikkum sangeetham,' meaning, it was a concert which would have attracted even those who want to criticise his music.The rasikas were led into raptures right from the outset. One should have seen the faces of the rasikas, which were lit with wonder and joy when they left the hall in the end, to believe this.
The flag was hoisted in the very beginning when TNS sang 'dhayajuchudaku' in ganavaridhi, a thyagarajakrthi, after kalyani adathala varna and started his ever ebullient poorvikalyani.The song was 'ekkAlatthilum' of Thiruvrur Ramasami Pillai. The svara was taken up by both TNS and TNS Krishna and was the delight of the rasikas as usual. It was a skilful presentation and MASundaresan also did full justice to the raga on the violin.
The soaring to the height of ecstasy of the rasikas (I was not the only one, there were quite a few around with 'oos and aahs') was however experienced in his singing the raga Suruti which was beyond description.Rasikas were swept off their feet and this is not a bit exaggerated. Such was the Suruti that came from TNS.
I have heard wonderful Suruti from him once before in Meenakshi college in Dec. 2005 and this was a reminder of that marvellous experience.' SuruL suruLAga varum raga alapanai appadiye elloraiyum surutti vittadhu.' The krthi was 'angarakam,' as it wasTuesday and the svara was sung at 'dheenerakshakam' and was fabulous.The violinist did a very good job of it too.
Next was the song by Ambujam Krishna in Suddhadhanyasi, 'Azagaa azagaa,' and it was beautifully rendered true to the words of the song(azagaa azagaa).
Perhaps TNS was still overwhelmed with the bhakthipravaha at the Ksheerasagara hall on 4th, where he performed harikatha on extolling Ramabhakthi, (bhakthipravaha-review of which will follow shortly as I am still struggling to find words to express all that was said within two and a half hours), because he started raga Devagandhari which was followed by the krthi Ksheerasagara.
The waves of Devagandhari swept the place like Tsunami that was welcomed, and one could visualise ksheerasagara even before the krthi was sung.The waves of the raga came in all sizes and shapes preparing the abode of the SunAmi,the thAraka nAmi, the Ksheerasagarasayana.The krithi was beautiful as could be expected and was the main piece and the svara in the end was also like the waves of the ksheerasagara, sweeping and roaring, after which the mridangist K.V.Prasad played thani avarthana which was as skilful as his accompaniment through out.
After the graceful 'Mohanavalli: a piece from azagar kuravanji by Kavi Kunjara Bharathy, TNS started the sloka 'vaidehishitham,' and the surprise which was in store could not have been anticipated by the rasikas who expected the usual short but sweet presentation as it was past 9.30 pm. TNS started to sing the lines as ragamalika, which was also expected but not the way it was sung!
The first line was in Begada, picturing the magestic golden hall, ( haime mahaamandape) and the second line was in Hamsanandi and a wonderful Hamsanandi it was, taken over by Krishna who did a portrait of the raga with exquisite strokes and between both of them it was a paramahamsaanndhi.The way TNS sang the words' manimaye ' in Hamsanandhi he seemed to construct the veerasana (manimaye veerasane sustTHitham) with gems inlaid by his music. ( manigalaal izaitthaarpol).
The next line 'agre vaasayathi prabhanjanasuthe,' was in Brindavanasaranga, which was the description of Hanuman with his humility and then the last line 'vyaakhyaantham bharathaadhibhih parvritham Ramam baje shyaamalam ' was in Sindhubhairavi, which surpassed all expectations. Such a sindhubhairavi it was which made one wonder wherefrom did he pick out all the nuances hitherto hidden from view of all. In singing vyaakhyaantham he made a real vyaakhyaana, elucidation of the raga.It was real Sindhubhairavi, then sindhum, bhaavam sindhum, azagu sindhum Sindhubhairavi, bringing before the mind of a rasika, fired with imagination, the lines of Bharathi, "sindhunadhiyin misai nilavinile" as it was such a pleasant and enjoyable experience as that. TNS did not leave any crevice or nook and corner of the raga unexplored and MASundaresan also did an admirable feat on the violin.
It was then 10.10pm when TNS started the bajan Ramachandraprabhu in Sindhubhairavi by Swathithirunal and ended the concert with the thillana in khamas. Rasikas left feeling that they could have listened to him more despite the late hour
Concert review -TNS at connoisure's club, Bharathiyavidyabhavan-chennai
0n 6-3-2007
To describe today's concert in one word, it was 'mAttrArai mAttrazikkum sangeetham,' meaning, it was a concert which would have attracted even those who want to criticise his music.The rasikas were led into raptures right from the outset. One should have seen the faces of the rasikas, which were lit with wonder and joy when they left the hall in the end, to believe this.
The flag was hoisted in the very beginning when TNS sang 'dhayajuchudaku' in ganavaridhi, a thyagarajakrthi, after kalyani adathala varna and started his ever ebullient poorvikalyani.The song was 'ekkAlatthilum' of Thiruvrur Ramasami Pillai. The svara was taken up by both TNS and TNS Krishna and was the delight of the rasikas as usual. It was a skilful presentation and MASundaresan also did full justice to the raga on the violin.
The soaring to the height of ecstasy of the rasikas (I was not the only one, there were quite a few around with 'oos and aahs') was however experienced in his singing the raga Suruti which was beyond description.Rasikas were swept off their feet and this is not a bit exaggerated. Such was the Suruti that came from TNS.
I have heard wonderful Suruti from him once before in Meenakshi college in Dec. 2005 and this was a reminder of that marvellous experience.' SuruL suruLAga varum raga alapanai appadiye elloraiyum surutti vittadhu.' The krthi was 'angarakam,' as it wasTuesday and the svara was sung at 'dheenerakshakam' and was fabulous.The violinist did a very good job of it too.
Next was the song by Ambujam Krishna in Suddhadhanyasi, 'Azagaa azagaa,' and it was beautifully rendered true to the words of the song(azagaa azagaa).
Perhaps TNS was still overwhelmed with the bhakthipravaha at the Ksheerasagara hall on 4th, where he performed harikatha on extolling Ramabhakthi, (bhakthipravaha-review of which will follow shortly as I am still struggling to find words to express all that was said within two and a half hours), because he started raga Devagandhari which was followed by the krthi Ksheerasagara.
The waves of Devagandhari swept the place like Tsunami that was welcomed, and one could visualise ksheerasagara even before the krthi was sung.The waves of the raga came in all sizes and shapes preparing the abode of the SunAmi,the thAraka nAmi, the Ksheerasagarasayana.The krithi was beautiful as could be expected and was the main piece and the svara in the end was also like the waves of the ksheerasagara, sweeping and roaring, after which the mridangist K.V.Prasad played thani avarthana which was as skilful as his accompaniment through out.
After the graceful 'Mohanavalli: a piece from azagar kuravanji by Kavi Kunjara Bharathy, TNS started the sloka 'vaidehishitham,' and the surprise which was in store could not have been anticipated by the rasikas who expected the usual short but sweet presentation as it was past 9.30 pm. TNS started to sing the lines as ragamalika, which was also expected but not the way it was sung!
The first line was in Begada, picturing the magestic golden hall, ( haime mahaamandape) and the second line was in Hamsanandi and a wonderful Hamsanandi it was, taken over by Krishna who did a portrait of the raga with exquisite strokes and between both of them it was a paramahamsaanndhi.The way TNS sang the words' manimaye ' in Hamsanandhi he seemed to construct the veerasana (manimaye veerasane sustTHitham) with gems inlaid by his music. ( manigalaal izaitthaarpol).
The next line 'agre vaasayathi prabhanjanasuthe,' was in Brindavanasaranga, which was the description of Hanuman with his humility and then the last line 'vyaakhyaantham bharathaadhibhih parvritham Ramam baje shyaamalam ' was in Sindhubhairavi, which surpassed all expectations. Such a sindhubhairavi it was which made one wonder wherefrom did he pick out all the nuances hitherto hidden from view of all. In singing vyaakhyaantham he made a real vyaakhyaana, elucidation of the raga.It was real Sindhubhairavi, then sindhum, bhaavam sindhum, azagu sindhum Sindhubhairavi, bringing before the mind of a rasika, fired with imagination, the lines of Bharathi, "sindhunadhiyin misai nilavinile" as it was such a pleasant and enjoyable experience as that. TNS did not leave any crevice or nook and corner of the raga unexplored and MASundaresan also did an admirable feat on the violin.
It was then 10.10pm when TNS started the bajan Ramachandraprabhu in Sindhubhairavi by Swathithirunal and ended the concert with the thillana in khamas. Rasikas left feeling that they could have listened to him more despite the late hour
TNS season continues
Bakthipravaha-Harikatha on 4-3-2007
by MaduraiTNSeshagopalan
at Ksheerasagara hall VillivAakkam
From the beginning till the end it was bhakthipravaha in the ksheerasagara hall, the aptness of the topic in accordance with the name of the hall was remarked by TNS himself later during the harikatha . Devotion coursed through the discourse and music flowed as a pravaha, making the place a veritable ksheerasagara, in which the rasikas took a holy dip on the day of Lunar eclipse.
TNS was assisted by Varadan on the Mridangam and Ananthakrishnan on the violin.The former is a seasoned accompanist to TNS in his Harikathas and did a good job of it keenly observant and followed him closely which is not an easy task since TNS would suddenly lapse into viruttham style while singing a song and come back to the song again, all of which needed alertness on the part of the mridangist.Anantha Krishnan also interposed with suitable interludes according to the mood of the music, enhancing the bhava.
'Kalou nAmasankirthanam.' The easiest way to attain salvation in the kaliyuga has been laid out in Srimadbhagavatham and it is namasankirthanam, singing the glory of the Lord. The more strenous modes of performing yajna, doing penance etc. are out of questiioon in this age of kali, chitthasuddhi.TNS sang few lines from the Purandaradasa krthi 'harinarayana' where he says that the nama alone protected Prahlada, Gajendra, Ajamila and the rest and there is no need for homa,japa or thapa. Not only the Lord hastens for protection when his name is uttered in anguish but also presents Himself wherever His devotees are singing. TNS said that the Lord comes and stands in front leaving vaikunta or the hearts of the yogis where He normally resides, quoting the sloka 'nAham vasAmi vaikuntE a yOgihrdhayE ravou, madbhakthA yathra gAyanthi thathr thishTAmi nAradha.'.The rasikas could immediately feel the presence of the Lord there,as if to prove these words.
TNS further extolled the efficacy of Ramanama which was narrated by Lord Siva himself to Parvathi who asked him 'kEnopAyEna laghuna,' by what means the thousand names of Hari can be chanted and he answered that the Ramanama is equivalent to the thousand names of Hari.It is easy to pronounce, no knowledge of sanskrit is even necessary in order not to mispronounce the letters. The letter 'rA' when uttered the mouth opens and all the sins go out and saying 'ma ' the mouth closes not allowing new ones to come in. Not that one should worry about correct pronounciation because the lord cares only for bhakthia and not knowledge as the story that even the one who said 'maraprabhu' instead of 'amaraprbhu' was bkessed as the Lord appeared in a tree for him.
TNS sang the verse from Kamban 'Nanmaiyum selvamum nAlum nalgumE-----immaiyE irAma enru irandezutthinAl.' and cited the verse 'nAdiya poruL kaikoodum jnAnamum----rAman thoLvali kooruvOrkkE,' and said one will get wealth as well as wisdom by chanting ramanama and eulogising his valour, meaning that the two are not mutually exclusive. He also sang few lines from Thyagarajakrthi 'dhyAnamE varamaina gangAsnAnamE,' in Dhanyasi, and jocularly remarked that Thyagaraja has shown in this krthi that Ramanama can be chanted any time by demonstrating by a long sangathi in the word sriraaaaa madhyAname, which looks as 'madhyaname varamaina' , that is, for Ramadhyana , madhyana, noon is the best! TNS explained the 'nanmaiyum selvamum ' as not only wealth but also mukthi is given by Ramanama 'Janmamum maraNamum inri theerumE.' Wealth is needed in this world' poruLilArkku ivulagam illai ,' and the divine grace in the next 'arulilArkku avvulagam illai' and saying thus TNS quipped that it is the general impression in these days that poruL ilArkku evvulagamum illai. The words 'nAdia poruL kaikoodum ' has been proven to be true in the case of Vibheeshana and Sugreeva, said TNS, the former wanted only the aruL and the latter wished for the poruL and they had both. Jatayu who did not wish for anything had the great boon of getting the last rites performed by Rama and attained salvation unasked.
Kamban refers to Rama as irukai vEzam, an elephant with two arms (usually the trunk of the elephant is called as its kara and hence it has only one arm) and TNS aid that after pondering on the expression he came to the plausible reason of Kamban for doing so. The elephant is strong enough to uproot a tree by its trunk but with the same trunk it can lift even a child gently and put him on its back. Similarly Rama has the valour to vanquish the whole army with his arms but to those who surrender to him the same arms provide protection. If one touches the feet of this elephant, said TNS< it will lift him and place him in its head.TNS also gave a beautiful explanation as to why the elephant puts mud on its head after bath. The earth is sanctified by the Lord by walking on it in all His avatharas and the elephant wants to sprinkle the dust of His feet on its head.
Lord coming to the rescue of Gajendra has been acclaimed by the devotee composers like the azvars, said TNS, quoting Periazvar thirumozi ' thuppudaiyArai adaivadhellAm sOrvidatthutthunai Avarenre oppilEnAgilum ninnai adaindhEn Anaikku nee aruL seidhamaiyAL,' meaning "I have taken refuge in you even though I don't deserve it because you have showered your grace even to an elephant." TNS also gave a plausible reason as to why the crocodile caught the leg of the elephant. Gajendra was chanting the name of Narayana all the time and the sweetness of the nama permeated through the whole body and the leg was as sweet as the rest of the body and also because the crocodile knew the secret that catching the feet of the bhAgavatha will ensure the arrival of the Bhagavan.He also said in a lighter vein that the elephant belonged to Taminadu (it was the king of Pandyanadu in its previous birth) and shouted 'mudhalE, mudhalE' in tamil and the Lord came proving that even unconsciously uttering His name will secure His protection!
That Rama was none other than the Lord Narayana who is the origin of everything,'Adhimoolam,' was known to Vasishta who named him thus, said TNS,quoting Kamban, 'karA malaiya thaLar kaikkari eiytthE, "arAvaNaiyil thuyilvOY ena," annAL virAvi, aLittharuL meipporuLukkE, "irAman enappeyar eendhanan anrE.' Vasishta gave the name Ram to the one who is the supreme reality who came and protected the elephant that called Him as the one who sleeps on the bed of Adhisesha.
TNS delighted the rasikas by singing the Purandhara dasa krthi 'rAmamanthrava japisO,' in Jonpuri and also sang few lines from the Thyagarajakrthi 'sangithasatrajnanamu' in mukhari where it ia said that the singing of Ramakatha will give rise to devotion, bring the benediction and affection of the good., the grace of the Lord, and also, fame and riches.' premabhakthi sujanavAthsalyamu sreemadramAvarakatAkshamu nEma nishta yaSodhanamosangunE.' The real wealth is not of money but the wealth of bhakthi as affirmed by Thyagaraja in his krthi 'nidhitsAla sukhamA,' who says 'dhAsarathi dhyAb nabajana sudhArasa mu sukhamA.' TNS sang the word 'dAsarathi' in different ways to show Rama in many forms, as a veera, as a king and as the beloved of Sita etc.
Thyagaraja has clearly said that the avathara of Rama was not for killing Ravana but only for the protection of the devotees in his krthi 'Sriraghukula" in Hamsadvani, said TNS by the words 'paramabhakthulanu pAlanamu seyu' and TNS sang the Bharathiar's composition 'bhakthiyinale,' in Bilahari to show that through bhakthi one can achieve mukthi and also sang the firstline of 'mokshamugaladha' of Thyagaraja which conveys the same meaning. Next he sang the pasuram of Peyazvar, 'paarkadalum veEnkatamum-----irum ndhAr amnamum idamAgakkondan,' in Ahiri.
Rama is common to both saiva and vaishnava tradition, said TNS, because it the name is the combination of the two manthras , the panchakshara and ashtakshara , as explained by Thyagaraja, in his krthi 'Evarani.' Thyagaraja says 'sivamanthramulanu ra jeevanu mAdhavamanthramulanu ma jeevanu' and the name Rama is got by combining the two and TNS sang the lines.
The idea that Siva and Vishnu are one is also found in the pasuram by Thirumangai azvar who says that the leg which kicked the god of death for the sake of Markandeya was that of Vishnu who forms the left part of Siva in his manifestation of sankaranarayanan. TNS said this is justified because Siva who has ordained that Markandeya will live for sixteen years cannot go back on hss words when Yama was only obeying his command and it was the leg of Vishnu, the protector, which saved Markandeya..
Vali knew before he died that Rama was Narayana Himself as soon as he saw the ramanama on the arrow.'mummai SAl ulagukkellAmmoolamandhiratthai------rAman ennum Semmai ser namamthannai kangalil theriyakkandAn.'
Anjaneya told Ravana who Rama was,said TNS and sang the verse from Kamban 'moolamum naduvum eerum illadhu-----kAranan kaivilEndhi soolamum thigiri sangum karakamum thurandhu----ayOddhi vandhAn.'
What followed next was a feast for the rasikas because TNS sang a number of songs , ofcourse some in full,some in parts, to extoll the namasankirthana and devotion The songs were, 'kElathi mama hrdhaye' and 'bajana seya rAdha ' in AtAna,'bajanaseyave' in kalyani, rambhakthi chesina in begada, from Thyagaraja ramasumara, in rakesri, chod dhiya, of kabeer, Purandaradasa krthis ramaramarama ,in vasantha,ramanamapAyasage in anandhabhairavi and dAsachee sampathi of Samartha Ramadas.
Next was the krthi 'seethamma mAyamma,' of Thyagaraja where he says that he has Sita as the mother and Rama as the father and Hanuman,Lakshmana , bharatha, Garuda and Jambavan are his briothers and the relatives are Prmesvara, vasishta ,Narada etc.Here TNS expounded the glory of the Divine mother,Sita. He said that Kakasura was saved because of the glance KatAksha, of Sitawhich made Rama merciful, even though he committed unpardonable sin against her..Marica got mukthi because of her glance , being killed by Rama,for which purpose only Sita adamently asked for the deer.The episode of Vibheeshana also proves only her mercy, TNS said, because she would have glanced when he flew through the sky and was pointed out by his daughter who was in the asokavana. Due to her kataksha only he got the lanka samrajya as a reward for his bhakthi and also been accepted as seventh brother of Rama 'ninnOdum ezuvar AnOm,' as mentioned by Kamban, though he wanted only the feet of Rama placed on his head to destroy the sin of being born as the briother of Ravana, 'kalviyal arakkan pinnE thonriya kadmai theers ilaiyavarkavittha moli ennaiyum kavitthi enrAn.'
TNS explained the action of Rama in accepting Vibheeshana saying 'ninnodum ezuvar Anom,' beautifully with referenc to The Thyagarajakrthi, 'nAdhasudhArasambilanu,' where Rama is desribed as the personification of nadhasudha, the nectar of music, being the source of veda, purana and agama sastra,. his bow is the raga, the saptha svaras are the bells on his bow etc.TNS gave the reason as to why Rama accepted seven brothers, saying that since he was the nadha itself the seven notes became the seven brothers.
Ramadasa when he was imprisoned secured the mercy of Rama only after entreating to Sita and TNS sang the composition of Ramadasa 'nannu brovu' in Kalyani. Ranadasa tells Sita "why don't you l plead my case when you are alone with him at the time of sleep?" When he is dozing off, TNS explained, he would not have remembered the wrong done by the devotees and may nod his head agreeing to what she says.
TNS then referred to the hall which is named as ksheerasagara hall and said he had to honour it and sang 'ksheerasagarasayana' of Thyagaraja in devagandhari. and then elucidated on the lakshana of Harikatha.He said a harikatha must have, according to kirthana sampradhayam,sanskrit, music,and songs in all languages, knowledge and eloquence, as found in the harikaha of Maha vidvans . Otherwise, he quipped , it will be a hurry-katha.
Then TNS extolled the thiruvadi of rama by singing the line 'SriramapAdhamA,' displaying the thiruvadi in different aspects, walking, lifting (as Thrivikrama) and enjoying the tender caress by Sita. TNS also sang the krthi 'pakkalanilapadi,' in which Thyagarja enumerates the different ways of worship, 'thanuvuche vandana, physically bowing down,,namakirthana, manasuna thalach mai marchi, meditating in the mind,,'etc.TNS sang the whole song as a viruttha thus bring out the beauty of the lyric.
He also sang the krthi 'enthanine varninchunu sabaribhagya,' in mukhari where Thyagaraja describes how Sabari served Rama, 'kanulara sevinchi, drinking him with her eyes,kammaniphalamula nosaki, giving him delicious fruits tanuvupulakarincha, experiencing the horipulation and padhayugamu mrokki, worshipping his feet,' as a result of whcih she attained punarAvrtthi rahitha padham, the state of non-return to this world again.
TNS outlined the Rama bhakthi samrajya, as described by Thyagaraja, and portrayed the romAmcha, horipulation through his singing the line 'rOmAnchamane ghanakanchukamu,' in a picturesque manner.He also sang 'Apparambhakthi,' in Panthuvarali, which shows the glory of devotion that enabled the monkeys to cross the ocean, gave power to Svayamprabha and made yasodha tie Krishna to the mortar. Finally, Ramakatha is able to do everything to the listener as well as to the narrator, and the state of bhakthi unlike that of mukthi which is desvribed as 'kandavar vindilar vindavar kandilar,' is expressible but has to be experienced to know the bliss, 'eelAgani vivvarimplenu tsAla svAnubhava vEdhyamE' as declared by Thyagaraja in his krthi "'ramabhakthi samrajya.' TNS concluded by saying that everyone should get the namarasAnubhava by singing the names of the Lord.
by MaduraiTNSeshagopalan
at Ksheerasagara hall VillivAakkam
From the beginning till the end it was bhakthipravaha in the ksheerasagara hall, the aptness of the topic in accordance with the name of the hall was remarked by TNS himself later during the harikatha . Devotion coursed through the discourse and music flowed as a pravaha, making the place a veritable ksheerasagara, in which the rasikas took a holy dip on the day of Lunar eclipse.
TNS was assisted by Varadan on the Mridangam and Ananthakrishnan on the violin.The former is a seasoned accompanist to TNS in his Harikathas and did a good job of it keenly observant and followed him closely which is not an easy task since TNS would suddenly lapse into viruttham style while singing a song and come back to the song again, all of which needed alertness on the part of the mridangist.Anantha Krishnan also interposed with suitable interludes according to the mood of the music, enhancing the bhava.
'Kalou nAmasankirthanam.' The easiest way to attain salvation in the kaliyuga has been laid out in Srimadbhagavatham and it is namasankirthanam, singing the glory of the Lord. The more strenous modes of performing yajna, doing penance etc. are out of questiioon in this age of kali, chitthasuddhi.TNS sang few lines from the Purandaradasa krthi 'harinarayana' where he says that the nama alone protected Prahlada, Gajendra, Ajamila and the rest and there is no need for homa,japa or thapa. Not only the Lord hastens for protection when his name is uttered in anguish but also presents Himself wherever His devotees are singing. TNS said that the Lord comes and stands in front leaving vaikunta or the hearts of the yogis where He normally resides, quoting the sloka 'nAham vasAmi vaikuntE a yOgihrdhayE ravou, madbhakthA yathra gAyanthi thathr thishTAmi nAradha.'.The rasikas could immediately feel the presence of the Lord there,as if to prove these words.
TNS further extolled the efficacy of Ramanama which was narrated by Lord Siva himself to Parvathi who asked him 'kEnopAyEna laghuna,' by what means the thousand names of Hari can be chanted and he answered that the Ramanama is equivalent to the thousand names of Hari.It is easy to pronounce, no knowledge of sanskrit is even necessary in order not to mispronounce the letters. The letter 'rA' when uttered the mouth opens and all the sins go out and saying 'ma ' the mouth closes not allowing new ones to come in. Not that one should worry about correct pronounciation because the lord cares only for bhakthia and not knowledge as the story that even the one who said 'maraprabhu' instead of 'amaraprbhu' was bkessed as the Lord appeared in a tree for him.
TNS sang the verse from Kamban 'Nanmaiyum selvamum nAlum nalgumE-----immaiyE irAma enru irandezutthinAl.' and cited the verse 'nAdiya poruL kaikoodum jnAnamum----rAman thoLvali kooruvOrkkE,' and said one will get wealth as well as wisdom by chanting ramanama and eulogising his valour, meaning that the two are not mutually exclusive. He also sang few lines from Thyagarajakrthi 'dhyAnamE varamaina gangAsnAnamE,' in Dhanyasi, and jocularly remarked that Thyagaraja has shown in this krthi that Ramanama can be chanted any time by demonstrating by a long sangathi in the word sriraaaaa madhyAname, which looks as 'madhyaname varamaina' , that is, for Ramadhyana , madhyana, noon is the best! TNS explained the 'nanmaiyum selvamum ' as not only wealth but also mukthi is given by Ramanama 'Janmamum maraNamum inri theerumE.' Wealth is needed in this world' poruLilArkku ivulagam illai ,' and the divine grace in the next 'arulilArkku avvulagam illai' and saying thus TNS quipped that it is the general impression in these days that poruL ilArkku evvulagamum illai. The words 'nAdia poruL kaikoodum ' has been proven to be true in the case of Vibheeshana and Sugreeva, said TNS, the former wanted only the aruL and the latter wished for the poruL and they had both. Jatayu who did not wish for anything had the great boon of getting the last rites performed by Rama and attained salvation unasked.
Kamban refers to Rama as irukai vEzam, an elephant with two arms (usually the trunk of the elephant is called as its kara and hence it has only one arm) and TNS aid that after pondering on the expression he came to the plausible reason of Kamban for doing so. The elephant is strong enough to uproot a tree by its trunk but with the same trunk it can lift even a child gently and put him on its back. Similarly Rama has the valour to vanquish the whole army with his arms but to those who surrender to him the same arms provide protection. If one touches the feet of this elephant, said TNS< it will lift him and place him in its head.TNS also gave a beautiful explanation as to why the elephant puts mud on its head after bath. The earth is sanctified by the Lord by walking on it in all His avatharas and the elephant wants to sprinkle the dust of His feet on its head.
Lord coming to the rescue of Gajendra has been acclaimed by the devotee composers like the azvars, said TNS, quoting Periazvar thirumozi ' thuppudaiyArai adaivadhellAm sOrvidatthutthunai Avarenre oppilEnAgilum ninnai adaindhEn Anaikku nee aruL seidhamaiyAL,' meaning "I have taken refuge in you even though I don't deserve it because you have showered your grace even to an elephant." TNS also gave a plausible reason as to why the crocodile caught the leg of the elephant. Gajendra was chanting the name of Narayana all the time and the sweetness of the nama permeated through the whole body and the leg was as sweet as the rest of the body and also because the crocodile knew the secret that catching the feet of the bhAgavatha will ensure the arrival of the Bhagavan.He also said in a lighter vein that the elephant belonged to Taminadu (it was the king of Pandyanadu in its previous birth) and shouted 'mudhalE, mudhalE' in tamil and the Lord came proving that even unconsciously uttering His name will secure His protection!
That Rama was none other than the Lord Narayana who is the origin of everything,'Adhimoolam,' was known to Vasishta who named him thus, said TNS,quoting Kamban, 'karA malaiya thaLar kaikkari eiytthE, "arAvaNaiyil thuyilvOY ena," annAL virAvi, aLittharuL meipporuLukkE, "irAman enappeyar eendhanan anrE.' Vasishta gave the name Ram to the one who is the supreme reality who came and protected the elephant that called Him as the one who sleeps on the bed of Adhisesha.
TNS delighted the rasikas by singing the Purandhara dasa krthi 'rAmamanthrava japisO,' in Jonpuri and also sang few lines from the Thyagarajakrthi 'sangithasatrajnanamu' in mukhari where it ia said that the singing of Ramakatha will give rise to devotion, bring the benediction and affection of the good., the grace of the Lord, and also, fame and riches.' premabhakthi sujanavAthsalyamu sreemadramAvarakatAkshamu nEma nishta yaSodhanamosangunE.' The real wealth is not of money but the wealth of bhakthi as affirmed by Thyagaraja in his krthi 'nidhitsAla sukhamA,' who says 'dhAsarathi dhyAb nabajana sudhArasa mu sukhamA.' TNS sang the word 'dAsarathi' in different ways to show Rama in many forms, as a veera, as a king and as the beloved of Sita etc.
Thyagaraja has clearly said that the avathara of Rama was not for killing Ravana but only for the protection of the devotees in his krthi 'Sriraghukula" in Hamsadvani, said TNS by the words 'paramabhakthulanu pAlanamu seyu' and TNS sang the Bharathiar's composition 'bhakthiyinale,' in Bilahari to show that through bhakthi one can achieve mukthi and also sang the firstline of 'mokshamugaladha' of Thyagaraja which conveys the same meaning. Next he sang the pasuram of Peyazvar, 'paarkadalum veEnkatamum-----irum ndhAr amnamum idamAgakkondan,' in Ahiri.
Rama is common to both saiva and vaishnava tradition, said TNS, because it the name is the combination of the two manthras , the panchakshara and ashtakshara , as explained by Thyagaraja, in his krthi 'Evarani.' Thyagaraja says 'sivamanthramulanu ra jeevanu mAdhavamanthramulanu ma jeevanu' and the name Rama is got by combining the two and TNS sang the lines.
The idea that Siva and Vishnu are one is also found in the pasuram by Thirumangai azvar who says that the leg which kicked the god of death for the sake of Markandeya was that of Vishnu who forms the left part of Siva in his manifestation of sankaranarayanan. TNS said this is justified because Siva who has ordained that Markandeya will live for sixteen years cannot go back on hss words when Yama was only obeying his command and it was the leg of Vishnu, the protector, which saved Markandeya..
Vali knew before he died that Rama was Narayana Himself as soon as he saw the ramanama on the arrow.'mummai SAl ulagukkellAmmoolamandhiratthai------rAman ennum Semmai ser namamthannai kangalil theriyakkandAn.'
Anjaneya told Ravana who Rama was,said TNS and sang the verse from Kamban 'moolamum naduvum eerum illadhu-----kAranan kaivilEndhi soolamum thigiri sangum karakamum thurandhu----ayOddhi vandhAn.'
What followed next was a feast for the rasikas because TNS sang a number of songs , ofcourse some in full,some in parts, to extoll the namasankirthana and devotion The songs were, 'kElathi mama hrdhaye' and 'bajana seya rAdha ' in AtAna,'bajanaseyave' in kalyani, rambhakthi chesina in begada, from Thyagaraja ramasumara, in rakesri, chod dhiya, of kabeer, Purandaradasa krthis ramaramarama ,in vasantha,ramanamapAyasage in anandhabhairavi and dAsachee sampathi of Samartha Ramadas.
Next was the krthi 'seethamma mAyamma,' of Thyagaraja where he says that he has Sita as the mother and Rama as the father and Hanuman,Lakshmana , bharatha, Garuda and Jambavan are his briothers and the relatives are Prmesvara, vasishta ,Narada etc.Here TNS expounded the glory of the Divine mother,Sita. He said that Kakasura was saved because of the glance KatAksha, of Sitawhich made Rama merciful, even though he committed unpardonable sin against her..Marica got mukthi because of her glance , being killed by Rama,for which purpose only Sita adamently asked for the deer.The episode of Vibheeshana also proves only her mercy, TNS said, because she would have glanced when he flew through the sky and was pointed out by his daughter who was in the asokavana. Due to her kataksha only he got the lanka samrajya as a reward for his bhakthi and also been accepted as seventh brother of Rama 'ninnOdum ezuvar AnOm,' as mentioned by Kamban, though he wanted only the feet of Rama placed on his head to destroy the sin of being born as the briother of Ravana, 'kalviyal arakkan pinnE thonriya kadmai theers ilaiyavarkavittha moli ennaiyum kavitthi enrAn.'
TNS explained the action of Rama in accepting Vibheeshana saying 'ninnodum ezuvar Anom,' beautifully with referenc to The Thyagarajakrthi, 'nAdhasudhArasambilanu,' where Rama is desribed as the personification of nadhasudha, the nectar of music, being the source of veda, purana and agama sastra,. his bow is the raga, the saptha svaras are the bells on his bow etc.TNS gave the reason as to why Rama accepted seven brothers, saying that since he was the nadha itself the seven notes became the seven brothers.
Ramadasa when he was imprisoned secured the mercy of Rama only after entreating to Sita and TNS sang the composition of Ramadasa 'nannu brovu' in Kalyani. Ranadasa tells Sita "why don't you l plead my case when you are alone with him at the time of sleep?" When he is dozing off, TNS explained, he would not have remembered the wrong done by the devotees and may nod his head agreeing to what she says.
TNS then referred to the hall which is named as ksheerasagara hall and said he had to honour it and sang 'ksheerasagarasayana' of Thyagaraja in devagandhari. and then elucidated on the lakshana of Harikatha.He said a harikatha must have, according to kirthana sampradhayam,sanskrit, music,and songs in all languages, knowledge and eloquence, as found in the harikaha of Maha vidvans . Otherwise, he quipped , it will be a hurry-katha.
Then TNS extolled the thiruvadi of rama by singing the line 'SriramapAdhamA,' displaying the thiruvadi in different aspects, walking, lifting (as Thrivikrama) and enjoying the tender caress by Sita. TNS also sang the krthi 'pakkalanilapadi,' in which Thyagarja enumerates the different ways of worship, 'thanuvuche vandana, physically bowing down,,namakirthana, manasuna thalach mai marchi, meditating in the mind,,'etc.TNS sang the whole song as a viruttha thus bring out the beauty of the lyric.
He also sang the krthi 'enthanine varninchunu sabaribhagya,' in mukhari where Thyagaraja describes how Sabari served Rama, 'kanulara sevinchi, drinking him with her eyes,kammaniphalamula nosaki, giving him delicious fruits tanuvupulakarincha, experiencing the horipulation and padhayugamu mrokki, worshipping his feet,' as a result of whcih she attained punarAvrtthi rahitha padham, the state of non-return to this world again.
TNS outlined the Rama bhakthi samrajya, as described by Thyagaraja, and portrayed the romAmcha, horipulation through his singing the line 'rOmAnchamane ghanakanchukamu,' in a picturesque manner.He also sang 'Apparambhakthi,' in Panthuvarali, which shows the glory of devotion that enabled the monkeys to cross the ocean, gave power to Svayamprabha and made yasodha tie Krishna to the mortar. Finally, Ramakatha is able to do everything to the listener as well as to the narrator, and the state of bhakthi unlike that of mukthi which is desvribed as 'kandavar vindilar vindavar kandilar,' is expressible but has to be experienced to know the bliss, 'eelAgani vivvarimplenu tsAla svAnubhava vEdhyamE' as declared by Thyagaraja in his krthi "'ramabhakthi samrajya.' TNS concluded by saying that everyone should get the namarasAnubhava by singing the names of the Lord.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Mini season for TNS rasikas
Review of rasika_tns of the concerts of TNSeshagopalan
A mini season for TNS rasikas
A welcome off- season shower of music for the rasikas of TNSeshagopalan for four days! A shower is pleasant at any time that too if it rains honey and sugar! It was a feast for four days as in the marriages celebrated in olden days(nAlunAL kalyaNam)
Concert on24-2-2007at Hamsadvani
It was Dikshithar Day at Hamsadvani and there were all rasikas favourites featured in the concert. Sri Mahaganapathi in Goula was presented with beautiful svaras which was followed by Sankachakra in Poornachandika. Next was Anadhabhairavi with masterly strokes and proved to be a real anandha bhairavi as usual.The krti was 'Kamalamba samrakshathu mam ' one of the kamalamba navavarana.
TNS started Kumudakriya and while he was exploring the nuances of the raga the lights went off and so did the micraphone! This did not deterr TNS as his rasikas knew well, and he continued his heavenly alapana in the darkness and it was really an experience. There was pin-drop silence in the auditorium and the voice of TNS could be heard clearly because it is not mike-voice but mayakku- voice (with due apology to TNS for borrowing his own words) and there was loud applause when he finished.The current came only after he finished the krthi in Kumudakriya, Arddhanaareesvaaram and almost finished singing the next one also, Sri rajagopala in saveri.
Nagagandhari that followed was sparkling (lights came on then!) and he sang 'sarasijanabhasodhari.' Next was vasantha with the krthi "Hariharaputhram.' What followed next was the exotic feast of the day , the Brindavana saranga . There was real brindavanam with all the features described by Vedanttadesika in Yadhavabhyudhaya being present there, agaadhakaasaaram, deep lakes, maheenasashpam, thick vegetation, atheekshnasooryam, soft sun light, achandavaatham, pleasant wind etc.,abounding in all kinds of saranga,(Brindavane saarangaah), the bees, antelopes, lions and elephants, finally ending with the picture of the bow(Saranga) in the hands of Lord Soundararaja. Word fail me to describe the raga Brindavanasaranga expounded by TNS then.
Ambaneelayathakshi, another of the rasikas' favourites followed next and the main piece was Bharavi, Balagopala. The raga and the svara contained all the splendour as could be expected with TNS and the krthi had the extraordinary sweetness and beauty of neelaneeradha sarira of Lord Krishna.
The end piece was marked by 'anandhamrtha varshini ' and srivenkatagirisam in suruti and the concert ended with srikamalambike in sriragam.
The concert was a spectacular prism of three sangithakalanidhis,TNS,VR and MC.
Concert on 25-2-2007 at Mylapore Fine arts
The concert was arranged by YACD and TNS sang on the first day of their Tamiz isai festival.The speeches were going on and on making the everyone restless and the best and only relished speech was that of TNS in the end. He reiterated his stand that isai has no barriers of language or region. Thamiz isai , as defined by him, is tamizarin isai, tamizaraal valarkkappatta isai, which denotes carnatic music as a whole. The word Carnatic, he said means ancient and not belongng to any region.A good musician is one who touches the heart of the rasikas through his music irrespective of the sahithya which only adds to the flavour, only if, the musician has already established a rapport with his music.He said that he has been requested to sing Thyagaraja krthis even in the other states where the people do not understand the language and know only one word such as pakkala or evarani etc.He mentioned that when he went to Andhra he inadvertently started the Tamil composition 'ammaiyappa' which was well received inspite of the words not being understood. Similarly they asked him to sing 'kakkai cchiraginile' by saying only the word 'kakkai' TNS also said that there is no language present in raga alapana which is enjoyed by all as well as (if not more than) the song itself.This rasika cannot help feeling that such a comment on music is befitting and authentic coming from such a maestro of music as he is capable of producing navarasa with his raga alapana alone.
The concert started with the lyric of Subramania Bharathiar a viruttham,in beautifully expounded Nattai and the song 'ganapathi thaLai' in the same raga. Next was a composition of kavi kunjarabharathi, 'sami mayuragiri vadivela' in khamas. Poorvikalyani was the next raga which is one among the precious gems studded in the garland of TNS's music.It was delightul as usual and the thaniyans in praise of Andal, which usually he sings before any thiruppavai gave a clue as to what is following, that is 'koodarai vellum,'
the 27th thiruppavai.The thaniyan that begins with 'pathakangal theerkkum' which ends as 'kodhai thamiz ariyadha manidarai vaiyam sumappadhum vambu.' was delivered with gusto and expression that could be found only with TNS.
He adopted the technique of 'kondukootti' in that connecting the words as 'thamiz ariyadha, padhakangal theerkkum kodhai thamiz ,paramanadi kattum kodhai thamiz,vedam anaitthukkum vitthagum kodhaithamiz etc which emphasises the bhakthi aspect that cannot be dissociated from music and Thamiz, and the message is very clear.Besides, in the line 'Kodhai thamiz ariyaadha maanidarai vaiyam sumappadhum vambu,' TNS presented a vivid picture of the word 'sumappadhum' to show the burden on the earth by different inflexions in singing. The same technique in the pasuram also in singing the words 'paadipparaikonduYam peru sanmanam' and 'nadu pugazum parisil' reflected in the mind of rasikas the wide renown attained by TNS himself through sheer merit and the grace of the Lord through his nadhopasana(paadipparaikondu).
The next raga was sahana which was presented with its full grace and the composition of Vallalar 'thadittha or maganai thandhai aditthaal' in which the line 'aditthadhu podhum anaitthidal vendum' usually sung by TNS brings tears to the eyes of rasikas , and it was followed by 'Appa nAn vendudhal kettu' of Vallalar.The whole piece starting from the raga alapana till the end of the song was bhava-laden.
Then came the shower of manna. the most beautiful charu(thama)kesi.. I have heard charukesi by TNS few years ago in Meenakshi college and I cannot forget it even now But even if you hear the same raga two days in succession from TNS it still rings new and that is the charm of his versatality and indefatigable and incredible manodharma.TNS sang a Periazvar Pasuram, 'siruviralgal thadavipparimara,' one of the ten, describing the flute-playing of Krishna and the song by Ambujam Krishna 'Kuzalosai ketka manam vizaiyudhayya.' In brindavanasaranga of yesterday the rasikas had a mental picture of Brindaavanam and today it was an asthetically sensuous experience of it , a light and sound (oLiyum oliyum) presentation!
We saw the cows which forgot to move their ears by the words 'seviyaattakillaave,' and the sound of the flute of Govinda and of the accompanying melody of the cuckoo, all of which , depicted through expressive singing, became a direct experience. This was made into the main piece of the concert by the elaborate and fantastic raga alapana and exuberant svara, exuding expertise( the song was in jamba thala) and elegance. The rasikas were transported bodily to Brindavanam and witnessed the kuzlosai with all the paraphernalia. It was a divine charukesi , sung by a charu kesi, beautiful lion, of music on charu kesi, the Lord with beautiful locks who appeared ass a beautiful lion-Narasimha.
After a wonderful thani ( jambathala) bySrimushnam Raja rao and B.purushotthaman TNS sang the krthi 'Arabhimanam vaitthu' a raga malika with one line in each raga and svaras in the respective ragas.It goes without saying that TNS sang the different ragas with beautiful ragabhava,but in the end he sang kalpanasvaras in each raga with the raga name, in his own inimitable style, to the delight of the rasikas.
Next was the song of Mazavai Chidambara Bharathi, 'kanmaniye solladi' and TNS sang this in Kapi to the surprise of those who have heard this in saranga from GNB. But the kapi seemed to be the original raga and it is beautifully suited to the mood of the song and it was a new and exhilerating experience to hear TNS singing it., especially in the end when he sang the words 'kanmaiye' in different bhavas.
The last but not least before thillana was the thirppugaz 'erumayileri,' where TNS changed the gati alternatively from tisra to ganta and vice versa in each line. It was a cherry of the cake.The concert came to an end with the niroshta thillana of TNS.
Concert on 26-1-2007 at Ananthapadmanabhswamo koil, Adyar
The concert started with the Thyagaraja krthi 'aparadhmula' in Rasali, followed by 'sadhinchane' in arabhi.Next was the raga panthuvarali which is always a treat for the rasikas with the krthi 'sarasaksha' of swathithirunal. The svara singing at 'bhamini samudhaya' was taken up by both TNS and TNS Krishna, which is always a rich repast to the rasikas.
Then came the dvajarohana of the day, the dvijavanthi, which was really dvajavanthi, adorned with flag,hoisted by gaayakadhvaja, (the first and foremost among musicians), sporting a colourful flag, painted with masterful strokes.The krthi that followed was of course as it could be expected on the occasion, 'chetasri balakrishnam' of dikshithar.
Next was a quick rendering of the Thyagaraja krthi, 'ganamurthe,' and then the main raga of the day proved to be Kalyani., followed by the krthi, 'pankaja lochana,' of swathithirunal, as could be anticipated. The neraval and svara at 'sundarathararupa,' was verily what one could experience only from TNS and kept the audience spell bound inspite of the disturbances around. After that, the Lord Padmanabha who started out on His procession before the concert decided to comeback to listen to TNS and there was a lot of commosion outside and the concert ended soon afterwards with TNS singing 'bajare yadhunatham' and a thillana in kamas.TNS was accompanied by VVRavi on violin and Trichur Narendran on Mridangam.
concert on 27-2-2007 at Nayaki -kotturpuram
It was a marvellous concert and everyone of the pieces TNS sang was a gem.This was the apex of the mini season.
TNS started the concert with 'mayatheetha svarupini' in mayamalavagoula His acumen was seen in splitting the word mayatheetha as maya +atheetha. All the songs selected were those not frequently heard in his concerts.
The next one was the dharuvarnam of Mutthiah bhagavathar 'madhe malaydvaja' in kamas preceded by raga alapana of kamas. The kamas of TNS is always sukhamas,. The varnam was sung with pleasant and mellifluous .tonal inflexion, sukhamaana kamas.
Brovabharama in bahudharai which followed was sparkling like a lightning, fast and bright, with the racy svaras.
The concert today reminded one of a Tanjore painting of sangithadevatha, with the cloth being prepared with slow and soft Mayamaklavagoula and the drawing done by the kamas varnam. Bahudhari served as the sparkling semi precious stones that are used to decorate the drawing.
The main part of the painting was however done with the Hemavathi that followed. That is, the applying of gold foils over the image. The raga alapana was like melting gold and making it into foils. The shining gold (kanthimathee) was carefully laid on the portrait
and the deity shone with hiranyamanimayashobha, with the stones chiselled out by the master chiseller, sulakshana gana vichakshana thakshah and who added splendour by colouring( raga) the portrait.
Then the scene changed to set the stage for another chiseller, the one who created the Universe. Rasikas were treated with a presence of the Lord Krishna with His bewitching smile, when TNS started the song of Ambujam Krishna, 'Punnagai onre podhume' in Hamsanandi. This raga is one of the various gems that adorn the crown of glory of TNS and in this song rasikas could visualise the Lord descending , flying and walking to redress the harm done to his devotees. TNS sang the lines irangi ninrai , parandhu senrai and nadandhu senrai etc, and it was an illustration of his extraoordinary power in creating visual experience through his music. Words fail me to describe the effect that was produced and it could only be experienced. 'eelaagani vivarimpalenu tsalasvanubhavavedhyame,' to quote Thyagaraja which is the best I could do.
The next krthi was 'ramachandra needhaya' in suruti of Thyagraja as though in reaction to the mercy of the Lord,depicted in the previous song, in bhaktha paripalana. This krthi was presented in a manner that it was exuding of karunarasa.
There was a sudden change in the atmostphere perhaps to welcome the Nayaki that was arriving later, when TNS started the thodi composition of Papanasam Sivan, 'thanigai ivalar saravanabha.' I told my friend who is hearing it for the first time to watch out for the playful dance of the peacock and sure it came in the charanam,'thulli vilaiyadi varum thogai mayil mele.' If one could coin the term 'visual music,' it is what we experience when TNS sings.
After a short and sweet interlude, 'entha muddho,' the bindumalini krthi of Thyagaraja, it was the grand entrance of Nayaki, which was the nayakamani of the diadem of music presented by the Gayakasikhamani. The seasoned rasikas of TNS were awaiting for the raga as we knew that it would come as the performance was at Nayaki, Kotturpuram. But what came as a surprise was that it was rendered as RTP! And what a Nayaki it was! No wonder it was Sriranganayaki who featured in the pallavi, as nothing short of the portrait of the thAyar of Srirangam would have justified such a delineation of the raga. It is also interesting to note that this was the only RTP of this mini season. It was extraordinary to do so in such a raga like Nayaki as RTP for anyone else except TNS, for whom it is ordinary; as he has sung even minor ragas like Desh as RTP in the past.The raga was presented in all its nuances and entering the heart coursing through the veins it produced a warmth despite the chilling AC of the auditorium!The svaraprasthara was in ragamalika. comprising of nayaki, revathi,begada ahiri and the svaras in these ragas were in accordance with the main raga, melodious and gamaka oriented. Of course the svaras become impressive and expressive when sung by TNS and this was no exception.
The end part of the comcert considted of the dasaranama in behag, 'narajanmabhandhaga,' and the thiruppugaz 'alliviziyalum amd thillana in bilahari.
Thus ended the miniseason for TNS rasikas who left feeling un kuralosai ketka manam vizaiyudhayya.
A mini season for TNS rasikas
A welcome off- season shower of music for the rasikas of TNSeshagopalan for four days! A shower is pleasant at any time that too if it rains honey and sugar! It was a feast for four days as in the marriages celebrated in olden days(nAlunAL kalyaNam)
Concert on24-2-2007at Hamsadvani
It was Dikshithar Day at Hamsadvani and there were all rasikas favourites featured in the concert. Sri Mahaganapathi in Goula was presented with beautiful svaras which was followed by Sankachakra in Poornachandika. Next was Anadhabhairavi with masterly strokes and proved to be a real anandha bhairavi as usual.The krti was 'Kamalamba samrakshathu mam ' one of the kamalamba navavarana.
TNS started Kumudakriya and while he was exploring the nuances of the raga the lights went off and so did the micraphone! This did not deterr TNS as his rasikas knew well, and he continued his heavenly alapana in the darkness and it was really an experience. There was pin-drop silence in the auditorium and the voice of TNS could be heard clearly because it is not mike-voice but mayakku- voice (with due apology to TNS for borrowing his own words) and there was loud applause when he finished.The current came only after he finished the krthi in Kumudakriya, Arddhanaareesvaaram and almost finished singing the next one also, Sri rajagopala in saveri.
Nagagandhari that followed was sparkling (lights came on then!) and he sang 'sarasijanabhasodhari.' Next was vasantha with the krthi "Hariharaputhram.' What followed next was the exotic feast of the day , the Brindavana saranga . There was real brindavanam with all the features described by Vedanttadesika in Yadhavabhyudhaya being present there, agaadhakaasaaram, deep lakes, maheenasashpam, thick vegetation, atheekshnasooryam, soft sun light, achandavaatham, pleasant wind etc.,abounding in all kinds of saranga,(Brindavane saarangaah), the bees, antelopes, lions and elephants, finally ending with the picture of the bow(Saranga) in the hands of Lord Soundararaja. Word fail me to describe the raga Brindavanasaranga expounded by TNS then.
Ambaneelayathakshi, another of the rasikas' favourites followed next and the main piece was Bharavi, Balagopala. The raga and the svara contained all the splendour as could be expected with TNS and the krthi had the extraordinary sweetness and beauty of neelaneeradha sarira of Lord Krishna.
The end piece was marked by 'anandhamrtha varshini ' and srivenkatagirisam in suruti and the concert ended with srikamalambike in sriragam.
The concert was a spectacular prism of three sangithakalanidhis,TNS,VR and MC.
Concert on 25-2-2007 at Mylapore Fine arts
The concert was arranged by YACD and TNS sang on the first day of their Tamiz isai festival.The speeches were going on and on making the everyone restless and the best and only relished speech was that of TNS in the end. He reiterated his stand that isai has no barriers of language or region. Thamiz isai , as defined by him, is tamizarin isai, tamizaraal valarkkappatta isai, which denotes carnatic music as a whole. The word Carnatic, he said means ancient and not belongng to any region.A good musician is one who touches the heart of the rasikas through his music irrespective of the sahithya which only adds to the flavour, only if, the musician has already established a rapport with his music.He said that he has been requested to sing Thyagaraja krthis even in the other states where the people do not understand the language and know only one word such as pakkala or evarani etc.He mentioned that when he went to Andhra he inadvertently started the Tamil composition 'ammaiyappa' which was well received inspite of the words not being understood. Similarly they asked him to sing 'kakkai cchiraginile' by saying only the word 'kakkai' TNS also said that there is no language present in raga alapana which is enjoyed by all as well as (if not more than) the song itself.This rasika cannot help feeling that such a comment on music is befitting and authentic coming from such a maestro of music as he is capable of producing navarasa with his raga alapana alone.
The concert started with the lyric of Subramania Bharathiar a viruttham,in beautifully expounded Nattai and the song 'ganapathi thaLai' in the same raga. Next was a composition of kavi kunjarabharathi, 'sami mayuragiri vadivela' in khamas. Poorvikalyani was the next raga which is one among the precious gems studded in the garland of TNS's music.It was delightul as usual and the thaniyans in praise of Andal, which usually he sings before any thiruppavai gave a clue as to what is following, that is 'koodarai vellum,'
the 27th thiruppavai.The thaniyan that begins with 'pathakangal theerkkum' which ends as 'kodhai thamiz ariyadha manidarai vaiyam sumappadhum vambu.' was delivered with gusto and expression that could be found only with TNS.
He adopted the technique of 'kondukootti' in that connecting the words as 'thamiz ariyadha, padhakangal theerkkum kodhai thamiz ,paramanadi kattum kodhai thamiz,vedam anaitthukkum vitthagum kodhaithamiz etc which emphasises the bhakthi aspect that cannot be dissociated from music and Thamiz, and the message is very clear.Besides, in the line 'Kodhai thamiz ariyaadha maanidarai vaiyam sumappadhum vambu,' TNS presented a vivid picture of the word 'sumappadhum' to show the burden on the earth by different inflexions in singing. The same technique in the pasuram also in singing the words 'paadipparaikonduYam peru sanmanam' and 'nadu pugazum parisil' reflected in the mind of rasikas the wide renown attained by TNS himself through sheer merit and the grace of the Lord through his nadhopasana(paadipparaikondu).
The next raga was sahana which was presented with its full grace and the composition of Vallalar 'thadittha or maganai thandhai aditthaal' in which the line 'aditthadhu podhum anaitthidal vendum' usually sung by TNS brings tears to the eyes of rasikas , and it was followed by 'Appa nAn vendudhal kettu' of Vallalar.The whole piece starting from the raga alapana till the end of the song was bhava-laden.
Then came the shower of manna. the most beautiful charu(thama)kesi.. I have heard charukesi by TNS few years ago in Meenakshi college and I cannot forget it even now But even if you hear the same raga two days in succession from TNS it still rings new and that is the charm of his versatality and indefatigable and incredible manodharma.TNS sang a Periazvar Pasuram, 'siruviralgal thadavipparimara,' one of the ten, describing the flute-playing of Krishna and the song by Ambujam Krishna 'Kuzalosai ketka manam vizaiyudhayya.' In brindavanasaranga of yesterday the rasikas had a mental picture of Brindaavanam and today it was an asthetically sensuous experience of it , a light and sound (oLiyum oliyum) presentation!
We saw the cows which forgot to move their ears by the words 'seviyaattakillaave,' and the sound of the flute of Govinda and of the accompanying melody of the cuckoo, all of which , depicted through expressive singing, became a direct experience. This was made into the main piece of the concert by the elaborate and fantastic raga alapana and exuberant svara, exuding expertise( the song was in jamba thala) and elegance. The rasikas were transported bodily to Brindavanam and witnessed the kuzlosai with all the paraphernalia. It was a divine charukesi , sung by a charu kesi, beautiful lion, of music on charu kesi, the Lord with beautiful locks who appeared ass a beautiful lion-Narasimha.
After a wonderful thani ( jambathala) bySrimushnam Raja rao and B.purushotthaman TNS sang the krthi 'Arabhimanam vaitthu' a raga malika with one line in each raga and svaras in the respective ragas.It goes without saying that TNS sang the different ragas with beautiful ragabhava,but in the end he sang kalpanasvaras in each raga with the raga name, in his own inimitable style, to the delight of the rasikas.
Next was the song of Mazavai Chidambara Bharathi, 'kanmaniye solladi' and TNS sang this in Kapi to the surprise of those who have heard this in saranga from GNB. But the kapi seemed to be the original raga and it is beautifully suited to the mood of the song and it was a new and exhilerating experience to hear TNS singing it., especially in the end when he sang the words 'kanmaiye' in different bhavas.
The last but not least before thillana was the thirppugaz 'erumayileri,' where TNS changed the gati alternatively from tisra to ganta and vice versa in each line. It was a cherry of the cake.The concert came to an end with the niroshta thillana of TNS.
Concert on 26-1-2007 at Ananthapadmanabhswamo koil, Adyar
The concert started with the Thyagaraja krthi 'aparadhmula' in Rasali, followed by 'sadhinchane' in arabhi.Next was the raga panthuvarali which is always a treat for the rasikas with the krthi 'sarasaksha' of swathithirunal. The svara singing at 'bhamini samudhaya' was taken up by both TNS and TNS Krishna, which is always a rich repast to the rasikas.
Then came the dvajarohana of the day, the dvijavanthi, which was really dvajavanthi, adorned with flag,hoisted by gaayakadhvaja, (the first and foremost among musicians), sporting a colourful flag, painted with masterful strokes.The krthi that followed was of course as it could be expected on the occasion, 'chetasri balakrishnam' of dikshithar.
Next was a quick rendering of the Thyagaraja krthi, 'ganamurthe,' and then the main raga of the day proved to be Kalyani., followed by the krthi, 'pankaja lochana,' of swathithirunal, as could be anticipated. The neraval and svara at 'sundarathararupa,' was verily what one could experience only from TNS and kept the audience spell bound inspite of the disturbances around. After that, the Lord Padmanabha who started out on His procession before the concert decided to comeback to listen to TNS and there was a lot of commosion outside and the concert ended soon afterwards with TNS singing 'bajare yadhunatham' and a thillana in kamas.TNS was accompanied by VVRavi on violin and Trichur Narendran on Mridangam.
concert on 27-2-2007 at Nayaki -kotturpuram
It was a marvellous concert and everyone of the pieces TNS sang was a gem.This was the apex of the mini season.
TNS started the concert with 'mayatheetha svarupini' in mayamalavagoula His acumen was seen in splitting the word mayatheetha as maya +atheetha. All the songs selected were those not frequently heard in his concerts.
The next one was the dharuvarnam of Mutthiah bhagavathar 'madhe malaydvaja' in kamas preceded by raga alapana of kamas. The kamas of TNS is always sukhamas,. The varnam was sung with pleasant and mellifluous .tonal inflexion, sukhamaana kamas.
Brovabharama in bahudharai which followed was sparkling like a lightning, fast and bright, with the racy svaras.
The concert today reminded one of a Tanjore painting of sangithadevatha, with the cloth being prepared with slow and soft Mayamaklavagoula and the drawing done by the kamas varnam. Bahudhari served as the sparkling semi precious stones that are used to decorate the drawing.
The main part of the painting was however done with the Hemavathi that followed. That is, the applying of gold foils over the image. The raga alapana was like melting gold and making it into foils. The shining gold (kanthimathee) was carefully laid on the portrait
and the deity shone with hiranyamanimayashobha, with the stones chiselled out by the master chiseller, sulakshana gana vichakshana thakshah and who added splendour by colouring( raga) the portrait.
Then the scene changed to set the stage for another chiseller, the one who created the Universe. Rasikas were treated with a presence of the Lord Krishna with His bewitching smile, when TNS started the song of Ambujam Krishna, 'Punnagai onre podhume' in Hamsanandi. This raga is one of the various gems that adorn the crown of glory of TNS and in this song rasikas could visualise the Lord descending , flying and walking to redress the harm done to his devotees. TNS sang the lines irangi ninrai , parandhu senrai and nadandhu senrai etc, and it was an illustration of his extraoordinary power in creating visual experience through his music. Words fail me to describe the effect that was produced and it could only be experienced. 'eelaagani vivarimpalenu tsalasvanubhavavedhyame,' to quote Thyagaraja which is the best I could do.
The next krthi was 'ramachandra needhaya' in suruti of Thyagraja as though in reaction to the mercy of the Lord,depicted in the previous song, in bhaktha paripalana. This krthi was presented in a manner that it was exuding of karunarasa.
There was a sudden change in the atmostphere perhaps to welcome the Nayaki that was arriving later, when TNS started the thodi composition of Papanasam Sivan, 'thanigai ivalar saravanabha.' I told my friend who is hearing it for the first time to watch out for the playful dance of the peacock and sure it came in the charanam,'thulli vilaiyadi varum thogai mayil mele.' If one could coin the term 'visual music,' it is what we experience when TNS sings.
After a short and sweet interlude, 'entha muddho,' the bindumalini krthi of Thyagaraja, it was the grand entrance of Nayaki, which was the nayakamani of the diadem of music presented by the Gayakasikhamani. The seasoned rasikas of TNS were awaiting for the raga as we knew that it would come as the performance was at Nayaki, Kotturpuram. But what came as a surprise was that it was rendered as RTP! And what a Nayaki it was! No wonder it was Sriranganayaki who featured in the pallavi, as nothing short of the portrait of the thAyar of Srirangam would have justified such a delineation of the raga. It is also interesting to note that this was the only RTP of this mini season. It was extraordinary to do so in such a raga like Nayaki as RTP for anyone else except TNS, for whom it is ordinary; as he has sung even minor ragas like Desh as RTP in the past.The raga was presented in all its nuances and entering the heart coursing through the veins it produced a warmth despite the chilling AC of the auditorium!The svaraprasthara was in ragamalika. comprising of nayaki, revathi,begada ahiri and the svaras in these ragas were in accordance with the main raga, melodious and gamaka oriented. Of course the svaras become impressive and expressive when sung by TNS and this was no exception.
The end part of the comcert considted of the dasaranama in behag, 'narajanmabhandhaga,' and the thiruppugaz 'alliviziyalum amd thillana in bilahari.
Thus ended the miniseason for TNS rasikas who left feeling un kuralosai ketka manam vizaiyudhayya.
Harikatha on Thyagaraja
At Asthijka samajam Thiruvanmiyur on 11-2-2007
TNS always starts with the sloka 'jnananandhamayam devam,' which is the first sloka of the Hayagriva sthothram of VedantaDesika. In a later sloka Desika says 'jihvAgrasimhAsanam abhyupEyah,' entreating the Lord Hayaghriva to come and occupy the throne of his tongue so that the words will flow with flourish. This is exacltly what happened on the day of Harikatha by TNS and it seemed as though from the moment he uttered the sloka 'jnannanandhamayam devam' the Lord Hayagriva has made His presence through his words. Such was the eloquence which could not be explained otherwise as TNS himself remarked that the Lord puts the words in his mouth as he prepares only the material for his discourse and not the exact text of it, which is spontaneous.This is why his harikathas are not only entertaining and musical but also educative and inspiring.
TNS extolling the greatness of namsankirthanam ,which is the most effective in kaliyuga quoted the sloka 'rAma rAmthi rAmEthi ramE rAmE manorame; sahsranAma thathulyam rAmanAma varAnane, which is the reply of Lord Siva to Parvathi who asked him the easiest means of chanting the thousand names of Hari. He was pleased with the question which gave him an opportunity to tell the world about the efficacy of Ramanama and hence he praised her as varAnanE,meaning one with beautiful face.
TNS said that the eyes are the main features which give beauty to the face, and the eyes of the Divine Mother were full of mercy for her children, which made her ask the question.The reply was, Ramanama is equal to the thousand names. Thyagaraja calls Siva as Ramanamarasika and hence he was happy to talk about the subject nearest to his heart.TNS further elaborated the merciful glance of the Divine Mother by mentioning the remark of Parasarabhata to Lord Ranganatha who used to appear in a festival dressed as Ranaganayaki thAyAr. Parasar bhatta who actually conversed with the Lord told him that He looked the spit image of the Mother except for one thing. The mercy always seen in the eyes of the Divine Mother was missing!
Kirthanam is the first and foremost means of bhakthi among the nine kinds of bhakthi mentioned in Srimadbhagavatham, said TNS, in Kaliyuga, because it is difficult to achieve integration of the mind necessary for the others like smaraNam, SrvaNam etc. He also quoted from kandharanubhoothi of AruNagirinAthar the words 'summA iru sol ara enralumE ammAporuLonrum arindhilanE,' and said that it is very difficult to do so. He gave a quaint explnation to .the words 'ammA poruL ' as 'that great truth' by splitting the words am+mA+poruL.
The namasankirthanam is twice blessed because it blesses the one who sings and the one who listens. Here TNS made a remark, (which applies to his music perfectly, thought this rasika) that the singer who sees the divinity through his music should show it to the listeners then and there.( of course the listener should have his sails open to catch the wind!) All the saint-devotees who sang about the Lord in all languages from all regions have shown the exemplary merit of namasankirthana, said TNS, and sang the dhoha of Kabir who says 'kahatha kabeera hariguNa gAna gAvatha nAchatha vaikuntajana , by singing and dancing about Hari one can easily go to Vaikunta or rather bring Vaikunta here itself. TNS added that even to do the namsankirthana one requires gurukrpa. Even Rama himself showed that one can achieve anything through the grace of guru by obeying the command of Visvamithra and serving Him.TNS said that the Ramavathara was for bhakthaparipalana and not for Ravanasamhara alone. Rama did that right from the time he started for the forest, by showering His grace on Guha, Sabari and the rshis of Danadaka forest and did even anthima samskara for a bird Jatayu etc. For this he needed the union with the Divine Mother and it started only after his marrying Sita. TNS quoted Kamban , 'karumkadal paLLiyin kalaviyin neengippoi---pirindhavar koodinAk pEsalum vendumo,'(this he had explained beautifully in his kamabaramayanaharikatha of which I have given a review earlier) Thyagaraja who has sung the whole Ramayana in a nutshell in many krthis, one of them being 'Sriraghukula' in Hamsadvani, has clearly shown in that krthi that Ramavathara was only for protection of the devotees (parithrANAya sadhoonAm) by the words 'parambhakthulanu palanamu sEyu.'
To say something is easier than doing as one says and Rama first set an example to what he was going to say in Krishnavathara in the Bhagavatgita. AnjanEya was the witness to this fact, according to Thyagaraja ,said TNS, and that is why he is placed at the top of the chariot in the flag when bhagavat gita was spoken and Thyagaraja also placed him at the top in the jeevaasvara nishadha, in his krthi 'geethArThamu' in suruti. by saying 'vAthAthmajunikibhaga thelusukora.'
Next came the delightful singing by TNS of the krthi 'ElaneedhayarAdhu, which of course he sang only in parts, as it should be, in a harikatha.But as TVSankaranarayanan remarked later in his speech praising TNS, even a short flash of his music gave rasikas the satisfaction of hearing a complete concert because it was a concert in a capsule, meted out by TNS in these musical interludes.
The krthi was composed by Thyagaraja when Rama appeared before him and the way he describes Rama in the krthi by 'bAlakanakamayachEla' etc. and the way he fondly called Rama by 'rAra devadideva' etc. creates a doubt ,said TNS, in the minds of all whether even Kousalya would have fondled Rama so.
TNS then remarked that Thyagaraja raises a plaintive cry by saying 'ElaneedhayarAdhu,' even after Rama gave His darsan . Why ? TNS himself supplied the answer that It is because he was a sathguru and a sathguru is the one who shows the God he has seen, to the others also,
Thyagaraja is to be considered as Rama himself, descended on earth to show the eminence of bhakthi, said TNS, and so was Muthuswami Dikshitar, the incarnation of Lord Subramanya and Shyama Sasthri was Godess Kamakshi herself, which was why he was referred to as Kamakshi by people in his days.Thyagaraja himself has hinted this in his mukhari raga krthi, 'sangitha sasthrajnanamu sAroopya soukya dhame manasa,' which means that the ardent devotee becomes the object of his worship.TNS also quoted an incident to show this from the life of the kavi Kalidasa. There was a contest to prove who, of the two, Dandin or Kalidasa, was greater poet and they asked the goddess Sarasvati herself to give judgement and she said 'kavirdandee kavirdandee kavirdandee na samSayah,' meaning dandee is 'the' poet, without doubt whereupon Kaldas asked her with anger and resentmentn'Then who am I?" Then the goddess replied, "thvamEvAham you are none other than myself."
TNS then mentioned briefly the throwing of the Rama idol into Kaveri by the brother of Thyagaraja who was enraged at his refusal of the offer to go to the court of the king. He said it was the leela of the Lord, who was comfortably resting on the riverbed, to get more kirtanas from Thyagaraja. TNS said that Thyagaraja did some introspection in asking himself in the krthi 'Nidhisala,' when he asked his mind,' nijamugapalgu manasa.' Not only that, but he was really pained at the very idea that they approached him thinking that he may accept the proposal and showed his mental agonty in the krthi .'padhavi ni sadbhathiyu,' in salagabhairavi where he says that no post is superior to that of being a devotee. TNS referred to the krthi 'Nadhaloludai' whereThyagaraja describes the joy of sankirthana of the Lord to be equal to brahmanandha.
Thyagaraja gave the essence os Svararnavam, the work on sangithasasthra given to him by Narada, to the whole world in the form of easy music, like the honey that mixes with the fruits to make them easily edible, said TNS, and there are compositions for .the beginners as well as for the skilled singers. There are immense varieties of raga variations in the krthis of Thyagarja, TNS pointed out, for instance, each of his thodi raga krthi begin in a different svaram.
Next TNS took some krthis and explained them. In 'kaddhanuvariki,' in thodi Thyagaraja gives the lakshana of devoted musician, as 'niddhura nirakarinchi,' giving up sleep, 'muddhuga thamburapetti,' wielding the thambur gracefully,'shuddhamaina mansuche' with pure mind ,which is the most important, said TNS, and 'susvaramutho,' correctness of svaras.Here TNS quipped that nowadays it is only thamburapetti, thambura box (electronic) instead of the real one!
Similarly Thyagaraja gives the requisites of good music also in the krthi 'sogasuga' as 'mrdhanga thalamu jathakoorchi,' etc. In fact the whole krthi is about how to sing. The music without bhakthi has been denounced by Thyagaraja in many krthis, said TNS, like dhunmaragachara and so on.
Lastly TNS mentioned the greatness of Ramanama as made out by Thyagaraja by referring to the krthi 'evarani,' The letter that gives the meaning to siva mantra"om Namasivaya' is the letter .'ma ' as without it the manthra becomes na sivaya, 'not for siva.' Similarly the letter 'ra' in the Narayanamantra,' namo narayanaya' when taken out, the word becomes 'na ayanayaa' which means 'to one who has no abode .' So the two letters which are the soul of the two mantras are joined to make the name Rama, says Thyagaraja and this shows that Rama is the combination of Sankara and Narayana , said TNS jocularly referring to TVSankaranarayanan, who was sitting in front. This propelled TVS from his seat and he got up and gave a very fine encomium to TNS to prove that 'vidvAn Eva vijAnAthi vidvajjana parisramam,' only one vidvan knows the worth of another. He extolled the work behind the performance and said 'uzaippukku marupeyar Seshagopalan and guru bhakthikku oru udharanam.'. He showed concern that TNS delivers his discourse standing for three hours continously not even stopping for his cup of tea! TVS also said that TNS is a perfectinist and a complete musician and remarked about his comments during the lecture demonstrations of the Music academy seesion for which he was the president, being awarded sangithakalnidhi and said that his preparation for the topics was even more elaborate than the lecture demonstrations themselves.He also said that TNS is known to work until the small hours ( niddhura nirakarinchi!) for his preparations, especially now that he is going to do Valmiki Ramayana next month in Hamsadvani.For every one of his remarks rasikas applauded vehemently to show their approval.
What I have written is only the tip of the iceberg because as TNS himself remarked he can talk about the music and devotion of Thyagaraja for five days whcih he had done earlier, and to talk about TNS, as TVS remarked, one can go on an on without satisfaction. To Quote Thyagaraja--'evari valla varNimpa dhagunE!.'
TNS always starts with the sloka 'jnananandhamayam devam,' which is the first sloka of the Hayagriva sthothram of VedantaDesika. In a later sloka Desika says 'jihvAgrasimhAsanam abhyupEyah,' entreating the Lord Hayaghriva to come and occupy the throne of his tongue so that the words will flow with flourish. This is exacltly what happened on the day of Harikatha by TNS and it seemed as though from the moment he uttered the sloka 'jnannanandhamayam devam' the Lord Hayagriva has made His presence through his words. Such was the eloquence which could not be explained otherwise as TNS himself remarked that the Lord puts the words in his mouth as he prepares only the material for his discourse and not the exact text of it, which is spontaneous.This is why his harikathas are not only entertaining and musical but also educative and inspiring.
TNS extolling the greatness of namsankirthanam ,which is the most effective in kaliyuga quoted the sloka 'rAma rAmthi rAmEthi ramE rAmE manorame; sahsranAma thathulyam rAmanAma varAnane, which is the reply of Lord Siva to Parvathi who asked him the easiest means of chanting the thousand names of Hari. He was pleased with the question which gave him an opportunity to tell the world about the efficacy of Ramanama and hence he praised her as varAnanE,meaning one with beautiful face.
TNS said that the eyes are the main features which give beauty to the face, and the eyes of the Divine Mother were full of mercy for her children, which made her ask the question.The reply was, Ramanama is equal to the thousand names. Thyagaraja calls Siva as Ramanamarasika and hence he was happy to talk about the subject nearest to his heart.TNS further elaborated the merciful glance of the Divine Mother by mentioning the remark of Parasarabhata to Lord Ranganatha who used to appear in a festival dressed as Ranaganayaki thAyAr. Parasar bhatta who actually conversed with the Lord told him that He looked the spit image of the Mother except for one thing. The mercy always seen in the eyes of the Divine Mother was missing!
Kirthanam is the first and foremost means of bhakthi among the nine kinds of bhakthi mentioned in Srimadbhagavatham, said TNS, in Kaliyuga, because it is difficult to achieve integration of the mind necessary for the others like smaraNam, SrvaNam etc. He also quoted from kandharanubhoothi of AruNagirinAthar the words 'summA iru sol ara enralumE ammAporuLonrum arindhilanE,' and said that it is very difficult to do so. He gave a quaint explnation to .the words 'ammA poruL ' as 'that great truth' by splitting the words am+mA+poruL.
The namasankirthanam is twice blessed because it blesses the one who sings and the one who listens. Here TNS made a remark, (which applies to his music perfectly, thought this rasika) that the singer who sees the divinity through his music should show it to the listeners then and there.( of course the listener should have his sails open to catch the wind!) All the saint-devotees who sang about the Lord in all languages from all regions have shown the exemplary merit of namasankirthana, said TNS, and sang the dhoha of Kabir who says 'kahatha kabeera hariguNa gAna gAvatha nAchatha vaikuntajana , by singing and dancing about Hari one can easily go to Vaikunta or rather bring Vaikunta here itself. TNS added that even to do the namsankirthana one requires gurukrpa. Even Rama himself showed that one can achieve anything through the grace of guru by obeying the command of Visvamithra and serving Him.TNS said that the Ramavathara was for bhakthaparipalana and not for Ravanasamhara alone. Rama did that right from the time he started for the forest, by showering His grace on Guha, Sabari and the rshis of Danadaka forest and did even anthima samskara for a bird Jatayu etc. For this he needed the union with the Divine Mother and it started only after his marrying Sita. TNS quoted Kamban , 'karumkadal paLLiyin kalaviyin neengippoi---pirindhavar koodinAk pEsalum vendumo,'(this he had explained beautifully in his kamabaramayanaharikatha of which I have given a review earlier) Thyagaraja who has sung the whole Ramayana in a nutshell in many krthis, one of them being 'Sriraghukula' in Hamsadvani, has clearly shown in that krthi that Ramavathara was only for protection of the devotees (parithrANAya sadhoonAm) by the words 'parambhakthulanu palanamu sEyu.'
To say something is easier than doing as one says and Rama first set an example to what he was going to say in Krishnavathara in the Bhagavatgita. AnjanEya was the witness to this fact, according to Thyagaraja ,said TNS, and that is why he is placed at the top of the chariot in the flag when bhagavat gita was spoken and Thyagaraja also placed him at the top in the jeevaasvara nishadha, in his krthi 'geethArThamu' in suruti. by saying 'vAthAthmajunikibhaga thelusukora.'
Next came the delightful singing by TNS of the krthi 'ElaneedhayarAdhu, which of course he sang only in parts, as it should be, in a harikatha.But as TVSankaranarayanan remarked later in his speech praising TNS, even a short flash of his music gave rasikas the satisfaction of hearing a complete concert because it was a concert in a capsule, meted out by TNS in these musical interludes.
The krthi was composed by Thyagaraja when Rama appeared before him and the way he describes Rama in the krthi by 'bAlakanakamayachEla' etc. and the way he fondly called Rama by 'rAra devadideva' etc. creates a doubt ,said TNS, in the minds of all whether even Kousalya would have fondled Rama so.
TNS then remarked that Thyagaraja raises a plaintive cry by saying 'ElaneedhayarAdhu,' even after Rama gave His darsan . Why ? TNS himself supplied the answer that It is because he was a sathguru and a sathguru is the one who shows the God he has seen, to the others also,
Thyagaraja is to be considered as Rama himself, descended on earth to show the eminence of bhakthi, said TNS, and so was Muthuswami Dikshitar, the incarnation of Lord Subramanya and Shyama Sasthri was Godess Kamakshi herself, which was why he was referred to as Kamakshi by people in his days.Thyagaraja himself has hinted this in his mukhari raga krthi, 'sangitha sasthrajnanamu sAroopya soukya dhame manasa,' which means that the ardent devotee becomes the object of his worship.TNS also quoted an incident to show this from the life of the kavi Kalidasa. There was a contest to prove who, of the two, Dandin or Kalidasa, was greater poet and they asked the goddess Sarasvati herself to give judgement and she said 'kavirdandee kavirdandee kavirdandee na samSayah,' meaning dandee is 'the' poet, without doubt whereupon Kaldas asked her with anger and resentmentn'Then who am I?" Then the goddess replied, "thvamEvAham you are none other than myself."
TNS then mentioned briefly the throwing of the Rama idol into Kaveri by the brother of Thyagaraja who was enraged at his refusal of the offer to go to the court of the king. He said it was the leela of the Lord, who was comfortably resting on the riverbed, to get more kirtanas from Thyagaraja. TNS said that Thyagaraja did some introspection in asking himself in the krthi 'Nidhisala,' when he asked his mind,' nijamugapalgu manasa.' Not only that, but he was really pained at the very idea that they approached him thinking that he may accept the proposal and showed his mental agonty in the krthi .'padhavi ni sadbhathiyu,' in salagabhairavi where he says that no post is superior to that of being a devotee. TNS referred to the krthi 'Nadhaloludai' whereThyagaraja describes the joy of sankirthana of the Lord to be equal to brahmanandha.
Thyagaraja gave the essence os Svararnavam, the work on sangithasasthra given to him by Narada, to the whole world in the form of easy music, like the honey that mixes with the fruits to make them easily edible, said TNS, and there are compositions for .the beginners as well as for the skilled singers. There are immense varieties of raga variations in the krthis of Thyagarja, TNS pointed out, for instance, each of his thodi raga krthi begin in a different svaram.
Next TNS took some krthis and explained them. In 'kaddhanuvariki,' in thodi Thyagaraja gives the lakshana of devoted musician, as 'niddhura nirakarinchi,' giving up sleep, 'muddhuga thamburapetti,' wielding the thambur gracefully,'shuddhamaina mansuche' with pure mind ,which is the most important, said TNS, and 'susvaramutho,' correctness of svaras.Here TNS quipped that nowadays it is only thamburapetti, thambura box (electronic) instead of the real one!
Similarly Thyagaraja gives the requisites of good music also in the krthi 'sogasuga' as 'mrdhanga thalamu jathakoorchi,' etc. In fact the whole krthi is about how to sing. The music without bhakthi has been denounced by Thyagaraja in many krthis, said TNS, like dhunmaragachara and so on.
Lastly TNS mentioned the greatness of Ramanama as made out by Thyagaraja by referring to the krthi 'evarani,' The letter that gives the meaning to siva mantra"om Namasivaya' is the letter .'ma ' as without it the manthra becomes na sivaya, 'not for siva.' Similarly the letter 'ra' in the Narayanamantra,' namo narayanaya' when taken out, the word becomes 'na ayanayaa' which means 'to one who has no abode .' So the two letters which are the soul of the two mantras are joined to make the name Rama, says Thyagaraja and this shows that Rama is the combination of Sankara and Narayana , said TNS jocularly referring to TVSankaranarayanan, who was sitting in front. This propelled TVS from his seat and he got up and gave a very fine encomium to TNS to prove that 'vidvAn Eva vijAnAthi vidvajjana parisramam,' only one vidvan knows the worth of another. He extolled the work behind the performance and said 'uzaippukku marupeyar Seshagopalan and guru bhakthikku oru udharanam.'. He showed concern that TNS delivers his discourse standing for three hours continously not even stopping for his cup of tea! TVS also said that TNS is a perfectinist and a complete musician and remarked about his comments during the lecture demonstrations of the Music academy seesion for which he was the president, being awarded sangithakalnidhi and said that his preparation for the topics was even more elaborate than the lecture demonstrations themselves.He also said that TNS is known to work until the small hours ( niddhura nirakarinchi!) for his preparations, especially now that he is going to do Valmiki Ramayana next month in Hamsadvani.For every one of his remarks rasikas applauded vehemently to show their approval.
What I have written is only the tip of the iceberg because as TNS himself remarked he can talk about the music and devotion of Thyagaraja for five days whcih he had done earlier, and to talk about TNS, as TVS remarked, one can go on an on without satisfaction. To Quote Thyagaraja--'evari valla varNimpa dhagunE!.'
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