Nice article. Thanks for translating this piece.
[email protected] () wrote: >This summer, I came across a Foreword written by PApanAsam Sivan >to Neela Ramamurthy's "Stuti MaNi MAlai" which I have appended below. (stuff deleted) >My earliest attempts at composing were in 1908. During this time, I >composed some songs I used in my musical discourses on NandanAr and >NIlakanta NAyanAr. These Kritis were devoid of any extraordinary merit- >literary or musical.Did these include the songs that Sivan used in the music for the film nandanAr - such as kANa vendAmO and piRavA varam tArum? If so, he is being more than modest in his terming them as devoid of merit.
> I was usually >ridiculed with comments like, "Isn't it enough to learn the existing >Kritis from qualified teachers? We do not need to hear your brilliant >efforts.." Unfortunately, opposition of this nature comes rather cheap >in our country.How true!!!!!! And along similar lines are comments about how one lifetime is not enough to learn to sing Todi and Mukhari and that it is not necessary to try singing *existing* rAgAs like kanakAngi or kaikavashi, let alone try to compose new rAgAs.
Another composer who *probably* has similar experiences is tanjAvUr shankara ayyar.
> NAyakA-NAyaki sentiments, songs that >describe messages sent to loved ones are more suited for pure poetry rather >than Music. Such songs must also decrease.I am surprised that Sivan should say something like this. The vast number of excellent padams and jAvaLis should be an indication that the nAyakA-nAyaki theme is quite suited for songs too. Maybe this is just a reflection of the seemingly general consensus of the post-trinity composers that all songs be strictly bhakti oriented (not even in the shringara sense), having no nara-stuti and so on. I wonder what Sivan would say about secular themes - some of Subramania Bharati's songs (even things he tuned himself) are along such lines and Sivan's admiration for Bharatiar is aptly expressed in the song pAmAlaikku (harikAmbhOji).
As must be obvious, I am just thinking aloud here....
---------------------------------------------------------------------- >A few comments: >1) I found the "DOsai Subban" incident interesting. I never knew that >people were in the habit of singing non-Thyagaraja Kritis at the >ArAdhanA. Though the attitude that "only Thyagaraja Kritis are >kirtanams. Rest are "pOkkirithanam" (mischief)' attitude may not be >completely dead today, it is refreshing to hear musicians, particularly >those of the younger generation popularizing good Kritis.I think the habit/dogma of singing only tyAgarAja kritis at the ArAdhana is a somewhat recent one. I have already mentioned in a previous net article about several "fraudulent" kritis being passed off as tyAgarAjA's - and these are routinely sung at ArAdhana's even now. I have heard/read about kritis of people like vAsudEvacAr (brOchEva) etc being sung in earlier years.
The famous Ariyakudi comment mentioned above is certainly not to be taken seriously. And Ariyakudi's vast repertoire of non-tyAgarAja kritis only proves what I say. Unfortunately a lot of damage is done by various so-called music critics who go around emphasizing how one should not perform a concert without tyAgarAja's songs.
Ramana
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