"There was a Zamorin at Calicut who was fond of music and had also a good knowledge of the art. He used to patronise deserving musicians and give them rich presents. Once a great pallavi vidwan happened to go to Calicut; the Private Secretary to the Zamorin, himself a rasika, arranged for a concert by the vidwan at the palace.
The Zamorin had one weakness he would ask the artist to give beforehand the wording of the song he proposed to sing. When the vidwan had elaborated a raga and was about to begin the pallavi the Zamorin made his usual demand.
The vidwan got wild : he shouted "Which fool would care about the sahitya of a pallavi?" and went away from the palace.
The Zamorin also got angry. The Private Secretary was a tactful man; he pacified the two and arranged for a recital the next day : he had managed to get the Zamorin to waive his stipulation regarding the wording of the pallavi. The vidwan started the pallavi and elaborated it with such mastery and skill and charm that the Zamorin was highly pleased and made extra presents to the vidwan.
When, however the artist was about to leave the palace, the Zamorin asked him to give the wording of the pallavi atleast then. The vidwan faced the Zamorin and said, "I am prepared to give you the sahitya on the condition that you will not get angry."
The Zamorin agreed to the condition, and the vidwan gave him the sahitya, and immediately ran away. The Zamorin was taken aback, and got into a rage, but he could not do anything as the vidwan had in the meantime run away. The sahitya was SAMOODIRI THAVIDU THINNU meaning that the Zamorin ate the chaff, the implication being that instead of enjoying the pure art of music, the Zamorin was after the words which especially in a pallavi was as insignificant as the chaff as compared the the grain."
Ramana
Back to the article list