Visit my webste on TNS for concert and other photos and hear his music

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Carnatic music is divine and it should be approached like we go to the temple to see the Lord. People in the name of popularising carnatic music do all sorts of atrocities and call it carnatic music. Nevertheless in the olden days carnatic music was brought to the streets and the villages and even common people were enjoying it. We have heard of instances where stalwarts were singing and simple poor folk used to flock to hear them and offer appreciative comments. The rasikatva was much more higher in those days because the musicians never compromised on quality. .Even today there are musicians like TNS who offer only high quality music and never think of diluting their music to attract the masses. .
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         REVIEWS FROM THE YEAR 2002 TILL DATE

Concert of TNSKrishna at Mylapore arts academy on 25-11-2008

Krishna was accompanied on the violin by the veteran T. Rukmini, on the mridangam by K.V. Prasad and by BSPurushottham on the Kanjira., both seasoned artistes.

Krishna started the concert with the viruttham on Ganesa followed by Vathapi ganapathim of Dhikshithar in hamsadvani. The svara prasthara was at sadhambuja padha  and it was enjoyable with the participation of the percussionists and also with the beautiful hamsadvani, following the viruttham which was itself enchanting, by

T Rukmini.

Next was a fantastic poorvikalyanai and the krthi that followed was ninuvinaga of Shyamasasthri. The elaborate svara prasthara was, as it is usual  with Krishna, delightful and  at the end  the percussion finale was beautiful.

Krishna sang raamabhadhra ra ra of Ramadasar in anandabairavi  which was followed by the viruttham thadittha Or maganai  in sahana which is always a favourite with rasikas of TNS and Krishna rendered it very well. This was followed by appaa naan vendudhal kettu also in sahana.

Next item came as a surprise.  Krishna  started kalyani raga alaapana  which made the audience trying to guess whether it was going to be an RTP in kalyani or any krthi to be rendered elaborately but after kalyani he started the alapana of lalitha, suggesting a double barreled paalvai Kalyani-Laltha, and,  it was. The line of the pallavii was ‘kanaklathe lalaithe kalyani bhaavragathala roopini.’  Later we learnt that it was his original composition and it was really fabulous though he was pressed for time as it was already late when he started it , only leaving the rasikas with a desire to hear it again some time  in a more elaborate manner.. By the RTP he proved that he is indeed a chip of the old block!

After a very short display by the percussion artistes Krishna concluded  the concert with  nirupamaana saami nine in Behag  followed by nagumomu galavani, a utsava sampradhya of Thyagaraja in Madhyamavathi.

Concert of TNS at carnatica Bharath sangeethotsav- 31.10.2008

Muppernndheviyar ulaa

Sangithkalanidhi Madurai TNSeshagopalan  was accompanied by  Sangitakalanidhi MChandasekhar on the violin and Mnnargudi Esvaran on mridhangam which itself would speak volumes about the general calibre of the concert. B. Sundar kumar was on Kanjira and TNS Krishna gave vocal support.

TNS started the concert with ‘saraseeruhasanapriye,’ in Nattai, a composition of Puliyur Doraiswami Ayyar, and the rendering of it with the svara prasthra, the rasikas were lifted up in the air, as in a jet,  right  from the beginning to stay there till the end. Next was the sree raga alapana  and as expected it was ‘Srivaralakshmeem,’ of Dikshithar. TNS sang svaras after the end at the pallavi in different nadais, which was ably replied  by Sri Esvaran.

What followed next was the star of the evening which can be coupled only with the kambodhi that came in the end. The raga alapana was fantastic  with the usual grahabhedha, . hamsanandi  from TNS always being the delight of the rasikas, and the song was ‘pahi jagajjanani,’ of Swathithirunal. The svara was sung at ‘sarasahrdhanilaye,’ which means the one who is seated on lotus, meaning Lakshmi and the svaras were real hamsanandi, joy of a swan on a lotus. The rasikas could hear the hamsakoojitha as well as the hamsagathi, through the svaras. The interaction between TNS and Sri Esvaran was something extraordinary.

The scene suddenly and wonderfully changed  when TNS next sang .’brovavamma,’ in mnaji by Shyama sasthri. It would have brought tears to the rasikas who knew this song and understood the meaning and loved it. What a bhava! Especially at the lines ‘devi thaaLalenE’ and ‘neeve anaadharaNa chesithE amba nirvahimpa tharamaa,,’ the rasikas would have felt that Shyamasasthri must have sung it exactly in this manner. The bhava cannot be described. It should be heard to be believed. The line ‘nee samana deiva,’ TNS portrayed the height at which Shyamasasthri had placed Kamakshi, saying that there is no deity equal to you.

After  the dikshithar krithi  ‘santhaanamanjari in the raga santhanamanjari, TNS sang the raga kambodhi elaborately. If the hamsanandi was ‘hamsanaadha,’ this was a simha nadha with full grandeur. This showed the mastery in lasya, which was  hamsanandi as well as in thandava that was  kambhodhi. The song was devi neepadha of Shyamasasthri. In the svara prasthara at anupallavi ‘sreevelayu madhuranelakonna,’ with MC, Esvaran together with TNS it was a fanfare.

Next was the ashtapadi ‘pravisaraadhe,’ in sivaranjani which was relished by this  rasika who had not heard it for a longtime. TNS sang a Krishnkarnamrtha sloka in the beginning with delineation of beautiful sivsranjani and MC played the raga in a delightful manner.

The concert ended with the song of Bharathiar, ‘thedi unnai cahran adaindhEn,’ and the sampradhay mangalam.

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Navar 

Navar                    Navarathna navarasa navapradharsana Rama               Ramayana navaaham at Krishnaganasabha

                    By Madurai TNSeshagopalan-

at

Kris

 The title for the programme was given as Ramayanamrtha, nectar of

Ramayana

and it was just that. Ramayana is a beautiful nandavana with fragrant

and colourful flowers,  the kavitha kusuma of Valmiki, Kamban,

Thyagaraja and others. Any one can look at the flowers and enjoy their

 beauty but only a honeybee is able to extract the honey from the flowers

and give it to humanity in a potable form. This is what was done by

TNS and he delivered it in the golden cup of his music laced with the

cream of his eloquence. He had divided the whole Ramayana into

 nine topics, navarathnas, and delighted the rasikas for nine days.

The navarasas exhibited  by the various episodes of Ramayana,

elucidated in a novel form, navapradharsana, resulted in akhandaika

madhura rasa, harmonious sweetness.

Navaaham nava nava rasabharitham

Sangeetha haimapaathra viSraaNitham

Ramayanbrndhavanasaaranga sambhaaritham

Akhandaika madhurarasam madhu

        1111-10-2008-Sriramavatharam

          Ramavathara, besides dushtanigraha and sishtaparipalana  was an

          illustration of how to live in this world, as a son, as a brother, as a king

          as a husband as a benefactor to all etc. Thyagaraja extols

          Ramavathara in his krthi in kolahalam, which TNS sang two lines ,

         ’pathivesamulaloraamavesamulu bahubaaga nusu,’ saying that of

            all the incarnations of  the Lord the Ramavathara is the best.

        T   here is another reason than

        t    the above mentioned one , said TNS, to consider Ramavathara as the

        b     the best. In the others  like Varaha and Nrsimha Lakshmi had to com         come  after

        t    the avathra karya is over to pacify the Lord. But in this the divine

                        divine mother came along.

Valmiki Ramayana  , said TNS is the only one which Rama himself listened to. He sang the slokas in which Valmiki asked Narada who is the man endowed with all qualities that go for perfection,’konvasmin saampradham loke guNavaan kascha veeryavaan,’ in Danyasi explaining the slokas then and there elaborately and beautifully, the reply of which by Narada is known as the sanksheparamayanam. Then he related the incident that led Valmiki to curse the hunter which took the form of a sloka ,’maanishaadha parthishTaam agamaH SaasvatheeH samaaH,’  which turned out to be the mangalaaSaasana for the Lord. TNS said Brahma himself came to Valmiki after the guru anugraham he had from Narada and pointed out that the sloka was perfect and actually became a benediction. This is because, said TNS, Sarasvathi had come to the sage even before Brahma. TNS sang the slokas in subhapanthuvarali which is the mangala raga in the north. TNS said the manhglaSasana  which means with reference to the Lord that He, the consort of Lakshmi will be established for all the time to come, has proved to be correct as He is till today present in the shrine as Srinivasa (maa nishaadha) in Tirumala, where there is no separate sannidhi for the divine mother but she resides in His chest,’thadhvakshasThala nithya vaasa rasikaa,’ TNS said that is why wealth is heaped on Thirupathi. Today being the last purattasi TNS said he had to refer to the Lord of Thirumala and said this to show that there is a connection between Ramayana and Srinivasa. She is also thath kshaanthi samvardhinee, the influence of daya in His heart

N

Next TNS referred to the question Parvathi asked Siva ‘kenopaayena laghunaa vishnoH naamasahasrakam paTyathe pandithaiH nithyam,’ which made Siva very happy to make him address her dearly as manorame, because she asked the question in order to benefit the world. The reply was

Raamraamethi raamethi, the name Rama which is sahasranaama thath thulyam, equal to 1000names. TNS gave a mathematical explanation to this. Thname rama contains two syllables ra and ma which according to katapayaadhi saankhya of the ancient vedic mathematics have the numbers 2 and 5 respectively. Two fives are ten and Siva says the ramanama thrice as he is supposed to whisper it in the ears of those who die in Kasi, and ten tens are hundred and ten hundreds are 1000.Thus . he said, great souls say everything thulyam, with clarity, implying pun on the word thulyam, meaning equal and clarity.

 Valmiki taught lava and Kusa the Ramayana , he composed and describing the singing of Lava and Kusa of Ramayana, Valmiki , has given a complete definition, lakshnanas of a gayaka, said TNS, elaborating on the different aspects of gaana and the lakshana of Gayaka

The Ramayana starts with the description of the land of Kosala. And TNS sang the verse’ kosalo nama ‘ from Valmiki in raga kosalam. Then came the anguish of Dasaratha on  having no progeny to whom Vasishta who knew that the Lord has decided to come down as the son of Dasaratha already told the king to do  puthrakameshti. Here TNS sang the line ‘pillai illaadha bhagyam  naan pettrenna ,’ of Arunachalakavi in Dvijavanthi which was the original raga used in the Ramanataka, which shows that the north indian ragas were in vogue at the time.

TNS said if one does puthrakamaeshti, a son will be born but will Rama be born? That happened because of the divine will of the Lord who, he said, was searching for a suitable father for his incarnation for Ravanavadha  with His lotus eyes opened wide and chose Dasaratha. TNS then sang the ramanataka krthi, ‘avathaaram seidhiduveere,’ in jonpuri, in which the devas are asked to be born as vanaras, and also the sloka of Valmiki ‘evam dhathvaa varam,’ which means, giving the boon that He should divide Himself into four parts, chose Dasaratha as his father. Kamban however says that the Lord was born as Rama , Sesha as Lakshmana , the conch and the disc were born as Bharatha and Sathrugna.TNS also sang the Ramanataka krthi ‘parabrahma svaroopame,’ in paras, which describes the birth of Rama giving in detail the position of stars at the time of his birth. TNS not only sang the whole krthi but also explained in detail the horoscope of Rama to show how the planets positioned themselves to assist him in his avathara karya. I cannot reproduce it as I am not proficient on astrology but it was amazing to think how and when TNS learnt all these facts, which only shows that he is a perfectionist who goes all the way in any subject he wants to know.

TNS sang the sloka ‘kousalyaa ajanayath  raamam,’ and also the verse from Kamban , ‘thoruvuRa ppayandhanaL thiRam koL kOsalai,’ in Bilahari, explaining the verse and also the significance of the epithet ‘.thiRam koL,’ meaning efficient. To the question that what could be so efficient in giving birth, the answer is, she had in her womb Him who had all the fourteen worlds inside Him, appearing as the child on a banyan leaf, sucking His own big toe, perhaps to test whether it is as sweet as the devotees  found it. This idea is brought about by Thyagaraja, perhaps influenced by Kamban, in his bahudari krthi ‘broabaaramaa,’ in which he says, sreevaasudeva “andakotlakukshi nee unchukoledhaa,’ asking Rama, when he was having all the worlds in his stomach ,is it a great burden  to protect the devotee like himself.

Valmiki said that vasishta named the children and named the first born a Rama and Kamban gives the reason for it. Thus, said TNS, Kamban closely followed Vaklmiki, at times giving exact translation and at times writing commentary to Valmiki’s words like bhashya to suthras. The verse he quoted here was, ‘karaamalaiya kaaikkari eytthe araaanaiyil thuyilvoy ena annaaLviraavi aLittharuLa meipporuLukke iraaman enappeyar eendhanan anRe.’ The meaning was as explained by TNS, the Lord who went to remove the suffering of Gajendhra has now come to protect the ggod and destroy the evil and he is going to walk all over the earth do so.

Thyagaraja gives exclusive reason for the name of Rama in his krthi ‘evarani,’ and TNS sang the krthi and explained how the suyllables ra and ma was taken for the ashtakshara and the panchakshara being their jeevamanthra as the names lose their meaning without them and the name Rama was formed. Thyagaraja also says that, in his mukhaari krthi ‘elaavathara,’ Rama has come down not to fight with asuras or rule Ayodhya, or to see the yogis, or to save people from samsara but to bestow is grace on Thyagaraja who has rendered garlands of gems of ragas to Him, and he has come only for that purpose., that is to hear Thyagaraja and to wear his ragarathna maalika. TNS showed by singing and explaining this krthi that how great is the power of devotion. At this juncture TNS remarked that Thyagaraja has composed the whole Ramayana in one krthi,’ sri raghukula’ in Hamsadvani like the  ekasloki Ramayana, where also he has said that Rama had come only to protect the devotees, ‘paramabhkthulanu paalanamu cheyu In his krthi ‘epaniko’ in saveri Thyagaraja explains why he wanted to sing the glories of Rama. TNS said, as Kamban expresses his attempt to write Ramayana as that of a cat wishing to lap up the milky ocean, because it is ‘kottRatthu raamankadhai,’ Thyagaraja says in this krthi, ‘vaalmeekaadhi munulu narulu ninnu varNinchina naayaasa dheernaa, just because Valmiki and others have described about you   will my desire to sing about your glory be satisfied?’

TNS said that there is no account of Rama being enjoyed as a child, because Valmiki describes the birth and immediately goes on to tell about their gurukulavasa and Dasaratha thinking about the marriage of his sons. But it was left to bhakthas like  Thyagaraja to fondle Rama as a child, and he sang about the childhood of Rama as the Azvars did.  TNS sang the yadhukulakaambhodhi  krthi ‘sreeraama jayaraama srngaararaamayanai,’ in which Thyagaraja wonders how Dasaratha would have relished calling Rama by his name. TNS madeit vivid by singing the name Rama as Dasaratha would have called with different bhavas, and  similarly the line ‘thalukuchekkula muddhu pettu,’ describing Kousalya planting a kiss on Rama. Thyagaraja also enjoys the beauty and the gait of Rama, said TNS, singing the krthi in mayamalavagoula ‘merusamaana , in which Thyagaraja calls everyone to come and see Rama walking and his forelocks dancing on his forehead, and also explained it as he sang each line.

Another delightful scene described by Thyagaraja is in his sahana piece ‘raama raama laali,’ which is an imagination of Kousalya comforting Rama who comes being turned away by his mates from play. It is beautiful brimging out the divinity as well as the child hood activities and TNS explained it fully singing it. He said that what all the inspired devotees like Thyagraja sang were not t be called imaginations but only vivid experiences. TNS made it a vivid experience for the rasikas also.

Referring to the krthis of Thyagaraja  where he has specified the methos od singing like elaborate raga alapana etc, TNS said raga should be sung in sucha way that it touches the sky and the sea and like the waves of the milky ocean rising uo covering entire region. The namasankeerthana contains all the nine types of devotion but the divine presence could be felt in the raga itself without the words even. When one becomes the music and viceversa, the Lord will be crowned in our hearts as Athmarama. Thus ended the first day of RamayanatthEn.

12-10-2008- YagasamrakshaNam

The Lord having incarnated in the paramakarunya avathara now goes to do the bidding of his guru in guarding the yaga of Visvamithra. Aptly TNS sang the krthi ,’guruleka,’ of Thyagaraja in gourimanohari. Since we saw Thyagaraja singing lullaby to Rama in ‘uyyalaookavaiyyaa,’ yesterday it is only fitting to sing ‘melukkovayya,’ in bouli today to wake him up, said TNS and remarked about the proper timings of the ragas, like  bouli and bhoopaalam to be sung in mornings, neelaambari in the night etc. Though it is strictly followed in the North, in the South it is not so and not needed , said TNS, because the effect of the specific ragas can be seen at all times, and quoted an incident when some rasika asked him whether neelambari can be sung in day time and when TNS sang it on a morning concert the same rasika was seen to nod his head. This is because the raga has the soothing effect to induce sleep, like Ramayana discourses, remarked TNS jokingly.

Then TNS narrated the episode of arrival of Visvamithra, who was present the moment Dasaratha thought about arranging the marriage of the princes. Singing the sloka ‘thathaH chinthyaamaasa raajaa theshaam dhaarkriyaam prathi,’ in chakracakam, TNS said, when the aspect of Guru, Jupiter, came in the horoscope of Rama, the guru himself came to see him. Dasaratha welcomed the sage speaking to him as one should speak to the revered persons, saying that he felt like getting all things good at the proper time, like a mortal getting nectar, a barren father getting a son , regaining lost treasure etc. TNS quoted the respective sloka. Visvamithra praised Dasaratha, who promised to do his bidding, saying that a disciple of Vasishta could not have spoken otherwise. The sage said that he was doing yaga in siddhasrama,  and the rakshasas were preventing it and as he should not get angry while doing the yaga he wanted Rama  to protect it. Kamban names it tharuvanam, because it would fulfil all wishes, ‘kEttadhellaam tharum vanam,’ said TNS, and sang the ramanataka krthi, ‘raamanaittharuvaayE.’ He said that he alone knew the real nature of Rama aham vedhmi mahaathmaanam raamam sathyaparaakramam, and that Vasishta also knew and so are the sages around him., which Dasaratha blinded by attachment  does not, TNS explaining the words of Visvamithra ,’aham vedhmi mahaathmaanam,’  said that it implies various meanings such as Dasaratha was on simhasana, with sages around him seeing everything with his human eyes but Visvamitra used to be in darbhasana, acquiring jnana by humble approach to his guru and has divine eyes. All these sages have come to him not for his sake but because they knew the real identity of Rama.

TNS said that perhaps Visvamithra remembering his former rivalry with Vasishta felt envious of him because he had the association of Rama unasked while he himself had to ask for it. Dasaratha was grieved beyond measure and said that his son Rama was not even sixteen years of age yet. TNS sang tha sloka ‘oonashodaSa varsho me raamo raajeevalochanaH,’ and said that by referring Rama as raajeevalochana, what Dasaratha meant to convey was that he was lotus-eyed and like a lotus his  eyes will close at night but the rakshasas will come only in the night. Visvamithra getting angry told him to live happily swerving from his promise. Then Vasishta intervened and told the king that Visvamithra would protect the boys like a fire and he should not refuse the blessing that was to come to them from the sage. TNS said that perhaps Vasishta remembered the episode of Harischandra and was afraid that the sage may proclaim Dasaratha as swerving from his word all over the world.

In adhyathma Ramayana, said TNS, Vasishta tells Dasartha about the avatararahsya , and perhaps this is what made Kamban to make  Dasaratha say, “fetch the consort of Lakshmi,” ‘thirumagal kELvanai koNardhi,’.in sending for Rama, but it could be also because Rama was going to be the consort of rajyalakshmi later.

Dasaratha sent Rama and Lakshmana with sage telling him that henceforth he would be the father , mother etc for the princes. Here TNS extolled guru bhakthi , by referring to the krthis of Thyagaraja, guruleka, etc. and said that if one considers his guru as God the Lord will come on His own.

Visvamithra enjoyed the sleep of Rama in the forest, which TNS said was not to be the good fortune of Vasishta, thus gaining one over his rival. The sloka by which Visvamithra woke up Rama has become the universal suprabhatham now. TNS explained why Visavamithra said  ‘kousalya supraja raama.’  Raama being a young boy it was perhaps doubtful that whether he would have accompanied Visvamitra if Kousalya  prevented him.

On their way they came across Thataka and Rama killed her obeying his guru implicitly. TNS said that the only similarity between Rama and Krishna was that both killed a woman at first, while differing in all other respects such as Rama was born in palace and was brought up as a prince but went to forest and had only one wife. Krishna on the other hand was born in a prison and brought up in the forest and ended up in a palace and had many wives etc. Kamban describes the arrow of Rama that hit Thataka in the verse ‘sollokkum kadiya vEga sudusaram,’ which TNS sang in kapi, and explained that the arrow went through Thataka like the word of advice given by the good to the fools.

Rama appeared to Thyagaraja  as he did yagasamrakshna, and he described Rama  as such in the anupallavi, balakanakamayachela, of   his ataana krthi, elaneedhayaradhu. TNS saying thus, sang the krthi beautifully depicting the different bhavas in the anupallavi and pallavi, the former jubilant seeing Rama  thus and the latter plaintive when he disappeared. TNS said that Rama would have appeared to Thyagaraja whenever he wished because he had chanted ramanama 96 crores of times within a span of 35 years, amidst his other works like unchavrtthi, namasankeerthana, puja teaching his disciples etc., which is indeed a miracle. But Thyagaraja pleads with Raama to show mercy not for his sake but for the people in general. That is the kindness of the saintly souls. They want to show the Lord whom they have seen to others as Thyagaraja says, choothaamu raare etc.

TNS then described the yagasamrkshanam by Rama and Lakshmana  Marica was pushed into the ocean and head of Subahu was cut off by the arrow of Rama. Thyagaraja in his krthi in kaikavasi, mentioning this , says  that it is impossible to describe the glory of Rama, .’Vaachaam agocharame manasaa.’  TNS sang this and also sang the verse of Kamban dscribing how the princes protected the yaga in the same raga. Kamban says,  ‘maNNinaikkaakkinRa mannanin maindhargaL kaNNinaikkaakkinRa imaaiyin kaatthanar,’  They guarded the sacrifice like the eyelids protecting the eyes. This TNS explained beautifully that the upper eyelid always moves while the lower one will be static. Thus Lakshmana was standing at one place while Rama was always  moving.

Thus ended the second day’s harikatha.

13-10-2008-seethakalyanam

After the yaga was finished Rama asked Visvamithra what would be his next bidding, implicitly following his father’s words to obey thesage , who was his guru now, thus justifying the term suprajaa raama, used by Visvamithra  in waking him up, which means a sathputhra. Visavamithra took them towards Mithila, explaining to Rama about the places they trvelled on the way. When they came to the hermitage of Gouthama, Ahalya came to life at the touch of the feet of Rama. The Ahalya episode showed that the grace of the Lord is available to all, proving His words, ‘aham thavaam sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami,’ said TNS and further illustrated the fact that the feet of the Lord is enough to shower grace by singing Thyagarajakrthi, ‘sriramapaadhamaa,’ which he said, Thyagaraja has sung assuming the role of Visvamithra  and he sang the krthi with full bhava bringing the heart-melting emotion of paadhama, as Thyagaraja would have sung. In this krthi Thyagaraja mentions the ahalya episode, and singing the lines TNS said that there should be a break between the words soora and ahalya in the charanam as the former refers to Rama and the latter to Ahalya.

 He also sang the verse of Kamban, ‘ivvaNNam nigazhndhavaNNam,’ in which Visvamithra praises Rama saying, ‘myvaNNatthu arakki poril mazhaivaNnatthu aNNale un kai vaNNam sngu kandEn kaal vaNnam ingu kandEn.’ In panthuvarali, and explained the difference of two words both  meaning ‘dark hue,’ myvanNam, black as the collyrium  and mazhaivaNNam, dark as the rain-bearing cloud the former denoting the darkness of ignorance while the latter shows the kaaruNya. The verse means that the sage says that he had seen the skill of the arms of Rama in killing Thataka, showing his valour and here he had seen the skill of his feet in showing mercy to the devotees. Ahalya was chanting ramanama as instructed by her husband to wait till Rama comes to be freed from curse.

The words of the sage, said TNS had more meaning than the explcit one , said TNS. The sage meant that he wa still going to see the kaivaNnam in breaking of the bow of Siva later and all this and what he was going to do such as destroying Khara and Dhooshan wit their army single-handed etc. was only ‘kaal’ meaning a quarter of his glory as it is said ‘paadho asya viSvaa bhothaani thripaadhasyaamrtham dhivi.’ In the verse quoted above Kamban also says that with Ramavathara all good things will happen to the world.

They neared Mithila and Kamban says that the flag on the fort seemed to call Rama as though telling him that they contain within, Lakshmi, as a result of their penance.TNS here said that when even the flags are inviting Rama we should also do so and sang the composition of Ambujam Krishna  in natakurinji, ‘kOlam kaaNa vaareer,’ which contains the lines ‘nilamagaL karam konda raghuraaman kalyaana kOlam kaaNa vareer.’

Rama was walking along the streets and Kamban describing the scenes they witnessed on the way. There was a dance hall  in describing which Kamban has given a perfect lakshana of dance and the dancer as Valmiki has given that of music and gayaka, said TNS. ‘Thai varu makaraveeNai thaNNumai thazuvitthoonga, kaivazi nayanam sella kaN vazi manamum sella,’

 The veena follows the mridhanga closely as though embracing it, the eyes of the danseuse follow her hands and her mind follows her eyes, meaning the gestures and expression on her eyes and face expresses the feeling in the mind. This gives an idea of how the accompanying instruments should be played and here TNS paid a compliment to his accompanists, Sri Varadan on mridangam and Shertalai Sivakumar on violin. Really they were very good and while Varadan enhanced the music by his masterly strokes  Sivakumar embellished the music by exactly reflecting the bhava of TNS in singing by closely following his sangathis.

TNS extolled the sound of Veena saying that usually veena is played during the pumsavana because the twang of the veena should be heard by the foetus.  Mridhangam when played rightly should create the same effect  like veena , said TNS and he related an incident when the Karaikudi brothers were playing Veena they said ‘let the third veena also come’ meaning Dhakshinamurthy pillai. He also referred to the sloka in soundarya lahari. ‘vipanchyaa gaayanthee’ I which Sankara describes the scene when Ambika on hearing Sarasvati , said ‘saadhu,saadhu’ the sweetness of which made sarasvati ashamed and she covered the veena well so that even the twang should not be heard.

Kamban describing Rama walking along and seeing the city of Mithila, ends the verses with the word ‘kandaar,’ ‘they saw’ but when they came to the place where Seetha was standing on the balcony, he uses the word ‘ninRaar- stood.’ Rama stopped his walk and saw Seetha, who was like ‘ponninchodhi,’ gold in lustre. As the veda describes Lakshmi as hiraNyavarNaa, of the hue of gold. TNS said that Seetha was compared to gold  because  the gold becomes purified by fire. Seetha the divine mother also underwent ordeal like that to save the world.

TNS sang the famous verses of Kamban with the lines, ‘kaNNodu kaNNiNai kavvi----- aNNalum nOkkinaan avaLum nokkinaaL’ in Hameer kalyani. He brought the scene in front by his fabulous variations of bhava in :kavvi’ and the two different ways of ‘nokki’ by singing the first line majestically   and the second tenderly, to diferntiate the look of Rama and Seetha respectively. The other  verse in the context has the line ‘iruvarum maarippukku idhayam eidhinaar’ the two entered each other’s heart  and the next verse, marungilaa nangaiyum vasai il ayyanum,  which goes on as karungadal paLLiyil kaalvineengippoy pirindhavar koodinaal pESal vEndumo,’ which TNS not only sang beautifully but also explained the aesthetic  beauty of the poetry of  Kamban.  Rama and Seetha possessed all merits but probably Kamban felt that there will be dhrshtidhosha and hence he says marungu ilaa nangai, the damsel without waist, that is, she has extremely thin waist line . Rama  is referred to as vasai il ayyan, has no defects., meaning that both are wanting in something. In the line karungadal paLLiyil kaalvineengippoy pirindhavar koodinaal pEsal vEndumo, TNS explained why kamban said karungadal while the abode  of Narayana ia the milky ocean. The Lord is described as having margathameni, body  like emerald, which if it is of the best quality will, when put in milk , turn it black. So the milky ocean became karunkadal. The music of TNS is always audio visual and the way he brought the beautyof Kamban’s lyric by his music is to be seen to be believed. I cannot bring the full effect by written words. This was the case whenever he sang, whether the krthis of Thyagaraja or Arunachala kavi or the poetry of Kamban

The famous krthi  of Arunachala kavi, ’yaarO ivar yaaro,’  applies both to Rama and Seetha, said TNS. This krthi is publicized by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Ayyangar in the raga Bhairavi and usually considered to be the words of Rama on seeing Seetha. But the original raga was saveri which gives the impression that Seetha was saying this on seeing Rama. TNS sang the krthi each line alternatively in Saveri and Bhairavi, to show the difference in bhava.

Janaka saw the princes who looked like devas and being a jnani sensed their divinity and said Bhadhram the, ‘may you be blessed ,’ and asked Visvamithra about their identity. TNS explained the whole sloka ‘imou kumaarou badhram the,’  in which Janaka describes them as equal to devas in valour, having the gait of elephant and resembling a tiger and a bull in might. Janaka  said that they looked like devas who have come to earth by chance and who steals the eyes and the mind by their form. TNS said that the word yadhrcchayaa, by chance, occurs often in Valmiki whenever any important turning event occurs. This only means that nothing is  accidental in this world but only happens by divine will.  Visvamithra told  Janaka about them and said that they have come to see his bow.

When they went to rest, Rama in Kamba Ramayana, thinks about Seetha whom he saw earlier. Seetha likewise thought about his dark hair like blue sapphire, ‘indraneelam otthu irundakunji,’ and his moonlike face, chandravadhanam, and long arms, thaazhndhakaigaLum,  and above all else his smile  devoured her, muruval ennai undadhE. TNS explaining this said that the reason why kamban used the term thaazndha kaigaL, lowered arms,  to denote long arms, was that the hand of the Lord was lowered when He asked Mahabali to give Him what He wanted, which also shows that His arms are always lowered to shower His blessings on His devotees.

TNS sang two krthis of Thyagaraja which depict correctly the state of mind Seetha was in. One is ‘nagumomu,’ in abheri and the second was ‘manasuloni’ in Hindolam. In the first Thyagaraja asks Rama as Seetha, whether His attendants, parivaarulella, like  Adhisesha, did not tell him what she was suffering, and whether khagaraaju, Garuda refused to bring Him, and if he does not take pity whom else she can pray to, jaga mele paramaathmaa everitho moralidudhu. TNS explained the second one ‘manasuloni, line by line singing  it fully.

When Visvamithra introduced  Rama as the son of Dasaratha  before he was taken to see the bow of Siva, the sage must have sensed the apprehension in the mind of Janaka that like his father he may also have several wives and hence to reasuure him Visvamithra says in Kambaramayana, they are ths ons of Dasaratha only in name whereas only Vasshta brought them up.’ Pudhalvar ennum peyarE kaaN-----marai odhuvitthu ivarai vaLartthaanum vasittan kaaN.’  Then Janaka took them to see the bow. TNS said kocularly that Lakshman was restless thinking that Janaka was making much of an old bow, which he himself could have lifted easily, when Rama has killed Thataka ,and Subaahu with one arrow. Sensing this Visvamithra must have said, ‘vathsa raama dhanuh paSya,’ implying that it was Rama who had to see the bow and  not Lakshmana! Also TNS sid it meant that Rama should remain a vathsa, a young boy and should not forget his avathararahasya and show who He was in reality, the Thrivikrama who measured the world in one step. The word paSya also might have had the meaning see what you can do as though to say that “you have seen Seetha yesterday and today you see the bow which when lifted and strung will fetch you Seetha.

Rama understood the intention of the sage and walked towards the bow. The people watching were anxious and were talking that Janaka was foolish in not giving Seetha straight away to Rama and putting such a condition for marriage. While they were talking thus they sawhim take up the bow and the next moment heard it break. ’eduttgadu kandaar ittRadhu kEttaar  TNS described all this in his own eloquent and delightful manner and said that all the people were overwhelmed with joy and admired Rama, saying that to see Rama, Seetha  needed  thousand eyes, ‘nambiyikkaaNa nangaikku aayiram nayanam vEndum,’ others refuting this saying that to see Seetha also Rama needed thousand eyes, ‘kombinaikkaaNum thoRum kurisiRkumannadhe aam.’ Others said , ‘thambiyaikkaaNum,  see the younger brother , probably , TNS said, someone must have  thought that since Rama is going to wed Seetha, Lakshmana might be available for a prospective bridegroom! Others wished to salute the sage who brought them here.

Then Seethakalyaanam  was celebrated after summoning Dasaratha and others, and Kamban described Seetha coming to the wedding hall by a beautiful verse, ‘ponninoLi poovin veRi saandhupodhiSeetham,’ which TNS sang even more beautifully in kurinji  continuing with Thyagaraja krthi, ‘Seethaakalyaana vaibhogame, and said  that Thyagaraja wanted both Hanuman and Siva whose amsa he was to come to the marriage and hence he composed the stanzas ‘ Pavanajasthuthi paathra,’ and ‘paramesanuthgeetha,’ in the krthi. He also sang the Oothukkadu composition ‘.kalyanarama’  in hamsanadham and the sloka ‘iyam seethe mamasuthaa ,’ also in hamsanadham.  Thus marriage of seetha was celebrated and TNS said that the other functions such as nalangu etc will be performed the next day as it was past the time scheduled.

14-10-2008- Kaikeyi varam

TNS starts the harikatha everyday by singing the sloka on Haygreeva, ‘jnaananandamayam devam, followed by ramanama. He sang the two in diffferent ragas everyday and with prolific sangathis.

TNS continuing the marriage of Rama and Seetha, as he said that he did not want to start the day with Kaikeyi and her boons, sang the lines ‘raaramaaintidhaaga,’ of Thyagaraja which looks as though Janaka invited Rama, but actually he came without being invited, as Visvamithra told Janaka, valuvilE vandhaanE neengaL seidha poojai.’ TNS sang the ramanataka krthi ‘ivanai nee yaaro enReNNaamal ennaaLum,’ in sankarabharanam,

 fully explaining the song. Visvamithra related the deeds of Rama to show that he was not only valorous but divine, mentioning the release of Ahalya from her curse. In anupallavi  Arunachal kavi says , SooraadhiSooran referring to his slaying Thataka etc. but in the same breath he says, sugunadheeran. This is affirmed by Thyagaraja , said TNS in his krthi ‘heccharigagaa ra ra.’in yadhukula kaambhodhi, where he says , ‘pacchavidhunikanna,’ he is the father of Manmatha as though reflecting the words, sugunadheeran of the ramanataka krthi ,’ivanai nee yaaro enReNNaamal’ , meaning “who do you take him for?”

TNS also quoted Kamban , where Visvamithra introducing Rama , extols his prowess describing his slaying of Thataka, by the words, ‘thaatakai than uram uruvi, malai uruvi, maram uruvi, maN uruvitru oru vaaLi.’ Rama’s arrow pierced the chest of Thataka, then a mountain and then a tree and finally entered into the earth.

The nalangu after the marriage, is sung  by Thyagaraja  his krthi, ‘nagumomu galavaani ,’ in madhyamavathi, which he mentions as nalugu paadalu. This TNS sang beautifully alternatively showing the coconut being rolled towards each other by the bridal couple. He sang first line bringing out the bhava of Rama, who rolled it fast and the second line siftly and slowly as Seetha would have rolled the coconut slowly enjoying the beauty of her husband by feigning to adjust her bracelet in which she saw his form. Kamban describes this as ‘kaivaLai thirutthum kadaikkaNin unarndhaaL’ No one saw her doing this but one, said TNS, and it was Thyagaraja. He says in his pancharathna krthi ‘kana kana ruchiraa,’ that Seetha was looking at him askance, ‘seetha kulukuchu norakanulaku joochEninnu.’  Saying this TNS said that each krthi of Thyagaraja is nothing but Ramayana. TNS also sang the krthi of Thyagaraja , ‘naapaali sreeraama,’ followed by a traditional  oonjal paattu in Anandhabhairavi. Finally TNS concluded the episode of Seethakalyanam by singing pathiki mangala haarathi, in suruti and sopane krthi of Thyagaraja in Panthuvarali, a exclusive mode of madhyama sruthi of the raga which was exquisitely sung by TNS as he does always. He said singing it fully that, Thyagaraja has brought in the whole avathara kaarya in the krthi and explained the stanzas.

Then TNS referred to the advent of Parsurama and mentioned about the ramanatakrthi, in which the two Ramas are engaged in verbal battle, such as Parasurama accusing Rama that he killed a woman whereas Rama rebuking him that Parasurama killed his own mother. Then Parasurama defeated gave Rama his thapas accumulated over the years. This and acquiring asthra sasthras from Visvamithra was to justify Rama having extraordinary power in battle, while posing as a human though actually as Lord Narayana he did now need them.

Then TNS started the Ayodhyakanda. Rama spent his time in Ayodhya serving his parents and guru and engaged in interaction with Seetha in which he was discussing the vedic truths. Dasaratha once perceiving a grey hair  thought of crowning Rama and called for his council of ministers and preceptors. The rule of Dasratha, his arasaatchi, said TNS was aRasatchi, aRam meaning dharma.

All were waiting for Dasaratha to say so and said as one man that they wished only to see Rama on the  royal elephant, ‘icchamo hi mahaabaahum raghuviirammahaabalam gajena mahataa yaantaM raamaM chhatraavRtaananam,’ with his face hak lf hidden by threroyal umbrella, which made Dasaratha wonder whether they were dissatisfied with his rule. Thereupon they started extolling the qualities of Rama, which pleased Dasaratha.

Rama is referred to as irukai vezam by Kamban because the elephant will raise those who have earned its goodwill and place them on its head but with the same trunk, it will throw those who opposes it. The characteristics of Rama explained by the courtiers implied only this, said TNS as Rama raises those who have done even a little service to him and also he had the rare combination of wisdom and  sweet speech. ‘Buddhimaan maDhuaabhaashee poorvabhaashee proyamvadhaH.’  He shows his goodwill by speaking first without reservation. Thyagaraja marvels at the manner of speech of Rama in his thodi krthi, ‘emani maatlaadithivo,’ and asks him how did he speak to relatives, brothers, ladies, servants, kings rshis etc. so that all became his worshippers. TNS sang the krthi in full explaining it on the way.

After praising Rama thus all those assembled  there raised their folded hands like closed lotuses anjalipadhmaani. Then dasratha summoned Rama who came and Valmiki goes into ecstasy  describing Rama then. gandharvaraajapratimaM loke vikhyaatapaurushham

diirgha baahuM mahasattvaM mattamaataN^gagaaminam

TNS sang the sloka in behag so beautifully that Rama was presented in front with all his beauty. Valmiki says further ‘roopaudaaryaguNaiH puMsaaM drshhTichittaapahaariNam’  meaning , Rama  stole the eyes and heart of all by his form and his udhaara guna, generosity. TNS said the word oudhaaryaguna  is used here to mean that Rama came in front of all so that all can see him and enjoy his magnificent form as he later went  to dandakaranya wlking all the way so that everyone could enjoy his presence. Rama when told of the intention of Dasaratha to crown him accepted without any change in his countenance as a mere order of his father.

Arrangements were being made for the coronation and Rama worshipped Ranganatha , the family deity given to Manu by Indra, and that was compared by TNS as the utsavar doing aradhana to moolavar, and witnessed by the divine mother at his side,’ saha pathnyaa viSaalaakshyaa.’  TNS said that Thyagaraja has implied this in his krthi, ‘upachaaramulanu,’ in bhairavi, because he calls Rama by the names uragaraaja sayanaa and also jaanakeepathi.

The whole town was in a festive mood and all rejoiced, the sentient and insentient, except one person. Manthara, the hunch-backed attendant of Kaikeyi ascended the balcony of the palace of Kaikeyi accidentally, yadhrcchayaa, says valmiki but it was not yadhrccha but eesvarecchaa, the will of the Lord ,said TNS. Everything that appears as yadhrccha  accidental to us  is by eesvarecchaa only.

Kamban describes Manthara as kodumanakkooni, meaning that her mind was as crooked as her body and also mentions the fact that she remembered being hit by Rama when he was playing with his toy bow. Manthara descended from the balcony fast and TNS with his visualizing skill showed the scene as it was. She came down but her hypertension went up, said TNS. She went to Kaikeyi who was resting and said, ‘utthishTa mooDe,’ oh fool get up. And told her the news. Kaikeyi pleased at the impending coronation  of Rama gave Manthara a mangalahara, auspicious neck ornament she was wearing and TNS said then itself her mangala has gone and this is what is usually described as yadhrcchaa.  Manthara was angry and threw down ornament and told her she was going to meet with disaster which made Kaikeyi angry and she scolds Manthara. Kamban says , ‘enakku nallaiyum allay nee enmagan bharathan thanakku nallaiyum allai,’ meaning , she is not a well-wisher to Kaikeyi or to Bharatha to talk like that. Arunachaakavi has composed a beautiful krthi, .’raamanukku mannan mudi tharitthaale,’ which is sung in hindolam  and well known to all, especially to the rasika sof TNS. He sang the krthi fully with another charanam not commonly heard, with exquisite bhava to the delight of the rasikas. Kaikeyi was more fond of Rama than her own son , said TNS, because Dasaratha put Rama in her care to know all the necessary skills for a prince as she was adept in that and put Bharatha in the care of Kousalya by which he grew to be a great bhagavatha , trained by the pious Kousalya.

But to prove the proverb ‘karaippaar karaitthaal kallum karaiyum,’, even a stone will dissolve if one skilled in the act does it, kaikaeyi’s mind was poisoned slowly by Manthara who put fear in her heart that if Seetha became the quees the father of Kaikeyi would b in trouble because janaka and he were opposed to each other. Kaikeyi was transformed to such an  extent that she praised Manthara for her beauty. Then heeding the advice of Manthara to ask for the two boons Kaikeyi went to the chamber of anger and did all that should not be done by a married woman, said TNS, like loosening her hair throwing off all ornaments etc.

Dasratha came and asked her the reason for her anger and also promised her the two boons. She asked him the boons. To show that to what extent she has been poisoned by Manthara, Kamban says, ‘Eya varangal irandil onRinaal en sEy araSu aaLvadhu, seethai kELvan onRaal poy vanam aaLvadhu,’

Kaikeyi thus asked that her son should rule the kingdom and rama should go to forest, but she referred to Rama as ‘Seethai kELvan,’ the husband of Seetha. Dasaratha fell down like a cobra hearing the fierce thunder.he pleaded with her but she was resolute sayin that if he did not give her the boons she would kill herself and the king fell down unconscious.

 Here TNS as though to relieve the seriousness of the situation quipped that whatever on asks for should be given then and there and should not allow them to ask later as a young wife asked by her husband what she wanted deffered the wish to their shahtiabdhapoorthi and asked him to give her a gold waistband, Oddiyaanam, which  the retired husband without pension would find it difficult considering the  size of her waist which has grown with years!

The night passed thus and in the morning L Kaikeyi told Sumanthra, who came to see the king , to fetch Rama. When Rama came. Kaikeyi told him that the king wished Bharatha to be crowned and Rama to go to forest for fourteen years and he could not speak because of fear of displeasing Rama. TNS here sang the verse from Kamban, ‘aazhisoozh ulagam ellam bharthanE aaLa nee pOy thaazh iru sadaigaL thaangi-----Ezhu irandu aandin vaa,’ beautifully in kedharagoula. Kaikeyi said Rama had to go to forest for two times seven perhaps not having the heart to say 14 years, and further mentioned that Rama had to live as ak hermit, ‘thaazh iru sadaigaL thaangi,’ matting his hair.After saying this cruel words she said , ‘iyambuinana arasan,’ the king said so, sounding it as a government order, said TNS. He then sang the reply of Rama  also in kedaragoula , showing the differences in bhava of the same raga. Rama said  ‘mannavan paNi anRaagin num pani maRuppeno,pinnavan pettRa selvam adiyanEn pettradhanRO even if it is not the command of the king will I go against yours, the kingdom acquiered by  my younger brother is actually like my getting it. ’ And further says, ‘ippaNi thalaimEl kondEn.’  TNS explained he words of Rama thus:

Mannan pani anru- this is not the command of the king, but yours , I know, aagil- but still, num paNi maRuppenO- will I refuse to do your command?

Pin avan pettRa selvam- what Bharatha will get later , adiyanEn petradhanRO-  it is actually going to be mine, as Bharatha was going to refuse to accept the kingdom. Then the words ‘ippaNi thalai mEl kondEn,’ actually means that this is exactly my mission for which I have come down as an incarnation.

TNS concluded the day’s harikatha saying that from now on only the incidents that were going to proclaim the glory of Rama were going to happen and he was shining on that day as thyaagaraama. There was no karma for Him and what happened was the result of the karma , action of coming down to earth as a human being, which He Himself undertook.

15-10-2008-Padhukapattabhishekam

In the beginning TNS started the day with a bajan of Samartha Ramadas followed by Thyagaraja krthi ‘Seethamma maayamma, in vasantha to show the similarity between the two compositions. Both hold Rama as their only relative, while Ramadasa says, Raama eka maathaa Raama eka pithaa Raama ekamaathaa sahodhra, Thyagaraja says ‘Seethammamaayamma sreeraamudu maathanRi,’ including Hanuman, Lakshmana, Garuda, sathrughna Jambavan etc as brothers and also all the bhaagavathas including Siva, and sages etc as his relatives, thus adding himself in the big family of Rama.

The transition of the mind of Kaikeyi within a muhurtha, was really due to the machination of the devas who requested sarasvathi to enter the speech of Manthara to convince Kaikeyi, said TNS, referring to the verse from Kamban ‘soozcchiyin imaiyOr maayaiyum‘ who says that because of the plotting of the devas and the penance of the good together with the sin of the rakshasas the pure mind of Kaikeyi was spoilt. All was by the will of the Lord . said TNS, as He himself says in the Gita, ‘eeSvarah sarvabhoothaanaam hrddhese arjuna thishTathi, bhraamayan sarvabhoothaani yanthraarooDaani maayayaa.’ He is activating all, being inside the heart of all beings revolving them like the giant wheel through His maya. TNS said that the paramathma acting as a jeevaathma  superimposing the paramathmathathva on himself. TNS sang the vardhani raga krthi, ‘manasaa mansaamrthya’ of Thyagaraja in full explaining it . Thyagaraja says that nothing is by our will, which is evident by the Ramavathara in which the Lord planned everything Himself on the chariot moving on the chariot called the world, such as changing the mind of Kaikeyi who at first, was so pleased  as to reward Manthara on hearing the coronation of Rama.

Rama left Kaikeyi to bid farewell to Kousalya and went to her palace. Kousalya saw him walking on foot, without the royal signalia,  the chowrie and white umbrella fit for a crown prince. TNS sang the verse of Kamban, ‘kuzhaikkinRa kavari inRi kottRa ven kudaiyum inRi izhaikkinRa vidhi mun sella dharumam lpinnirabdhu Enga,’ his only attendants were the destiny which went in front and the dharma which followed sorrowfully. This is the textual meaning but TNS gave a beautiful explanation of the lines  saying that, the destiny was wielding the chaamara and the dharma was carrying the umbrella, because it could not go in front as what happened was due to destiny which preceded dharma, which took refuge in Rama, because he was the svasya dhrmasya rakshithaa, protector of his dharama for which he had come down to earth, namely dhushtanigraha and sishtaparipalana. TNS sang the verse in subhapanthuvarali beautifully with full of bhava.

Kousalya did not mind Bharatha getting the kingdom but hearing the news of Rama’s exile she fell down like a tree uprooted. She tried to tell Rama that he should also obey his mother also and she did not want him to go but Rama said that both of them are bound to obey the command of the king. Finally she was reconciled and gave him permission saying that all the blessings that was given by Vinatha to Garuda on his exploits and by Adhithi to Vamana, should be his but requested him to take her with him when Rama told her that her duty is to be with her husband.

Lakshmana who was listening to all that happened and was boiling with anger told Raama that he will destroy all who oppose his coronation and make him king and Rama pacified him, saying it not anybody’s fault but the work of fate  TNS sang the verse of Kamban. ‘nadhiyin pizhai anRu ,’ in sama,  meaning that as it is not the fault of the river if it is devoid of water, it was not the fault of their father or Kaikeyi but the result of fate. TNS followed this with the Thyagarja krthi in sama, ‘Saanthamuleka soukhyamuledhu.’ When Lakshmana said he did not consider Dasartha as his father  anymore and Raama was his father,  mother everything, Rama said, then he had to obey Rama’s orders,  and thus pacified him.

Then Rama went to see Seetha. TNS said that Rama could conceal his emotion from his mother who sensed something was wrong only through the external signs but he could not do so to Seetha who, by a mere look at his face found out that something was wrong. The Rama told her the news and said that she should be in Ayodhya till his return but Seetha said she would come with him and do all service to him in the forest. TNS sang the Thyagarajakrthi  ‘ raguvaranannu ,’ in Panthuvarali  which reflects the words of Seetha that for a married lady no relation is as important as her husband. TNS sang the charanam which he said normally not sung, ‘thallidhandarulu anna thammulu unna polathiki okadupurushundounaa.’           

Rama tried to convince her by giving an account of all the perils of the forest which made her exclaim in exasperation,  ‘raama jaamaatharam praapya sthriyam purushvigraham, “my father seems to have acquired for his son in law a woman in man’s form,” remonstrating ‘was he not  man enough to protect her from all calamities?’ Rama had to agree after this. In adhyathma ramayana Seetha tells Rama that he could not go without her because dhushtanigraha and sishtaparipalana  must happen only through her, said TNS. In Kamban Seetha just says, ,’nin pirivinum sudumO kaadu,’  “ will the forest be as terrible as the separation from ypu.”

Then Rama told Lakshmana to stay back when he fell flat at the feet of Rama and Seetha and said he was like a fish that would not survive even one minute out of water and would not live separated from Rama even for a minute. All these episodes TNS narrated with his inimitable bhava to prove that his music as well as narration are always  have audio-visual effect on the audience. The whole Ramayana was actually happening in front of the rasikas.

TNS then sang the saranga krthi of Thyagaraja , ‘neevaadanegaana’ in which Thyagaraja says, “How can I live even for a moment without you,” in full and said that it reflects the feeling of Lakshmana.

Knowing that Rama was going to forest the whole Ayodhya , even the animals, birds and the insentient beings  cried and Kamban says that even the foetus inside the womb cried. They went to see Dasaratha who was desolate and seeing he could not make Rama swerve from his pitrvaakyaparipalana, he ordered that all the royal parapheranalia should accompany Rama with all things needed for luxurious living which angered Kaikeyi who said that Dasaratha wanted to give a barren land to her son. But Rama refused and Kaikeyi brought the bark garment readily kept by her for that purpose. When Seetha tried to wear it knowing not how to do it and being helped by Rama Sumanthra could not tolerate it and abused Kaikeyi, saying ‘like mother like daughter’ as her mother insisted that her father should reveal the divine secret he heard from ants talking in spite of his telling her that his head bill break if he does. Dasaratha ordered all ornaments to be brought for Seetha and she should go to forest decked as a princess. as the hermit life was prescribed only for Rama. TNS explained all this briefly and also how Rama on reaching the forest told Sumanthra to misdirect the people who accompanied him by diverting the chariot towards Ayodhya when they were all sleeping.

Rama went to the banks of Ganges  and was met by Guha. Rama was impressed by the devotion of Guha who pleaded him to stay there for the fourteen years. TNS sang the Ramanataka krthi ,’ingeye irungaaNum,’ in kalyani. TNS quoting Kamban said that Rama moved by the love of Guha, accepted him as his fifth brother, ini naam Or aivargaL uLar aanOm,’ and this proved the words of Valmiki who described Rama as sarvasamaguNopethaH raamaH kousalyaanandhavarDhanaH.

Rama crossed the river in a boat by the help of Guha.  TNS  jocularly said that Lakshman opted to lead the boat himself but Rama told him that they should interfere in private enterprise, ‘thaniyaar thuRai.’ Also TNS  narrated a version related to the crossing of the river by Rama with Visvamithra after the Ahalya episode. The boatman told Rama to wash his feet and enter his boat because suppose the boat by the dust of his feet turned into a woman, he will be in trouble and also insisted that he himself will wash the feet to ensure that there would be no dust particle, which indicated not the suspicion of the boatman but his devotion.

TNS narrating the arrival of Rama in Bhardhvajasrama, sang the Thyagaraja krthi ‘nanupaalimpa,’ as though the sage was asking him whether he came all the way by walk grace sages like him, nadachi vacchithivO.

Rama walking in the forest is described by Kamban, said TNS singing the verse, veyyOn oLi,’ beautifully in amrthavarshini, where Kamban describes the beauty of Rama walking, maiyO maragathamO maRikadalO  mazaimugilO aiyo ivan vadivu enbadhu Or aziyaa azagudaiyaan. TNS said explaining it,  that , Kamban started comparing Rama to collyrium, emerald, the ocean and the rain-cloud and not being satisfied says .aiyo, meaning “how could I describe his beauty. Kamban admired Rama walking in the forest especially because there only he had begun his avatharakaarya.

TNS then briefly related the return of Sumanthra to Ayodhya, when knowing that Rama had gone, Dasaratha died in Kousalya’s palace after narrating the story of his curse that he would die of puthrasoka. Kousalya was inconsolable and Sumithra, who was more evolved,, sending her son to serve Rama with the words ‘mannum nagarkke ivan vandhidil vaa, adhu anREl munnam mudi, “if Rama comes back  you also come otherwise you end your life before him, that is, you sacrifice even your life to save him,”  in Kambaramayana and in Valmiki’s words, she said, raamam dhasaratham vidDhi maam vidDhi jankaathmajaam ayoDhyaam ataveem vidDhi,  consider Raama as Dasaratha and Seetha as myself.”

Then Bharatha was called and Kaikeyi told him about his father‘s demise and Rama’s exile in a matter of fact manner without any feeling, said TNS, but the reaction of Bharatha was violent, who said that he did not kill her merely because Rama would not approve.

After reassuring Kousalya that he was innocent by swearing that let all heinous sins be upon his head if he had an inkling of the plot of Kaikeyi,  he set  out to bring Rama and came to the banks of Ganga whom Guha saw and got suspicious. TNS sang the angry words of Guha from Kamban, swearing that they would not cross the river, in atana, and  Guha saying that the one word ‘you are my friend ,’ said by Rama was enough to give him his life, also in atana but with different bhava to show that a raga lends itself to the emotion portrayed.

When Guha saw Bharatha, who as Kamban describes as ‘varkaliyin udaiyaanai maasu adaindha meyyaanai, which TNS sang in saveri, wearing bark garment with his body full of dust, with face without  smile, and the bow of Guha fell from his hand. He saw Bharatha looking like Rama and Sathrugna like Lakshmana and said that of course those born with Rama could so no wrong.

When Bhartha told him of his real intention, Guha praises Bharatha saying that thousand Ramas would not be his equal. TNS sang the verse from Kamban, ‘thai uRai kondu thaadhai udhaviya dharaNi thannai theevinai enna neetthu chithanai mugatthi thEkki----aayiram raamar nin kEzhvar aavarO theriyinamma..’ also in saveri

Then Bharatha went to the asrama of Bharadhvaja and had to face the suspicion of the sage TNS said that Bharatha’s anguish is aptly reflected in the Thygarajakrthi, ‘Tsalamelaraa,’ in marga hindolam  and sang the krthi as Bhartaha would have done surrendering mentally to Rama saying, ‘thaala jaalaraa,’ “I cannot take any more.” TNS recounted the story of a frog from Sri Ramakrishna, who was pierced by the corner of the bow of Rama and when asked the reason why it kept quite instead of shouting, it said  “ if any one torments  me I will cry out to you but if you yourself hurt me whom can I go to?” This  is what Thygaraja means in this krthi by words,  ‘endhupodhnenemi chEyudhunu ecchChOdani morapbettudhunu.’

Then Bharatha  met Rama and fell before  reaching  his feet. Rama asked him all about his dispensing of his royal duties , enumerating the duties of the kings, about 50 or 60, consisting of a whole sarga called kaschith sarga in ValmikiRamayana TNS mentioned most of them. Rama asked all this before he knew the news of the death of his father, on hearing which Rama and Seetha fell down and cried. Vasishta pacified them and asked Rama to do the ceremonial rites for his father. Bharatha pleaded with Rama to come back and accept the throne but he refused saying that both have to obey their father and do as he told them. There upon Bharatha begged for his sandals and  TNS sang the verse from Kamban, semmaiyin thiruvadi in lalitha. Then the padhukas were taken in a royal procession and were installed on the throne in nandigrama and pattabhisheka was performed to the sandals. There afterwards Bharatha used to inform them whatever happened as a deputy of the king and discharge his duty as the command of Rama, represented by the sandals.

TNS related an episode regarding the padhuka of the Lord. It seems that once the shanku and charka teased the padhuka out of arrogance that they were more powerful and held by the hands of the Lord whereas the padhuka is under his feet. The padhuka replied that His feet are the most resorted to by the devotees when the two of them insulted the padhuka that she (padhuka is considered as feminine by the devotees) should be put in her place for  her insolence. Padhuka complained to the Lord who said that she will be  put in an exalted place which she deserves in Ramavathara. Thus the shanku and charka  not only had to wear the padhuka on their head but also put her on the throne and worship her!

Vedantadesika says in his padhukaasahasra that the sanctity of the padhuka could not be told even by the thousand –tongued Adhisesha. Saying this, TNS referred to Thygaraja who asks Rama one doubt in his krthi ‘sandhehamunu theerppavaiyaa,’ and said that he chose the apt raga ramapriya for this. Thyagraja expresses his doubt whether the feet worshipped in Vaikunta by the nithya sooris and the sages is superior or the sandals worshipped by Bharatha, because by worshipping His feet the devotees got to Vaikunta where , TNS said, they could only see the Lord from amidst others whereas Bharatha got the Lord Himself by worshipping the Padhuka. TNS sang the krthi in full and explained it. Thus ended the Harikatha of the fifth day.

16-10-2008-Mareechamaaya

After the harikatha yesterday, Mrs. YGP who was present, raised a question which she heard from some one remarking that Bharatha was not so good as he appeared to be because he took away evwn the sandals of Rama. TNS answered the question and repeated it today so that all could hear it. In Valmiki Ramayana  Bharatha asks Rama to step on the sandals embellished with gold which means that knowing Rama fully well Bharatha brought a pair of sandals for Ayodhya and Rama stepped on it Vasishta made Rama face east and stand on it and this was the sandals Bharatha took back to be crowned. But TNS said that Rama came to the forest as vanaprastha and hence would have worn sandals. And even if he had given that to Bharatha  it only showed that Bharatha only did good so that Bhoodevi could get the padhasparsa of Rama.

TNS briefly described the meeting of Rama with Sarabhanga, Sudheekshna after killing Viradha and  said that  Rama never showed His parathva explicitly but only in a subtle manner but stood as witness for people  who attained moksha, sarabhanga and sudheekshna and later, sabari. Viradha was described  as a huge rakshasa who carried something like 50 tigers and elephants etc on his trident. TNS briefly narrated the story of Viradha who was yaksha cursed to be a rakshasa by Kubera because he looked at Rambha dancing in the  court, with lust He first took Seetha and thus earned the grace of the divine mother to enable him to be freed from curse. Then he was trampled by Rama with his feet as weapons could not kill him, and was freed from his curse due to the padhasparsa of Rama. TNS sang and explained  the verses from Kamban in which Viradha praised Rama saying that his feet pervaded the whole world and the elements which are of opposite character are activated by His rule. The mother cow knows its calf and vice vrersa but humans do not have that ability and they do not know that who Rama was . TNS sang the kambaramayana verses in sama and then sang the ramanatakakrthi ‘aRivaar’ in mukhari.

After that Rama went to dandakaaranya and TNS said that there was a big crowd of rshis there. Each one did penance in different way. They all came to see Rama and to tell him their woes due to the harrasment of Khara and Dhushana in janasthaana. When they saw Rama  they fell in love and  wanted to embrace him Rama told them that they will be born as gopis in his next avathara and he will fulfill their wishes. Then they told him about the rakshasas  and that the fact they survived was because as they were like skeletons and the rakshasa did not care to kill them  as Visvamithra told Rama that Thataka did not care to eat them because they were without flesh, ‘kodhu enRu undilaL.’ Rama gave refuge saying that anyone who harms Brahmins, cows and women should be answerable to him.

Sita asked Rama that when the rakshasa have not done anything to him why should he promise the rshis that he will destroy them when he is is not the reigning monarch and Rama replied that dharmasamrakshanam is his first duty and even Seetha and Lakshmana are not that important to him compared with protection of dharma whether he is in the kingdom or in the forest.They lived ten years in dandaka forest among the rshis. Then Rama went to see the sage Agasthya who blessed them and gave him his bow made by Vivakarma for Vishnu which later came to be known as the kodhanda.

Then they went to Panchavati and stayed at the banks of Godavari. TNS then started the narration of the Surpanakha episode. Surpanakha, sister of Ravana, was traveling by air seeking humans to eat and saw Rama in Panchavati. She also decribes by valmiki as having come there by accident, yadhrcchayaa, that is, by the Lord’s will to fulfil his avatharakarya.   Immediately she fell in love with him. According to Kamban she assumed a beautiful form as kamavalli, by chanting the manthra of Mahalakshmi. Kamban describes her by six verses all in kantanadai. TNS sang the verse ‘manji oLir vinju kuLir,’ in maand, which ends as ‘vanji ena nanjam ena vanjamagaL vandhaaL,’ in a picturesque manner depicting the gait of Surpanakha, making her vividly present in front of our eyes.

TNS said  that in those days the poetry called veNbaa wa supposed to be read only and not sung. But Kamban had composed poetry which renders itself to music and to set the verses in appropriate ragas and thalas resulting in beautiful music. TNS said that he himself has set in music about 500 verses of Kamban making the rasikas feel that if any one comes forward to cut cds of them,  it will be a boon to posterity. These verses describing Surpanakha as well as the verses describing Seetha’s arrival to the wedding hall are in kantanadai but they should be sung differently, the former showing the seductive gait of the rakshasi while the latter of the soft tender walk of Seetha. TNS sang both the first in maund in a quick pace while the second in kurinji in a melodious pace. This is what he meant by the appropriate raga and thala. TNS with his inherent sense of humour described the conversation between Rama and Surpanakha, who on seeing Seetha  thinking that she was the cause  of his refusal of her offer of marriage started to pounce on her and Rama told her to go away. When she came the next day with the intention of harming Seetha,  Lakshmana cut her nose and ears. In Vaklmiki, said TNS, there is much argument going on between Rama and Surpanakha and LaKshmana and Surpanakha, the brothers teasing her but seeing her getting fierce and trying to grab Seetha, Lakshmana punished her, obeying the command of Rama. Thyagaraja refers to this episode  in his Madhyamavathi krthi  ‘adiki sukhamu evveranubhavinchiriraa’ in which he says that both Seetha and Surpanakha did not get any solace by resorting to Rama!

Mentioning that Rama punished her only after she started to attack Seetha, TNS said the Lord will not tolerate any harm done to those who belong to Him, and cited the incident of Kakasura when Rama just took a darbha grass and turned it into a brhmasthra, and Kakasura was saved only by the purushkara of Seetha  by taking pity and putting him at the feet of Rama when he fell few feet short of it. That is why the crow says ka ka . meaning who can they be , who showed mercy on him. The Lord ,said TNS, is both bhayakrth and bhayanaaSanah, who creates fear in those who offend and also removes their fear when they surrender.

Surpanakha went and complained to Khara and Dhooshana who came to fight and Rama killed 16000 of them single handed, said TNS, thus proving the words of Janaka who described the princes as saardhoolavrshabhopamou, the word Saardhoola implying the strength of tiger which kills numerous elephants, deer etc. at the same time. Seetha was waiting anxiously and when Rama came in after destroying Khara and his army, embraced him. Valmiki says, ‘

tam dRshtvaa shatru hantaaram maharsheeNaam

sukhaaavaham
babhoova hrshtaa vaidehii bhartaaram parishvaje

TNS said that the commentators have given various explanations to this.

1.She called Rama sthryam purushavigraham when he did not want to take her to the forest. Now she thought of that and was bashful for it.

2. she saw the same valour as when he took the sivadhanus which Kamban describes as ‘edutthadhu kandaar ittradhu kEttaar.’

3. She saw the same smile that she experienced when Rama came to Mithila, expressed by her as ‘muRuval ennai undadhE.’

4. The prowess seen in the slaying of Viradha, and while he gave moksha to Viradha there now he has given moksha to so many who were  killed by him.

5. The blood wounds on his chest were like a necklace of rubies on his emerald body. and Seetha embraced him as though giving fomentation.

Surpanakha went to Ravana with her hair flowing which looked like a bad omen to the rakshasas, said TNS, He also remarked that like sakuni, who plotted to end the kouravas, surpanakha also had a reason to take vengeance on Ravana, because he killed her husband out of jeolousy.

Surpnakha started describing Seetha to Ravana, saying that she wanted to bring her to him when she was deformed by Lakshmana. TNS sang the ramanataka krthi, ‘kaaNavEndum ka laksham kaNgaL,’ in which the kavi says that no woman could stand equal to Seetha and the twenty eyes of Ravana are not enough to see her  beauty.

TNS quoted the verse of Kamban, ‘indiran sasiyaippetRaan irumoonRuvadhanatthOn than thandhaiyum umaiyaippetRaan; thaamaraicchengaNaanum sendhirumagaLaippetRaan; seethaiyai petRai neeyum;antharam paarkkil nanmai avarkku ilai unakkE aiyaa.’, meaning that the Indra got sashi, Siva got Uma and Vishnu got Lakshmi but if Ravana gets Seetha  he will be superior to them all. TNs explaining this said that the line ‘nanmai avarkku ilai unakkE,’   meaning  the benefit is yours not theirs, split differently, would mean the benefit is for them not you if you  get Seetha, nanmai avarkku,  illai unakke, implying the ruin of Ravana if he gets Seetha.

Hearing her words, Ravana forgot everything but Seetha. TNS sang the verse of Kamban, ‘karanaiyum marandhaan,’ in begada, which describes the mental state of Ravana that he forgot about Khara and the one who cut off the nose of his sister, that is , he could not remember that Rama killed Khara and his army single handed and punished his sister  and he also forgot his boon which excluded mortals, affected by the arrow of Cupid which, says Kamban, was flung even towards Siva. Kamban further said that mayiludai saayalaaLai ----idhaymaam siraiyil vaitthaan.’ TNS sang these lines in begada with wonderful bhava depicting the state of Ravana vividly and in the line ‘mayiludai saayalaaLai,’ the peacock was portrayed dancing by his music. Mayil aadiya azagE azagu.

TNS then briefly descrbed the circumstances which forced Maricha to take the form of golden deer and sang the charanam ‘kanakmrgaroopadhara,’ of the krthi ‘bhavyami raghuramam,’ which, he said, was immortalized by the great MSS.  It was ‘maaya maan,’ which was explained by TNS as ‘maaya vandha maan,’ the deer that came to die.

Why should they need adeer in the forest wher they have come to observe munivrata, life of hermit, asked TNS , narrating the story of a sannyasi who kept a cat to drive away the rat and successively got a cow  to feed the cat etc. until finally he married and became a samsari.

TNS himself supplied the answer to his question, saying that this wish was expressed by the divine mother because from that time it was she who monitored the events. Usually it is said that Seetha got the thought of acquiring the deer as per the proverb ‘vinaasakaalE vipareetha budDhiH,’ but the vipareetha budDhi, untoward desire came to her because it was vinaasa kaala , time for destruction of Ravana.

When Maricha died shouting ‘ha Seethe ha Lakshmana,’ Seetha insisted  that Lakshmana should go to the recue of his brother inspite of his assuring her of the power of Rama, and here TNS sang the ramanatakakrthi ‘yaarenRu raaghavanai eNNineero amma,’  in yadhukulakaambhodhi. TNS here said that the difference between sangitha acchu and bhava acchu is that the bhava of the sahithya should be made clear by the sangathis and even by the raga itself.he sang the line in which Lakshmana says, ‘aNNan Sunduviral pOdhaadhO ‘is not the liitle finger of Rama is enough to kill the foes?’ TNS with his singing the word ‘sunduviral’ brought the bhava in full and also in  the line which means if Rama sounds his bow , kodhandam, all the three worlds will break, ‘moodhandam piLakkume’ and the rasikas could hear the sound of moodhandam breaking through his music.

Then Seetha said some cruel words to Lakshmana to force him to go away because it was her will that it should happen so. The words were cruel remembering that Lakshmana when they crossed the river on their way to dandkaranya placed both of them on a boat and tying his waist with creepers l pulled them across and such was his devotion to Rama, said TNS. It was all her leela , said TNS, being mahamaya there is no maya unknown to her and everything was to enact the role she has come to play in the destruction of Ravana. TNS stopped the Harikatha here since he wanted to cover the maricha episode  since the topic was given as marichamaya and left the the abduction of Seetha for the next day along with the story of Jatayu due to paucity of time.

17-10-2008 Jatayumoksham to Sugreevapattabhishekam

TNS started the day’s harikatha with the thiruvaimozi, ‘kaRpaar raamapiraanai allaal mattRonRum kaRparO,’ meaning that nothing should be learnt apart from the story of Rama. TNS sang the  pasuram in nalinakanthi followed by the Thyagaraja krthi ‘manvinalakimcharaadhate,’ in the same raga which gives the reason for the above statement. Thyagaraja says, the Lord has incarnated as Rama and showed the path of dharma to people who followed the karma marga of desire-motivated activity and suffering in the samsara.

Then TNS related the story of Jatayu who played an important role in the aranyakanda. Rama met Jatayu when they were nearing Chitrakuta and TNs narrated briefly the story of Jatayu who was the son of Aruna, brother of Garuda, and  son of Vinatha. To Jatayu, who enquired about them Lakshmana told him about the glory of Rama. Hearing the death of Dasaratha , Jatayu  fainted because Dasartha had accepted him as a friend when once Jatayu guarded him from the sun by spreading his wings. Then gaining consciousness Jatayu escorted them to Chithrakoota by shading them with his wings all the way.He also said that he will guard Seetha while Rama and Lakshmana went on their search for food etc. This promise he kept and gave his life in his effort to protect Seetha from Ravana later.

TNS then continued where he left off the previos day that when Lakshmana left Seetha when she threatened to end her life if he would not go to help Rama, Ravana entered the hermitage disguised as a sannyasi. TNS narrated the dialogue between Ravana and Seetha as related in Kambaramayana, Ravana telling her that he came from Lanka and praising Ravana and the rakshasas when Seetha remonstrated informing him that the time had come for the destruction of rakshasas narrating the valour of Rama who killed Khara and his army singlehanded , on hearing which Ravana became furious and took his own form. He took her in his chariot and Jatayu hearing the cries of Seetha fought with him and destroyed his chariot and horses and Ravana cut off his wings with the sword acquired from Lord Siva.. Jatayu fell down shouting the name of Rama. TNS said that Jatayu knew only too well that Ravana had the curse that if he tried to molest any woman without her will her head would break into thousand  pieces and hence Jatayu was assured of the safety of Seetha but clung to his life with difficulty in order to  tell Rama what happened.

Rama hastened with Lakshmana fearing some harm that might have happened to seethe and finding her not there went in search and saw Jatayu who felt, said TNS, like a father seeing his son just before his death. But before telling that Ravana took Seetha he breathed his last.

Rama did samskara for him as he would have done for his father and what Dasaratha did not get from his son, said TNS, Jatayu, a mere bird was fortunate enough to get. The Lord expects only love  and the devotee is able to catch Him with love, said TNS, like a parrot by a net. Here the net  being the heart of the devotee.

Then TNS briefy told the episode of Kabandha, who had his head in his stomach by being hit by the vajrayudha of Indra for his disobeying him and had long arms which surrounded Rama and Lakshmana who cut his arms when he told them to burn his body and before ascending to the devaloka told them about Sabari who ,he said, would direct them to Sugriva, who would help in their search of Seetha.

TNS then narrated the episode of sabarimoksha. Sabari was a disciple of sage Mathanga who , when he left for brhmaloka told her to remain till Rama comes and then, after doing athithi sathkara to him she will attain moksha. Since then she was waitng anxiously for Rama gathering best fruits available in the forest and TNS said that the story that she tasted every fruit before offering them to Rama has no evidence either in Kamban or in Valmiki but it must have been circulated  to show the extreme love of a devotee. The question whether one can give ucchishta to the Lord which is prohibited by sampradhaaya is answered that devotion is beyond sampradhaya, as  seen in the story of Kannappanayanar and of Vidura who offered Krishna the skin of banana instead of the fruit in his ecstasy and which Krishna accepted,  said TNS, and  this story has been accepted by all the great saints and poets and  Thyagaraja mentions this in his panthuvarali  krthi ‘apparaambhakthi,’ extolling  the devotion to Rama, saying, ‘sabariyengilicchunaa,’ meaning, “will Sabari give the fruits tasted by her otherwise if her love was not  beyond the traditional inhibitions?”

TNS, as expected, elaborated on the episode of Sabari by singing the Thyagaraja krthi, ‘enthaninne varninthunu sabaribhagyam,’ in mukhaari.

TNS then talked about the revolutionalized music of Thaygaraja. He had used the ragas normally ear-marked for sorrow or anger etc, like mukhari and ataana, for depicting a different emotion. For instance the raga mukhari, till then was associated only with the mayanakanda of Harischandra play (which TNS sang to the amusement of the audience) is used by Thyagaraja in his krithis to depict devotion. Similar is the raga atana which was used by him in the krthis ‘bajanseyaradha,’ and ‘elaneedhayradhu.’ 

TNS said in this mukhari krthi neraval should be done at the words ‘kanulaara sevinchi,’ to portray the emotion of Sabari on seeing Rama which is described by Thaygaraja as ‘thanuvupulakarinchaka,’bringing horipilation. TNS demonstrated this  so beautifully by his singing the line kanulaarasevinchi, meaning, she saw Rama to her heart’s content that we could visualize Sabari looking at Rama again and again with so much devotion and ecstasy. As a reward for her devotion she reached the, ‘punaraavrtthi rahitha padham,’ says Thyagaraja, and TNS said that  Rama was a witness to her attaining moksha.

Sabari told Rama to go to Rsyamooka hill to meet Sugriva and Rama and Lakshmana proceeded there. Sugriva seeing them suspected that Vali has sent them because he himself could not come there due to the curse of Mathanga. TNS said in al ight vein that Sugriva was all the time thinking of his wife Rumaa as Thaygaraja says, in his krthi ‘thelisirama,’ in poornachandrika, ‘raamaayani chapalaatulapremaa,’ the people with love for women, on hearing the word Rama will only think of raamaa, a woman instead of the Parabrahmam who has come as Rama. TNS sang the lines and the pallavi also, and said from then onwards Sugriva was going to chant only rama rama instead of rumaa rumaa.

Sugriva sent Anjaneya who came as a brahmachari and told Rama about Sugriva and his troubles. TNS narrated the story in full. Rama admired the way he talked and referred to him as ‘sollin selvan,’ in Kambaramayana. TNS explained the words of Rama who said, ‘aattralum niRaivum,kalvi amaidhiyum arivum,’ meaning that he displayed all the qualities of one who had mastered the Vedas. His speech, TNS said, was measured and unhurried and clear.Rama remarked to Lakshmana, “who could be this ‘sollin selvan’ ? ”  TNS said that Rama, though never explicitly showed his divinity, it underlay in all his talk and actions. For instance here, Rama wondered whether he was Siva or Brahma, virinjanO, vidaivalaanO, but never mentioned Vishnu, as he knew that it could not be so.

Anjaneya became Ramadasa the moment he saw Rama, said TNS, because his father had told him that when his love flows unchecked on seeing any one  he should become the dasa of that person. So far Anjaneya did not see any one like that but now seeing Rama he understood that he was the person denoted by his father.

TNS sang the verse of Kamban that refers to this speech of Rama, ‘illaadha ulagatthu engum-----yaar kol icchollinslvan---- virinjanO vidaivalaanO,’ in Panthuvarali. Also he explained the meaning of ‘sollin selvan,’ with his ingenuity. Sol, the words were like music, ‘in,’  meaning innisai, and Anjaneya was sol in selvan meaning, where ever there is the word, ‘sol  in,’ (in sol) Rama, he will go there, selvan and he was the ‘in selvan,’ rich and beautiful with the sol, word, Rama.

Thyagaraja, had a bone to pick with Rama, said TNS, regarding this incident. He asks Rama in his charukesi krthi, ‘aadamodi galadhe,’ that inspite of knowing that Anjaneya was going to be his valuble servant and devotee and also knowing that he was the amsa of Siva , ‘why did you not speak to him but asked your brother to speak?”

TNS sang this krthi as it should be sung with full bhava and supplied also the answer to the question. He said that Rama knew that Anjaneya was going to be a paramabhagavatha and thus deserves  another bhagavatha, Lakshmana  to interact with him. Also because to speak as an equal to Anjaneya only the thousand tongued Adhisesha, whose incarnation was Lakshmana, is fit.

Then TNS narrated the meeting of Rama with Sugriva, who placed a branch for Rma to sit on but not for Lakshmana , which only Anjaneya did, as only he knows the greatness of Lakshmana as one bhagavatha to another.

The friendship of Rama and Sugriva was sanctified in front of fire and Rama promised to kill Vali, pitying Sugreeva who was in the same predicament as himself, namely, separated from his wife. Sugriva tested Rama to see whether he was strong enough to kill Vali,and TNS said that the reason why Rma submitted himself to the test was perhaps he wanted to reap the result of his past deed when he tested a poor brahmin before he left Ayodhya. Rama told a Brahmin who came to receive gifts from Rama to throw his staff and he would be given as many cows as the distance covered by it. It was said in a jest because the Brahmin looked so emaciated  but he gathered up all his strength and the staff fell beyond all the cows and he was given all that and more.Narrating this TNS said that even Rama had to obey the rule ,muRpagal seyyin piRpagal viLaiyum though it was his will only that it should happen so because , said TNS , the Lord creates both the cause and the effect.

When Sugriva was fighting with Vali he received good beating and came to Rama and complained that he did not keep his promise. This was intentional , said TNS, again proving the saying quoted above because Sugriva ignored Lakshmana when he offered seat only to Rama and now to redress the worng Rama made Lakshmana to put a garland on him saying that since both the brothers looked alike he could not take a risk and send an arrow.

Then Rama sent an arrow when Vali took Sugriva above his head inending to throw him and it hit Vali at the chest. TNS said that the arrow went inside his chest as easily as a needle in a plantain fruit but Vali coud not take it out with both hands and feet and  also with his tail, when he saw the name of Rama on it. TNS said that the nama alone was seen and not the nami yet. Kamban  describes the incident in a verse ‘.mummaiSaal ulagukku ellaam moolamandhirathai,’  meaning, Vali saw the name Rama which is the  moolamanthra, of all the worlds , of Him who gives Himself to those who resorted to His feet  and which name is the remedy of all ills in this world. TNS sang the verse in Natakurinji and explained the meaning that if we give ourselves to Him,  He will give Himself.

Vali called to Rama to come out, and TNS referred to the Thyagraja krthi in Jaynthasri, ‘maRugelaraa’ meaning, ‘why you are still not showing up.’He sang the krthi alterwards and explained it as  the words of Vali.TNS said that Vali entered into  argument with Rama, sending numerous arrows of words in return to the one sent by Rama, who answered everyone of them. The main reason Rama gave of killing Vali was that he acted against dharma by confiscating the wife of his brother and harassed Sugriva who surrendered to him. Vali said that he was only a vanara but Rama said that he did not behave like one being well versed in Vedas etc. Thus Rama answered all hia accusations and finally Vali accepted his fault. TNS said that there was a reason for Rama killing Vali from behind a tree becauseof the boon of Vali that he will acquire half the strength of his opponent. Rama had to preserve his avathara rahasya because if Rama went in front of Vali his boon would not have affected Rama as He was the Lord Himself and the avathara rahsya would have been out.

TNS sang the krthi ‘maRugelara,’ and explained it as though Vali had said it. “ I have understood that you are the Supreme Lord with the moon and the sun as your eyes,” ‘charaachara roopa paraathpara soorya suDhaakaralochana,’ and “I have comprehended the truth that You are everything, in my heart,”  ‘anni neevanuchu antharangamuna thinna gaavethaki thelisikontinayya.’

Vali told Angadha that Rama is the Supreme purusha  who has come with just a bow and also requested Rama not to punish Sugreeva if he did something to displease him out of ignrorance. Thus said TNS, Vali had reached the highest status in the end. 

Then Rama told Lakshmana to crown Sugriva as King and told him to come after the rainy season to  make arrangements for the search of Seetha. That was theend of the 7^th day’s harikatha

18-10-2008-Vibhaashana saranagathi

Today being the day of Sundarakanda, TNS sang the slokas on Anjajneya in the beginning in a beautiful ragamalika.

To get prosperity in this world and also to get moksha the grace of Acharya is necessary, said TNS, and for Vaishnavas the first acharya is the divine mother as she acts as a go- between to get the grace of the Lord for the devotee. Sugriva, said TNS, got the anugraha of Seetha first when she looked down at the rsyamooka hill and seeing the vanaras there threw down her jewels.  Vali himself served as his acharya as he told him that the Lord Himself had come as Rama. Ravana on the other hand  separated divine couple and hence he  did not have the acahrya anugraha even though he had mastered all the Vedas and sasthras.

TNS then narrated the how Sugriva forgot his promise and Rama sent Lakshmana, who sounded his bow string on reaching kishkinda. Anjaneya sent Tara, seeing whom Lakshman’s anger evaporated as she reminded him of his  mothers in Ayodhya. Kamban says, ‘muzuveN thingaL pagal vandha padivam pOlum, the meaning of which TNS explained that she was wearing white cloth like the moon during the day. Then Anjaneya who knew how to speak and what to speak told Lakshmana that Sugriva was gathering army.

TNS explained the words of Rama when he sent Lakshmana to Sugriva according to Kambaramayana beautifully. The verse in Kamban was, nanjam annavarai nalindhaal adhu

vanjam anRu, manu vazakku aadhalaal ;

Anjil. Aimbadhi. onRu ariyaadhavan

 Nenjil ninRu nilaava niRutthuvaai  

TNS gave several explanations  for this, such as, it is not wrong to punish one who is ungrateful, and Sugreeva was like one who is ignorant at the age of five as well as fifty, he seems to have forgotten his shedding tears of fear asking the help of Rama, he did not know who Rama was, the one who was not only the emperor of all the fifty six states but also the one who has taken ten avatharas and that he tossed the carcass of dhundhubhi to 100 yojnas with his big toe etc., and the number 5 denoting yakaara which stands for ajnachakra that is responsible for memory and that he was only a vanara.

Sugriva came  and apologized and here TNS sang ‘aparaadhamula,’ in rasaLi, a composition of Thyagaraja, aptly.He collected his army and gave them instructions describing all the places in all directions. How did Sugriva knew all the places ? It was because he ran to all directions escaping from the wrath of Vali out of fear.If he knew all the places even so well even when he was running out of fear how would it have been if he had gone there normally, quipped TNS.

Narrating how Rama called Anjaneya and gave him his signet ring, TNS said that there is no other character in whole Ramayana equal to Anjaneya. He had, knowledge, strength,discrimination, courage, good character, mercy, modesty and humility.TNS said that if any of the composers , Valmiki, Kamban, Tulasidas Arunachalakavi etc. were offred a role in the Ramayan all will choose only that of Anjaneya. In fact he is even higher than the hero of the Kavya himself because of that only he alone of all the characters other than Rama and Seetha was deified.

TNS briefly described the adventure of the vanaras into the cave of Svayamprabha and reaching the seashore by her power and Sampathi, the elder brother of Jatayu hearing about the death of his brother told them the whereabouts of Seetha by which his wings which were burnt on protecting his brother when both of them flew near the sun, grew again. TNS said that he did vaak kainkarya to Rama and was rewarded and quoted Bharathiar who said if one could not help by giving money towards the freedom of India at least he should serve by words,’vaaicchol aruLeer.’

Then TNS related the incidents that happened from the time Hanuman was induced to cross the ocean. When all were  professing their respective capacities Anjaneya was quietly sitting and Jambavan reminded him of his powers.This was due to the pranks of Hanuman when he was young and the rshis declared that he would forget his own prowess until someone reminded him.  TNS, describing the leap of Anjaneya across the ocean, said that  he exhibited his discrimination and power in dealing with Surasa and Simhika respectively. Also TNS said that he resembled Vamana in entering into the mouth of Surasa and getting out and Nrsimah when he tore open the body of Simhika and got out.

The Sundara kandam which explains the exploits of Anjaneya is the most important part of the epic as the name itself suggests, the reading of which is equaled to the reading of he whole Ramayana, said TNS, and that it begins with the first kshara of gayathri manthra,’tha.’

Then TNS briefly explained the defeat of Lankini and the entry of Anjaneya into Lanka by placing his left foot, as it is the custom to do so on going for battle, as it is to put the right foot for auspicious occasions. Anjaneya searched in vain the whole palace of Ravana and other places in Lanka and finally prayed to Rama and Seetha and the devas before he saw the asokavana where Seetha was. TNS expliaining the sloka ‘namosthu raamaya salakshmanaaya namosthu dhevyai janakaathmajaayai,’ said that the word used for Seetha was janakaathmaja implying that she should show herself to him as she did to Janaka when he was ploughing the ground for yagasala.

TNS gave a graphic and moving description of Seetha as she was seen by Hanuman, as sasoka, with grief in the asokavana. Kamban says that her garment becoming wet by her tears was dried by the heat of her body due to the sorrow of the separation from Rama. When Anajneya was thinking how to speak to her, Ravana came to see her and Anjaneya   heard the conversation between the two. The words of Ravana , said TNS,  will bring tears to any devotee reading this sarga of Sundarakanada seeing how he sinned  to the divine mother.

Describing the state of Seetha when Ravana came to seeher Valmiki says , duHkhaartaa rudatii siitaa vepamaanaa tapasvinii |

chintayantii varaaroha patimeva pativrataa,  Seetha was  tormented by grief and was in apiteable state, thinking ceaselessly of Ram alone. TNS explaining this, sang the Thyagaraja krthi ‘needhayaraadha,’ in vasantha bhairavi as Seetha would have said. He explained the meaning which goes as “why are you not taking pity on me, Did anyone tll you not to,” and Thyagaraja says ‘inavamsathilaka,’ which TNS explained as meaning, “Should you not save  me at least to keep up the prestige of your clan?” TNS sang the Charanam ‘rama rama rama ,’ and explained the words ‘naamadhi thalladillaga nyaayamaa vegame needhayraadha,’  “is it right that my mind should be in turmoil and should you not show mercy quickly.” He said in the end that to sing a krthi as it is sung in the concerts and as full of bhava are entirely different. TNS also sang the corresponding verse from KMaban also in vasantha bhairavi.

Valmiki says, ‘thrnam antharathaH krthvaa prathyuvaacha Suchismithaa,’  Seetha with a pleasant smile put a blade of grass between her and Ravana and replied.

TNS gave different implications for the phrase thrNm antharathaH krthvaa.

1. Seetha  observed the protocol of giving seat to a king and placed a blade of grass as his seat.
2. Symbolic of putting a screen in front.
3. To tell him that his wealth is like a blade of grass.
4. His valour is like a blade of grass as compared to Rama, who defeated Parasurama.
5. For Rama a grass had become brahmasthra to fling on kakasura.
6. Rama was noe other than the Lord Himself who pierced the eye of Sukra in Vamanavathara.

Seetha advised Ravana to turn his mind towards his wives. TNS said that she implied that he should invert manaH into namaH, treat her with devotion she deserves. TNS said that if one does not think of God he becomes the reverse, ie. dog. When Ravana left angrily threatening Seetha, Hanuman started to chant ramanama to divert her attention lest she may think of killing herself. TNS said that he chanted the name of Rama in three svaras sweetly and softly and then related the story of Rama. He was the first one to recite the Ramayana within the epic, said TNS.

Then TNS briefly described the meeting of Anjaneya with Seetha and giving of the ring. Anjaneya held the ring in his hand, saying ‘paSya devi anguleeyakam, Devi, see this ring.’ and Seetha took it from him, said TNS, thus Anjaneya observing the right conduct in giving something to respected persons.The reaction of Seetha on seeing the ring is described by Kamban as izandha maNi puttRu aravu edhirndhadhuena aanaaL, like  a serpent regaining its crest jewel that was lost,pazam dhanam izandhana padaitthavarai otthaaL, like the one who had found his wealth that was lost,kuzandhaiyai uyirttha maladikku uvamai kondaaL, like a barren woman who had

A child after long time and though she almost lost him through illness suddenly found that he was alive.TNS gave a vivid description of the situations mentioned.

Then Seetha asked Anjaneya how could the army of vanaras cross the ocean to which he replied that he was the least able one among them and if he could do so the others would do it in no time.Narrating this TNS sang the krthi ‘apparamabhakthi,’ in Panthuvarali and explained what Thyagaraja said about the power of Ramabhakthi. It will guard the devotees like the eyelids guard the eye, ‘reppavalanugaachunaamaa,’ and further TNS said that Thyagaraja in his last charana of the krthi extolling the power of ramabhakthi, saying that without it would the monkeys be able to bridge the sea, or would Yasodha be able to bind Krishna and would this happiness be aval liable for Thyagaraja, compressing three yugas in one, namely, thretha yuga of Ramavathara, Dhvaparayuga of Krishnavathara, kaliyuga of Thyagaraja.

 In Kambaramayana, said TNS, Seetha told Hanuman that she could burn the Lanka and its inhabitants with her speech, sollinaal suduvEn, but did not do so because it would be an insult to the valour of Rama,  thooyavan villin aattRku maaSu.

Seetha gave the choodamani to Hanuman and told him the incidents such as that of kakasura and Rama accepting  Guha as his brother etc. In Kamabaramayana  Seetha tells Hanuman to remind Rama what he said after marriage that he would not touch another  woman even by thought. Narrating this TNS explained the words of Kamban , ‘indha ippiRavikku iru maadharai chindhaiyaalum thodEn,’ as follows:

Seetha when Rama touched her hand afer marriage did not allow him  to do so saying that she was wearing bangles with stones and if all those stones become women by his touch she would be in trouble! Rama then assured her that he would not even touch another woman by thought. But TNS asked why should he say  ‘irumaadharai’  instead of saying perhaps piRamaadharai? It is because , he said, Rama as Narayana already has two other wives, namely, Neeladevi and Bhoodevi and what he meant was that he would not think even about those two in this birth as Rama, ippRaviyil iru maadharai chinthaiyaalum thodEn.

Then, after narrating briefly the incidents that followed TNS explained about the meeting of Hanuman with Ravana and advising him not to invite destruction on himself and others and told  him  the real identity of Rama and also his  killing Vali. Kamban says, ‘venjina vaali meeLaan vaalum pOy ozindhadhu anRE.’  Vali has gone and so is his tail, because Ravana had reason to fear the tail of Vali, who, tying him to his tail carried him to Kishkinda and hung him over he cradle of Angada. Anjaneya also told Ravana that Rama the Supreme Lord had come as Rama, leaving off all His weapons but holding only a bow. TNS said that Hanuman made himself a high seat with his tail and advised Ravana as a guru.

Ravana, angered , wanted to kill hanuman but Vibheeshana prevented him, and he ordered to set fire to the tail of Hanuman, instead. Hanuman grew in size , said TNS,  and all the clothes and ropes except the mangalsuthra of the women were not enough to bind him. Seetha on hearing it entreated the firegod not to burn him, saying ‘SeethO bhavahanoomathaH.’ Describing the burning of Lanka, TNS quoted the sloka,’ullanghya sindhoH salilasaleelam yah Sokavahnim janakaathmjaayaaH aadhaaya thena eva dhadhaaH lankaam,’ meaning, Anjaneya after playfully crossing the ocean, took the fire of sorrow of Seetha and burnt the Lanka with it.

Then TNS narrated the return of Hanuman to Rama and saying to him, ‘kandanan kaRpinukku aNiyai kaNgalaaL.’ TNS explaining this asked why should Hanuman say I have seen her who is an ornament to chastity by my eyes, because  one could not see anything but by his eyes and this does not require special mention. But he supplied the answer.  Hanuman meant that he saw Seetha and in her eyes he saw only Rama who was in her heart. So the eyes mentioned here refers to that of Seetha.

Next TNS narrated the circumstances that led to Vibheeshansaranagathi. Vibheeshana tried to advise Ravana and told him the story of Prahlada , here TNS sang the verse of Kamban which  ends as ‘naamaannadhu kEL Om namO naaraayaNaaya,’ in karnaranjani, saying that he chose the raga for the nama which is pleasing to the ear, karnaranjanam. Then Ravana banishing Vibheeshana and he came and surrendered to Rama. As Sugreeva who had the anugraha of Seetha who was kashmi herself, Vibheeshana also must have had it when he went by air and would have  been ointed out by his daughter who was with Seetha and that is why he got the kingdom.

TNS said that when Vibheeshana came to Rama asking for asylum it was Sugreeva who protested that he should not be accepted as he betrayed his brother!  Rama asked everyone and also Hanuman in the end, who recommended Vibheeshana and told Rama about him. Rama finally announced his decision that he would accept Vibhaashana, quoting the story of a pair of doves which gave refuge to the hunter who caught the female and the male even sacrificing its life to appease his hunger just because he took refuge in the tree where they lived. TNS told the story and also quoted the sloka from Valmiki, ‘sakrdhevaprapannaanaam,’ where Rama says that if one surrenders to him even once and says I am yours, it his his vow to give refuge to such persons and even if Ravana himself came this would be his answer. Vibheeshana offered his mace to Rama  as a sign of surrender and TNS said that Rama already had his shankha and charka and sesha along with him in his incarnation and Vibheeshana seemed to have given the gadhayudha also. TNS concluded the day’s harikatha with this  to take it up further the next day.

19-10-2008-Sriramapattabhishekam

TNS before resuming the topic of Vibheeshana Saranagathi, talked about the glory of Hanuman. He referred to the Thyagarajakrthi geethaarthamu in Suruti and said that only Thyagaraja had understood the real merit of Anjaneya. Singing the krthi, TNS explained the meaning that only Anjaneya had understood the real meaning of Gita, listening to it from his place on the flag of the chariot of Arjuna. That was because  the Lord as Rama,  showed to the world by his actions what he was going to speak in Krishnavathara. Thyagaraja, said TNS, has shown the exalted positon of Hanuman by his music itself by the kaarvai in nishadha on singing the word ‘vaathaathmajuniki,’ as the nishadha is the jeevasvara of the raga.

Hanuman showed his visvaroopa  to Rama in kishkindakanda when he offered to carry Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders and again to Seetha in Sundarakanda. The fact that the kanda which described the exploits of Hanuman is named as Sundarakandam, the word sundara referring to Anjaneya, is the proof of this, while all the other kandas are named Baklakadnda, Ayodhyakanda, Aranyakanda , Kishkindakanda, yuddha kanda etc. denoting the place or events etc.

Resuming to the episode of Vibheeshana saranagathi, TNS said that one who followed dharma should not join with anyone who does adharma, even that person  happens to be a close relative. When he came to Rama, whom he had already chosen as his saviour, referring to Rama as sarvaloka Saranyaaya raaghavaaya mahaathmane, asked the vanaras to inform Rama about his arrival and also said ‘thyakthvaa puthraamscha dhaaraamscha raaghavam SaraNam gathaH,’ because he knew, said TNS, that Rama was ‘rakshithaa svasya dharmasya svajanasya cha rakshithaa’  the one who protects dharma and also those who belong to him. TNS sang all these slokas in kedaragoula which was very apt for the bhava. Vibheeshana did not come with an expectation for the kingdom as Sugreeva did. He came to Rama after renouncing everything and asked Rama  only the grace of his feet, as Kamban says,  ‘iLaiyavarkku kavittha moli enaaiyum kavitthi,’ when Rama offered him the kingdom of Lanka and asked Lakshmana to crown him then and there. Thyagaraja says, ‘nee sarievvarE raamayya,’ in gangeya bhooshani, referring to this incident. TNS sang and explained it in which Thyagraja says, ‘pagavaaniki sodhardani yenchaka bhakthineRiki lankaapattamosagagaa,’ that no one can equal Rama who , knowing that Vibheeshana was the brother of the enemy, gave him the crown of Lanka appreciating his devotion. Kamban says,’ninnOdum ezhuvar aanOm;  pugal arum kaanam thandhu pudhalvaraal polindhaan nundhai.’ TNS sang the verse in reethigoula and explained it that Rama said to Vibheeshana, “your father, (meaning Dasaratha) gained more sons by sending us to forest.”

Rama discussed the possible action to be undertaken and Vibheeshana suggested that Rama could entreat the ocean to give way for them to reach Lanka and Rama sat on the seat of dharba  grass and meditated on Samudraraja. When he did not come Rama got angry and TNS said  that after showing his will power by meditation now he wanted to show his ’vil’ power and said that he would dry up the ocean with agneyasthra. Then the king of the ocean came and surrendered to Rama. TNS sang the ramanataka  krthi, ‘Saranam saraNam raghurama,’ in a saveri and expalined it and said that the whole Ramayana is called saranagathi sasthra.

Samudra raja said that the vanara,  Neela, had the boon that whatever he throws on water will float. It was said by the sage, who was inside water doing pranyama and Neela as a young monkey threw stones in the water, that, whatever he throws in the water should float. So Samudraraja told Rama that if Neela threw rocks they will float and Rama and others could walk across. Thus the sethu was built. Here TNS sang the Thyagaraja krthi. Vandhanamu raghunandhana  sethubandhana, in sahana.

Then the battle started and TNS said that in all ramayanas the war was described in detail because the best of the poets would describe even the prowess of the enemy to show that he was an equal opponent to the hero of the epic. TNS briefly describing the battle, said that Rama was patient with Ravana giving him a chance to repent his act but when he attacked Hanuman, Rama got angry and fought fiercely with him and made him weaponless destroying his chariot also and gave him a reprieve telling him, ‘inRu poy pOrkku  naaLaivaa.’ Describing this, TNS said that Kamban refers to Rama as ‘kOsalanaadudaivaLLal.’ The meaning of this is explained by TNS as follows:

Rama gave him a last chance to surrender and Rama would have given him the kingdom of KOsala if he had done so because he could not return his kingdom of Lanka which had already been given to Vibhaeesana . This is the implied meaning of the word kOsalanaadudaiya vaLLal, to show  the generosity of Rama in being ready to give the kningdom of Kosala which was his. Thyagaraja has made this clear , said TNS,  in his krthi, ‘sarasasamadhaana,’ in kapinarayani, which shows that he must have read Kambaramayana also. He says, ‘hithavu maatalenthO baagabalkithivi sathamugaa ayodhya niche naNtivi,’ to Rama, “you sent messengers to Ravana with good advice and promised  him the kingdom of Ayodhya.”

TNS sang the krthi fully expalining the meaning and inspite of all that Ravana did not repent and Thyagraja expresses his surprise that Ravana , though a great Sivabhaktha, did not understand Rama, ‘paramaSaanbhavaagresarundagutsu bhalku raavaNudu  theliyalEkapOye.’ TNS said that perhaps  Thyagaraja chose the raga kaapi naaraayaNi. Which means ‘ka  api naaraayani,’ “who was this wonderful Seetha, but the divine mother!” This was not known to Ravana who was a paramaSaambhavaagresara, the foremost among the sivabhakthas.

TNS said that Thyagraja often asks a question and gives the answer in the same krthi or in another one. Here the answer was given by him in the krthi, ‘entha nerchinaa,’ in suddha dhanyasi, where he says, those who have no devotion to Lord of Sri, will ever be slaves to women , kaantha dhaasulE,’whatever may be their learning and experience. TNS sang the krthi and in charanam he pointed out that Ravana had done all the sins enumrerated by Thyagaraja as ‘parahimsa parbhaama anya dhana paramaanava apraadha,’ harassing others, confiscating the women and wealth of others, insulting others etc. And Thyagaraja also says in his bindumalini krthi, ‘entha muddhO,’ said TNS, that it is not surprising that those who are lustful, kaamachinthaakraanthulainaaru will know the glory of the Lord as the vessel in which the milk is boiled will not know the taste of it, ‘dhutthapaalaruchi dheliyusaamyame.’ 

Then TNS mentioned the bringing of  the sanjeevi parvatha by Anjaneya and said that wherever he comes in Ramayana, he becomes the most important  character as he gave life to several including Rama and Seetha by his doings. He saved the life of Seetha, by givng the ring of Rama, saved Rama by giving the choodamani and in the battle by sanjeeviparvatha, saved Bharatha by conveying the news of the arrival of Rama. That was why .said TNS Thyagaraja placed him at the jeevasvara of the raga in his krthi, ‘geethaarthamu,’ in suruti. For his actions he got the highest reward of being embraced by Rama. TNS sang an abhang ‘dhanya anjaneecha sutha,’ in abhogi beautifully.

Next TNS narrated the incident of Lakshmana and others getting bound by nagapaaSa and Garuda coming and releasing them. He sang a sloka on garuda. ‘Kunkumaankihavarnaaya,’ in the raga Garudadvani.TNS said that the nagapaSa could not harm Lakshman who was adhisesha himself but it was the leela of the Lord to bring Garuda who was left out during the incarnation as Rama to play a part in the Ramayana. Kamban through the words of Garuda describes the maya of the Lord , who enacted his role as though he was himself affected by his own maya, by lamenting at the state of Lakshmana being bound by nagapasa.Kamban calls it athirekamaya  and to explain this TNS gava a humerous example that a daughter in law who told the scorpion to bite her mother in law got bitten herself by patting it on the back when it has done so.

Describing the slaying of Indrajith by Lakshmana, TNS said that Lakshmana sent the missile with the manthra, “if it is true that Rama is the sarvalokaSaranya , this should kill Indrjith” and it killed him. The sorrow of Ravana on the death of Indrajith occupies a   whole sarga in Kamban and TNS said “kamban appadiyE kadhaRi irukkiraar,” because he was perhaps reminded of the loss of his own son Ambikapathi.

The battle between Rama and Ravana was indescribable as Valmiki puts it, ‘raamaraavaNayoryuddham raamraavaNayoriva,’ it can be compared to itself alone. The valour of Rama , said TNS, made even Ravana exclaim that he must be the supreme cause of the Universe, the adhipurusha, and sang the  verse of Kamban, ‘sivanO allan naanmugano allan ---ivanOdhaan avvEdha mudhal kaaraNan,’ in senchurutti. Describing the prowess of Rama in destroying the army of the rakshasas, Kamban says  ‘kadumaNi nediyavan venchilai kaNa kaNa kana kana enumthORum aanai aayiram thEr padhinaayiram----Eni ammaNi Ezarai naazigai aadiyadhu.’ TNS explained this as follows:

When 1000 elephants, 10000chariots, one crore horses, 1000 soldiers are killed a small bell on the bow of Rama will sound. When the bell sounds a thousand times a bigger bell will sound. This bell was sounding nonstop for 7and half muhurtham. That was the extent of destruction caused by Rama. Thyagaraja extols the power of Rama’s arrow in his saveri krthi ‘raambaana thraanaSourya,’ which destroyed the moolabala of Ravana.

Kumbakarna came to battle and Vibheeshana asked him to leave Ravana but he said he could not do it though he told Vibheeshana that he had resorted to the right person and at least he would be left out to do the last rites for them all.

Finally Ravana was killed by brahmasthra sent by Rama who was angered when he attacked Hanuman. When Ravana with the missile of Rama, his lustre was threefold than when he was in power because at that time only he really achieved his glory when all his prowess was subdued. TNS sang this verse of Kamban  ‘vemmadangal vegundanaiya Sinam adanga, manam adanga ---- mummadangu polindhana  ammurai thurandhaan uyir thuRandha mugamngal ammaa,’ beautifully in subhapanhuvarali.

Mandodhari who came and saw the body of Ravana pierced all over with the arrows of Rama, cried saying whether the arrow entered inside and searched if there is still desire for Seetha in his heart. TNS sang this verse of Kamban which ends as ‘kaL irukkum malarkkoondhal jaanakiyai karandhakaadhal uL irukkum,’ enakkarudhi thadaviyadhO oruvan vaaLi? in Mukhari.

Rama wanted Vibheeshana to be crowned after Ravanavadha and hence he wanted him to attain the grace of the divine mother Seetha so that he will be prosperous acquiring Lanka which was ruined by the war. and asked him to bring her decked with jewels. Here Describing the expectations of Seetha when she came to Rama TNS sang an abhang of samartha Ramadas and compared the words with the verse of Kamban in which Seetha says ‘indraneelam otthu irundakunjiyum----ammuRuval ennai undadhe,’ imagining Rama as he was at the time of marriage.But when she came, the words of Rama fell on her like burning arrows. When she wanted to enter the fire all beings in all the worlds cried, said TNS. When she came out of the fire unscathed, all the devas came and told Rama who he was who said, ‘aathmaanam maanudsham manyE raamam dhasarathaathmajam.’ “I am only a human being the son of Dasaratha,” which TNS said was the greatest falsehood!

Thyagaraja could not bear this behaviour of Rama, said TNS, and tells Rama that he should be indebted to Seetha because she gave all the glory to Rama curtailing her powers.In his kambhodhi krthi ‘maajaanaki chetta battaga,’ he says” just because you married our Janki, you attained the glory of destroying Ravana and others, raavanaariyani raajillu keerthiyu. TNS sang this krthi explaining it. In the charanam ,Thyagaraja says, ‘kaanakegi aajnaa meerakmaayakaaramuni chiSiki ,’ that Seetha obeying the order of Rama , put her real self in the fire and assumed the illusory self and went to Lanka, living there and desisted from burning Ravana  with her eyes hearing his talk,’vaanimaatalaku kOpaginchi kanta vaDhiyinchakaneyundi.’ Thyagaraja asks Rama , “don’t you know why she did that? It was only to give you the fame of killing Ravna,” srinaayaka, yaSamu neekEkalgajeyaledhaa, “having lotus –like eyes, raajeevaaksha, can’t you see that?”

TNS sang the ramanataka krthi decribing Seetha rising from fire, in bilahari, ‘ezundhaaLE poonkodhai theeyininRu.’

Dasaratha who came from heaven and Rama asked him the boon that he should accept Kaikeyi and Bharatha whom he renounced before his death. Rama asked Indra to make all those who died on his side to  become alive. TNS said all came to life except a small monkey called Jayantha and Anjaneya went to the abode of Yama who said that he retained only one in order to see Anjaneya.

Vibheeshana reminded Rama that the time is up (here TNS looked at his watch significantly!) for Rama to go to Ayodhya and be crowned. Rama sent Anjaneya to inform Bharatha, and TNS sang tha ramanataka krthi , ‘vandhaan vandhaan bharathaa raghuraman,’ in mohanam’ in mohanam, fully.

Then the pattabhshekam was performed for which Vasishta chose the day and time. During the first time of planning to crown Rama Dasaratha chose the day and it had failed. Now the kulaguru vasishta did it and crowned Rama as Kamban says, ‘vasittanE punaindhaan mouli.TNS ended the harikatha by singing the slokas ‘vaidhehee sahitham and vaame bhoomisuthaa,’in saveri  and the abhang rathnakachithasimhasana in yamankalyani, which was just beautiful.

That was the end of the Ramayananavaham by TNS. As Kamban said, aaSai pattri araiayluttREn, I have tried to present  the  nectar of Ramayana as dished out by the great maestro of music and eloquence. How far I have succeeded in my effort is of no consequence but I am blessed not only to hear the ‘kottRavil raaman kadhai,’ from the greatest exponent of music and harikatha but also to write on it and hence consider myself twice blessed. I hope those who read this will enjoy the rich repast and be blessed by Srirama and Seetha and may Anjaneya shower his grace on all of

The concert of TNS at Sri krishna gana sabha on 25-8-2008

TNS was accompanied by M.Chandrasekharan on violin, Mannargudi Esavaran on mridhangam and Guruprasad on ghatam. All three were eminent artistes and with TNS at the forefront it was a veritable bonfire.

The concert started with the Thyagraja krthi, ‘raagaratnamaalikache,’ in reethigoula., signifying the araadhana of Lord Hari with the gems of ragas on Gokulashtami.

Then Krsihna was welcomed with ‘svagatham krishna,’ a compositon of oothukkaadu venkatakavi., in which  the enchanting mohanam created a warm welcome to Krishna with characteristic tender rendering of the sahithya.

Neat was ‘ganamurthe ‘ of Thyagraja which was followed by the raga poorvikalyani and a sloka from Krishna, which kept the mind wondering as to which was going to be the krthi since, ‘padmavathi ramanam’ of oothukkadu which was indeed the krthi that followed, completely escaped the mind.. Padmavatiramanam was beautiful,  ramaneeyam, so was the svara that followed. The concert consisted of oothukkadu compositons only but for the two Thyagaraja krthis ‘Ragaratna’ and ‘ganamurthe’

The ataana that followed was really ‘adadaaNaa.’ The krthi was as could  be foreseen , ‘madhura madhura .’ TNS ably assisted by Esvaran  delighted the rasikas with all possible variations of the madhyamakala  sahithya and jati of the krthi.

The visual effects came into play in the simmendhramadhyama krthi ‘asaindhaadum mayil,’ which continued for two more songs. Rasikas could witness the dancing peacock and the ruminating cows in the words ‘asaindhaadum mayil and ‘asaipodum aavinangaL.’

In the madhyamavathi krthi ‘aadaadhu asangaadhu,’ TNS actually plaited the hair of Krishna in singing the words ‘pinniya sadai sattre,’ which has to be seen to be enjoyed.

Thus the stage was set for the masterpiece ‘thaaye yasodha ,’ after an enchanting alapana of thodi. ‘Thayaeyasodhe,’ was rendered in the usual inimitable style and TNS did neraval at ‘kaalinil silambu konja’ MC and Esvaran joined to create a ballet and there are no words to describe the way the ‘ konjal ‘ of the anklet of Krishna. TNS displayed  multitudes of  bhava in singing the words ‘silambu konja,’ and drew applause and MC did full justice to the bhava by his creating the sound of ‘konjal’ on his violin. Esavaran ably supplied the background for the music of the anklets and it was a joy to behold, I say behold, because it was audio visual.  The svara that followed was fully in accordance with the mood of the song and the thani after that by Esvaran and Guruprasad supplemented and complimented the mood .

Since it was only 8-45 pm the rasikas expected an RTP and they were not disappointed. After the krthi in natakurinji, ‘paal vadiyum mukham,’  there  was a short but sweet RTP in saveri with a pallavi in telugu., ‘kari moralidaledha kaarunyajaladhe.’ The svara prasthara was in ragamalika, with change of ragas for every half avarthanam.

Then TNS sang ‘pullaipiravi thraveNum,’ in senchurutti and ended the concert with the sindhubairavi thillana of Ootthukkadu and mangalam.

To describe the concert in the words of Ootthukkadu venakatakavi, to hear ‘isai paadum (sesha)gopalan inRu, ,’it made one exclaim  ‘nijamaana sukham enRu onRu irundhaal neerulagil idhai anRi  vERedhuvum anRu.’

Concert of TNSKrishna on 28-6-2008 at Nadhopasana

The rasikas were treated to a beautiful shanmukhpriya, fantastic lalitha and a magnificent thodi . Krishna was accompanied ably by Srikant on the violin and Trichur Narendran on Mridhngam.

Krishna started the concert  with the kamas varnam of Muthiahbhagavathar , ‘maadhe malayadhvaja,’ and took up shanmukhapriya for an elaborate alapana which was beautiful and then he sang a viruttham before the dhikshithar krthi ’Siddhivinayakam’ with svara parasthara at ‘prasiddhagananayakam,’ which was delightful. The bhava-laden music  of his father has filtered down to Krishna which could be seen in his singing the viruttham in which he portrayed the elephant in the word ‘yaanai’ by his music.

Next was the exposition of ragas Lalitha which  was fantastic followed by the krthi ‘naanubrovu lalitha,’ of Shayama sasthri, The svara sung at ‘nannubrovu ‘in the end was wonderful and the remniscent of his father but with his own manodharma.

The navagrahakrhi ‘Divakaratanujam’ in yadukulakambodhi was the next preceded by a sloka on sanibhagavan.

Then came   thodi.. the special bequest of Seshagopalan school. The raga alapa was magnificent and the svara in-keeping with the caliber of the raga. The krthi was dasukovalaena of Thyagraja.

Thus Krishna has paid a talented tribute to the trinity  by his choice of the krthis which was a ‘nadhopaana’ indeed !

Krishna then sang  a viruttham in subapanthuvarali and a thiruppugaz. followed by the seasoned master piece of his father ’vanduketpar illaiyo’  a ragamalika of Oothukkadu Venkatakavi and concluded his concert wit the thillana in Hameer kalyani, a composition of TNS.  

Review o Krishna”s concert and My comments.

Krish srini has given a vivid portrait of the concert above which I cannot add anything more without causing tautology. Krishna was really amazing and as suggested in the review has manodharma of his own and though resembles his father closely in his style of rendering it is 100%his own. The raga bhava   and sahitya bhava have attained full maturity and his svarasinging is of course as delightful as ever added to it is his mastery on laya.

 

Krish Srini <[email protected]> wrote:

TNS Krishna presented a high voltage , powerpacked concert at the Tyagaraja Vidwat Samajam on the 14th of May '08.

Starting with Saveri varnam (Sarasuda), he went on to Budham Aasryaami( Naatakurinji) .

The following song was Ninnuvina (Poorvi Kalyani) . Krishna gave a raga rendition that left no unexplored territories in the raga. The raga elaboration was full of all kinds of combinations that is possible in Poorvi Kalyani. True to tradition he did a karvai nyasam for about 5-7 mins with madhyama,gandhara and rishaba, in the nadaswara bani. Ninnuvina was rendered well with power packed swara renditions at Ninnuvina.

Immediately that followed suit was Sankarabharanam( Endukku Peddala), another heavy weight, which was elaborated well with also a sruti bedham to Todi and back to the main raga.The highlight in this item was the swara rendition and the neraval. Krishna kept the basic theme of the swara ending as 'snd, spm sm(g = veda). With this basic mapping he explored myriad possibiliuties of laya variations and crowned the sentence beautifully.

Two heavyweights one after the other, did not leave even a note of strain on the singer and he went on  to render the Tillana in Basant Bahar(composed by TNS), with as much vigour and verve as in the beginning.

Shertalai Sivakumar on the violin, matched Krishna's with swara for swara ,as also B.Sivaraman on the mridangam and Sree Sundar Kumar on the Khanjira, who proved more than a match to the singer. On the whole it was a vidwat presentation, with no slow dull moment .

Had the amplification been a little more toned , the whole listening experience could have been unmatched.

Krishna has imbibed his father's gene so well that one is able to see his father in him, but at the same time he has a mind of his own and does not appear to be an imitation.

Write up on the concert of TNS on 22-4-2008 at Asthika samajam, Venus colony, Alwarpet.

TNS was accompanied by MChandrasekaran on the violin, Mannrgudi Esvaran on Mridangam and TVVasan on ghatam- a  renowned group of accompanists.

TNS started the concert with the Thyagarajakrthi ‘Nithya roopa’ in raga  durbar, with a brief alapana  and beautiful svara, to which MC replied fittingly, followed by  another one of Tyagaraja, ‘brochevarevare,’ in Sriranjani raga, with delighful svara.

The next was from the  Ramanataka of Arunachalakavi, ‘parabrahmasvaroopame,’ which TNS sang in raga Goulibandhu after a masterful alapana of the raga. The charanam of the krthi was sung in  madhyamakala.  This was followed by alapana of the raga Suryakantham in detail, the krthi being ‘muddhu momu’ of  Thyagaraja for which TNS sang brief but fantastic  svara at ‘dhanapathi sakhudaku,’  and the participation of Esvaran and TVVasan was wonderful.

Next was a picturesque presentation of the ramanatakakrithi ‘raamanukkumaanan mudi.’  The rasikas saw Kaikeyi chiding Manthara in ‘paamarame unakku ennadi pEcchE, ’  the meaning of ‘paamaram’ being brought out beautifully by music alone and in the phrase ‘unakkennadi pEcchE  we could see the scorn of Kaikeyi for Manthara’s words.  In the next line ‘pazam  nazuvi ppaalil vizundhaarpOl aaccE,’ the visual effect of the fruit slipping and falling in the milk could be appreciated  only by those who have seen TNS singing the line.. In the charanam, ‘ parasuraaman garvam theerthhavandi’ was also a good portrayal of  Bhargavarama , with casual body language and bhava in  Rama  subduing his pride. In singing ‘naalu pEril mootthavandi,’ besides the bhava in mootthavan by modulation of voice, TNS combined the phrase ‘naalupEril’ with the previous one ‘paataam katta Ettravandi’ implying that Rama was naalupEril pattam katta Etravan, showing his ingenuity in synchronizing meaning with music.

The next was ‘Ksheerasaagarasayana’ of Thyagaraja  in raga Devagandhaari and the main piece that followed was ‘Ethaavunaraa,’ of Thyagaraja in raga  Kalyani .After an elaborate and scintillating kalyani  the neraval svara was sung at ‘seethaagouri.’ It was fabulous with full support from the accompanists  and drew applause.

After the wonderful thani  by Esvaran and Vasan , TNS sang a short sloka and the verses from Kamban describing the arrival of Sita and Rama to the wedding  hall and the sloka describing the panigrahna of Sita by Rama, ‘iyamseethaa mamasutthaa,’ which was followed by the Thyagaraja Utsavasamprdhaayakrthi ‘vadhanadhyuthijitha soma,’ in Panthuvarali in madhyamasruti, in which Thyagaraja has sung sOpaane to rama and Seetha as amangalasaasana.

To those who were aware of the impending harikatha on Valmikiramayana of TNS at Hamsadvani for the next five days this programme seemed to be a precursor of what was to follow because there was a portrayal of almost the whole Ramayana in this concert  ending with the mangalasasana of Thyagaraja which was the mangalasaana for the forthcoming harikatha as well.

Harikatha on Valmiki Ramayanam by TNS  during 23-4-2008 to 27-4-2008 at Hamsadvan

There was a shower of nectar of Ramakathaa for five days in Hamsadvani sabha by TNS  and it was panchadhina panchaamrtham. ValmikiRamayana, expounded by TNS  through the medium of his eloquence and music and spiced with his humour ,was a karNa rasayana , an elixir to the ears, administered with all ingredients in correct proportion, which inspired the devotion in the heart because the whole exposition was devotion-oriented.

I try to reproduce the harikatha,  highlighting its salient features because to write it in full will result in a thesis due to  the rich content.

Part1

 TNS started with the following sloka from Bhagavatgita and explained its significance.

ParithraNaaya saadhoonaam vinaaSaaya cha dhushkrthaam

DharmasamsThaapanaarThaaya ambhavaami yuge yuge

The Lord has  emphasized that it is for the protection of the good  for which the destruction of the wicked is necessitated  as a subsidiary , He has incarnated in each yuga, So in ramavathara also the bhaktha kaaruNya  reigns supreme. TNS said the Ramayana itself is the divine kaaruNyaa given to us through Valmiki.

Among the navaviDha bhakthi, namely SravaNam, keerthanam, vishNoH smraNam, paadhasevanam, archanam, vandhanam,  dhaasyam , sakhyam, Athmanivedhanam, there is a exalted place for keerthanam  because it is the easiest and independent of other requisites.

Ramayana was in form of kirthana only as it was sung by Lava and Kusa. There are several Ramayanas like anandha ramaayana, adhyaathma ramayaana and others in all languages but the Valmiki Ramayana is the source of all. Kamba Ramayana comes next in importance as Kamban followed Valmiki closely though enhanced it by his poetical skill. But for Valmiki  the story of Rama would have acquired different dimensions, quipped TNS, like the sthalapuraaNaas related by the guides in the temples using their own imagination.

Then TNS sang the sloka ‘koojantham raamaraamethi,’ in mohanam, meaning, ‘ salutations to  the cuckoo Valmiki, who is cooing sweetly the sweet name  “rama rama” ascending on the branch of poetry, and the word koojantham was sung exactly like the cooing of the cuckoo, and was ‘mohanam.’

TNS extolled the role of Narada  who not only  transformed Valmiki  into a sage but also sowed the seeds of Ramayana by telling him about Rama in answer to his question. TNS said that the character of Narada is always wrongly portrayed in the plays and films as kalahapriya whereas he always stays near the Lord through his namasankeerthanam because the Lord said that he will be present wherever His devotees are singing His name and glory. ‘madhbhakthaa yathra gaayanthi thatra thishTaami.’  Narada presents himself whenever and wherever there is a need for enlightenment. Here also as soon as the question about the perfect human being arose in the mind of Valmiki, which was due to the will of the Lord , as a precursor to the birth of the epic Ramayana, Narada appeared also by the will of the Lord to answer his question and described Rama to him as the one endowed with all good qualities , a man of perfection.

The Ramayana starts with Valmiki questioning Narada, with the sloka ‘thapasvaaDhyaaya niratham,’ which is really the mangalasloka , said TNS, because as it is customary to start a grantha with some auspicious word like Sree, the word thapas here denotes auspiciousness as it is the Sree or Sreyas of the sages. It is also the first syllable of Gayatri mantra, the 24000 slokas representing the 24 syllables of gayatri , the slokas beginning with each syllable are made into gayatriramayana.

TNS then explaining the question of Valmiki said that the reason he mentioned all those qualities was that the qualities such as guna and veerya, virtue and valour, righteousness and generosity, knowledge and skill etc. are not always found together.

Valmiki had obtained guru anugraha first which secured him the devaanugraha later by which Brahma came and commanded him to compose Ramayana. TNS briefly narrated the incident of the krouncha birds and explained how the sloka   ‘,maanishaadha prathishTaam thvam agamaH  saasvatheeH samaaH, yath krounch miThunaadhekam avaDheeH kaamamohitham, uttered as a curse of the hunter, nishaadha, who killed one of the loving pair of birds, that he will never get peace, ‘maa prathishTaam agamah,’ turned out to be a mangalasaasana for the Lord for killing one of the pair, meaning Ravana and Mandodari, the one who was obsessed with lust, maa nishaadha being construed as the abode of Lakshmi , that is Narayana.(maa=lakshmi, nishaadha =abode)

TNS sang the sloka in subapanthuvarali, making the letters ‘ma ni sha dha ‘ as svatakshara. The Soka of Valmiki has turned into a sloka and TNS said that the reason he sang that in the raga subapanthuvarali is not to denote the Soka but to show that it is the raga used to portray auspiciousness as the sloka turned out to be the mangalasasana . It is Subha( auspicious) panthu varaali  that is why Dikshitar composed Srisathyanarayanam in that raga, with the words ‘satyajnaanaanandamayam sarvam vishnumayam.’ 

The definition of music and kavya  is given in Ramayana in three slokas(VR-BK-ch.4-sl.8,9and10) which TNS explained in detail saying that this is the forerunner  of all the music that came later on.  The next two slokas describe Lava and Kusa who were skilled in singing, and playing the veena.  And they were the spit image of Rama. TNS explained here the manner of singing with the sound emanating from nabhi,hrth and kanta  and the playing of the veena like vocal singing.

Starting the story of Ramayana, TNS mentioned about the grief of Dasaratha on being childless and said that he wanted a son not for selfish reasons but  because he wanted a heir who will take care of his subjects like his own children as he himself had done so long. TNS sang the krthi of Arunachala kavi, ‘pilaai illaa bhaagyam petrirundhenna,’ in dvijavanthi, mentioning how the north Indian ragas were used in Ramanataka by Arunachalakavi.

While Dasaratha was advised to do the yaga for getting progeny, the Lord was seeking  a father for Himself, TNS said, He was looking with His widened eyes like lotuses, padmapalaaSaakhaH, and decided to have DasaraTha as his father after dividing Himself into four.

thathaH padmapalaasaakshaH krthvaathmaanam chathurviDham

Pitharam rochayaamaasa thadhaa dasaraTham nrpam

At that time the planets, .said TNS, went of their own accord and occupied their destined places by the will of the Lord. TNS astounded the rasikas with his knowledge of astrology while explaining the effects of the five planets in exalted position and the aspect  of guru etc. and sang the Ramanatakakrthi ‘parabrahma svarupame’ in panthuvarali. .

Then the birth of Rama and others were explained quoting Kamban(of course TNS sang the verse in part) who describes the  Rama as ‘anjanakkarumugil kozundhu ezil kaattum jothi,’ as looking like a dark cloud beautiful and lustrous. TNS explained  why Kamban  said ‘thiru ura ppayandhanaL thiramkoL kosalai,’ calling Kousalya as thiRamkoL kosalai., meaning she was skilful or powerful. It is because , said TNS, she gave birth to the one who had all the worlds in His stomach., which fact is indicated by the words of Kamban, referring Rama as ‘orupagal ulagu ellaam udharatthuL podhindhu----avanai.’ This same idea is reflected in Thyagarjakrthi , brovabharamaa, in bahudari, said TNS, singing the line ‘srivaasudeva andakotla kukshineeunchukoledhaa,’ asking Rama , is it great burden for Him to protect as he had protected all this world by keeping it  inside Him.

TNS . concluded the day’s programme with referring to the happiness of Bhoomidevi on the birth of Rama because she was going to feel his feet all over her when he would walk in the forest. Probably this reminded him of the other one who purified the earth by walking on it, that is Krishna . TNS  referred to the phrase ‘thooya peruneer yamunai,’ from Thiruppavai and said Andal called Yamuna as  thooyaperuneer  because the river was not afraid of Kamsa who was near, and after rising up and touching the feet of Krishna when Vasudeva carried him across to Gokula, parted and made way for him, as compared with Godavari who never disclosed the fact that Ravana carried Seetha off when asked by Rama  out of fear even though Ravana was far off.

The glory of Ramayana was that it was sung in front of Rama himself as the glory of Mahabharatha  consists in the  narration of Vishnu sahasranama by Bhishma in front of   Krishna.

Part 2

After the birth of Rama and others, Valmiki  straight away proceeded to the narration of Dasaratha pondering over the marriage of his sons after a brief mention of the skill of the princes in learning the sastras etc. and of Rama serving his father as a son should, pthrSurooshaa. Then , said TNS, Visvamithra came as the aspect of the planet Guru  needed for the successful marriage. TNS vividly described the effect of the words on Dasaratha   who swooned and when he came back to consciousness perhaps hoping that the sage would have gone he saw Visvamithra there and pleaded with him that his son Rama was very young , not even sixteen years of age. TNS sang the sloka  in sahana , expressing all the anguish of Dasaratha by the raga, as a contrast to the earlier one in which Visvamithra asked for Rama which he sang in subaapanthuvarali, may be to denote that only shubham is going to happen to Rama  through Visvamithra. Dasaratha referred to Rama as ‘raamam raajeevalochanam,’ one of lotus eyed, implying that he is still a young boy who would sleep as the lotus closes at the sunset, while the rakshasas will come only in the night and hence he would not be able to fight with them.

Visvamithra even at the outset said ‘aham  vedmi mahaathmaanam raamam sathya paraakramam ,’(VR-BK-19-14) to Dasaratha, and TNS explained this here, singing the sloka in fitting raga Atana, saying that the words  meant that Dasaratha could not understand Rama, his own son because he was blind with attachment considering Rama as his son whereas the sage knew him as the Lord Himself. The king had not conquered his indriyas and was overwhelmed with affection for Rama while the sage had conquered the senses. Visamithra possessed divine insight while Dasaratha could perceive  everything only with his mortal eyes. He was in simhasana as a king whereas Visvamithra was used to darbhasana, the exalted position  as a brahmarshi.

Visvamithra paid tribute to Vasishta at the outset itself when Dasaratha promised him to do his bidding, by addressing Dasaratha  as vaSishtavyapadesin, meaning that being the disciple of Vasishta  how else would he speak,. Now again Visavmitra paid tribute to Vasishta saying that not only himself but even Vasishta and the sages assembled there and elsewhere knew the glory of Rama. ‘VaSishto api  mahaathejaaH ye cha ime thapasi sThithaah.’(BK-19-14)

On seeing Visvamithra enraged by the words of Dasaratha that he would not send Rama with him, Vasishta intervened and said it is for the welfare of Rama Visvamitra was asking him though he himself could have destroyed the demons  with no effort and he will take care of Rama whom no one will be able to harm like the nectar protected by fire and advised Dasratha not to swerve from his promise and Dasaratha agreed to send Rama and Lakshmana with Visvamithra. TNS explained all this in his own inimitable style and proceeded to describe the experience Visvamithra in enjoying the presence of Rama with him.

Visvamithra called Rama by his name in order to give them  manthropadesa, ‘ramethi mahuraam vaaNeem,’ savouring the sweet name ‘raama.’ Here TNS quoted Kamban, who says that Vasishta  gave the name Rama to the one who hurried to save the elephant Gajendhra,  and made a brief reference to the story of Gajendhra , saying that the crocodile must have grasped the foot of Gajendra because he was a great devotee, bhaagavathotthama in order to be freed from his curse. The reason of the reference of Kamban to  this episode on naming Rama was that Rama  went to the devotees to grace them as he did when Gajendra called. This  secret was known to Thyagaraja also , said TNS, singing the line from ‘raminchuvaarevaruraa,’ where Thyagaraja says the secret connected with the verb ‘ram,’ and  the bliss contained in the word ’rama,’ will not be had even for the best of the devas. ‘ramyanesumarmamu raamayane Sarmamu lasath amaravarulakappeno.

TNS remarked that Visavamithra had committed a great sin in tormenting Harischandra in order to make him utter a lie and he may have wanted to atone for his sin of separating Harischandra from his wife by effecting the union of the Lord with Thayar and also by causing the redemption of Ahalya through Rama, which enhanced the quality of  his anugraha  which extended even to the wrongdoers.

Not only Visvamithra enjoyed  having Rama with him by calling him by name which itself was giving him joy but he also derived joy by enjoying Rama sleeping and in waking him up. It is always a joy to see the sleeping form of the Lord. Visvamithra , said TNS must have enjoyed seeing Rama sleeping during the whole night. He wakes up Rama in the morning with the words ‘Kousalya suprajaa rama—‘ the sloka that has become the traditional suprabhatham in all the temples now. Visvamithra addressed him as kaousalya supraja and not as ‘dasaratha  sutha’ etc. This was because he was expressing his gratitude to Kousalya, said TNS,  who did not prevent Rama from coming with him in which case Rama being young may not have disobeyed his mother.

Then  in Thataka episode , TNS  quoted Kamban who says that the arrow Rama flung at Thataka  went through her like the advice given to the wicked fools, which goes in one ear and comes out of the other.

TNS briefly explained the Ahalya episode pointing out the difference in Kamban from Valmiki, according to whom Ahalya sinned knowingly. Kamban on the other hand, may be in order not to portray womanhood contrary to the Tamil tradition, calls her ‘nenjinaal pizaippu ilaaL, ’  not guilty of mind. Then TNS sang the lines ‘kaivanNNam angukanDEn kaal  vaNNam ingu kanDEn in PanthuvaraLi, and said the feet of Rama was capable of purifying even a sinner and said that Thyagaraja refers to this episode in his krthi ‘Sreeraamapaadhamaa,’where he says it is enough to have the grace of the feet of Rama which redeemed Ahalya.

Then the princes  reached Mithila with Visvamithra and were welcomed by Janaka. The sloka in which Janaka enquired about the princes was sung by TNS  in which Janaka describes them as having the gait of elephant, lion, bull and tiger .’gajasimhagathou veerou Saardhoolavrshabhopamou.’

TNS explained the significance of the different gaits ascribed to the Lord. The elephant can kill with its trunk  but at the same time can lower itself and allow even children to ascend its back. Similarly the Lord lifts the devotees up when they bow down at his feet, which is why Kamban refers to Rama as the two handed elephant, ‘irukaivezam, ’ one that kills the enemies ,other lifting up his devotees. TNS also said that the elephant signifies the attitude of a devotee as it sprinkles the mud on its head after bathing because the dust of the earth on which the devotees of the Lord had walked is sacred. The gait of the lion refers to Nrsimha and that of tiger reminds one of the prowess of Rama in janasThaana when he destroyed the army of  Khara and DhooshaNa  single handed. The gait of vrshabha may mean the doubt of the onlooker whether He is Lord Siva himself. Janaka  wondered  whether they have come to bring fame to him and to his clan thus expressing perhaps the wish that Rama may become his son in law.

Viisvamithra replied to Janaka  disclosing their identity and told him that they have come their to see his bow .’dhrashtukaamo dhanusSreshTam.’ Valmiki describes Visavamithra as vaakyaviSaaradhaH, said TNS, one who is skilled in speech. Here TNS said no discourse on Valmiki will be complete without referring to Kamban because Kamban not only provides exact translation of Valmiki at times but also a commentary on Valmiki. Here also when Visavamithra  told Janaka about the  princes Kamban as though to alleviate the fear in the mind if Janaka  hearing that they are the sons of Dasaratha, that whether Rama will also have many wives like his father, says, ‘pudhalvar  enRu payaredhaan, marai odhuvutthu vaLartthaanum vasittan,’ meaning that Dasaratha was their .only in name but Vasishta was the one who taught them and brought them up. For the adjective of the princes given by Visvamithra , ‘dhanurvedha viseshajnou,’, skilled in archery  Kamban gives a commentary, ‘thaatakai than uram uruvi,malai uruvi, maram uruvi maNN uruvittru oru vaaLi,’ meaning  Rama flung only one arrow at at Thataka which went through her chest, through a mountain, through the tree and pierced the ground.

TNS sang the krthi of Arunachalakavi, ‘ivanai nee yaaro enReNnaamal ,’ in sankarabharana  fully, which comprises of the reply of the sage to Janaka.

TNS then extolled the glory of Seetha, saying that only in Ramavathara  for the first time Thayar appeared along with Perumaal, because of the contingency tat he could not show his divinity as a human being and she wanted to supply the shakthi for him  unlike all the other incarnations where she came only after the purpose of the avathara  was fulfilled. In this avathara Seetha helped the purpose and hence seetha  kalyaana is very important and could not be hurried, this being the third day of the harikatha, two more remaining! But to do the harikatha on the whole of Valmiki Ramayana in five days is next to impossible  and hence TNS had to hurry through the rest of the story in two days mentioning only the important events as much as it was within his time limit. Thayar personifies the mercy of the Lord without whom he will be merciless, said TNS, as Parasara bhattar remarked on seeing Ranganatha donning the costume of Thayar, during the utsava,  that he looked the spitting image of  Thayar except for the absence of mercy in His eyes. Seetha showed mercy even to Kakasura, which episode comes later in the epic. Seethaa was even greater than Rama in as much as  she was ayonija, manifested herself from the ground  while Rama was born to Kousalya. In vaishnava tradition tracing the guruparampara right to the Perumaal, Thayar stands before Him in the line.

In Valmiki Ramayana Seetha and Rama see each other only on the day of marriage unlike Kambaramayana. The breaking of the bow comes next in Valmiki. Visvamithra said, ‘vatsaRama DhanuH paSya,’ “Rama, dear boy, see the bow.” But Rama understood the intention of his guru and took the bow and trying to string it broke it. This sentence ‘vatsa raama dhanuH paSya has been explained elaborately by the commentators said TNS. It was a caution to Lakshmana that only Rama is to do the stringing of the bow. Calling him vatsa  was to remind him that he was appearing as a boy and should act like one and not show his divinity, as he did in Vamanavathara when appearing like a boy he grew into Thrivikrama.

TNS  sang the Thyagaraja krthi ‘alakalellalaadakani,’ in which Thyagaraja exclaims whether the sage Visvamithra attained joy on seeing the curly forelocks of Rama moving beautifully at the time of his killing Subahu or when he took the hint of his guru and strung the bow, Rama being described as sadhaika priyadarSanaH, always a joy to the eyes, whatever he is doing Here TNS referred to Kamban saying that Rama and Lakshmana protected the yaga of Visvamithra.. Rama and Lakshmana  protected the yaga , like the eyelids protecting the eyes, said TNS., quoting Kamban,  explaining the significance of the expression ‘kaNninai kaakkinRa imaiyinai kkaatthanar.’ He said that it is only the upper eyelid that moves while the lower stays in its place. Similarly it was Lakshmana who was moving around while Rama stayed in one place with his bow strung ready to face the rakshasas. Thyagaraja reflects this idea ,said TNS, in his panthuvarali krthi ‘apparamabhakthi,’ that the ramabhakthi will protect the devotees like the eyelids protecting the eye..

Valmiki says that Rama grasped the bow in the middle with ease. ‘leelayaa sa dhanurmadhye jagraaha, which is expressed beautifully by Kamban, said TNS, that he took it as the garland to put on Seetha, ‘Edu aviz maalai idhu enna edutthaan.’ Valmiki saying that the bow broke as soon as Rama took it, is explained by Kamban, edutthadhu kandaar ittradhu kEttaar,’ All saw him take the bow and heard it break, both happening simultaneously.

The day of the marriage dawned and the first visitor to the marriage, says Kamban. TNS sang the krthi ‘kalayanaraamaa,’ in hamsanadham. TNS explained the reaction of the people of Mithila on seeing Rama and sang the verse from Kamban, ‘dhayaradhan pudhalvan enbaar,’ beautifully in hamsanandi, in which people were seen talking that Rama was  the son of Dasaratha, nay, he was divine being etc. and some saying that Seetha should have thousand eyes to see Rama while others said that even Rama needs that to see Seetha. TNS also sang several pieces from Thyagaraja where he describes the beauty of Rama.

Then TNS described the marriage singing the pallavi and anupallavi of the krthi in natakurinji,  ‘kolamkaaNa vaareer.’ And the slokas ‘iyam seethaa mamasuthaa ,’ and pathivrathaa mahaabhaaga,’ from Valmiki , all in natakurinji. Valmiki says , ‘abraveeth janako raja  kousalyaanandhavardhanam,’ and TNS explained that the word  denotes that while he was born to Kousalya Seetha was ayonija. The word ‘mama suthaa,’ “my daughter” is similar to the expression ‘periazvarapettreduttha peNpillai,’ to denote Andal who also appeared under the tulasi bush.

Then TNS sang the verses from Kamban describing Rama and Seetha who looked like the union of yogam and bogam in kurinji followed by the Thyagaraja krthi ‘seethaakalyaana  vaibhogame.’ He said that it is a rare combination of yoga and boga which normally are not found together. Seetha, being Lakshmi  represents bhoga while Rama is the yoga, grace of the Lord.  TNS said to get the bhoga in the form of bhagavatbhakthi, we need yoga of the grace of the Lord.he sang the pasuram ‘thuppudaiyaarai adaivaddhellaam,’ in shanmukhapriya and explained the meaning. Periazvar says  “The purpose of resorting to the powerful being is to get their support when in trouble. I came to You, even though I am not deserving, because You protected even an elephant. I will not think of You when I am suffering. So I am telling You now itself , Oh Ranganatha.”

To illustrate that yoga and bhoga are not always together TNS gave a mouth watering description of food, which he said  could not be enjoyed when one is able to get it due to doctor’s orders  and when good health one may not get it.

Commenting on the Thyagarajakrthi ‘seethakalayanavaibhogame,’ TNS said Thyagaraja felt that Anjaneya was left out in the marriage of Rama and Seetha and brought him also in the line ‘pavanajasthuthipathra,’ pavanaja meaning Hanuman, the son of vayu. In the last line Thyagaraja included Siva also (parmesanuthageetha) whose amsa was Anjaneya.

TNS said that there is evidence that Thyagaraja must have read Valmiki and Kamban as there are references in his krthis of incidents in both, such as Seeetha seeing Rama,(kankanaruchira). He in his panthuvarali krthi sang the sopana after the marriage of Rama and hints at  the next event namely the advent of Parasurama in the krthi. Saying this, TNS sang the krthi which is a mangalasasana by Thyagaraja . Then he concluded the discourse of the day with the harati by Thyagaraja, ‘pathiki mangala hartheere’ in arabhi.

Part3

While describing the marriage of Seetha TNS mentioned that Thyagaraja has described the upacharas to be done to the Lord in his krthi ‘mithribhaagyamu’ in karaharpriya and explained the meaning demonstrating how a raga should be sung to the delight of the rasikas.

Visvamithra comes only in Balakanda  and was seen present for only 29days but  his role was very big as he laid the foundation for the avathara karya by uniting Seetha with Rama and gave Rama all the asthras. Next comes Parasurama . Briefly describing the episode TNS sang a few lines from Ramanataka in which there is a enjoyable conversation between the two Ramas, such as Parasurama  saying that Rama killed a woman to which Rama replied that Parasurama killed his own mother etc. TNS said that the purpose of Parasurama avathrara is for Rama, while being young and also would not be in a position to do any penance due to the fast moving events in his life, to acquire the power of penance done in the earlier incarnation as Parasurama.

Valmiki  never felt contented to describe the virtues of Rama, said TNS, and even in describing how Rama lived in Ayodhya after his marriage he lavishes praise on Rama saying that he always remembers and praises even a single good done to him by others while forgets  even hundreds of harm by others. ‘kaTham chith upakaareNa krthena ekena thushyathi;na smarathi apakaaraaNaam satham api.’ TNS sang the sloka  ‘buddhimaan maDhuraabhaashee  poorvabhaashee  priyan mvadhah,’ in shanmukhapriya and explained dhow important it is to be not only sweet speaking, maDhuraabhaashee but also poorvebhaashee, to take the initiative to speak first. One is not good without the other. Thyagaraja exclaims about the manner of speech of Rama to all in his krthi ‘emani maatladithivo,’ in thodi, said TNS singing the krthi. Rama , he said , knew how to speak to each one, to near and dear ones, friends, women, kings etc.

When  Dasratha informed his courtiers and ministers about his decision to crown Rama, they expressed their joy as one man which made Dasarata exclaim that whether they were not satisfied with his reign , not because he had a doubt, said TNS, but because he wanted to hear the praise of Rama. They all praised Rama , another instance of Valmiki’s encomium, and said they wanted to see Rama on the elephant under the royal umbrella his face half hidden by it, ‘Chathraavrthaananam.’

Dasaratha  called Rama and watched him walking towards his palace from the balcony and here Valmiki uses several epithets to describe Rama, such as ‘gandharvaraajaprahimaH,’ which TNS explained that it is not the likeness of the king of gandharvas in Rama which was meant but  viceversa.( gandharvaraajaH prathimaa yasya), meaning whom the king of gandharvas resembles. The adjectives dheergabaahuH, mahaasatthvaH  etc denote his beauty as well as pourusham. The gait of Rama was like that of mattha maathanga , an elephant majestic and saathvik which is beautiful to look at, as Thyagaraja describes Rama as ‘saamajavaragamana.’

In his krthi muddhumomu in raga suryakantham , Thygaraja marvels at the beauty of Rama which enchanted even the sages in dandakaranya , causing them to be born as gopis in the next incarnation of the Lord as Krishna , said TNS , singing the krthi in full and explaining the meaning.

Dasaratha  told Rama that he wanted to crown him while Bharatha was away, which shows, said TNS, that even the mind of the good  has other thoughts at times.

Then TNS sang the sloka that describes Manthara ascending the palace tower by chance, in raga kamas. Valmiki says that she was jnaathidhaasee, a relative and attendant of Kaikeyi., who came from no one knows where, yatho jaathaa. TNS beautifully described the actions of the hunchback ascending slowly the palace and seeing the festivities for the coronation of Rama and descending fast being agitated.  She woke up kaikeyi who was sleeping saying ‘utthishTa mooDe,’ “rise you fool” and told her the news, foreboding great calamity to Kaikeyi  whereupon Kaikeyi answered by the sloka , ‘raame vaa bharathee vaa ahm visesham na upalakshaye ’ which TNS sang in hamsanandi. He explained briefly how Manthara poisoned the mind of Kaikeyi using the enmity between Kekaya and Mithila as the trump card. Then said TNS, Kaikeyi could not see the  difference between arTha and anarTha. When Dasaratha came to see her and promised her anything she wanted, being distressed at her state, Kaikeyi asked the two boons putting Dasaratha  in a dilemma  to choose between marabhu, tradition and vaaimai, to be true to his word. To show how corrupt the mind of Kaikeyi had become Kamban makes her say seethai kELvan to refer to Rama, said TNS, Manthara’s words echoing perhaps in her mind.

Sumanthra sent by Kaikeyi to fetch Rama saw Rama and Seetha in private conversation, said TNS , and  as to what they would have been discussing, TNS said that they would have  been talking about dharmaparipalana only.

Kaikeyi when she informed Rama that Dasaratha wished him to go to forest, she said nava varshaaNi pancha cha, nine and five years, perhaps , said TNS, she did not have the temerity to say fourteen years. TNS then sang the verse from Kamban in which Kaikeyi conveys the command  of Dasaratha ’aazi sooz ulagamellaam bharathane aaLa ,’ in kedaragoula , and mentioned that here also she said ‘iyambinan arasan,’ meaning the king had said so,  as she referred to Rama earlier as ‘seethai kELvan.’ Rama replied in the same vein that he would not disobey even if it was her command and not the king’s, ‘mannavan paNi allaal num paNi maruppano.’

Then TNS described the scene of Rama coming to see Kousalya without any paraphernalia , as she expected from  a prince about to be crowned as portrayed by Kamban  and sang the verse, ‘kuzaikkinra kavari inRi kottraveNkudaiyum inRi, izaikkinRa vidhi mun sella dharumam pinnirandhu Enga,’  in subhapanthuvarali.

TNS brefly described Lakshmana’s anger and  Rama pacifying him and quoted the verse of Kamban, ‘nadhiyin pizai anRu’ meaning that it is not the fault of the river if it has no water an similarly the change of mind of Kaikeyi was only due to destiny, that is, the will of the Lord. Kousalya was also comforted by Rama and she gave out a mangalasasanam to Rama which TNS sang in suruti. Then he described the reaction of Seetha who found out that something was amiss on seeing Rama, who could not disguise his feelings from her. Than Seethaa insisted on going to the forest with him and remonstrated with ‘raama jaamaatharam praapya sthriyam purushavigraham, meaning that her father had secured as son in law a woman in a man’ garb as a final shaft which stimulated Rama to agree with her wish. TNS said, the Lord as a man had experienced even this which is common to mortal husbands!

Lakshmana  also accompanied Rama saying that he will do all the service to Rama, ‘aham sarvam karishyaami.’ When they started for the forest seeing Seetha trying to put on the bark garment Sumanthra burst out at Kaikeyi saying ‘like mother like daughter” because her mother tried to persuade her father  to reveal what the ants there were talking in spite  of his plea that his head will break into pieces if he did that.

TNS briefly described how, according to Kamban,  even the nature and all including the baby in the womb cried at Rama leaving for the forest and narrated how Rama went to the place of Guha, who prayed to him to stay there itself for fourteen years and sang the Ramanataka krthi ‘ingeyeirungaaNum, ‘ in kalyani.  Rama accepting him as his brother, according to Kamban , went to the hermitage of Baradvaja and proceeded to chithrakoota.

TNS then described in detail how Dasaratha died of grief on learning that Rama had gone in to the forest from Sumanthra, who told him the life of Rama in the forest and the words the three of them have sent through Sumanthra, including the anger of Lakshmana.

Bharatha came back and  TNS explained how Kaikeyi revealed what happened step by step to Bharatha who flared up in anger at his mother and went to fetch Rama back, all this was explained briefly. Bharatha met Rama  who asked him in detail how he discharged his duties towards the kingdom and parents and TNS explained the whole sarga, comprising of the code of conduct for kings enunciated by Rama by way of questioning Bharatha, which is why the sarga is known as kaschith sarga,.

TNS then describing Bharatha ‘s request and the dilemma of Vasishta , who knew dharma and Rama but at the same time was compelled to comply with the request of Bharatha to ask Rama to return, sang the verse from Kamban ‘vimminan bharathanum’ in  raga Lalitha , in which Bharatha asks ‘semmaiyinthiruvaditthalam thandheega.’

Then TNS briefly narrated the episode of Viratha , who took Seetha first, because to be freed from his curse he needed the grace of the Lord which can be secured only by resorting to the divine mother first. Even Rama  needed her glance to break the sivadhanus , said TNS which is why Kamban has written the episode of  Seetha and Rama seeing each other. Ravana  separated the two and hence met his end.

After a brief mention of the meeting of Rama  with Sarabanga and Agasthya,  TNS narrated their stay in panchavati and Surpanakha episode and the battle with Khara and DhushaNa whom with all their army Rama killed single handed disproving the statement of Seetha ‘sthriyam purushavigraham,’ said TNS, because Seetha embraced Rama and shed tears perhaps resenting her words.. The golden deer was not desired by Seetha actually, said TNS , as some quoting the incident say ‘vinaasa kale vipareetha buddhi,’ meaning Seetha got the idea because of the impending calamity destined for her, but it was visnaasakaala for Ravana and hence Seetha assumed that desire, vipareetha buddhi, to effect the destruction of Ravana.

Jatayu fought with Ravana seeing him carrying away Seetha and fell down wounded and waited for Rama to tell him what happened and died. The bird , said TNS, had the good fortune of being performed the last rites by Rama which Dasaratha could not get.. In Ramayana we see the divine grace being shown to all beings, man, bird and beast. TNS said that the Lord has shown that all beings are the same to Him.

Then Rama met Kabandha an killed him to release him from his curse,  who directed him to Sabari. The version that Sabari gave Rama fruits after tasting them to test whether they were ripe and sweet has no validity either in Valmiki or Kamban. The story  must have been circulated in order to prove the glory of devotion.. She attained moksha while the Lord Himself was her witness. This was the end of the fourth day discourse.

Part 4

This was the fifth and final day of the Harikatha and it is remarkable that TNS, not only covered 30 to 40 slokas everyday but also sang them giving a musical treat to the rasikas. No narration was without his singng the corresponding sloka. He had to rush through the last two days obviously due to the fact it is virtually impossible to do Harikatha on Valmikiramayana in five days though he did a wonderful job of it. To savour the rich  repertoire from Valmiki, Kamban and Thyagaraja  spooned out through his wonderful music and eloquence we shall have to wait for a lengthier programme consisting of several days, Also it was wonderful to hear TNS singing the abhangs at the suitable places and in the beginning of each day’s harikatha  in the manner it should be sung traditionally..

TNS recapturing the previous episodes, said that Thyagaraja had a doubt which he expresses in his krthi ‘sandehamunu theerppavaiyaa,’ in ramapriya. He asks Rama whether His feet or His paduka is greater. He himself answers the question saying that those who worshipped His feet secures a place in vaikunta whereas to Bharatha who worshipped the paduka attained the Lord Himself. TNS said that Dasaratha and Bharatha  wished to make Rama the king  while Kaikeyi wanted to crown Bharatha. All were in vain because it was the paduka which ruled the kingdom for fourteen years. Here TNS said that once the shankha and charka of the Lord made fun of Paduka and the Lord promised to the grieving Paduka that it will be in an exalted position one day and it came true in ramavathara where Bharatha and Sathrugna who were the amsas of shankha and chakra became the servants of the Paduka which was placed on the throne.

Next the meeting of Rama with Hanuman was described. Rama  extolled Hanuman judging him  from his manner of speaking. His delivery diction and voice all showed him to be learned in Vedas Rama called Hanuman ‘ sollin selvan’  in Kambaramayana, and wondered whether he was Siva or Brahma, said TNS, but not mentioned Vishnu, which is significant that Rama was only playing the part and had not become a human. TNS explained the epithet ‘sollin selvan,’ as meaning that Hanuma will be present wherever the’ in sol’ sweet wi ord Rama is uttered and ‘selvan’ means that he is rich in the wealth of ramanama sankeerthanam and will go, ‘selvan,’  where the name Ram is uttered.

Thyagaraja   chides Rama that he did not speak to Hanuman, though he must have known that Hanuman was going to be the greatest bhaktha and servant and also that he was the amsa of Siva, but made Lakshmana speak to him, in his krthi in charukesi, ‘aadamodigaladhe,’ and TNS sang the krthi as it should be sung with bhava and not as a mere concert piece.

TNS mentioned how Sugreeva wanted to test the prowess of Rama to see whether he was capable of killing Vali and said that even though He was the Lord Himself, Rama could not escape experiencing the result of his action. He tested a poor Brahmin when he gave away all his possessions before going to forest by asking him to fling his staff among the herds of cows as far as he could and saying that he will give the brahmin as many cows as were covered by the distance where the staff lands. As a result of the action Rama here was tested by a monkey. Similarly Sugreeva did bhaagavathaapachaara by not offering seat to Lakshmana who was seated n only by Hanuman. For this he had to take severe beating by Vali and Rama made Lakshmana put a garland on him to atone for the wrong committed by him earlier.

Then TNS briefly mentioned the valivadha and the monkeys reaching the sea shore and sang the sloka ‘goshpadheekrtha vaaraasim’ in praise of hanuman in  charukesi. He said he chose the raga to sing about Hanumaan  because it has sankarabharanam in its poorvanga, first half and hanumatthodi in uttaraanga, second half. So first half refers to Shankara whose amsa hanuman was and the second refers to Hanuman himself. This comment drew the applause from the audience. TNS sang the other slokas on hanuman also in charukesi.

TNS extolled the glory of Sundarakanda and said that by reading Sundarakanda one could get the benefits of reading the whole Ramayana. Hanuman on crossing the ocean displayed the vamana and narasimha avathara of the Lord, said TNS. In making himself small and entering the mouth of Surasa he resembled vamana while increasing his size on crossing the ocean he resembled Thrivikrama. In entering the mouth of Simhika the demon and tearing her and emerging out he enacted the narasimhavathara.

TNS then described the search of Hanuman all over lanka and getting desperate in not finding her, he suddenly remembered that he did not pray to Rama and Seetha . TNS sang the sloka ‘namosthu raamaaya salakshmaNaaya namosthu dhevyai janakaathmajaayai,’ said that Hanuman refereed to Seetha as Janakathmaja implying that she should appear to him as she did to Janaka from under the earth, 

Then TNS described the  effect on Hanuman when he saw Seetha under the asoka tree vividly and with feeling. Then Ravana came and spoke to Seetha and TNS said anyone reading that chapter could not help feeling the trial the divine mother was undergoing and tears of anger at the blasphemous words of Ravana.  Seetha replied putting a blade of grass in front. This was beautifully explained by TNS.

1. Since Ravana was a king she put a throne in front showing that she would never forget the protocol to be observed towards vistors.
2. To indicate that he was only equal to a blade of grass as far as she is concerned.
3. To show that compared to Rama his prowess, wealth and glory are equal to a blade of grass
4. Since he behaved like an animal he deserves only grass as his food.
5. To remind him  of the plight of Sukra when he tried to stop Mahabali  when the Lord pricked the eye of Sukra who  blocked the nozzle of waterpot, with durbagrass.

The word ‘Suchismithaa,’ used by Valmiki means that Seetha was capable of  destroying Ravana with her laughter and as the sloka  on Hanuman ‘ullanghya sinDhoh ----‘ makes out that Hanuman took the fire of the  grief of Seetha, Sokavahni,  and burnt Lanka, the Soka of Seetha was enough to destroy Ravana. Seetha herself tells Ravana that she could do so but did not, because she could not act without the orders from Rama and also it would be a blemish for his prowess,’villukku maaSu,’ as Kamban puts it.

TNS then gave an amusing description of rakshasis as portrayed by Valmiki  and said Hanuman is the only character which all the devotee-saints would opt if they were to play a role in Ramayana.  Hanuman possessed of wisdom, valour, discrimination courage and above all love for others. Hanuman, after Ravana went away, thought about the proper way of presenting himself, said TNS, and started chanting ramanama. Saying thus he himself chanted ramanama for few minutes creating a proper atmosphere for the events to follow.

Hanuman narrated the events in the life of Rama and Seetha, said TNS,  as a beautiful story in the form of Sanskrit prevalent in Ayodhya to instill confidence in Seetha, lest she may suspect him to be either Ravana or some one sent by him. TNS also remarked that it was Hanuman who was the first one to narrate Ramayana within the epic, the manner of his speech proving that he was indeed a ‘sollin selvan.’

Here TNS said that Hanuman realized only on seeing Seetha how much Rama was grieving for her because being used to the behaviour  of Vali and Sugreeva who thought nothing about appropriating each  other’s wives  he could not understand the feelings of Rama earlier but now he wondered how Rama managed to survive without Seetha.

Then TNS described how Seetha took the ring from his hand , as Hanuman offered it with his hands, saying ‘paSya devi anguleeyakam,’ and did not give it so that her hand would have been lower, as it is the propriety when offering  something to great and revered.

Sita related the kakasuravrtthaantha , the story of kakasura, to Hanuman as a sign that he has seen her giving her choodamani as well to give it to Rama. Describing the kakasura episode TNS said that he got reprieve only due the mercy of Seetha because he fell down before the feet of Rama and she only placed him  near the feet of Rama. Such was the mercy of the divine mother who even forgave the rakshasis. TNS remarked that the crow cries kaa ka meaning She, kaa, was more merciful and even he, Rama, kaH, was merciful etc.

TNS briefly describing the exploits of Hanuman in asokavana and his being led to the presence of Ravana and his advice to Ravana. TNS said that it was fitting that Hanuman  gave the advice because he was the amsa of Siva who alone could advise Ravana. TNS described how Ravana  reacted and Vibheeshana’s intervention and Hanuman burning Lanka and returning to Rama saying, ‘dhrshtaa seethaa,’ TNS said that Hanuman could get the full grace of Rama only after he got the blessing from Seetha. Starting from Rama himself, who was able to fuflfil his avatharakaarya  after uniting with her, Viraatha and Mareecha attained mukthi because they approached Seetha first. Sugreeva got back his kingdom because he received the lakshmikataaksha when Seetha saw him on Rsyamuka mountain and threw her jewels. Even Vibheeshana must have been pointed out by his daughter to Seetha in asokavana when he  to travelled in the sky .to Rama.

Vibheeshanasarangathi was mentioned by TNS and when he informed Sugreeva and others that he has come to surrender to Rama, Sugreeva objected saying that how could Rama trust the one who abandoned his brother and TNS remarked that Sugreeva  forgot who he was because it is not fit for him to say those words while he himself was no better.

TNS referred to the sloka in which Rama says even if it were Ravaan himself he would not say no if any one surrenders to him naarrating the story of the to pigeons, the female  being  caught by a hunter who took shelter under the tree on which the male was sitting. Seeing him shiver with cold the female bird asked its mate to make a fire for him because he was a guest to their abode and seeing him suffer with hunger the male fell into the fire  for him to have food. Saying thus Rama said that when even a bird behaved so how could a human being be less merciful. Vibeeshana did not desire for the kingdom and asked Rama only the bhakthi samrajya he had given to  Bharata as Kamban puts it, ‘iLaiyavarkku kavitthamouli.’ Rama gave him the kngdom of Lanka and to the doubt that if Ravana realizes his fault and sureenders what Rama would have done, TNS said that Thyagaraja had the answer in his krthi ‘sarasasamadhana’ in kapinarayani where he says ‘sathamugaanayodhya niche nantivi’ he promised the Ayodhya to Ravana when he sent messengers to him, because Ayodhya was his whereas Lanka was given to Vibheeshana already. This is why Kamban at this juncture calls him ‘kosalanaadudaiya vaLLal.’ But Ravana never realized who Rama was till the end, and finally was killed by Rama. The arrow of Rama pierced the heart of Ravana and expelled his desire for Seetha when only he got wise that Rama was none other that the primal cause.

TNS said though Rama was merciful and told Ravana to return the next day, seeing him divested of his armour and weapons, he was enraged when he saw Ravana hitting Hanuman to show that the Lord will even forgive a harm done to Him but not when His devotees are attacked. TNS explained why Rama and Lakshmana seemed to be under the spell of nagasthra by Indrajit earlier , the former being the Lord who rests on the bed of serpent while the other is the serpent himself. It was , said TNS to give a role to Garuda in the Raamayana, who came and drove away all the serpents of the nagastra. At this juncture TNS looked at his watch and sang ‘inithaamadham seyyalaagaadhu,’; and stopped his harikatha to allow the rasikas to come on stage and honour him and afterwards quickly performed the coronation of Rama.

In the end he offered his obeisance to his guru who prophesied that he will one day become a harikatha exponent on hearing him speak and it is his blessing and wish that TNS should fill the gap after Muthiah bhagavathar, who was a musician cum harikatha exponent, since there was none among his forty and more disciples to take up harikatha, that he was able to become a harikatha exponent  in such a short time because he started his first harikatha in 2003.

That was the end of the five day session of  Valmiki Ramayana by TNS. What have been written here is neither a complete picture nor a reproduction of his eloquence , knowledge on the subject nor of his excellent music appropriate to the bhava of the context. My write up is an effort to cross the ocean in a raft as Kalidasa puts it in Raghuvamsa.

Concert of TNS Krishna at Asthika samajam, Venusacolony, Alwarpet. On 15-4-2008

Krishna  was accompanied on the violin by V.L.Kumar, Thrichur Narendran on Mrdhangam and B>S>Purushotthaman on kanjira.

Krishna started his concert with Yojana kamala lochana, a thyagarajakrthi in Durbar. The svara prastara was good, answered ably by Kumar.. One can expect delightful svaraprasthara from Krishna always and this concert was no exception.

The next was a short raga alapana in Mayamalavagoula  followed by the Thyagarajakrthi  Merusanmaana, a speciality of his father. The svaras presented a beautiful sequence with repartee from Kumar.

Then Krishna started the raga Hindolam, which he always delineates beautifully and it was enjoyable, while the krthi was manasuloni of Thyagaraja and the svaraprasthara was as expected  and delightful. Between Krishna and Kumar it was a savaal –javaab and was a source of joy to the audience.

Next came the main raga thodi. Krishna sang the raga elaborately reminding the heavenly exposition of his father and the krthi was kaddhanuvariki, to the delight of the rasikas of TNS  and the neraval and the svara prasthara was a good singles match between Krishna and kumar. Both emerging out as winners

Thiruchur Narendran and Purushotthaman gave a fitting accompaniment to the concert.

Krishna,after the pleasant  tani avarthana by  Narendran and Purushotthaman, sang the purandara dasa krthi ramaramaramaramarmaayeniro in the raga lalath. It was followed by the thillana in hamsanandi by swathitythirunal which was the end piece of the concert.

Concert of TNS with MC and UKS-another sparkler on 2-3-2008 at Hamasadvani

The rasikas were treated with yet another concert by the sangeethakalanidhi trio and it was as expected a wonderful concert. BS Purushotthaman accompanied with the kanjira.

UKS was put out at first because of the echo in the microphone but it did not deter him from giving a marvelous performance. MC as usual was walking along with TNS and all the three of them proved  to be a delight to the rasikas.

The concert started with the varnam in sahana with kalpnansvara at the end of it as usual. The next was a beautiful saveri followed by the krthi ‘dharidhaapuleka’ of Thyagaraja  and the neraval-svara was sung at  ‘valachipadhamula.’ Which was in-keeping with the bhava.

Hameerkalyani that followed was ameer(rich) kalyani as it is always when TNS sings the raga. It was so rich as to be treasured in memory forever. The krthi was ‘venkatasaila ,’ of Subbarayasasthri.

If saveri and hameerkalyani were comparatively short but sweet the begada that followed was very elaborate and awesome. All the nuances of the raga were brought out in full in a leisurely and graceful strokes which dismissed any idea in the mind of the rasikas who might have though that he would sing ‘abhimaanamu’ and clearly pointed out to what came next, that is, ‘naadhopaasana’ of Thyagaraja. If the raga was fabulous the neraval- svara at ‘thanthreelayasvaragaana viloluru,’ was beyond description. It contained all that is mentioned by Thyagaraja, thanthree, meaning instrument, by the masterful display of MC , laya , by the pyrotechnics of TNS ably supported by UKS, proving that they were indeed gaanaviloluru. If this is not naadhopasana what else could be that! The variety of tempos seen in the svaraprasthara is something to be heard. As I am not competent enough to describe it  in toto.

After this TNS would have liked UKS to play thani  who preferred it to be otherwise. Then TNS sang ‘kanakaangadha,’ a  koteesvaraiyer krthi, followed by a krthi, supposedly by his mother, anbaagaennaiyum kaNpar ambika,’ in Bindumalini ,preceded by a short exposition of the raga and ‘ambaa neelaayathaakshi’ of Dikshithar in Neelambari.

What followed next was ‘yaarukkutthaan theriyum,’ of Gopalakrishna bharathi in devamanohari. It was a delight to the rasikas as TNS sang it with full bhava and UKS brought before us the nrthya of Nataraja by his play on the mrdhangam. To hear the song with the mrdhangam accompaniment with closed eyes one could imagine  a dance being performed in front.

Then came a colourful Hindolam RTP. TNS splashed the colours  first and then made them into a rangoli by deft strokes. The raga came as a pravaha and then it became a Ganges, gurgling forth , splashing on the banks. The pallavi was ‘thaa ma sa ma sa dha sa ga sa ma, kannaa, thaa maa ga en mun odivara,’ and as the words suggest it was a svarakshara , and the words odi vara were sung portraying Krishna coming running in front which he sure did! The svara prasthara was ragamalika with so many ragas that I lost count but the kapi  that came in the middle was served in full foaming  cups, cream-laden and was a degree kapi! MC also with his playing  stirred  it well!

After a short thani in which both UKS and BSP played together, the concert came to a close with a devaranama ‘sadhayeena hrdhaythalli, in behag and Thillana in Bilahari which again UKS embellished with his strokes and TNS concluded by a thiruppugaz and mangalam, the three of them creating a bonfire together till the very end.

It was a concert not to be missed.

Harikatha by TNS at the Asthika samajam, Thiruvanmiyur on 18-2-2008

The topic for the harikatha was Sadguru Thyagaraja , which he has already done at the Music Academy on 3-2-2008 but it was presented in a new perspective altogether  and was enjoyable afresh even by those who have heard it then. It is humanly impossible to write here all that he said in three hours and I will try to give only the highlights of the harikatha.

After the usual namasankrithana as a prelude  which itself was a treat to the rasikas, TNS started the topic singing the sloka ParithraaNaayasaadhoonaam and explained the meaning of it and said that the music in India was in a quite refined state at the time when the other countries were dabbling in folk music and the like because it was the means of worship and the Lord, as he said in the Gita in the sloka above , was sending incarnations in the form of saints like the Moovar of Thevaram, Vallalaar, Ramakrishna etc continuously for the protection of dharma. In that line of descent of divine personalities, TNS said, Thyagaraja could be included. TNS then sang the sloka about Thyagaraja, ‘vyaaso naigamacharchayaa mrdhugiraa valmikajanmaamuniH vairaagye Suka eva ekabhakthivishaye prahlaadha eva svayam;brahmaa naaradha dhevathaa cha aprathimayoH sangeetha saahithyayoh yo raamanaamamrthapaananirjithasivaH tham thyaagaraajam bajeham,’ and explained the meaning. Thyagaraja was equated with Vyasa in scriptural knowledge, Valmiki in lyrical beauty, Suka in detachment, Brahmaa and Naradha in sangeetha and sahithya and in relishing the nectar of Ramanama he excelled even Siva.

Thyagaraja was a living example of the prapatthi sloka of the Gita, ‘sarvadharmaan parithyajya,’ as his one and only interest in life was the namasankirthana of Rama, which is the only way for salvation in this kaliyuga. It is not possible to do japa thapa etc. in the modern days when even a five minutes japa  is interrupted by all sorts of thoughts about paying the bills, not to miss the TV serials etc. Hence it is said, kriyaaviheenaanaam govindakeerthanam

When we say the name Rama, with the syllable ‘raa’ the mouth opens and all the sins go out and when the mouth closes saying ‘ma’ further sins are prevented from entering in. TNS said that it is noteworthy that there is no equivalent term for punya in English, which is accepted as the universal language, though we have a synonym for papa which is ‘sin.’ It may be so because only in Bharatham which is a karmabhoomi people are aware of the concept of punya  and papa. The others are bhogabhoomis

Of all the names of the Lord, the easiest is the Ramanama. Thyagaraja says that  Siva and Anjaneya are the witnesses to the glory of Ramanama, in his pancharathnakrthi, kanakanaruchira, the former being the ramanamarasika ,as Thyagaraja calls him and the latter, who is the amsa of the former is the greatest ramadasa

Rama lived as a man to show not only the dharma in all aspects of human life but he also  stood as an example to show how a man could rise to the state of divinity. TNS said that to raise us from below to the height above the Lord has to descend from above and come down

He then said that it was not his intention to tell the story of Thyagaraja as such, of which everyone knows the details and by briefly narrating the details he put the whole story in a nutshell like the ekaslokiraamayana! He said that the aim of the harikatha ’sadguru Thyagaraja’ is to show him as a bhaktha which alone will benefit the listeners

Sadguru is the one who transforms the disciple like the wasp turns the insect into one like himself. He imparts jnana which is different from vidhya. The grace of guru can even secure moksha as in the case of Sabari to whom Rama, the lord-incarnate was only a witness

Like Rama who was an illustration of how to live according to dharma,, Thyagaraja was an example of the life of a devotee by his conduct as well as music.  Further TNS said it is not wrong to say that Thyagaraja was an incarnation of Rama himself and Dikshithar was of Lord Subramanya and Shyamasasthri was of Kamakshi, who manifested for the renaissance of music. Thyagaraja himself has said in his asveri krthi ‘epaniko,’ about the mission of his life. TNS not only sang the krthi and also explained the meaning. Thyagraja says that he was born only to sing the glory of Rama. Valmiki and others might have  already done all that but he could not be satisfied until he himself does it in his own words. He was sure that the devotees will welcome it ‘sadbhakthulu mecchudhure,’ because it is about Rama. TNS said that it was the  glory of Rama  and it will be relished by all, no matter who says it. He further said that people come to hear him not because  of Seshagopalan but because of Thyagaraja

Thyagaraja came to Thiruvaiyaru  to learn Sanskrit and he learnt music also there. Valmiki Ramayana was the magnet that drew him  towards it. TNS said the culture and music grew only on the banks of the rivers. Thyagaraja learnt the Vedas and got the upadesa of rama shadakshari manthra in his early days and chanted it 96crore times.. TNS said it is mind-boggling to think that how he must have achieved it. The japa of ramashadakshari mantra secured him the darsan of Rama as Lord Siva appeared to Vallalar, Murugan put kalkandu in the mouth of Dhikshithar and Kamakshi came to Shyamasasthri to give him water. All these show that they have obtained the divine grace early in childhood.

Why was Thyagaraja  a sadguru ? It is because he entreated the Rama to give his darsan to all which was the reason he asked Him ‘Elaneedhayaraadhu ,’ even after He gave His darsan to Thyagaraja, which made him break into joyful description ‘balakanakamaya’ etc. Not only that but he also showed us how to attain the divine grace in kaliyuga. TNS sang the krthi ‘smarane sukham,’ and said what Thygaraja meant was that even if one cannot do kirthan according to the maxim ‘kalou nama sankeerthanam,’ it is enough if one hears or even think of the ramanama. He says,’naamaroopame hrdhayamunindipremaputtaseyakaledhaa.’

TNS explaining this said that Thyagaraja never considered music as a mere art. For him it is means of securing salvation. In the space of the heart (dhaharaakaasa) one should seat Rama through music combined with devotion because without devotion music is like a flower without fragrance. This was said by Thyagaraja in his devagandharikrthi ‘seethaavara.’ said TNS singing the krthi and explaining it. If a person should become jeevanmuktha Brahma should write on his head that he will get sangeethajnana. A son of a  millionaire can inherit his millions but the son of a musician will inherit the  music of his father only if it is poorvajanmasukrtham

Through nadhaopasana with susvara one should see the universe in the Athamarama who is inside his heart . Same idea is expressed in ‘Mokshamugaladhaa,’ which TNS sang  with full bhava and said in that krthi what is meant by  ‘veenaavaadhana’ is that the human body is the veena. The sapthasvaras that come from the pranava by the union of the vital air and fire which means the sarira. How to play veena? It is graceful  like a lotus  and only if it is played with gamakam it is veena , otherwise it is a waste(veeNaanadhu)

Calling narada a honeybee that hovers around the lotus of nadhda, ‘naadhasaraseeruhabhrnga,’ in his krthi ‘sri naradha,’ in kanada, Thyagaraja also says that Narada was ‘vedhajanithavaraveenaavaadhanthathvajna,’ the one who was well versed in playing the veena that was originated from veda, the veena referred to here is the same as mentioned in the krthi “mokshamugaladha.’

Elaborating on the metaphor of nadhabrnga, TNS sang the line ‘paramaanandhmane kamalamupaibakabekamu chelkemi’ from the sankarabharanakrthi; ‘manasusvaadheena,’ where Thyagaraja says ‘what is the use of a frog and stork sitting on the lotus of so supremebliss’ and explained the meaning. He said the honey of the lotus is not enjoyed by the frog or the crab which are ever near it but only the honeebee which comes from afar knows the worth of it. The devotee who could worship the :Lord offering the honey of svara and raga mixed with devotion alone can enjoy the bliss of paramanandh

Thyagaraja has said that Rama svarupa is sangeetha in his krthis. TNS said that  though it is commonly understood that music originated from samsveda Thyagaraja has said that it is the base for Vedas. ‘Vedapuraanaagamasaasthraadhulukaa aadhaaramou naadhasudhaarasmbilanu narakrrthiyaaya,’ since Rama who is the source of the Vedas is personified as music.

TNS sang the krthi with sangathis which the late Maharajapuram Visvanaatha ayyar used to sing and said that the bhaava is more important than paataanthara. He said, “naadhasudhaannu sollittaa  naadhattthil amrthaatthai kodukkaNum.”

Thyagaraja singing on Krishna also makes him the embodiment of music in ‘samajavaragamana,’ said TNS and sang the meaning of the words vedasiromaathrujasapthasvaranaadhaachaladheepa,’ in tamil and also the original in hindolam. Though Krishna was enjoyed by devotees in various gaits, crawling running and dancing etc., Thyagaraja sees him as ‘saamajavaragamana,’ coming like an elephant probably because he saw Rama magestic as ‘merusamaana.’ TNS sang the line beautifully to depict the gait of an elephant and said that it should not be sung to give an impression that an elephant is coming running with a hooting sound.

The instances where Thyagaraja has shown the efficacy of  music as the means of salvation are many, said TNS singin the krthis, ‘nadhopasana’in begada and’ nadhaloludai’  in kalyanavasantham and said that there are countless pearls in the ocean of Thyagarajkrthis and to gather them all  and surface before sunset is an impossibility

TNS sang the line ‘naabheehrdkantarasana,’ from the krthi ‘sobillu,’ as it should be sung from the naabhi and said that Thyagaraja mentioned gayathri along with the Vedas in the charanam ‘dhararksaamaadhulalo ‘ as gayathri has 24 beejaakshara  which he identified with the 24 sruthis.(it was 24 in those days

In these days the common question may be that what do you gain by following Thyagaraja? He himself has given the answer in his mukhari krthi ‘sangeehasasthrajnaanamu.’ Besides  securing  saaroopya mukthi, which may not interest the man of the world, he says that it will also fetch ‘premabhakthi sujanavaathsalyamuvaathsalyamu,’ love devotion and  grace of the good. If even that is not fascinating enough, it also brings ‘sriramaapathikataakshamu,’ the grace of the Lord who is Ramaapathi, thus implying worldly prosperity and yaSodhana , it could also be construed as yaso+dhana! In this world everything is viewed not for the real worth of it but for the superficial properties, and hence, said TNS, even if Thyagaraja were to appear now he would be asked produce his credentials like PhD etc

TNS said that when the old stalwarts sing a raga they make it visual by portraying it fully. Thyagaraja sketches the raga fully in his first few strokes itself. The depth of the raga was fully felt in his songs and also on the olden days the musicians knew how to measure the depth. Later the width was increased and as a result the depth was reduced. Thyagaraja says in his karaharapriya krthi , mithribhaagyamu,’ Lakshmana sang to Rama who was on a swing(oonjal) and he did excellent aalaapana in apoorvaragas in such away that it created horripilation and he sang about the real nature of Rama as the supremereality. ‘baaguga vindharagamulanalaapamu seyagamEnu pukarinchaka,’ and ‘thathvaarThamu pogadi .’ TNS said that what Thyagaraja meant by the words ‘mithribhaagyamu,’ the good fortune of Lakshmana who is the son of Sumithra, is that he was blessed with the kainkarya saamrajya. TNS aid that Lakshmana served Rama as no one else  could, such as  building theparnasala which made Rama exclaim that you are my father, and tying the rope around his waist and dragging the boat in which Rama and Seetha traveled etc

Thyagarajakrthis serve as the test to check up whether a patanthara is right or not. For example in his navarasakaanada krthi he used SGMPPS, including a jandai though the aarohana is only SGMPS, by singing which alone the raga will not be delineated in full. TNS ,besides singing the navarasakannada svaras also demonstrated the raga bahudhari depicted in the krthi’brovabhaaramaa,’ as it should be sung. He said, in singing ,’palugukandachakkeranu’ in navarasakaannada the music must be presented in accordance with the meaning, that the speech of Rama excels the sweetness of sugar and sugarcandy. Similarly in ‘brovabhaaramaa, the bhava must be brought in and he sang it as it should be . Thyagaraja , TNS said, did not write out anything regarding the definition of music or raga etc. but showed everything as a practical demonstration

Our predecessors likeThyagaraja have said everything that should be known about the raga alapana. Krthi singing etc by their compositions in such a manner as though arranging them in a shelf with names as in a library. We should only know how to handle them properly, said TNS

TNS next sang the sriranjani krthi ‘bhuvinidaasuda,’ to illustrate the surrender of Thyagaraja to the feet of Rama. Thyagaraja says, ‘paalamunchina  needamunchina padhamulegathi,’   meaning that whether Rama dips him in milk or water His feet alone is the refuge. This is a telugu proverb implying whether good or bad whatever happens. Thyagaraja , showed us the easy path to wash off our sins, namely to clasp the lotus-feet of Rama, ’paadhaka malatthai neekkum paadhakamalam,’ as even the great poets like Kalidasa , who reeled high-sounding words in praise of the divine mother in his ambanavamanimaala (here TNS recited the whole sthothra nonstop ) ended up by saying that whether the divine mother raises him to heaven or pushes him down into hell he will never let go her two feet

Thyagaraja called himself ramadasadasa in the krthi ‘brindavanalola in thodi, said TNS, singing the krthi in a manner which illustrated the various ways in which Krishna would  have played in Brindavan. To the question  as to who are the ramdasas he referred to the answer would be that he meant all the ramadasas. Bhaktha Ramadas was of great influence to Thyagaraja so was the samartha Ramadasa whose abang dhaasaachee sampathi, the vasantha krthi ‘seethammamaayamma.’ TNS sang the abhang as it is usually sung in Yamankalyani and the charanam ‘raamaekamaathaa ramaekapithaa,’ etc. which is similar to the meaning of ’seethamma,’ he sang both the lines in vasantha phrase by phrase alternatively

Ramadasa, TNS said, could also mean Hanuman  because Thyagaraja has extolled Hanuman as the greatest ramadasa. In his krthi ‘geethaarthamu,’ in suruti Thyagaraja says, ‘vaathaathmajuniki baagathelusuraa geethaarthamu sangeethaanandhamu,’ equating the sangeethanandha with githartha. TNS said the Gita was taught not merely to Arjuna who might have understood it or not but the one who knows it well as well as the bliss of namasankirthan was Hanuman, who was listening from the top, in the flag on the chariot of Arjuna. Thyagaraja must have meant it so because he puts Hanuman at the top in his krthi, said TNS, the word vaathaathmajuniki is denoted with N, the nishadha which is the jeevasvara of suruti, and it should be sung with the high inflexion in nishada

TNS briefly mentioned one incident in the life of Thyagaraja to show how his devotion not only saved him from the robbers but also turned them into his disciples. When he was coming from visiting Kovur Mudaliar some robbers surrounded them and Thyagaraja told his sishyas not to be afraid since they had nothing but ramanama and when informed by them that the Mudaliar has given a lot of gold for the thriruppani of Rama, he said that in that case let Rama take care of his property. Rama and Lakshman protected them from the robbers who on seeing the two bowmen by the side I of the palanquin surrendered and asked Thyagaraja of their identity. Then only he realized who they were and sand the krthi ‘mundhuvenuka irupakkala.’ TNS sang the pallavi showing how the sangathis should be sung like lowering the palanquin slowly.

TNS said that even the thieves became sishyas through the nadhaopasana. And he said the viceversa is also true . The sishyas will turn out to be thieves who want to steal the heart of the guru and also the musical wealth of the guru even without his knowledge, that is not everything being taught directly but should be learnt by observing

TNS concluded by saying that Thyagraja has showed all the paths to salvation, namely that of bhakthi, jnana and karma. He has also  showed how to compose krthis or uruppadis as they are known in usage(uruppadiyai eppadi urppadiyaay podaNum) in his sriranjanai krthi ‘sogasugaamrdhangathaaLamu.

It is great fortune even to talk about such saints like Thyagaraja and to hear it also, echoing the thought in the mind of the rasikas on hearing him. God shines  in the heart of the singer, who is inspired with devotion and He is reflected  in the  heart of the rasika who is also fired with devotion. Rama revels in the namasankeerthana as he is the rasika siromani. So let us all do the ramajapa through  music. Thus ended the harikatha whoch lasted for three hours though the rasikas were unaware of the time passing

  Writing about such eloquent harikatha full of devotional fervour delivered on the ladle of his wonderful music makes me feel only the inadequacy of language which can  convey neither the force of delivery nor the richness of music which can only be experienced being vaachaam agocharam. He made the rasikas get immersed in the milky ocean of music with devotion , to surface only when he sang the mangalam

The concert of TNS at The Mylapore Fine arts on 17-2-200

The concert was arranged by the music school Hamsanadham run by Shubha Ganesan. The concert was exemplary in more than one aspect as there were expected surprises that went beyond expectations!

 TNS was accompanied by M.chandrasekharan on the violin and Guruvayur Durai on mridhangam and BS Puroshotthaman on ganjira, which itself speaks volumes about the quality of the musical feast that was in store but TNS served an exotic repast that was a connoisseur’s delight

The concert started with the reethigoula varnam and the kalpanasvara at the end was the index of the richness that was in store. This was followed by a quick ‘dhayjoochutaku’ in ganavaridhi of Thyagaraja and what came next was something that could melt even the heart of  a superficial listener. It was saramathi which was saravathi, hrdgayadhruthakarana seelvathee. This was my experience on hearing the raga which proved that bhava can be expressed even in the raga alapana without sahithya. The krthi was ‘saarasadhalanayane’ of Muthiah bhagavathar. MC also gave a beautiful saramathi.

As a seasoned rasika of TNS may expect, the next was the raga hamsanadham  which was a kalahamsa koojitham. The krthi was ‘kalyanarama’, a  oothukkadu composition, which, those who have heard TNS sing it very well know what to expect. The krithi was preceded by the two verses from Kamban that describe the arrival of Sita and Rama to the marriage hall in hamsanadham indicating what was going to follow. The krthi ‘kalyanarama’ was as delightful as ever

TNS next sang ‘heccharigagaa rara,’ and those who wondered about the absence of neraval svaram so far were in for a surprise as he did  neraval- svara at ‘ninnujooda vacchi baginilarambu,’ elaborate and the svara prasthara that followed not only portrayed the raga yadhukulakambhodhi in all its elegance but also showed the bhava of the krthi as well. Thyagaraja was calling Rama to come carefully and gracefully and majestically and the rasikas could see Rama in all the  possible gaits as described by the devotees , like the elephant, Bull, tiger and a lion. The svaras presented all these gaits. Guruvyur Dorai did full justice to the grandeur of the svaraprasthara with Chandrasekharan adding to the mood of the  music with his masterful strokes.

The followed the thani which was what could have been expected from the duo, GD and BSP.

Some  might have thought that the concert was nearing the end  after a lengthy ‘Hechariga,’ followed by the thani avarthanam but the rasikas of TNS know better. Yes after a beautiful ‘azaga,azaga. In suddha dhanyasi  portraying the azagan of Thirumaliruncholai , a composition of Ambujam Krishna, TNS served the payasam of the feast, a RTP in------you can never guess it---- in Behag! Words cannot describe it . Who else but TNS could take up a raga which is usually sung in the end of a programme  in bajans and javalis as the main piece for RTP! And how! Such an elaborates raga was itself a marvel but the pallavi ‘ maamavaraghuraamamaragathasyaama,’ in kantachapu and the svara that followed made one exclaim ‘ idhupOl kandadhum illai kEttadhum illai!’ I have not heard such svara prasthara even from TNS earlier, which of course does not exclude the possibility, knowing TNS. The svara ragamalika  consisted of hindolam, anandabhairavi and kurinji ending with madhyamavathi. When TNS sang the svara in kurinji he made raghurama into kalyanarama. Yes it was the svara of seethakalyanavaibhogame which Chandraseskharan took up well and both created a festive mood.

The best rasika of TNS was on the stage, whenever he is accompanied by MC who proved a rasika first and then an accompanist. Thus the duo with the seasoned  percussionists , Guruvayur Durai and  Purushotthaman made it a memorable concert.

TNS next sang the thillana in huseni, his own composition. It was extremely graceful , a lasya combined with nrthya. MC , not wishing to leave the audience in doubt announced that it was the composition of TNS.

The concert ended with the bajan ‘harigunagaavathanaachoongi, continuing the mood of the dance depicted in the thillana,  and mangalam, the  tempo continuing till the very end with amazing manodharma which lasted till the mangalasloka.sriyahkaanthaaya,’ as usual.

TNS harikatha at The Music Academy on 3-2-2008

The harikatha was on Sadguru Thyagaraja and TNS had to pack the subject on which he could have elaborated for several days within the time limit of two and a half hours and he has valiantly done a marvelous job of it. All the highlights of the harikatha were brought within the stipulated time, proving that he could give a performance par-excellence in a duration however short.

I give below the essence,(rasa) of the harikatha by TNS , which he spiced with his wonderful music, making it into a karnarasayanam, to the best of my ability.

In kaliyuga namasankirthana is enough to attain moksha whereas in other yugas one has to resort to more strenuous methods like tapas, yajna etc and Thyagaraja was a living example for this. His bhakthi was no less than that of Prahlada.

We are blessed that Thyagaraja had more than 100 desciples who wrote down his songs and it was thus handed over to posterity.

But it is a pity that even though numerous krthis of Thyagaraja were known to exist only about 50 or more are well known.

Thyagaraja had composed many krithis in one raga each, with different svarupa. Some of his krthis are easy enough to sing even for a beginner while some are difficult even for a trained musician.

Thygaraja mentions that Lord Siva was the first among those who revelled in the Ramanama as he told Parvati that ramanama is equal to the thousand names of the Lord. TNS quoted from the Pancharathnakrthi ‘kankanaruchira’ in which Thyagaraja says that Siva and Anjaneya are the witnesses for the glory of Ramanama, and TNS said that Anjaneya and Siva are one because Anjaneya is supposed to be the amsa of Siva. It is said that to die in Kasi is to attain mukthi because Siva whispers the Ramanama in the ear of the dying person in Kasi.

Next TNS explained the term sadguru. Thyagaraja was born in a family of great devotees and was truly blessed with the grace of Srirama ,yet he could reach the poornathva, perfection, only through a guru. This is becoming a rarity nowadays, he said, as the tapes and computers are replacing the guru ! TNS said gurus may be numerous(!) but to find a satguru is difficult. He defined the term guru as the one who dispels(ru) the darkness of ignorance(gu). Muthuswami Dikshithar has said, in his krthi about Lord Subramanya, who performed the role of a guru to him, ‘ajnanadhvaanthasavithre,’ the one who is like a sun to the darkness of ajnana.

TNS compared guru to the rain-cloud which takes the salt water from the sea and transforms it into pure water. If we approach any sastra, music or any other, by ourselves it will be like salt water. Thyagaraja says that guru is like the nut which when put into water clears it because he clears our mind of delusions and doubts. It is mentioned by Thyagaraja in his krthi where he says ‘guruvechillaga’ etc. Similarly guru will turn apasvaram to susvaram.

A satguru is the one who an impart jnana, and he himself must have had the anugraha of his guru. A satguru assumes the roles of mother, father, teacher and God to his disciple. He shows the God he has experienced to all. Thyagaraja had the darsan of Rama which made him burst into the description ‘balakanakamayachea’etc. But, TNS asked, where was the necessity of him to raise a plaintive cry ‘Elaneedhayaraadhu?’ And he supplied the answer. It was not for his sake he said so but with a wish to show the world what he has experienced, he entreated Rama to give His darsan to all. This is the mercy of the saintly souls, that they feel ‘ yam pettRaunbam peruga ivvaiyagam,’ “let the whole world experience the joy I have felt.” This is what made Arunagirinathar to ask Lord Muruga to come in front with all his realatives and vehicle in the Mayilviruttham ‘athalachedanaaraada.’ Thyagaraja expressed this wish in many of his krthis, like ‘sreeganapathini sevimparaare,’ ‘choothaamu rare, ‘ rajuvedala choothaamuraare,’ and ‘baaghasevinchi sakala bhaagyamandhudhaamu rare, in his krthi ‘ragaratna malikache’ in reethigoula , in all these inviting people to come and share the joy of the darsan of the Lord.

TNS said that the great souls have not written autobiography or made someone to write their biography and their works themselves serve this purpose. Rama showed the world how to follow dharma by his conduct , the dharma which He spoke about in Krishnavathara. His life is an illustration as to how one should behave in the role of a son, king, master, brother etc. The Kural says’vaiyatthu vaazvaangu vaazbavan vaanuraiyum dheivatthuL vaikkappadum,’ which means that the human being who lives according to dharma is equal to God. Rama was God Himself and hence there is no need to say how much more it would have been true for one who is vigrahavan dharamah. TNS said that how else could a devotee who worships such a deity like Rama be but like Thyagaraja. He, like Rama whom he worshipped, gave all he had to those who approached him with devotion, all that he had being nothing else but nadhavidhya. His whole life was spent in going on unchavrtthi for the sake of worshipping Rama and the rest of the time was spent in the aradhana of Rama through music.

Thyagaraja showed that music is the only path to salvation an asks boldly whether one who has no knowledge of music and devotion, sathbhakthisangeethajnanaviheenulaku, can attain moksha in his krthi ‘mokshamugakladha.’ TNS explained the words ‘veenaavaadhanaloludou sivamanovidha merugaru,’ as the veena mentioned in the krthi is the human being who himself becomes a veena, when the pranava becomes the sapthasvaras and flows through the heart strings which is the veena tuned by devotion. This secret is known to Siva, says Thyagaraja and one who does not know this cannot get moksha is the meaning of the words. The one who knows this is referred to by Thyagaraja as ‘vedajanithaveenaavaadhanthathvajna.’ So what is meant is the deivaveena, and a good veena playing should resemble vocal singing and the words should be heard with the laya inherent. TNS also sang briely the sloka of Adisankara in soundaryalahari which is about Sarasvati covering her veena when Ambika uttered a sound in appreciation, because of her shame that her playing of the veena is nothing against the sound that came from Ambal.

Thyagaraja has also given the lakshana of good music.in his krthi ‘kaddhanuvariki’ in thodi, said TNS and explained the charanam of the krthi, .niddhuraa niraakarinchi, muddhugaa thamburaapetti, suddhamaina manasu che susvaramutho.’ You can achieve something only by giving up something else. So Thyagaraja says niddhuraa niraakarinchi, giving up sleep as one who is fond of sleeping can learn nothing. Next he says muddhugaa thamburapetti, which means that one should hold the thambur gracefully, and does not mean the thamburapetti,( the electronic) as it is prevalent today, quipped TNS. One could achieve even this much but the next requirement is very difficult, said TNS, namely, suddhamaina manasu.che susvaramutho, to achieve a purity of mind and sing pure music. So one should have so much discipline to master music when only it becomes the path to moksha.

Thyagaraja has brought out the whole Ramayana in one krthi, ‘sriraghukula,’ as in the sloka called ekaslokiramayana ‘poorvam raama thapovanaanigamanam,’ which describes the whole Ramayana in one sloka. In that krthi soon after the mention of ‘sriraghukula mandhubutti’ meaning ‘being born in Raghukulam, Thyagaraja says ‘seethaanujaikonina ,’ accepted the hand of Seetha. This , TNS said is in-keeping with the view of Thyagaraja that the ramavathara is the best as he mentions in the krthi in the raga kolahalam, ‘pathivesmulalo raamavesamu bahubhaaganutsu.’ This is because the divine mother , has come along with Rama unnlike in other avatharas. Ramavatara begins only after seethakalayanam whereas Krishna married Rukmini much later after showing His divinity to all by His leelas. TNS remarked that the only similarity between the two avataras is that both killed a woman first, Rama killed Thataka and Krishna killed Poothana!

Thyagaraja also showed the real purpose of Raamavatara as bhaktha paripalana and not Ravaana vadha as it may be commonly thought. He says, ‘paramabhakthulanupaalanamu tseyu,’ in his krthi ‘Sriraghukula .’ TNS said that Rama did bhakthaparipalana through out showering His grace to man , bird and beast. His mercy was irrespective of caste or creed and whether it was a bird, or a monkey or a huntress or even the brother of his enemy He was the same. Sabari was twice blessed, said TNS, as her ascent to heaven and attainment of moksha was witnessed by Rama Himself.

Rama was the personification of music to Thyagaraja. He asks ‘evarani nirnayinchiriraa? whom did the great souls take you for?’ TNS said that Thyagaraja asks a question and will supply the answer in the charanam. He defines the ramasvarupa in the line ‘sivamantharamunaku maa jeeavanu, maadhavamanthramunaku raa jeevanu ,’ the essence of he siva manthra is “ma” and that of Vishnu is “ra” and both joined together in Rama. TNS said that the vidvans have the responsibility of knowing the meaning and split the words correctly in singing the krthis. He jocularly remarked that it would look as though Thyagaraja has confirmed his belief in the efficacy of ramanama which could be easily uttered anytime, by the krthi’dhyaaname,’ if the last word of the pallavi ‘manasaa raama’ is joined with ‘dhyaname’ while repeating the line to sound like ‘madhyaname’ which gives the impression the ramanama can be said in madhyanam, afternoon! Similarly he demonstrated how the krthi ‘maamavathu sri sarasvathi kaamakotipeetanivaasini,’( of Mysore Vasudevachar ) should be sung with a break while repeating the pallavi as otherwise joining the nivasini with mamavathu without a break sounds like ‘cinema!’ and hence one should take a breath before repeating the line.

TNS quoted from Kamban ‘moolamum naduvum,’ where Hanuman tells Ravana that Rama is the :Lord Himself who has left all his other weapons and came to Ayodhya carrying only the bow, ‘orukaivil Endhi ayoddhivandhaan.’ TNS remarked that Hanuman was called ‘sollin selvan’ by Rama which could be broken as sol+in+selvan meaning that he is the selvan possessing the rich wealth of the sweet name Rama, ‘in sol’

Continuing the svarupa of Rama as the sangeetham itself TNS explained the Thyagarajakrthi ‘naadhasudhaa rasambilanu,’ where Rama is described as the music itself in humanform, ‘naddhasudhaarasam bilanu narrakrthi aaya.’ And his bow is the raga, the svaras are the bells on his bow etc and the sangathis are His conversations and it is sarasa, full of essence (sa+rasa) and also enjoyable (sarasa). Then TNS spoke about the sangathis. He said ‘sangathi pOdaradhu peria sangathi!’ Thyagarja’s sangathis are like the lotus slowly opening its petals in the sunlight of Ramakripa and the technique of sangathis developed today is the boon of Thyagaraja. TNS said “avar kOdu pOttaar mattRavaa rOdu pOttaa.”

Sangeetha jnanam without devotion, said Thyagaraja will not secure salvation, ‘sangeethajananmu bhakthivina sanmaargamu galadhe .’ TNS said the musician is similar to a knower of Vedas if his music is involved with bhakthi and it should be visible by mere looking at him because sangeetha sasthrajnana is capable of providing saaroopyamukthi, as described by Thyagaraja in his mukhaari krthi. (saaroopyamukthi means attatining a form similar to the Lord)

TNS next mentioned about the variety of bhavas Thyagaraja brought into the same raga, sometimes .within one krthi. Atana portrayed different moods as in ‘Elaneedhaya raadhu,’ he said and sang the krthi to demonstrate it which was a treat to rasikas. In the charanam Thyagaraja calls Rama affectionately and TNS sang it displaying the full beauty of the lyric. Then he gave an explanation for the use of the word raajeevanethra by Thyagaraja, who was undoubtedly familiar with Valmiki. In Balakanda where Visvamithra asks Dasaratha to send Rama the latter replied that Rama was just a boy and could not face the asuras. The reason is implied in the word ‘raamo raajeevalochanaH’ by which Dasaratha refers to Rama. A lotus ‘raajeeva’ will close at the sunset and the asuras are known to appear only in the night when the eyes of Rama which are like lotuses will close with sleep as. he was ‘oonoshodasavarshaH,’ not even sixteen.

Then TNS referred to the pisode of the king of Tanjore calling Thyagaraja, the very fact that he did so was enough to distress Thyagaraja to whom Rama was everything, ‘dhanadhaanyamu dhaivamu neevaiyundaka,’ as he says in the ranjani krthi, ‘dunmargachara.’ He was so pained that he asks himself whether he had any desire for wealth unconsciously which made others think that he may accept the offer of the king. ‘Nidhi tsaalasukhamaa raamuni snnidhisevaa sukhamaa nijamuga phalgu manasaa.’ Another time he was told by Vadivelu , one of the Tanjore quartet, that MaharajaSwathithorunaal wished to meet him. This made him exclaim ‘padhavini sathbhakthiyu,’ that the true exalted position is the service of Rama. This krthi, a beautiful one ,said TNS, shows the height of vairagya of the devotees like Thyagraja , similar to that of Veedantadesika who composed vairagyapanchakam in which he exclaims, ‘asthi me hasthisailagre vasthu paithaamaham dhanam,’, when his friend Vidyaranya wanted to call him to the court of Krishnadevaraya. In his krthi ‘daasarathee neernamu theerppa naavasamaa,’ Thyagaraja puts it all to the glory of Rama that he was revered by all.

TNS then referred to the krthi of Thyagaraja ‘mithribhagyame,’ in karaharapriya where Thyagaraja marvels at the way Lakshmana places Rama on the oonjal and sings. This krthi gives the essentials of good music. Thyagaraja himself had s shown how Rama should be placed on the oonjal in his krthi’uyyaalaoogavayya.’ In the karaharapriya krthi he says, ,’bhagugavindha raagamulanu aalaapamu tseyagameu pulkarinchaka,’ and this dispels the doubts of sceptics whether Thyagaraja did alapana etc. He says Lakshmana sang elaborately doing alapana in apoorvaragas so that it created horripilation to the listeners. TNS said this is the way the raga alapana should be sung and his rasikas who have heard him sing the raga alapana will have no two opinions about this, especially when he said one should sing élaborately yet leave the listeners longing for more! This is exactly the experience of the rasikas of TNS! As he said while defining brahmanandham, it is the capacity of the musician to show the divinity he has experienced through his music to the listeners. I would like to add that to get that experience the rasika must be sahrdhya his mind tuned to that of the musician. As TNS said later , for that one needs the grace of the Lord.

The question whether Thyagaraj would have sung svaras is answered by his pancharathnakrthis, said TNS. In the nata pancharathna krthi the svaras ‘SPMRSPMR,etc., rishabha which is the vivadi svara stands prominently repeated many times like so many nandis we see before we get into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple of Siva. Not only that , in the beginning itself Thyagaraja united Rama with Seetha, in ‘jayajaanakeepraaNanaayakaa’ to give us the darsan of the Lord and the Divine mother together. Other charanas of the krthi also abound in svara combinations which clearly stand as beacon-lights for the posterity in svara singing. The lyric is also rich in rhetoric beauty even without music, said TNS, like ashtapadis, which even when read loud as a poetry creates a joy to the listener. He cited the charanam ‘karadhrthasarajaala,’ to illustrate this.

The lyric of Thyagarajakrthis itself portrays the different emotions, said TNS as in ‘ethudanilachithe ,’ where he starts with entreaty and proceeds to accusation in the charanam, which is full of rhetoric charm. So is the charanam of ‘Elaneedhayaraadhu..’
His compositions are not mere fantasy but actual experience of the presence of Rama.

Finally Thyagaraja has handled even the topics that are like walking on razor’s edge like the nowkacharithram with full of rasa without virasa.
I have presented a picture to the best of my knowledge which is no way comparable to the excellent exposition of TNS which is all this and much more, added with his brilliant music. I only endeavour to convey an idea of his harikatha to the rasikas who did not have the opportunity to witness it personally. I hope that I have done a reasonably good job of it.

 Season2007-8

Ramanatakam of Arunachalakavirayar – concert by TNS in Tamiz isai on 1-1-2008

The programme was eagerly looked forward  to by the rasikas of TNS as his exposition in Thamiz isai sangam every year will be on a new topic and his music  is combined with his commentary on the work and the author and hence a lec-dem cum concert. This time it was a harikatha without the usual costume –cum- concert, the topic being the ramanatakam. Thus rasikas were treated with a performance which was two in one.

TNS started with the invocatory and introductory verses in nattai and sourashtram from the ramanatakam wherein the composer extols the previous sources of Ramayana, namely that of Kamban and Valmiki and TNS explained that Arunachalakavi has followed the Kambaramayana very closely and his songs reflect the thought of Kamban in each and every episode. He gave the Ramayana to the common man in a language easily understood by all whereas that of Kamban requires scholarly skill in Tamil literature to understand the meaning of the verses.

TNS mentioned that even in the earlier Tami lliterature like Silappadikaram Rama was referred to as vedamudalvan by a jain saint KavundhiadigaL  showing that the Ramayana  is beyond the barriers of religion and sects. Then he sang  ‘dasaratharajakumaran,’ in kedaram.

TNS then said that Arunachala  kavi has made the Hindustani ragas like dvijavanthi and jonpuri popular by his songs and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Ayyangaar propagated the ramanatakkirthanas later and immortalized them. TNS then sang from Kamban ,’arubadhinaayiram aandu,’  in dvijavanthi and showed how this was reflected in the ramanatakam by singing the keerthana ,’piLLaiyillaadha  bhaagyam pettrenna’ in dvijaavanthi and quipped that this keerthana should not be sung with the first line in half as it will sound as though saying ‘pilaaiyillaadha bhaagyam,’ without the next phrase ‘pettrenna.’

Then TNS sang the viruttham describing the command of the Lord to the devas to be born as monkeys in jonpuri which was really a fantastic jonpuri  with the word .’kapigal aagi,’ sung in a picturesque manner that visualised the action of the monkeys by the swift sanchara up and down. VVRavi  who accompanied TNS on the violin also played a beautiful jonpuri. This was followed by the keerthana ‘ avataaram seididuveere,’ in jonpuri.

TNS referred to the first verse in Sundarakandam of Kambaramayanam, ‘alangalil thonrum poymmai aravu ena ,’ and explained it, and said that once Mahaperiava , knowing that TNS is well versed in Kambarmayanam asked him whether he knows this verse. It means that on seeing the Supreme being, this world of the five elements  disappears like the serpent which is misapprehended on a rope, diasappears with the knowledge of the reality that it is the rope. Arunachala kavi has followed the meaning of this verse in his keerthanai ‘parabrahamsvarupame sriraamanaagave, ‘ which TNS sang in varali.

Then TNS described the advent of Visvamithra and his request to Dasaratha to give Rama. He sang the verse from Kamban ‘en anaiya munivarum imaiyavarum,’ in sindhubhairavi in which Visvamithra says to Dasaratha that in case of any calamity the sages like him and the devas will go to Kailasa or Paarkadal or to Brahma  and to Ayodhya, and said that Arunachala kavi has composed his words along these lines in the scene when Visvamithra spoke to Dasaratha. Then he sang the keerthanai ’ramanaittharuvaaye,’ and amused the rasikas by looking at his watch at the words ,’thaamadham seyyaadhe,’ as it was nearly 11.30am.!

TNS mentioned the role Visvamithra played in uniting Rama with Seetha and said that it looked as though the sage wanted to atone for his sin in separating Harischandra and Chandramathi  by uniting the Perumal with Thayar.  Not only that but Visvamithra by making Rama walking all the way which made the bhoodevi  happy on feeling his feet on her,  incurred that puNya also.

Then TNS referred to the scene described by Kamban ‘aNNalum nOkkinaaL avaLum nOkkinAL,’ and sang that in saveri   instead of the usual yaman kalyani for a reason. The bhava of the verse was in tact though, which those who have heard him sing it earlier will understand.  The corresponding keerthanai in ramanatakam, ‘yaaro ivar yaaro’ was in saveri originally, he said, and Ariyakudi  has popularized it in bhairavi, giving it the form as in the viriboni varnam. He said that both Poochi ayyangar and Muthiah bhagavathar used to sing it in saveri and he has also learnt it in saveri from his guru, the disciple of Muthiah bhagavathar.  TNS also said that as in the raga saveri ‘sa ‘ ve ‘ri’ it is fitting raga because  the Perumal and Thayar   are one. Moreover the keerthanai can be construed to mean both ways, either Rama or Seetha referring to each other.

Next TNS sang the keerthanai ‘yarO enreNNaamal,’ in sankarabharanam, followed by ,raamasaami konda kOlam,’ in kapi  and sobanam in madhyamavathi.

Then he did a brief alaapa in Hindolam and sang the keerthanai ‘raamanukku mannan mudi,’ with the bhava well portrayed  as it is usual whenever he sings this. The line ’pattam katta ,’ was taken for svaram in which Krishna also joined.

TNS sang the keerthanai ‘arivaar yaarumillai,’ in  mukhari, preceded by a short explanation of the corresponding verse from Kamban, ‘vedhangal araiginra ulagu engum virindha un paadhangal,’ and  ‘thai thannai ariyaadha kanru illai,’ saying that this was the inspiration for the line ‘kanru kuralaikketu kanaitthu varum pasupOl,’ in the famous krthi  ‘enraikku sivakrpai,’  and extolling the raga mukhari.

Next TNS took the keerthnai from sundarakandam in malayamarutham  ‘hanumaane saamikkindha adaiyalam,’ in which Seetha gives instances for confirmation of Hanuman meeting her. Next was that informing Rama of seeing Seetha by Hanuman in vasantha, kanden kanden kanden sethaiyai,’ preceded by the corrssponding Kambaramayana paadal ‘kandanan karpinukku aNiyai, kaNgaLaal,’ wherein TNS explained the word ‘kaNgaLaal’ as meaning that the chastity of Seetha was visible in her eyes where Hanuman saw only Rama.

TNS then said that even though it is unpleasant, any discourse on Ramayana will not be complete without mentioning  the entrance of Seetha into the fire and emerging from it and sang ‘ezundhaaLE poongodhai,’ in bilahari. By this time it was 12.30 and TNS said since it is supposed to be a concert he has to sing RTP and sang a wonderful ramapriya and the pallavi , ‘enakkun irupadham ninaikka varam aruLvaai .’ It was an RTP in a capsule and the svarasinging was non-stop for few minutes. After a brief thani by Guruvayur Dorai on mrdhngam, Sundarkumar on Kanjira and TVVasan on ghatam which was short but skilful, TNS sang ‘ariyaNai anuman thaanga,’ in sriragam and the corresponding keerthanai from Ramanatakam  and ended the concert with mangalam.

Thus the old year ended with narayananamam and the new year started with ramanamam.

Review of concert  of TNS on 31-12-2007 at Padma Sarangapani Trust, Villivaakka

TNS was accompanied by VVRavi on the violin and MSVaradan on mrdhangam

TNS started the concert with a brief raga alapana in reethigoula and sang the krthi ‘ragaratnamalikache,’ of Thyagaraja. The svara in reethigoula was ringing  like a reemkara and very  enjoyable. The next was the thiruppavai ‘elle iLamkiLiye,’  sung as a viruttham and ‘nayakanaai ninra,’ in durbar with short svaram. Then it was ‘samajavargamana,’ in hindolam of Thyagaraja and Krishna joined in svarasinging, and it was awesome.

What followed next was an amazing alapana of thodi and it was dhruthakaraNa , heart-melting. I have already expressed that I listen with  my heart and not with my head and as such I write only what I felt listening to the music. My reviews are criticized by some, definitely not by the rasikas of TNS, that I eulogise on his music. I have said repeatedly that I am an ardent rasika and not a critic.  I am sure that the real rasikas of TNS will agree with me, and they do. I cannot help expressing what I feel and it is difficult to make others who are not so inclined to  understand. “eelaagani vivarimpalenu tsaalasvaanubhavavedhyame,’ as Thyagaraja has said. It was really a moving rendition of thodi. The krthi was ‘rajuvedala,’ of Thyagaraja with neraval svaram at ,’sevanugani,’ and it was fantastic.

TNS sang ‘soundararajam,’ in Brindavan saranga, a krthi of Dikshitar next and as always it delighted the rasikas. It as followed by ‘ganamurthe ,’ and TNS sang a mini raga alapana in the end when he finished the song and it was marvelous.

Then came the raga mohanam which was really mohanakaram, enchanting. The song was ‘naryanadivyanamam,’ of Papanasam Sivan and the svaraprasthara was as bewitching as the raga aalaapana.

After the thani by Varadan TNS sang pasuram in karnaranjani followed by the verse from Kamban , ‘kaamam yaavaiyum----- naamam annadhu kEL, namo naaraayanaa,’ The karnaranjanai, which he explained is a fitting raga for the narayananama which is the real karnaranjani, was ecstatic. TNS treated all with the mini-harikatha extolling the glory of the name of the Lord by describing the episode of hiranyavadhaippadalam in kamabaramayana and the kamba narasimha  acclaiming the words of Kamban when the Ramayana was recited in Srirangam.

The tail piece of the concert was none the less delightful to the rasikas and it consisted of the plaintive cry of   Droupadi to Krishna to protect her honour in the court of Kouravas. The sloka is very beautiful and the bhava was fully brought out by TNS who rendered it in ragamalika which ended in raga beemplas followed by the dasaranama ‘nanda thanaya govinda.’ The concert concluded with the benedictory verse ‘thiruvadippooratthu jagatthudhitthaal vaaziye in yaman kalyani and mangala sloka, ‘sriyahkaanthaaya’ in sriraga.

Review of the concert  inVanimahal on 30-12-2007

The concert today can only be compared to the river Ganges which presents a different joyful experience to the onlooker in each stage of its course. When it starts from its source it is slow  and graceful. So was the nayaki krthi, ‘neebajanagana,’ of Thyagaraja, with which the concert started. The nayaki  was displayed with all her  grace through  svara and bhava. Next we were in Hrishikesh witnessing the spectacle of the Ganga rushing through the Himalayan foothills. It was the krthi  of Muthiah bhagavathar , ‘ambavani,’ in keeravani with racy svaras at ‘varaveenapani.’ It was like alaknanda coming from Rudraprayag to Rshikesh.

Then we were in Haridvar the  point where Ganga reaches the plains. The thiruppavai pasuram ‘elle ilankiLiye,’ in begada preceded by a beautiful raga alapana resembling the advent of Ganga to the plains. The river proceeds with gurgling and happy that she is in the plains on her way to her union with the ocean. The pasuram was sung bringing out the meaning in full, especially in the line  ‘valleergaL neengaLe naanedhaan aayiduga,’ and ‘ellaarum pOndhaarO.’ This was followed by ‘Orajupuju ,’ in kannadagoula of Thyagaraja. In singing the line ‘neeketivaa,’ TNS depicted the mood of Thyagaraja in asking Rama, “Don’t I know how was your relationship with your devotees in the past?” The improvisation in ‘Deenarakshaka,’ was marvelous.

The beauty of the Ganges during the spring could be imagined by the Vasantha raga alapana which was capable of melting the hearts and it was ecstatic. The krthi was ‘hariharaputhram,’ of Dikshithar which is usually a pleasure when heard from TNS. The svara prasthar contained all the elements of the vasnathothsavam, the flowers blossoming, the cuckoos singing, all beings exhibiting joy.

The river in its course proceeds in different gaits, in some places calm and in others with speed. The next krthi  ‘ambaneelaayathaakshi,’ in neelambari by Dikshithar and ‘Thappulanniyu,’in bouli of Muthiahbhagavathar , not only illustrated the peaceful part of the river  but also its sanctity as a holy river. The neelambari krthi  sung by TNS is always  moving and the krthi ‘thappulanniyu,’ brought clearly the picture of the scene where the composer was asking forgiveness for his forgetfulness, This was sung by Muthiah bhagavathar in remorse when his performance in the Mysore court was not at its best and he attributed this to his failure to worship the Goddess Chamundeesvari before the concert and sung this krthi in front of the Goddess of Chamundi hills, by the grace of whom the king chanced to hear it and he was honoured  highly afterwards. TNS sang it with such bhava so that all this came to the mind of the rasika who has heard him mentioning it in his harikatha on Muthiah bhagavathar.

The rasikas were now in Triveni sangamam. It was sankarabharanam and the krthi was ‘ethudanilachithe,’ of Thyagaraja. The raga was exotic like the Ganges itself and the neraval  was sung at the whole of anupallavi, culminating in ‘naa tharamaa thelisi,’which would have made the rasikas reply “mee tharamu thelisinavaaru mee rasikulu.” The svara prasthara alternating in upper and lower octaves was just like the rivers Yamuna and Sarasvati joining the Ganges. TNSKrishna also displayed wonderful skill in joining with TNS in singng the svaras. One could  say that TNSKrishna  like Yamuna, joined the Ganges, that is, TNS and the antharvahini , that is Sarasvathi, was the heart of the rasikas, which was in unison with the music.

By this time the rivers Ganga and Yamuna together mingled with the ocean, like the union of the hearts of the rasikas and the musician, and the raga manji  delini eated beautifully by TNS dinguishing its characterstics clearly as he used to say in his speeches, “Manji has got a special moonji.”  The piece from azagar kuravanji by kavikunjatrabharathy, ‘mohanavalli,’ was presented in an enchanting manner doing full justice to the raga and bhava. The concert concluded with the hamsanandi thillana, thiruppugaz and mangalam, the manodharma of TNS showing its magnificence till the end  upto the mangalam.

Nothing can be singled out as the jewel in the crown in today’s concert as everyone was a Kohinoor!

TNS was accompanied ably by VVRavi on the violin and Guruvayur Dorai excelled as percussionist on mrdhangam as usual. Ghatam was played by Suresh who is a seasoned artist.

 Review of the concert in Sri Krishna Gana sabha on 29-12-2007

TNS started the concert with  the poornachandrika krthi of Dikshithar, ‘shankachakra,’ with  a shortsvara which  was followed by  ‘brocheevaravare,’ preceded by a brief alpana in sriranjani. The svara in the end was delightful.

The next was the thiruppavai pasuram, ‘puLLi vai keendaanai,’ in atana and then came an exquisite varali and the pancharathna krthi ‘kankanaruchira.’ It was followed by a  marvelous exposition of sreeraga and the krthi was ‘karunajoochu’ of Shyama sasthri. This was followed by the Dikshithar krthi in sahana , ‘abhayambaa.’

Next came a buoyant kalyani, and the krthi was ‘ethavunara,’ of Thyagaraja. The neraval svaram was sung at ‘seethaagouri,  which was nectarine in nature. Then the rasikas were treated with a RTP in saveri. The raga was delineated in its full splendour and the pallavi  ‘veduko chelungi kolubvaiyunnade,’ and the ragamalika svara that followed  was fantastic. The svaras sung as though climbing the ladder quickly and coming down as quickly, alternating in different ragas so quick that it was really flabbergasting,  justified the epithet ‘giant wheel musician ,’ attributed to TNS by a reviewer recently. It was really like traveling on a giant wheel for th rasikas also.This giant wheel singing is nothing unusual in TNS, both in raga alapana or sangathis in the krthis and svaras. He is indeed the giant of music  himself .

After a short viruttham TNS concluded the concert with a bajan in rakesri  and mangalam.

Concert reviews -27^th 26^th 25^th December2007

Etthanai kEttaalum pOdhum enbadhE illai-–TNS on 27-12-2007 at Naradagana Sabha-M.Chandrasekharan –violin- KVPrasad mridhangam-BSpurushottham –kanjira.

The above lines of the song sung by TNS during the concert depicts the feeling of the rasikas  on hearing TNS sing at Naradagana sabha on 27^th.

The concert started with ,’undethi ramudokkdu,’ a Thyagaraja krthi in harikambodhi, followed by a brief dhanyasi with the krthi ,’dhyaaname varamaina gangaasnaaname’ of Thyagaraja. Neraval svaram was at ‘dharanuvelayu sriramuni,’ and the svaras were in quite quaint format and ‘apoorvam” as MC remarked. The feeling one got from listening to the svara was that of plunging in the water of Ganges, ’muzugi muzugi ezundhiruppadhu pOl.’ It was a svaraganga snaanam.

The ranjani that came next was rasikamanoranjani, the raga and the svara being fantastic. The krthi was ‘dunmargachara,’ of Thyagaraja, TNS singing the line as dunmaragachara adhamulanu, splitting the word correct to the meaning. The svara prasthra was exotic.

After the mukhari krthi ‘kshenamaina’ of Thyagaraja  TNS indulged in Kambhodhi which was too grand to describe in words. All the grandeur of the raga was delineated fully not only in the alapana but also by the sahithya of the krthi ‘subramanyaaya namasthe,’ of Dhikshithar. The way of singing the neraval- svaram reminded one of the stalwarts of  yesterday which made MC exclaim that TNS must have heard Ariyakudi singing the song in his early years. The old bani was presented of course with the addition of the embellishments by his characteristic manodharma. Those who have  heard  TNS sing the krthi on that day could never forget it. It was the main piece of the concert and TNS ended the pallavi of the krthi singingit in 4 kalapramana like that of a pallavi of an RTP.

The next song looked like the reflection of the feeling experienced by the rasikas on hearing him. It was the oothukkadu composition, ‘etthanai kEttAlum pOdhum enbadhE illai,’ in bhairavi. This was exactly how his rasikas must have felt that day.

MChandrasekharan on the violin was exceptionally good as always, and KVPrasad  and BSPurushottham were adding the necessary poshanam to the music.

TNS sang the ashtapadi ‘sancharathaDhara suDhaamaDhuraDhvani,’ in shyam kalyan, which was not only a maDhuraDhvani but also  portrayed the mohanamaDhuripu roopam. It is always a delight to listen TNS singing the Hindustani ragas, which transports one to the land of Drupads. The concert ended with thiruppugaz and the sloka ‘Sriyahkaanthaaya’ in sriragam.

Concert on 26-12-2007 at Sriram samaj, chromepet.

TNS was accompanied by Nagai Sriram on the violin, Trichur Narendhran on mrdhangam and Madippakkam Murali on ghatam.

The concert strated with the kanada krthi of Thyagaraja, sukhiyevvaro,’ which was accompanied with a short  yet sweet alapana and svaraprasthara that made one feel like answering the question “sukhiyevvaro?” with  ‘one who listens and appreciates to such music.’

After a krthi in malayamarutham .dhanyudevvado,’ of Patnam Subramania ayyar, TNS started a beautiful delineation of kalyanavasantham which was followed by a  pasuram, ‘kondal vaNNan,’ and the song of Ambujam Krishna in kalyanavasantham, ‘endhamukham ninaindhaalum.’

TNS sang the day’s navagrhakrthi next, budham asrayami in natakurinji with a short svaram and ‘bagaayanayya ‘ of Thyagaraja  in chandrajyothi and started thodi  and the alapana  lasted for half an hour. Though the rasikas of TNS know only too well about his thodi to describe it in words, it presented to the mind the picture of ‘thodeekrtha sThooNaavirbhaava,’ of the Lord coming out splitting the pillar. The krthi was (not neene doddavano!) but ‘kaddhanuvaariki,’ of Thyagaraja. It is just as well because there is a legend  that, to reassure Sugriva Rama showed Narasimha inside him. To those who have heard TNS sing this krthi, there is no need of saying how it was. The raga alapana contained grahabhedha into flashes of kambhodhi and sankarabharanam and the svara prasthara was simply magnificent.

After a thani TNS ended the concert with ‘ramanama,’ in Desh and ramasumara , a bajan.

Concert of TNS at The Music Academy on 25-12-2007

The accompanists were M.chandrasekhar on violin, Gurvayur Dorai on mrdhangam and Thiruchi Murali on ghatam

TNS started with varnam in sriraga which was followed by the krthi of patnam Subramania ayyar , ‘abhimanamenndu,’ in begada with beautiful svaraprasthara short but delightful.

Then TNS sang suruti raga next and it was , ‘angarakam,’ of Dikshithar and the neraval-svara  at ‘deenarakshakam’ portrayed suruL suruLaana suruti, rolled into reels of ‘ri.’

Next was ,’etijanma,’ in varali which he always sings with bhava, (Etijanmamithi haa ee geetha rasa viheenulaku!)

Then came the two kohinoors that shone in the diadem. The first one was kharaharapriya the raga alaapana was just exquisite with grahabhedham in thodi, The raga was dancing along the royal road with all its splendour and it was indeed ‘sakkani raajamaargaamu’ as shown by  Thyagaraja. Yes, it was ‘sakkaniraja,’ with all the intricacies of the krthi nicely woven into the manodharma of TNS and the svaraprasthara was at ‘kantiki sundara ,’ and it was sundarathama, most enchanting.

The second kohinoor was hamsanandi RTP, with pallavi ‘guha muruga shanmukha nee vaa vaa kaavaavaa kove .’ TNS usually employs svarakshara method in singing svara s and even in this it was beautiful prayoga such as ga ma dha nee ‘vaa’ etc. Hamsanandi is one of the most attractive ragas of Muthiah bhagavathar school and TNS always does full justice to the tradition. It was a pleasure to listen to the kharaharapriya and hamsanandi that day.

Ther is no need of mentioning about M.Chandrasekharan who is a rasika  as well as a seasoned accompanist of TNS. Guruvayur Dorai  also is so. This triumvirate never fails to delight the rasikas and to day was no exception. GuruvayurDorai excelled in his thani  with whom Thiruchi Murali joined in a befitting manner

TNS concluded the concert with the thiruppugaz , ‘erumeyileri,’in raga malika and mangalam.

Review of the concert of TNS at Tarangini Arts Foundation on 23-12-2007

TNS started with the varnam in Hamsadvani which was followed by ‘manasa sriramachandru,’ in eesamanohari of Thyagaraja.

Then came one of the two karma bhooshanams of rasikas, dharmavathi raga with grhabhedha  in chakravaka. It was a fabulous dharmavathi  which was a Sarmavathi (Sarma=happiness or delight) to the rasikas. The krthi was ‘bajanaseyaradha,’ of Mysore Vasudevachar.

After the day’s thiruppavai ‘keezvaanam veLLenRu,’ in danyasi TNS started the second karnabhooshanam, harikambodhi. One rasika remarked that he has never heard such Harikamboji before. It was a poorna roopam of the raga leaving no doubt from the very first. One rasika said ‘saadhaaraNamaa harikambodhi  yaasraavadhu padarapodhu adhu kambojiyaa, harikambodhiyaannu thalaiyai picchukkanum.’ The harikambodhi was magnificent and TNS left no corner of the raga unexplored. The krthi was as expected ,entharaa needhanaa,’ of Thyagaraja and the svaraprasthara was at ‘aagamaokthamagunee,’ and was rich in improvisation and innovation as usual.

TNS sang next the thiruvaimozi ‘kaRpaar raamapiraanai allal,’ as a viruttham in kosalam followed by the prabandam, ‘mammupugaz kosalai thun,’ with beautiful grace in the word ,’thaalelo.’ Then the concert ended with ‘nanda thanaya’ in bheemplaas , ‘anjikinyadhakaiya,’ in kalyani both by Purandaradasa followed by mangalam.

The concert of TNSKrishna at The Music academy on 23-12-2007

The main hall of The Music Academy was nearly full and the concert of Krishna surely deserved it. Besides the performance the self-confidence and the manner of rendering was that of a full-fledged musician. Hope the sabhas will take note of this young lion who is no more  a cub.

 Krishna started with the Begada varnam followed by the mayamalavagouls krthi of Thyagaraja  ‘merusamana.’ The next was an excellent  shanmukhapriya and the krthi was ‘marivere’ of Patnam Subramania Ayyar. The svaraprasthara of Krishna has reached its fullness long ago  and his raga delineation and rendering of the krithis  have become bhava-laden in the past  few years that he delights the rasikas ,who, though are reminded of his illustrious father and guru on hearing him, are able to enjoy the exclusive quality of his music which is reflective yet distinctive that makes it a pleasure to hear him.

Krishna sang next  the neelambari krthi of Dikshithat, ‘amba neelaayathaakshi,’ followed by ‘ambavani ,’ in keeravani, a composition of muthiah bhagavathar.

The kalyanai that followed was really fantastic with the raga and the svara being rendered with aplomb and a great skill on laya aspect.The krthiwas, ‘talli ninnunera.’ Of shyamasasthri.

Tasting the richness of his music it left the  rasikas wishing for more when he sang the RTP in thodi because he did not sing svara for it but had it short owing to the paucity of time. The thodi has a special aura coming from the school of TNS especially from his heir apparent but he started it late and had to allow time for thani avarthana and hence we had to be satisfied with a RTP sans svaraprasthara.

After the thani, Krishna ended the concert with the pasurams ‘pacchaimamalai,’ and ‘thuppudaiyaarai’ in ragamalika concluding with the thillana in chandrakouns a composition of TNS.

Melakavery Thyagarajan  accompanied excellently on the Violin and  Nellai Balaji on mrdngam  who played agood though short thani.

Review of the concert of TNSKrishna  at Karthik fine arts on 20-12-2007

TNSKrishna started his concert with the pasuram ,’kulam tharum selvam’ in raga malika,  it seems , but I missed it and went in only when he was singing the navaragamalika varnam.  This was followed by an excellent panthuvarali and the krthi was ‘ramanatham bajeham,’of subbarayasasthri,with neraval svaram at ‘kumaraguruguha mahitham.’  It is needless to say that the svaraprasthara was extremely good because he has won acclaim singing with his father in his concerts. The next was sahana with the padhigam ,’thadittha Or maganai,’ followed by the arutpa of Ramalinga swamigal ,appaa naan vendudhal kEttu.’ Both were rendered beautifully with bhava. Then Krishna sang ,’srikanthaneeyeta,’ a Thyagarajakrthi in bhavapriya.

The next was a fantastic madhyamavathi with grahabhedham, smoothly blended with the main raga. The krthi was .’palinchukaamakshi,’ of Shyamasasthri, with svaraprasthara was at ,kaanthamakuperu,’ and both the raga and svara proved that he is the lion’s-cub fast becoming a full-fledged lion . Krishna imbibed the music and the bhava from his father and guru TNS adding to it his own manodharma which does his father proud while establishing him as a musician in his own merit.

Krishna ended his programme with the pasurams, ‘pacchaimaamalai’ and ‘thuppudaiyaarai’ in hamsanandi followed by the thillana in hamsanandi. As a  rasika remarked, “kaNNaimoodindaal appadiye appaadhaan,”  Krishna reminded the rasikas  of his father through out while displaying his own skill as a musician alongwith it. The father is always the lion but the son is not lagging behind.

Krishna was accompanied by BVGaneshprasad  on violin and Trichur Narendran on mridhangam and UdipiSridhar on Ghatam , all of them playing extremely well contributing to the success of the programme.

Review of concert of TNS at Parthasarathy swami sabha on 20-12-2007

‘Gaavatha naachatha Vaikuntajaanaa’

Vaikunta ekadasi is a day sacred not only to vaishnavites but to all Hindus as we can see all throng the Vishnu temples on that day. The day for those who have visited the temple in the morning culminated in yet another divine experience when TNS sang  with more than usual divine fervour  in Parthasarathy swami Sabha on VaikuntaEkadasi day. Our music can never be dissociated from devotion as all the composers were the devotees of God.

Also the musician who is involved and inspired could not help being a devotee and he could not sing something totally devoid of bhakthi as even the raga alapana or svara are considered a part of nadhopasana and the musician is the high priest of the altar of music which is divinity itself. TNS on the day of  vaikunta Ekadasi was only that.

The concert started with the krthi of Thyagaraja  in bhairavi, ‘koluvaiyunnaade,’ and hearing TNS singing that reminded the rasikas who have heard him in his harikatha on Thyagaraja when he explained the song and its implications. He said that Thyagaraja has woven into the pallavi the various sangathis, which depict the scene of  Rama sitting on the throne on the day of his coronation, as though saying, “Has the decorations were done properly , has everyone come,” etc. TNS sang them with the same bhava and presented a vivid experience imagined by Thyagaraja. The svaraprasthara was at ‘kodandapani’ and it portrayed a picture of Rama  stringing his bow , kodhanda, ‘naaNai izhutthukkattinadhupOl.’

Next was the mohanakalyani  which was simply enchanting and TNS sang the pasuram ‘paLLiyilOdhi ,’ of Thirumangai azvaar on Nrismha of ThiruvallikkeNi, with such devotional fervour, which moved both the audience and himself to tears. It reminded one of another pasuram from Thiruvaimozi of Nammazvar, ‘aadi aadi agam karaindhu isai ppadippaadi kaNNeer malgi.’ The emotion displayed in singing this and the sloka on Narasimha ,ugram veeram mahaavishnum,’ not only showed the devotion of TNS but also the reason as to why he is the greatest. Yes, it is entirely through the grace of God who, not only blessed him with such quality of music but also supported him throughout, so that he could rise to such eminence through sheer merit,  and finally placed him where he is unassailable.

The krthi as could be expected was ‘bajare  maanasa naarasimham,’ and the svara was sung at ,paramabhaktha prahlaadha paramaanandhakaram.’ TNS sang the svaras beautifully depicting the arohana and avarohana of the raga. The svaraprasthra portrayed a shantha Narasimha, a happy Narasimaha and a playful, leela narasimha. It was just fantastic and Krishna also contributed his share in it.

Next was the krthi ,’narahariyaay vandhaan,’ in simmendhramadhayam by Ambujam Krishna, followed by Ksheerasaagarasayana, in devagandhari by Thyagaraja. This was followed by the Thiruppavai pasuram of the day, ,maayanai mannu,’ in sriragam. The pasuram as usual was preceded by the thaniyans , the individual verses on Andal, and the one ,’paadhagangaL theerkkum paraman adi kaattum, vedam anaitthirkum vitthaagum, kodhai thamiz aindhaindhum aindhum aRiyaadha maanidarai vaiyam sumappadhum vambu, was sung by TNS in his own inimitable style, emphasizing the meaning by coining the words in different ways, ‘paadhagangal theerkkum, kodhai thamiz, paramanadi kaattum kodhai thamiz’ etc. and the way he sang ‘Vaiyam sumappadhum’ was also picturesque.

Then came the magnificent thodi, the hallmark of TNS, with grahabhaedhams imperceptible and perceptible, into hindolam, mohanam shakarabharanam and neelaambari. The krthi was Sreekrishnam baja of dikshithar and the svaraprasthara was at ,pankajaasanaadhidhevamahitham.’

VVRavi accompanied quite efficiently on the violin and Umayalpuram Sivaraman on mridhangam was in his element on this day. Sundar kumar accompanied on kanjira. The thani which was quite elaborate showed the maestro of mrdhangam in his best and was enchanting.

TNS then took up the prayer of Droupadi to Krishna on her moment of anguish at the court of kouravas, ;’shankachakra gadhaapaaNe Dvaarakaanilyaachyutha,’ the words and the bhava were both excellent. It was in ragamalika and TNS changed different ragas swiftly and one could count more than 20 at least. In hamsanandi which was a bit elongated, Krishna joined and provided a complete raga alapaana of Hamsanandi.

  Next was the pasuram ‘Kulam tharum selvam,’ which was also in ragamalika, of which the sindhubhairavi was marvelous. TNS finished the pasuram in raga Peelu and sang ‘hari bolo.’  The last one was the thillana in chandragouns , a compositon of TNS. Then came the mangalam, with the usual play of manodharma in ‘neenaamarupamulaku and the sloka ‘sriyahkaanthaaya,’ in sriraga.

As one of the rasikas mentioned, TNS took the audience to a virtual tour of Divyadesams. Starting from ThiruvallikkeNi  through to Dvaraka . It was another paramapadha vaasal altogether. As Kabeer has said in ,’haribolo’ it was ,’gaavatha naachatha vaikunta jaanaa’ by TNS, taking the rasikas along with him.

Review of the award function and concert at Sriramabhakthajanasamaj, KK nagar.16-12-2007

TNS was awarded the title of sangaaethamaamaNi by the sriramabhaktha janasamaj on 16-12-2007 which was followed by his concert. Dr. Srivatsa who felicitated TNS said that he is a sampoornavidvaan,  like whom  “ na bhootho na bhavishyathi” one never was and never will be. All the titles gather value because of him and not vice versa. He also said that TNS is ‘pattam kodukka Etravar.’ TNS answering, said that titles may come and titles may go but he should go on forever, singing as he does till the end. He values only that more than anything else. 

Then started the concert with  the Thyagarajakrthi, ‘mundhuvenuga,’ in durbar.The neraval and svara were sung at ‘bhagavathapriya, ‘ TNSKrishna joining in the singing of the svara. The next was ‘aparadhamula in rasaLi, of Thyagaraja.

TNS took varaLi for alapana  and it was fantastic varaLi. The krthi was ‘eti janammidhihaa,’ which made the rasika to feel that ‘etijanmamidhi” if one could not appreciate such music! TNS Krishna joined with his father in  svara-singing which was at ‘saagarasayanuni.’

After a short interlude of ‘brovabaaramaa, with svara-pyrotechnics, ( all krthis were of Thyagaraja today), there came the grand RTP in simmendramadhyama. The raga was portrayed with intricate grahabhedha and it was real simhendramadhyama, a lion in the middle. The thaanam singing was shared by TNSKrishna  which elicited appreciation from the audience and  his father too. The paalvi was ‘raghupathe raamachandraa raaghavasimha.’ The svara singing was again shared by Krishna making it a delightful duet.  The RTP was exhilarating, exciting and enchanting.

TNS sang ‘thoomaaja ,’ a bajan and the thillana in sindhubhairavi  and mangalam.

TNS was accompanied by SDSridhar on violin and Harikumar on mrdhangam and KVGopalakrishnan on kanjira who gave a good support.

Concert on 17-12-2007 at Nungambaakkam culturals

The concert started with ‘ramabhakthisaamrajyam,’ of Thyagaraja in suddha bangala, with wonderful svara. Next was ‘orajupuju,’ of Thyagaraja, in kannadagoula and then came hamsanadham. It was just magnificent a real hamsanadha, kalahamsanadham, sunaadham, that too, a raja hamsa. The krthi was bantureethikolu of Thyagaraja  withsvaraprasthara at ‘raamanaamamane ‘ the neraval of which was beautifully executed giving emphasis to ‘ramanama.’

The next was ‘sadbhakthiyu,’ in Anandhabhairavi  followed by an elongated khagraharapriya  which was just splendid. There was grahabhedham with revathi which sounded like the vedaghosham. The magnificent vocal support of TNSKrishna continued even in this when TNS sang the svaras and later in the pasuram too . It was from thirumalai of thondaradippodi azvar and in ragamaalika, consisiting of bilahari, bagesri and subhapanthuvaraLi. Krishna took up from TNS in the middle of subhapanthuvaraLi and sang the line ‘kannanekadharuginren’ with great devotional fervour which shows that he has absorbed not only the music but also the bhava from his father. It was just fantastic. MChandrasekharan openly praised Krishna.

With Chandrasekaran on violin and Guryuvayur Durai on mridhangam it was a memorable concert as both of them are veteran accompanists of TNS and Neyveli Venkatesh also gave a good accompaniment.

The concert ended with neeneanaadhabandhu in subhapanthuvaraLi and thillana in dhanasri with the usual layalavanya.

Review of the concert in Bharatkalachar on 18-12-2007

The concert started with ,brochevarevare,’ of Thyagaraja in sriranjani preceded by  ashort alapana of the raga. And with svara in the end. Next TNS sang the thiruppavai of the day, ,Ongi ulagaLandha,’in arabhi and then came the raga aanandhabairavi, which was aanandhaja bhairavi, creating joy. The krthi was kamalaambaa samrakshathu of Dikshithar.

Lathangi raga followed and it was fantastic. TNS sang the krthi of Papanasam Sivan ’venkataramana,’ with neraval svatram at ‘alarmelmangai maNaalaa’  and it was purely exotic.

When TNS started kambodhi, it could have been expected that he will sing O rangasayee but the raga alapana created a vision in the mind of this rasika of climbing a mountain and who was left wondering because it was difficult to guess, not being able to remember what followed next. It was ‘endhamalai sevitthaalum,’ on ayyapan which justified the visionary experience. The raga and the neraval svara at ‘bhakthiyudan paNindhorkku mukthi tharum kaanthmalai,’ was vaachaam agocharam, that is, cannot be described in words.

The thani by KVPrasad and BSPurushottham was great and SDSridhar ably assisted on the violin.

Next was a kshethrajnar padham in saveri which was followed by the ashtapadi ‘sthanavinihithamapi,’

TNS sang  next a Bharthiar song, .engaL kaNNammaa nagai in ragamalika  followed by the pasuram aanirai meykka and the oothukkadu composition which was the favourite of Mrs. YGP, in ragamalika, ‘vandhu ketpaar illaiyo.’

TNS ended the concet with a short viruttham and a bajan ‘Haribolo,’ and a thiruppugaz, of course culminating in ‘pavamaana,’ and ‘sriyahkaanthaaya,’ which were elevated to a state of a proper krthi in his concerts.

Review of concert on 15-12-2007 by TNS at Mylapore Fine Arts.

MoovarNa izaikolam that brought a standing ovation

The concert started with the begada krthi ‘abhimanamu,’ of  Muthiah bhagavathar, followed by a krthi by Ambujam Krishna  in shanmukhapriya, kolam kandu kali theerndhen. The raga alaapana was like  izaikolam,adhuvum puLLivaitthu, the way TNS made the raga grow in dots and curves till it presented a beautiful pattern of shanmukhapriya which was rasikajanapriya. In Svarprasthara TNS Krishna joined and it was a delightful duet.

Next came the Thyagarajakrthi, ‘enthaveduko ‘ in sarasvatimanohari which reminded of the stalwarts of yesterday the way TNS rendered it though he added his own embellishments to it. It made one  imagine how Thyagaraja himself would have sung it.

TNS chose ‘jananininnuvina,’ in reethigoula  next  with neraval-svaram at ‘neranammina naakaadho,’ in the charanam. Both the raga and the svara were bhavapoorva and wonderful. TNS sang also the last charanam ‘vanajayatha nethri which contains the mudra  ‘kumara’ of Subbarayasastri.

The salakabhairavi krthi of Thyagaraja, ‘padhavini’ was the next, followed by ‘giripriyam,’ in kathanakuthoohalam of Muthiah bhagavathar and ‘yaarukkutthaan theriyum in devagandhari, a composition of Gopalakrishna bharati.

The izaikolam created in the beginning was the welcoming auspicious sign for the main rite. It proved to be a trichromatic pallavi  sporting three ragas, vasantha, bhairavi and vasanthabhairavi. When TNS started vasantha and indulged in bhairavi the seasoned rasiksas could guess what was coming and it proved to be just that, vasantabhairavi! M.Chandrasekharan too,  on the violin, not leaving the audience to guess , immediately displayed it the moment TNS started the raga. And what  a pallavi it was ! Words cannot describe it. The lyric  was “sruthilayabhaavasangeetham adhai en vasam thaa, bhairavi paavani. ‘ The rasikas proclaimed that it is already in his vasam by their standing ovation at the end of the concert. As Chandrasekharan remarked in the middle of it, ‘avaraale mudiyaadhadhe illai.’ It was such a masterly exposition the three ragas executing swift swirling dance coming in such quick succession that it was flabbergasting.

The tail piece of the concert was a bajan by Kabeerdas, in ahirbhairav. This was followed by  by the pasuram aanu irai meykka of Periazvar as ragamaalika , the first being subapanthuvarali to which TNSKrishna joined and  gave a wonderful exposition of the raga bringing a spontaneous applause. TNS ended the pasuram in suruti and sang ‘kannallavo,’ in that raga and ended the concert with thiruppugaz and mangalam

The auditorium was full till the end and all the rasikas as one man gave aresounding standing ovation to the great maestro in the end. There goes a great concert . When  comes such another? Until TNS sings again!

Review of the concert on 12-12-2007 at Mudra

TNS started the concert with the kanada ada tala varnam followed by ‘salamelara,’ margahindolam krthi of Thyagaraja. Then he started the alapana of mohanakalyani, and it was kalyaaNamaana mohatthai ttharum mohanakalyaaNi. The raga was majestic but full  of beauty  heralding the advent of  Lord Narasimha . Yes TNS sang the sloka ‘ugram veeram mahaavishnum ‘ the manthra raja sloka  of Lord Narasimha followed  by the krthi of Mysore Vasudevachar ‘bajare re maanasa naarasimham.’ The svara prasthara was at ‘bhakthaprahlaadha.’

The next was the krthi in asaaveri, ‘epaniko,’ a thyagarajakrthi and then came the raga naasikaabhushaNi. Well it was rather a rasikakarNabhushani!. TNS painted the raga with deft strokes and created a beautiful picture of this rare raga giving it name and form making it recognizable by all. TNS alone can sing ragas like Nasikabhushani so elaborately enhancing the splendour of it  exploring all the possible nuances of the raga. The krthi that followed was ‘sriran maasarasvathi’ of Dikdhithar.

After the lasya of nasikabhushani  there was a nrthya  when TNS started ‘nenarunchinaanu,’ of Thyagaraja in malavi. TNS executed all possible techniques of laya in the chiittasvaram  and  it was a fanfare or rather  fun-fare for the rasikas  with B.Harikumar on mrdhangam and B.S.Prushottham on Kanjira. It was really breathtaking! The next was  the krthi in varali, ‘nepokadakunte,’ of Thyagaraja. As could be expected the svaraprasthara which was at neerajanayana , with svaras ending in ‘ni’ was wonderful.

Then came the madhyamavathi  which was a niravaDhika (unlimited)  utthamaavathi. The krthi was ‘paalinchu kaamaakshi,’ which was a bhaavapoorva rendition and the svaras were sung at ‘kaanthamaku,’ needless to say that it was fantastic coming from TNS.

After the thani the next piece was ‘sarasadurai unnai,’ in sama,  acompositon of Muthiah bhagavathar.

Last but not least was the pasuram ‘vannamaadangal,’; of  Periazvar. TNS sangthe four lines of the pasuram in shanmukhapriya, valaji, revathi and hindolam. TNSKrishna  joined in singing the ragas valaji and revathi and how!. His exposition of valaji and revathi was fabulous. He supplemented and complemented the music  which was complimenting to his guru and father, TNS. The viruttham was followed by the oothukkadu composition in ragamalika ‘vandhu ketpaar illaiyo.’ TNS concluded the concert with the thillana in hameer kalyani.

Review of the concert on 7-12-2007

shakthipravaaham  or raagapravaaham!

Vijay TV is organizing a series of concerts at the Image hall Santhome, Chennai and on the first day on 7^th it was that of Nithyasree followed by that of TNS.the concert lasted for one and a half hours, from 8pm to 9.30 pm. Concert of Gayathri Girish was scheduled after that of TNS. The concerts will be telecast  from 17^th onwards.

The concerts were thematic and Nithyasree sang on Venakatesa and the theme for TNS was shakthipravaaham. It was actually a ragapravaaham.

TNS started with porrvikalyani and one might have expected Meenakshi memudham. But it was the composition of Bharathiyar ‘shakthi shakthi shakthi enru sollu ‘ set in poorvikalyani. Next was the santhanamanjari krthi of dikshithar ‘Santhanamanjari shankari pahimaam.’

Next was  a superb hindolam and the krthi ‘maamavathu sri sarasvathi,’ followed by tharunam eedhamma in goulibandhu of Syamasasthri.

TNS rendered an excellent   raga alapana in sama and the krthi was not ‘annapoorne,’ but a composition of TNS ‘ thaaye thanayan sei pizai poruppaaye, ‘ It was beautiful and bhavapoorva.

The shakthi pravaaha thus being turned into ragapravaaha, Varali  flooded the auditorium sweeping the rasikas off their feet. The exquisite Varali  was followed by ‘ninnaicchialavarangal ketpen ‘ of Bharathiyar  set in Varali as a viruttham which was soul-stirring and the song  ‘yadhumaagi ninrai kali’ in varali. The svaraprasthra was something fantastic. I hope they will telecast it without deleting on the TV.

The raga pravaha continued in a torrential flow  with the sloka ‘amba mohini devata thribhuvani,’ a  favourite of TNS rasikas as he sings the lines in the ragas corresponding to the words, mohanam for ‘amabamohini,’ ananadabhairavi for ‘anandha sandhayini,’ vaani in keervaani etc. When he started to sing the line ‘kalyani kamaneeya kalpalathika,’ it was in yaman kalyani which was something out of this world, which made one exclaim that it was not only sjhakthipravaha but a ragapravaha as well. TNS sang the next line ‘udurajabimbavadana’ in punnagavarali  ending the sloka in suruti. Then it was  ‘vandarkuzaliye,’ a composition of TNS’s mother which he sang as a viruttham  in sindhubhairavi  ending the concert with ‘mavoor valam peruga’ in sindhubharavi, a composition of Muthiah Bhagavathar. That is the end of the ragapravaha in which the rasikas  were immersed for one and a half hours.

Review of the concert of TNS on 6-12-2007 at karthik fine arts

Ustad Seshagopalan

TNS started the concert with varnam in mohanam, followed by the krthi  mahaganapathe in malahari by Muthiah bhagavathar. Then came the poorvikalyani aalaapana and the krthi Meenaakshi me mudham of Dikshithar. This raga is called gamakakriya in Dikshithar school and it was just that, a gamakakriya., as rendered by TNS, which portrayed the goddess Meenakshi as rajamaathangi. The krithi, as usual, was delectable. TNS Krishna joined in swara singing adding few more flashes of colour.

The thodi that followed  needs no description coming from the emperor of ragas with thodi as his capital, and the krthi was endhuku dayaradhu and not kaarthikeya as some might have expected! Thodi alapana was breathtaking in all sense of the term! The svraprasthaara was excellent as could have expectd from TNS and Mannargudi Eesvaran  on mrdhangam  and Aniruddha Athreya on kanjira gave a good poshanam to the music. The thani that followed was also very good.

The seasoned rasikas who expect a rich repast from TNS never leave before the end as the ice cream is usually served in the end! So it was! The pasuram ‘puLLinai vai pilandhittai,” by Periazvar is a favourite of rasikas of TNS due to the beautiful rendering of it by him in ragamalika and this was exquisite and the bajan that followed inspired the title given for the review, “Ustad Seshagopalan.’ The viruttham sported the ragas simmendhramadhyama, kamaas, revathi and basanth( I do not know whether it is same as  basanth bahar, may be not.) Each raga was presented with the stroke of the genius, vying each other in excellence and the kudos being reached in basanth. The way he sang the raga he deserves the name ustad. A super Ustad because the north Indian style of singing was enriched by the gamakas of south Indian music and made the rasikas think that it is high time he gives a full concert in Hindusthani ragas, combining the force of Hindusthani  music and the depth of carnatic music  which is a rarity that was experienced today , a brief  but astounding rendition of the raga basanth.

The word kudos refers to the experience of the rasikas because in TNS concerts, from the start, every  item in the menu is best one and to extol one among them is like saying the ‘best best.’  At the outset itself TNS takes the rasikas high above as a   jetplane and makes them experience the higher realms of joy, one after another. When the concert is finished he stays above. Only the rasikas are brought to earth with a jolt, longing for the next travel

‘Needhu mahima pokata naatharamaa’-

concert review of TNS on 30-11-2007 in Bharthiya vidhya bhavan

The flag hoisting  for the season has begun for the rasikas of TNS and it was oordhvadhvajam,,  hoisted high up. A concert splendidly superb leaving the rasikas asking for more!

TNS was accompanied by VVRavi on the violin , Manjeri Esvaran on the Mridangam and Sundarkumar on kanjira. They served as the tripod for the flag hoisted by TNS.

TNS started with the Kalyani ata thala varna and that was followed by srivaralakshmi  in sriraga. The sriraga had all the auspiciousness ‘sri,’ in it and was excellent. The krthi itself  was beautiful where we saw Varalakshmi arriving in her splendour with so many varieties of singing of the word Varalakshmi, as though showing the different ways in which Varalakshmi will grace the devotee. The svaraprasthara that followed  was full of soumangalya with rishabha as the sindhoora on the face of Sri.

What followed next was  what made the rasika exclaim, ‘needhu mahima pokada naatharmaa,’ Yes, it was the hamsanandi krthi, ‘needhu mahima,’ by Muthiah bhagavathar. Hamsanandi is one of the delicacies TNS dishes out to his rasikas and this was sweet beyond description. What a hamsanandi it was, which made one feel, by closing the eyes,  that it was a nadasvara recital! Such were the phrases of the raga that has been the speciality of the pithamahaguru of TNS, the great Muthiah Bhagavathar. To the rasika who have been listening to almost all the concerts of TNS it still remains a miracle how he makes his music sound astoundingly new and fresh every time. It creates a feeling that it is the best until he sings next time! By the  raga Hamsanandi, the svara that followed which was beyond description ( ending the svara in ‘ni’ and ‘sa dha ni ‘ and with all the possible svara laya combinations), and by the krthi itself, TNS  created ‘modhahrdhaya ‘ in the rasikas by his ,nadha svarupa.’ The lyric of the krthi itself is the correct description of the rendering by TNS.

‘Ramachandra ra ra’ in Anandabhairavi by Ramadasar, ‘kanakaanga’ a koteesvatra iyer krthi in kanakangi and ‘Mayamma ‘ of Shyamasasthri in Ahiri were the krthis that followed and then came shankarabharanam the main piece of the concert.

The sankarabharana raga was rendered with usual expertise with graha bhedha delicately and intricately woven into it and the krthi was ‘svararaga sudha rasa.’ Like  the hamsanandi piece the lyric of  the krthi itself served as a commentary for the music , that is , it was svararagasudha rasa. Svaras were sung at ‘moolaadhaara,’ the laya oriented nature of them presented a dance by the svaraanganas, damsels of svaras.

Mannargudi Eesvaran and Sundarkumar added to the  magnificence of the concert with their expert handling of the respective instruments and VVRavi gave the usual support on the violin.

What followed the resonant  and excellent thani avarthanam by Eesvaran and Sundarkumar was ‘Begabaro,’ a dasara nama but rasikas had a surprise in store as TNS sang the piece in ragamalika instead of the usual maund raga. The ragas, revati, natakapriya and some other raga resembling bipas of Hindustani music  were leisurely strokes from the brush of the master painter  making them exquisite.

Then TNS concluded the concert with the thillana in Sindhubairavi and the mangalam pavamana  was as usual sung with gusto which rasikas of TNS expect  from him, his inexhaustible manodharma  leaving its mark even in his mangalam. But instead of the ever delightful sriyahkaanthaaya  the mangala sloka was sarvamangalamangalye, may be in consideration of the day being Friday and fitting indeed as both the beginning and the end were marked by soumangalya.

Anuradha Krishnamoorthi who sang before TNS finished with singing mangalam which raised many an eyebrow as it is not done usually when another concert follows but by God’s will it has indeed served as an augury for the soumangalya of the concert of TNS which was in store for the rasikas, an aaloka and not samapthi.

Review of  the concert of TNS at Brahmaganasabha-on 16-11-2007-KVN memorial concert.

Rasikas were treated to another fabulous concert by the sangithakalnidhi trio TNS, MC and UKS. Araadhanaa is the right word to describe the concert, araadhana of naadhopaasakas. It was a fanfare with such accompaniments but laden with bhava. All the rasikas who attended the concert would surely look forward to more such treats in the coming season.

The  moment TNS started with the Kanada ada thala varnam  it produced in the mind of rasikas great expectations which was realised in full. The Anandhabhairavi that followed might have kept some guessing as to what would follow but considering that it was a memorial concert and that it was Skadhashashti, it could  very well be anticipated and it was of course ‘manasaguruguha .’ The Anandanbhairavi of TNS never fails to produce  ananda and this was no exception.

Next was the thiruppavai koodaaraivellum in Poorvikalyani . We were treated with  two thiruppavais today, this and anru ivvulagam at the end of the concert. The air was charged through out with the nostalgic memories of Ariyakudi to the rasikas of that school, the day being the commemoration of KVN. The pieces chosen and the rendering, both were deliberate attempts to bring back the memories but TNS enhanced the ariyakudi bani wth his originality and proved that he could create a colourful rangoli with in any given frame, providing a kaleidoscopic fare.

 The music of TNS itself serbves as  the best commentary on the thiruppavai and other pasurams. The way he sang the phrase” koodaarai vellum” was picturesque and brought out the full meaning that the Lord wins over even those who are against Him which is true. (pun intended!)  By singing  mooda ney peidhu TNS provided a dish of  the delectable akkaravadicil (sarkarai pongal) richly laden with ghee and the words Adai uduppom presented a picture of Andal decorating herself with silk garment and ornaments. Such is the visual quality of his music.

The natural sequence  to dressing up  nicely is to go to the temple to have the darsan of the Lord. So the next was Ranagnayakam and the raga was  brought to the forefront with very first stroke which made us exclaim “nayaki!” And, what a nayaki it was! Every nook and corner of the raga was examined with all its nuances displayed.  He portrayed the raga as a real nayaki (ranganayaki) rendering tender service to the Lord who  was seen immensely enjoying it. We had a real darsan of Lord Ranganatha by the song which brought tears of joy. Blessed indeed are those who heard it .

The song Parthasarathy nannu of PoochiU Iyengar, another from the school of Ariyakkudi, though the rasikas have heard TNS singing it earlier. was a fanfare with the accompaniment of UKS. The svaram sung at the apt place  ‘sarvadharmaparipalaka sarvaloka saranya’ in keeping with the meaning of Partha sarathy was excellent

Next was the main piece enthuku peddhala in sankarabharanam, the raga delineation of TNS elicited the comment from UKS ‘Aiyangar ippaditthaan paaduvaar.’ To those rasikas who witnessed TNS presenting the bani of Musiri earlier in the year, this came as no surprise and it was delightful to hear Musiri bani or Iyengar bani  added with the manodharma of TNS and in the voice of TNS. The svaraprasthara  at vedasasthrathatvaarthamu thelisi, filled the rasiks with the anticipation of his employing the svaras to suit the mood and it proved to be so, with his ending the svaras with ‘sa ,ma’ to make it sound as samavedasasthra. The svaras sung were mellifluous and  melodious but forceful and along with the masterly accompaniment of UKS both the neraval and the svaras were fantastic.

The thani that followed  was enjoyable Sundar kumar ably following in toe with the skillful presentation of UKS, who is one of the percussionists who makes the audience glued to their seat during thani..

The next was marupari, a javali in kamas which as sweet as usual but what followed that was the real treat in keeping with the whole trend of the concert. It was the pasuram Chediyaya rendered in ragas of madhyma sruthi , senchurutti, nadhanamakriya and yaman kalyani followed by sindhubhairavi, the raga which always receives special treatment in the hands (should I say voice of!) TNS. The rasikas have heard more than three or four variations of ragamalika of this pasuram  and TNS keeps on springing  surprises to show that the variety of his music is inexhaustible. UKS could not contain his joy on hearing the rendering of this pasuram by TNS and expressed it  openly by  patting him on the back, which reflected the mood of the audience as well. The bhavaladen music of TNS could be witnessed in his singing the line ‘ponracchakatam udhaaitthaai ,’ where it was a visual presentation of Krishna kicking the chakata to shreds.

The concert ended with thiruppugaz and mangalam. The rasikas of TNS would not stir until he finishes his singing of the sloka  sriyahkanthaaya  in sriraga in the end because his mastery and skill of music is manifest even in the singing of ‘pavamana and the mangalasloka. Today was no exception and he sang even these pieces with such manodharma and it was really a concert that was a delicacy from the beginning to the end.

The music of TNS the playing of the violin by MChandrasekharan and the accompaniment on the percussion by Umayalpuram Sivaraman and Sundarkumar, What more a rasika could desire for. The music and the accompaniments together was   a well laid mosaic, 'azagukku azagu seivadhupOl

It appears to this rasika that whom ever TNS sings about, Vishnu, Siva ,Amba or Skandha, all are Krishnagaanam only. AkarshanAth, krsheekaraNaAth, ‘Na’pradhAnAth.

The word Krishna means one that attracts, and  it is made up of two particles, krsh and Na. Krsh means ploughing and ‘Na’ means ananda. The music that attracts, ploughs the mind to produce a rich harvest of ananda is surely krshnagaanam.

Review of the concert by TNSKrishna at Srikrishnaganasabha on 12-11-2007

The concert of  TNS Krishna today made the rasika feel that he is no longer a tender off-shoot of the  mahaavrksha, the giant tree but he has developed his own branches promising to become a tree by himself.

Krishna started the concert with the atatalavarna  in the raga kalyani  which was followed by vallabhanayakasya in Begada. The svaraprasthara was aptly taken up at ‘valli vivahakaranasya, ‘ considering that it was skandhashashti  festival concert. As such all songs were on Lord Skandha. Krishna is always delightful in his svaras ant this was no exception

Next was the subhapanthuvarali  which, along with the thodi that succeeded, brought nostalgic memories to the rasikas of  TNS, who has been out  of the country for the past two months.

The subhapanthuvarali was exquisite and  Krishna sprung a surprise to those who might have been debating about the song to follow in accordance with the occasion,, by singing the thiruppugaz ‘charanakamalaalayatthai,’ preceded by viruttham from kandar alankaram . The rendering of the raga as well as the thiruppugaz  with neraval svaram were something to be heard to be believed.

There was a fast but skilful presentation of the composition of Mutthiah Bhagavathar in Pasupathipriya, saravanabhava. Between the subhapanthuvarali and the main piece ‘kaarthikeya gaangeya ,’ of Papanasam Sivan in thodi. The exposition of the raga and the rendering of the song was as expected from the heir-apparent of the emperor of Thodi.

Afer a virutthm in Brindavansaranga Krishna sang ‘kaliyuga varadan,’ and ended  the concert with the thillana in Nuroshta by TNS and the viruttham he sang, azumbodhu aNaikkum annai ,’ which he sang with much devotional fervour especially the lines, en gurunathan vazi,’ made one wonder whether he was also having nostalgic memory of his father and guru, TNS!

Krishna was accompanied by
by SDSridhar on the violin and KRGanesh on Mridhangam and
N.Govindarajan on ghatam, all of them well known in their respective
fields. SDSridhar, being a senior artist, provided the smooth flow of
music, and the percussionists really drew acclaim by their performance

Review of the concert of TNS at Brahmaganasabha on 20-8-2007

The concert was arranged as a musical tribute to the great freedom fighter Sathyamurthy. TNS was accompanied by MASundaresan on violin and Umayalpuram Sivaraman on mridhangam and Sundarkumar on ganjira. TNS was given vocal support by TNSKrishna.

The concert began with a Bharathiar composition on Ganesa, in Nattai and TNS sang svaram for it. Next was, not a surprise as far as the theme of the day was concerned, but the piece chosen gave a little surprise as it was “Aduvome PaLLu pAduvome ,’ that too in Bilahari. The picturesque portrayal that characterises the music of TNS was found in  the line ‘sangukonde vetri oodhuvome,’ when the audience could hear the sangam being sounded. That is not all. The svaram that was sung at the end at ‘Aduvome,’ was suited to the sentiment of the line and it was a dance of svaras with the able accompaniment of UKS.

Next was, ‘Chandram baja’ in asaveri as it was Monday and that was followed by the Begada  krthi ‘abhimanamennadu,’ of Patnam subramania ayyar, which never fails to delight the rasikas of TNS. The svara prasthara  was racy and fantastic. It was a fanfare with TNS-UKS-MAS  ensemble reaching a crescendo to the joy of the rasikas.

This was followed by a leisurely Ranganayakam  as a contrast which was beautiful by its serenity and it brought to mind the experience of traveling among the Alps, a lofty and magestic mountain on one side and the peaceful expanse of the lake on the other side, especially when the scene changed again to the one of scaling the mountain in ‘madhura madhura’ a oothukkadu composition in Atana.  The rendering of it by TNS was fabulous which gave enough scope for UKS to exhibit his skill . It was a display of fireworks.

What followed next was a Niagara, the raga subhapanthuvarali which is  always a subha bandhu of TNS. It was a superb and super subapanthuvarali. TNS created by his raga alapana a marvellous edifice for the krthi, (it was anybody”s guess about what was to follow, the day being in honour of Sri sathyamurthy). It was a sculpture of marble  every inch filled with intricate design. (Apologies for the mixed metaphors) One could see the rising of the temple, stone by stone each one carved with intricate pattern by the invincible manodharma .

TNS sang the pasuram from Thirucchandhaviruttham of Thirumazisai azvar, “ekamoorthy, moonrumoorthy,’  Azvar asks the Lord, “ How did you become so many forms?” The rasikas felt the same on hearing the subapanthuvarali from TNS.

The krthi was, yes, you are right, sri sathyanarayanam  of Dhikshithar, which was exquisitely rendered as always by TNS. He sang the same krthi in the previous concert and it is due to the specialty of the occasion that it was repeated so soon, which is a rarity with TNS.

The cascade of Niagara continued in the svara prasthara , in which TNS aided by his son and disciple TNSKrishna constructed (sorry for the mixed metaphor again) the tower of the temple and performed the  kumbabhisheka, helped by the able accompanists UKS,MAS and Sundarkumar. Krishna as usual stole the thunder by his svaras ending with a wonderful korvai that drew acclaim from the rasikas  also his illustrious father himself. The raga alapana and the  svaras were in accordance with the tempo of the song  and I compared it with Niagara only  to show the amazing flow and grandeur.

The thani that followed had all its splendour one could expect from the duo, the UKS, past master in the art of percussion and Sundar kumar who is fast approaching the top of the ladder.

The tail piece of the concert consisted of ‘ivan yaro’ in kamboji, ashtapadi ‘chandhanacharchitha’ in Behag and the thillna of Swathi thirunal in Dhanasree, in which the accompanying artistes exhibited their superior skill  with TNS acting as their pilot.

The concert ended with thiruppugaz and mangalam.

The concert on 16-8-2007 of TNS at KGS

To say in one sentence those who attended this concert were fortunate.

Everyone of the items was a gem.

TNS was accompanied by V.V. Ravi on the violin, Srimushnam Rajarao on mridhangam and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan on ghatam. TNSKrishna gave vocal support.

TNS began his concert with Begada varnam followed by Devadeva of Swathithirunal in raga mayamalavagoula. Neraval- svaram was at sritha vibhudha and TNS gave it his own  colour in by singing it as Asritha vibudha, elongating the AkAra at the end of mAmava.

Next was not often heard krthi of Thyagaraja ‘bhuvinidasuda,’ in Sriranjnani and  the raga that preceded was beautifully rendered and the fantastic  neraval- svara at padhamule gathi was given an added fillip by ending the svara in nishadha and making it sound’neepadhamule gathi.’

Then came one of the crest-jewels on the diadem of the emperor of ragas, subhapanthuvarali. Together with the krthi that followed, ‘srisathyanarayanam’ , of course, as suggested by the mellifluous raga alapana, the rasikas were taken on a trip to Badrinath and back. (To the elderly rasikas like me the real trip may be an impossibility and hence  it was a welcome experience!) It was sarvam vishnumayam, that being the feeling which the music created to the rasikas.

‘Veeksheham,’ a composition of Narayanthirtha  in Ahiri was the next and TNS started the song at ‘sAkshAth madhankoti,’ creating a picture of loveliness that was Gopala.

The main raga of the day was Kambhodhi and it was in a leisurely style beautiful and melodious full of bhava auguring  the august arrival of ‘ORangasayi,’ preceded by the sloka ‘sacchittha sayee.’ The audience witnessed a careful and loving waking up of the Lord during the raga and the rendering of the krthi of Thyagaraja had all its splendour  and devotional fervour which made the rasikas feel that they were in bhooloka vaikunta. The svara that was sung at  O rangasayee  was in-keeping with the general mood of the song, yet with all the  grandeur of kalpana and laya.

Last but not least was the  pasuram  ;siruviralgal thadavi ,’ of periazvar , one of the specialities of TNS., and a favourite of his rasikas. When he sings this as in all other devotional pieces the rasikas can witness that  what has been depicted by the lyric before their own eyes. A wonderful portrait of Krishna  playing the flute was presented by the ragas through unbelievable manodhrma , the ragas being, Rishabhapriya, Nayaki, Bhagesri, Hameerkalyani,  Kanada and Surutti.

The best part of the viruttham was the phrase ‘govindan kuzal oodhinapodhu in Hameer kalyani.’ TNS brought the sound of  the flute in ‘oodhinapodhu,’ which brought ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the rasikas but the best was yet to come. TNS left it to Krishna to continue and he sang  the phrase and how! He proved, ‘like father like son,’ and the manner in which he sang it was fabulous , similar to that of TNS but not same! He presented his originality while following the footsteps of his father. It drew applause twice from the audience within a short time span of one or two minutes. It is laudable since he had to be alert and capable waiting for the sign of TNS, as it could come at any time during the concert. Krishna’s rendering of the phrase brought a look of surprise not only to the faces of all around but also to TNS himself!.

The picture of Krishna (I mean the original!) playing the flute with His fingers dancing on it and with pouting lips and slanted eyes, with all the birds flocking to him and the cows listening even forgetting to move their ears, all was brought on the stage by the  music of the duo. The oothukkadu composition that followed was . ‘kannallavo’  in  Surutti, the beautiful rendering of which defies description. When TNS sang ‘kArmenikkattazagA,’ one could feel the charming form of Krishna in front and in the last line, ‘pecchennna inimele,’ he stopped the music for a split second to present the bhava of the lyric and continued with ‘chechecheche ‘ depicting the feigned disgust of Yasodha in shielding Krishna from the gopis who complain against him, to the amusement of the rasikas.

The concert ended with the thillana in Chandrakouns,  one of his own compositions and a thiruppugaz followed by, mangalam.

After the experience of Bhooloka vaikuntam we were brought down forcibly to earth when we came out of the hall  when we had to wade through the blaring light music at the temple opposite, (unlike on another occasion when I and my husband , fully immersed in the music of TNS  from the same venue, got into an auto and were taken to vadapalani by a drunken driver instead of Abhirampuram).It was  an onslaught on our eardrums. To add insult to injury, our auto driver had to sing in the top of his voice some film songs through out the way! Well ! That is life!

The concert of the Year

The concert under the auspices of the Semmangudi trust in ragasudha Hall on 29-7-2007 comprising of three sangithakalanidhis, Madurai TNSeshagopalan.M chandhra sekharan and Umayalpuram Sivaraman was really the concert of the Year. The hall was fully packed and some were found even standing. Barring the stage, the whole space was occupied with rasikas. Expecting this, we arrived at the hall early enough to ensure good seats.

The experience of the rasikas that day was something beyond description. The concert began with the composition of kavi kunjara bharathy in kanada, ‘swami gajamukha vibho’ and from the first moment of take off we were flown high above as by a jetplane. When TNS sang the svara for the krthi and we were sailing above the clouds!

Next came Panthuvarali, the raga, as usual with TNS, was exquisite, and there were predictions around as to the krthi but I had a hunch that it would be ‘Siva siva siva enaradha,’ and it proved to be correct! There was a hint of it by the smile that was exchanged between TNS and UKS! The svara was fantastic and proved to be a ball game between the two, TNS and UKS, which was later taken up by MC with UKS.

The nayaki krthi ‘palayamaam .’ by Swathithirunaal followed the panthuvarali piece and the nayaki , as usually is with TNS, was full of grace and beauty. Next, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere and a shower of svaras followed the Bhavapriya krthi, ‘srikanthnee,’ of Thyagaraja at a fast rate and it proved to be doubly delightful as both TNS and TNSKrishna , who gave him vocal support took it up in turns, ably assisted with UKS on the mridangam.

Then came the main raga of the day, Bhairavi. The raga delineation was done with deft strokes and TNS painted with the raga (means colour), leisurely and delicately, square by square and created a mosaic pattern rich and beautiful. While the rasikas indulged in wild guesses on the krthi , TNS, the master of surprises, started ‘kamakshi ambaa,’ of Syamasasthri , and how! The pace was slow with the ocean-like depth and the krthi was laden with rasa. I even noticed one or two surreptiously wiping their eyes! The experience was something which could only be described by the very words of Shyama sasthri as ,’anudhinamu maravakane.’ Neraval svaram was at .shyamakrishna sodhari,’ and that contained all the fireworks of TNS and ably supported by MC and UKS.

The whole concert was as exciting as watching the final day at Wimbledon, singles between TNS and UKS , MC and UKS and doubles by TNS and TNSKrishna on one side and UKS and Sundarkumar who played kanjira, on the other side. The thani by UKS and Sundarkumar was in keeping with the main sprit of the day.

Finally TNS concluded the concert with the rasika’s delight, ‘saayankaale vanaanthe ,’ which was as usual a splashing of colours(ragas), and at the end came the thiruppavai .’vangaakkadal’ in suruti and mangalam.

The concert at Hamsadvani on 27-7-2007

The concert was organized by the Parampara, RukminiArts Academy and Hamsadvani together and took place at the Hamsadvani auditorium. TNS was accompanied by V.V.Ravi on violin, Trichur Narendran on Mridhangam and Purushotthaman on kanjira.

The format of the concert was slightly different from usual with sparsity of svaras . The day being Friday in the month of Adi, all the songs were on Devi as could be expected with TNS. On the whole it was devi upasana rich with devotional fervour.

The concert started with ‘Ojagadhamba,’ in Anandhabairavi with short svara and it was aanandhamaana anandha bhairavi. Next TNS started the raga poorvikalyani which was dealt with deft strokes and proved to be apoorva kalyani, and he surprised the rasikas by the krthi of Ramaswami Sivan, ‘ekkaalatthilum.’ The Sriraga krthi ‘srivaralakshmi’ that followed contained neraval svara and had all the beauty as one would expect from TNS.

The bindumalini raga that followed was real garland of honey-drops, madhubindhumalini. The krthi, n however was not entha muddho as one would expect but it was a new one , ‘anbaaga ennaiyum,’ a beautiful composition of his mother perhaps.

Next came ‘brovavamma ‘ in manji, which always has a specific profile (Maanji has a special moonji, to quote TNS) with TNS, and it was followed by a racy ‘jaalanthara’ in valji of Muthiah bhagavathar. This was followed by a saveri piece by Ana ayya ,’varmamaa enmel.’

The main raga of the day was kalyani and the krthi that followed was.’ninnuvina gathi kaana,’ by Subbaraya sasthri. The raga was exquisite and the neraval svara was at ‘nee padha pankaja,’ and TNS gave a rich repast of svaras ending each phrase as ni pa da, in svarakshara pattern and it was fantastic, especially when he made various permutations and combinations ending with ‘ni ni.’

Next was ‘akhilandesvari,’ in dvijavanthi after the thani and TNS sang a sloka ,vandematharam ambikam,’ in ragamalika followed by a viruttham ‘parkadal eenra paavaai,’ in sindhubairavi, presumably a composition of his mother. The sindhubairavi was wonderful and sported with all the possible nuances of the raga which TNS alone could unearth. This was followed by A Bharathi composition ‘thediunnai charanadaindhen,’ in sindhubairavi .

TNS never ceases to surprise his rasikas and this concert was no exception because he chose the Thyagaraja krthi ‘Vinayakuni,’ in madhyamavathi to end his concert and sang the sloka sarvamangalamangalye in madhyamavathi as the mangala

Concert at Musiri Chamber of music on9-4-2007

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I was a little upset in the beginning due to my inability to sit on the floor in front like Ram did  and also because of  the fact that the artistes were not at all visible clearly due to the diffused light in the hall,in which, normally concerts used to take place in broad daylight, I beleive. But the moment TNS started singing Mayamalavagoula and "Merusamana that could move the mountains" ( thanks Arasi for the coinage) I was raised slowly from the earthly discomforts and all of a sudden found myself up in the clouds as though transported by a jetplane. When we landed back( I say "we" because this feeling was shared by other rasikas who were with me.) we were left dazed, stunned and wonderstruck.

The concert was a layalahari from the start which was enhanced by Sangithakalanidhi TKMurthi who accompanied on Mrdhangam and MASundaresan who played the violin. The svara to 'Merusamana' of Thyagaraja was short but expressed expertise.After 'chandrambaja,' one of the navagraha krthis of Dikshithar, the day being a Monday, there came a beautiful Saranga followed by 'NeevAda nE gAna' of Thyagaraja as expected, with a similar short and sweet svara as in Mayammalavagoula.

Next came a surprise! 'Enthaveduko' of Thyagaraja, a forte of Musiri. The way TNS sang this made one remnisce of Musiri and  the music of Musiri school, coming from  the voice of Seshagopalan, nevertheless  with the unmistakable stamp of  TNS along with it, is a rare treat that could be expected only in  the Musiri chamber of music.

After this TNS sang 'brovavamma' of Shyamasasthri in manji, which proved what TNS said earlier, during the annual conference of the Music Academy last December that manji has got a definite profile(moonji).

Then it was the nayaki krthi of Thyagaraja, the raga which always received rich nourishment in the hands of TNS and what followed was the exquisite abheri, the raga which was shaped, groomed and dressed rich to resemble a celestial dancer . In the end of the alapana the closed mouth singing finished the decor and then flowed the heavenly 'nagumomu' of Thyagaraja. The svaraprasthara was as usual at 'jagamele paramathma ,' following a fantastic neraval and it resembled  AbheerinAtya (kuravaiyAttam).Sri TKMurthi and Sri MAsundaresan ably supplying the pakkavAdhya which was pakvavadhya.

The thani that followed was splendid with Sri TKMurthy on Mrdhangam and Aniruddh Athreya on kanjira  after which it looked as though the mani part of the concert was over but no! What followed next was the unexpected, amazing (not amazing with respect to  TNS but only regarding the time of its inception.) a double barrelled , double decker and double creamed RTP of Anandhabahiravi-sindhubhairavi.(it was not double raga pallavi with  poorvardha in one raga and uttharardha in another but a pallavi sung in two ragas. simultaneously and hence the above adjectives! ) I have used so many qualifying phrases because it was Anandha(tthEn) sindhu(m)bhairavi.It was amazing in the sense the transition of one raga to another both in raga alapana and svaraprasthara was very quick but smoothly blended with the masterly strokes of a creative genius.It left the audience dazed, stunned and wonderstruck with its incredibility which feeling continued even after the javali "marulu konnadhira' in kamas, and a bhajan of Tulsidas in bahiragibhairav(or revati of carnatic) and the thiruppugaz in hamsanandhi which itself was a delight by the play in gathi, and it took a long time to come back to earth even after the landing like that felt during a jet-lag! He is not a mere sangithakalanidhi, a treasure trove of music but an inexaustible mine of music.

Review of the concert ofTNS in Ayodhya mandapam on 4-4-2007

The concert  was lifted to the skies like a jet from the start.. Every time TNS seemed to reach a height which  looks as though he has reached the zenith only to find that he can go even higher in his next concert.

Yesterday everyone of his  rendering was a diamond that decorated the crown of this gayakasimhaendra while the simmendramadhyama was truly a simha nadha  shining as the gaykasimhendra kireeta madhyamani.

When he started the sahana in the beginning it was not quite obvious as to what was going to follow though when he started 'vandanamu,' one could see that it could not have  been anything else. The svara had all the usual beauty and the ganavaridhi krthi 'dhayajoochuda,' has all the charm one could expect from him.

Next came a fantastic rendering of 'thanavari' in Begada, a very racy pace and with  svaras streaming in  a marvellous flow, which was a wonder to behold and TNS was ably assisted by SDSridhar and KVPrasad making it a real treat for the rasikas.

The same fare was  presented later in 'Brovabharama,' the two together constituting the sentiment of closeness and familiarity which Thyagaraja must have displayed towards Rama.

All concerts of TNS possess a thematic undertone sometimes explicit and sometimes implied and this was no exception.Starting from vandanamu, offering salutations to Rama, the explicit theme being about Rama but the implying theme was entreaty after salutation, by 'dayajoochuda,'the tone changing to a demanding one in the ,'Thanavarithana' and the next was again plaintive varali, ,'Etijanma' in which the raga was exquisitely rendered that took the rasikas to a different realm altogether and hearing the krthi one could definitely feel that 'ETijanmamithi hA,' to not to be blessed to enjoy and appreciate such music.

TNS sang the svaras at  'sAgaraSayanuni,' ending each phrase in thArashadjam thus making it a svarakshara. The combination of svaras were something fabulous and in keeping with the mood of the song.The word 'vegame' was sung in a picturesque manner in different ways to depict the haste expressed by Thyagaraja to see the Lord in ksheerasagara and we could also see the speed of the Lord who Himself hastened to come to the devotee as much as the latter was in a hurry to see Him.

In BrovabhArama again there was the demanding attirtude of Thyagaraja portrayed by the way of rendering and the svaras looked as though to illustrate the  miracle of the Lord having all the worlds in His udhara, 'andakotla kukshi neeyinchukoledha,' such was the magic  with laya showing all the possible permutations and combinations in svaras.

Next was the Bindhumalini krthi 'entha muddho entha sogasO,' started with anupallavi. This piece is always a sudha bindhumalini with TNS. . Carrying on the theme mentioned above, one can imagine that the Lord has heard the cry of the devotee and has presented Himself  and  the beauty and grace of His form is described therein. this rasika could not help feeling the truth of the words, 'satthabhAvgavathavesulairi thutthapAlaruchi theliyusAmyamE,' that is unless the musician feels the sentiment expressed by the song and sings with the same me divine experience felt by the composer it is similar to expecting the vessel to know the taste of milk it contains.

The main item of the day was RTP in simhendramadhyamam and as I already mentioned it was a simha nadham. The pallavi 'raghupathe rAmachandra rAghavasimha dhayAnidhe justified the theme and depicted the joy of the devotee on seeing the Lord in front and praising Him.

 Words fail me to express the RTP. Rama was said to show Narasimha in him once on the battle field to reassure Sugriva. I could only experience the same on hearing the simhendramadhyamam yesterday. Rama changed into Narasimha and it was the roar of the Narsimha coming out of the pillar and blessing His devotees. Such was the raga and the svara that flowed from TNS.

I express what I felt and surely it would also be the feeling of all his ardent rasikas, though in a different manner.

After a brilliant thani by KVPrasad and TVVasan the concert

ended with 'he dhayAluva,,' and ,Ramamanthravajapiso.

It took us, me and my friend who is also an ardent rasika. nearly an hour after the concert to comeback to earth from the heavenly region to which we were transported and it is a miracle we reached home safely without losing our direction!

Harikatha of Valmikiramayanam by TNS on 27-3-2007 at Hamsadhvani

The day being Ramanavami Sri Rama might have willed to hear only about His birth on the janmadhina, and wished to hear the rest of His  story  after an interval of time, to allow Him to grow! How else to explain the Hariikatha being postponed after the first day!. That TNS was having virus infection after the first day and could not continue and hence the date has to be postponed to allot five days together, which is only possible by end of April, owing to the Hamsadhvani concerts already scheduled , is by the will of the Lord who wanted to hear it in the month of Chaithra , which is His real month of birth.

In the inaugural address  Sri.L. Swaminathan was all praise for TNS drawing attention not only to his talents but also his attire so as  to neceessitate a pallandu by his rasikas and wellwishers! Any way he spoke well and pointed out the importance of bhakthi in music which alone will secure moksha and not mere music. But the sloka quoted as the example that sangitha alone is not enough to bring the Lord and to secure moksha was actually a case of siddha sAdhanam, that is, trying to prove what is actually proved. The words 'madhbhakthA yatra gayanthi thathra thishTAmi nAradha,' only stresses the importance of bhakthi in music and not mere music alone.Even then, as TNS himself pointed out later in his harikatha by referring to the story of Ajamila that by merely uttering the name of his son called Narayana, Ajamila was purified of his sins, because the very nama even uttered unconsciously is capable of bringing salvation,  should it be a wonder that by mere singing of the name of the Lord which is part and parcel of carnatic music one could attain salvation, if the Lord so chooses? Or is it possible to sing the names of Rama or Krishna through the  krthis of the saint-composers without any trace of bhakthi what soever?

Now let us come to the actual harikatha  by TNS.

After the usual invocation sloka on Haygreeva, which itself was imposing and a delight for the rasikas, and the rest of the traditional pieces sung during Harikatha TNS launched on the Valmiki Ramayana by the sloka  ' koojantham rAma rAmethi madhuram madhurAksharam Aruhya kavithA SAkhAm vandhE vAlmiki kokilam,' in which the rasikas could visualise the Arohana, climbing, of the cuckoo Valmiki on the branch of poetry, kavithA SAkha, by his picturesque way of singing the word 'Aruhya.' Next came the sloka 'vAlmeekermunisimhasya kavithAbvanachAriNah,SrNvan rAmakaTHA nAdham kO na yAthi parAm gathim,' Hearing the story of Rama,the  roar of the sage-lion Valmiki, roaming around in the forest of  poetry, who will not reach the ultimate?

TNS then delighted the rasikas in singing the sloka 'yaH karNAnjalisamputairaharahah samyak pibathyAdharAth;vAlmikErvadhanAravindhagalitham rAmAyaNAkhyam madhu;janmavyADHijarAvipatthi maraNErathyantha sopadhravam samsAram sa vihAya gacchathi pumAn vishNOH padham SAsvatham,' in madhuvanthi, saying that the madhuram madhurAksharam madhu should be presented in madhuvanthi. The whole sloka means that one who drinks the honey of Ramayana, which has fallen from the mouth of Valmiki, again and again with love,through his earfolds, reaches the ultimate abode of Lord Vishnu.

TNS said that his harikatha is not going to be kaTHApramAna, that is mainly narrative because everyone knows the story and Harikatha should have devotion, music,  eloquence and expression. with passages committed to memory.He said that the Ramayana is a  great ocean frequented by mighty fish, mahamathsya, and boat men, like Valmiki, Kamban and others and he has come forward to do harikatha on Valmikiramayana prompted by sheer devotion as the only qualification and that he was  reassuring himself by saying so.This rasika could not help feeling that TNS is himself a mahamathsya who swims around in the mighty ocean of music!

The Valmikiramayana , which is deemed as the AdhikAvya is the only original  text, said TNS and all the other Ramayanas that came later were only commentaries explaining the subtle meanings in a gross manner.The reason for this is that Valmikiramayana was divinely influenced, being the will of the Lord Himself, for which purpose He sent Brahma and later Narada. The Ramayana was veda itself as the sloka  goes, 'vEdhab vEdhyE pare pumsi jAthe dhasarathAthmajE ; vedhA prAchEthasAdhAseeth sAkshthramayNAthmanA.' When the Lord known only through the vedas became the son of Dasaratha, the vedas were born from Valmiki as Ramayana.TNS sang this sloka in karaharapriya giving it the flavour of the vedic chant, the scales of the raga resembling Samaveda.

The Lord took several avatharas for the sake of dushtanigraha and sishtaparipalana, said TNS, and the incarnations before Rama seemed to imply the evolution theory, starting from the fish to man-lion, and then to diminutive man as Vamana. Ramavathara was that of full human being to show that how man can be transformed into God. Rama was the manifestation of the gunas of Brahman ,the supreme being, who cannot be understood or experienced. In all the avathras, especially in Ramavathara and Krishnavathara, where it is explicit,sishtaparipalana was the main purpose while dushtanigraha is subsidiary. That is why the Ramayana is called saranagathisasthra.Rama could have killed Ravana from Ayodhya itself but he took the trouble of walking to Danadakaranya in order to give refuge to the rshis there and to various saintly and good souls like Guha,Jatayu, Sabari and Vibheeshana.

TNS referred to Krishnavathara and said that the Lord wanted to show what he was going to preach later as Krishna, by following his own teachings as Rama. He stood as an example of an ideal son, brother, king , friend etc. Even the ordeal of fire he made Sita to undergo and later  his banishment of Sita is to show  how a chakravarti should set an example to his subjects. Both Rama and Sita enacted their parts, by crying and laughing when necessary like ordinary mortals to show that a human being can rise to the state of divinity, and TNS said that Rama was the illustration of the ThirukkuraL 'vaiyatthu vAzvAngu vAzbavan vAnuraiyum deivatthu vaikkappadum,' meaning that  one who lives in this world following dharma will be considered as being equal to God.

Then TNS started to elaborate on the circumstances under which Ramayana was composed.It was Narada, who came first to transform the hunter into a sage. So Narada was his first guru who showed him Brahman, as a guru should do. TNS said there was no distinction between guru and sadguru in those days as all were sadgurus only , that is the one who showed the Brahman he experienced to the disciple. He also extolled the role played by Narada in enlightening good souls whenever necessary and said that the character of Narada has been abused much  in plays and films, while he was seen in the puranas, to be present whenever anyone needed advice and enlightenment,..

This narration was followed by a divine exposition of the AtANA krthi  of Thyagaraja, 'Naradaganalola' by TNS. His Atana is always adadANA and this was no exception! Narada came again after Valmiki became a sage and the latter asked him a question  the answer to which was the fountainhead of the Ramayanakavya later. Both the guru and the sishya were acclaimed in the sloka 'thapasvAdhyAya niratham thapasvee vAgvidhAm varam nAradam paripapraccha vAlmikir munipungavam.' The guru was thapasvdhyAya niratha, ever immersed in penance and study of vedas and the best among speakers, vAgvidhAm vara and also the best of sages, being devarshi.The disciple was also a thapasvee, who had done penance while under the anthill, and best of sishya because he asked earnestly, paripapraccha.

 TNS said while it is rare to find a guru who practises what he preaches,, anushTAnam krthavAn, it is even rarer to find a sishya who is fired with earnestness for acquiring kowledge and asks the right questions. Nowadays ,he quipped that the sishyas are more interested in discussing politics and cricket with the guru rather than learning what they have come for.

The question of Valmiki was, "kOnvasmin sAmpratham lOkE guNavAn kascha veeryavAn,dharmajnascha krthajnascha sathyavAk yO dhrDavrathah." TNS explained the sloka word by word which made the listeners aghast with his knowledge and wisdom

(I say knowledge and wisdom because one may have knowledge  acquired through study but only with wisdom he will be able to give proper interpretations and not merely reproduce what he has learnt. TNS is adept in that art as he comes out with his own explanations quaint and thought- provoking which shows his originality and ingenuity.)

TNS explained the sloka thus:

Valmiki wanted to know who is the guNavAn , virtuous, veeryavAn, valourous, dharmajna, well versed in dharma, krthajna, remembers whatever service done to him,sathyavAk, true in words and dhrDavratha , unswerving in his vows.One may be a guNavAn but if he is not strong enough no one will care for his gunas, said TNS, and hence he should also be veeryavAn. Similarly he should know what is dharama and uphold it,that is, to be a dharmajna and dhrDavratha.He should also know and appreciate what others do to him, krthajna and true to his word, sathyavAk It is rare to find all these qualities in any one individual and hence Valmiki wished to know whether there is one such person living at that time, sAmpratham.

Narada answered that there is such a noble soul living right then and started to tell him about Rama. 'ikshvaaku vamSa prabhavO rAmO nAma janaiH SrutAH
niyathAtmA mahAveeryO dhyutimAn DHritimAn vashee;prajApathi samO shreemAn dhAthA ripunishoodhanaH rakshithA jeevalokasya dharmasya pari rakshithA rakshitA svasya dharmasya sva janasya cha rakshitA.'

TNS sang the whole passage about valmiki's question and the answer by Narada in short phrases all in the raga atANA to the great joy of the rasikas.He explained that Rama , from the clan of Ikshvaku, was not only valiant but had self-control and equal to the creator himself in glory,and terrible to his foes, while protecting his own people and dharma .He was not merely possessed all these qualities but was ADyaH, richly endowed with these, and sadhA Eka priya dharsanaH, always pleasing to look at. TNS emphasised on the words sadha and Eka, always and only of pleasant personality, as Kamban says that his face was like a fullblown lotus both when he was asked to take the crown and when he was ordered to go to the forest.Narada thus related the whole Ramayana briefly"like the 4 kaLai pallavi we sometimes sing in 20 minutes in concerts due to paucity of time," quipped TNS.

Then TNS switched on to the episode of the killing of the krouncha bird by the hunter which was instrumental to the birth of the Ramayanakavya.He said the sloka that arose from Valmiki, seemingly a curse to the hunter but later assumed the character of mangalASAsana for the Lord, was born out of Soka, grief. Valmiki already distressed on account of the separation of Sita, who resided in his asrama, from Rama, was grief-stricken to see the bird struck by the arrow when it was in the company of its mate.The sloka that arose from his lips was 'mA nishAdha prathishTAm thvam aganmaH SAsvatheeH samAH; yathkrounchamiTHunAdhEkam avadDHeeh kAmamohitham.' TNS sang the sloka in subhpanthuvarali, which is suited for karunarasa, he said, and not for mourning as it is commonly believed.

Later Valmiki was surprised to see that the sloka had samAkshara, equal number of syllables and Brahma who appeared before him told him that he has already sent sarasvathi before him, said TNS,. that she took her place on the tongue of the sage and made him give out the sloka which, construed differently, became a benedictory verse in praise of the Lord, for killing Ravana.

TNS also referred to the principle called dhoorAnvaya, which is a defect in a passage unless it is auspicious in meaning. Here, the negative particle 'mA ' when connected with 'prathishtAm agamaH' gives the meaning that "you will not get rest forever ,SAsvatheessamAh, "as  a curse to the hunter because he killed one of the two krouncha birds , krounchamiTHunAdhEkam avaDHeeH, which was in love, kamamOhitham.In this sense it suffers from the defect of dhoorAnvaya, connection with a word far away from it.

But when the same verse is construed to mean a benediction to the Lord, the syllable , 'mA,' instead of being a negative particle, means 'mA'=Lakshmi. In this sense the verse means mAnishAdha, consort of Lakshmi, that is Narayana, thvam, You, prathishTAm agamah, have become well known, SASvatheessamAH, for all the years to come, yath  thavam avaDHeeH , because You killed, krouncha miTHunAth, from the pair of rakshasas, meaning Ravana and Mandodhari, Ekam , one, kAmamOhitham, who was possessed with lust.

TNS said that even in trethayuga the Lord gets His mangalASAsana by the word mAnishAdha, meaning 'abode of Lakshmi' and only in Ramavathara Sreedevi   has accompanied  Narayana for the first time. She actually went before Him and hid herself under the earth.  Here TNS referred to the mangalASAsana of Azvar by the words 'agalakillEn enriraiyum alarmel mangai urai mArbA' to Lord Srinivasa, who has Sri in His chest permanently and hence there was no separate sannidhi for Lakshmi. She is described as 'thadhvakshadTHalanithya vAsarasikA and thadhksAnthi samvarDHInee,' living in His heart always and makes Him mor patient and merciful.Not only that, said TNS, but The Divine mother is further described as vAthsalyAdhiguNOjjvaLA and 'jaganmatha, 'VathsalyAdhi guNojjvalAm bhagavatheem vandhe jaganmAtharam.' (The Lord has willed  that I should write these lines on the day of Panguni utthara, which is ascribed to the Divine mother  which proves that everything that happens is only by His will.)

TNS said at this instance, referring back to the  sloka 'mAnishadha,' said that even being scolded by elders of reverence and gurus and mahathmas  is itself a blessing. He deviated a little here and said that the sloka 'suklAmbaradharam,' which is sometimes  humourously explained as follows to extoll the merits of coffee as a beverage.It is suklambaradharam and sasivarnam, having white milk and chathurbhujam means there are two hands giving and two taking and drinking it gives rise to a prasannavadhanam, smiling face and it is sarvavighniOpaSAnthayE, for removing all obstacles as the one who drinks a good cup of coffee will be so pleased and will grant anything!

Valmiki mentions that the whole Ramayana consists of 24000 slokas representing the syllables  of Gayathrimanthra but  actually there are two hundred and odd slokas more, said TNS , which shows tht the great souls will rather underestimate their achievements.

Then TNS referred to the actual text of Valmikiramayana, which begins with a description of the land of Kosala,He said that normally the narrative should start with the account of the presentation of the epic by instructing  it to lava and Kusa and their singing it in the court of Rama, but he had to rush through  in order to describe the birth of Rama,  when the punarvasu nakshathra rises, as the day was Ramanavami. He will come back to that part of the story the next day, he said, but the Lord has willed it otherwise as though telling him "You proceed in the normal manner and I will wait till m next month for it!"

Valmiki has mentioned the land of Kosala in only one sloka which was elaborated by Kamban so as to devote an entire chapter for it. The land of Kosala was so rich and there was abundance of food and money.TNS sang the sloka  beautifully in the raga kosalam, and   quoted the Thiruppavai pasuram 'AzimaZaikkaNNa,'  where it is said 'thAZAdhE sArngam udhAittha sar mazAi pOL vAza ulaginil peidhidAi,'  and said that as in the benediction 'kAlE varshathu parjanyah,' there was  timely rains and the land flourished as a result.

Valmiki  describes the city of AyOdhya in detail and says that all the people were rich and had everything and all were asthikas and bhakthas.There was only one thing lacking and that was due to the fact that Dasartha was without progeny. TNS sang the sloka expressing the grief of Dasaratha in Neelambari.He said while Dasaratha was pining for a son the Lord was looking for a suitable father to effect His incarnation. 'Evam dathvA varam devO devAnAm viSNuH AtmavAn mAnushE chinthayAmAsa janmabhoomim atha AthmanaH.- tataH padhma palAshAkshAH krthvA AtmAnam chaturviDHam
pitharam rochayaamAsa tadhA dasharatham nrpam |--   This sloka was sung by TNS in sankarabharanam.

Valmiki says that the Lord   became fourfold and was born to Dasaratha but Kamban says that  the Lord along with Sesha, shankha and sudarsana became Rama-Lakshmana- Bharatha- Sathrughna. Then TNS sang the Ramavathara sloka in Bilahari and mentioned about the placement of  the grahas in the horoscope of Rama,( it was a placement as the Lord Himself willed it so and not due to karmaphala as in the case ordinary mortals.) thus showing that he is knowledgeable even in astrology!

Briefly but beutifully describing the episode of Rsysrnga TNS effected the birth of Rama at the exact moment of the rise of punarvasu on the horizon.  He referred to Kamban also  and quoted the verse ' oru pagal ulagu ellAmudharatthuL podhindhu arumaraikku uNarvu arumavanai,anjanakkarumugil kozundhu ezil kAttum jothiyai, thiru urappayandhanaL thiram koL kOsalai.' It means that Kousalya gave birth to the one who had all the world inside Him and who was the import of the vedas, who was looking like the dark cloud that took the form of a small flame of light. Here kamban uses the epithet thiram koL to describe Kousalya. TNS explained why she was called that, meaning, very skilled. What was the extraordinary skill in giving bierth to son that made her special among all mothers? TNS said that the infant was the one who slept on the banyan leaf having the whole universe inside Him  and could be controlled only through devotion and He came inside the womb of Kousalya like a dark  flame ( blue fire). Hence Kousalya has accomplished something which no one could.

Then TNS mentioned the namakarana of the children by Vasishta who knew the real identity of them.That is why he is referred to in the sloka as paramapreethah.The eldest was named Rama,'jyeshTHam rAmam mahAthmAnam bharatham kaikayii sutham
saumithrim lakSmaNam iti shatrughnam aparam taTHaa |
vasiSThaH parama preetho nAmAni kuruthe tadha.'

TNS sang this sloka in reethigoula which was superb and also the verse from Kamban , extolling the glory of Ramanama, 'nanmaiyum selvamum nALum nalgume----immaiye irAma enru irandu ezutthinAl,' and he went on  an eloquence on the greatness of Ramanama for few minutes non-stop which was a marvel to behold and served as the kudos of the day and the rasikas left thoroughly stunned.

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

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.

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.

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 celebated 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 vizaiyudhaiyya

My review of Harikatha by TNSeshagopalan on 11-2-2007 on Thyagaraja

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!.'   

 The concert of TNS at Asthika samajam Thiruvanmiyur on 7-1-2007

This is the reproduction of the review by Raja from US and the review of rasika_tns  is given below it.

Vocal - T. N. Seshagopalan
Violin - M. Chandrasekhar
Mridangam - Guruvayur Dorai
Kanjira - Sree Sundarkumar

TNS was felicitated at this venue for Sangeetha KalAnidhi by sabha officials, including Cleveland Sundaram. With excellent shruthi alignment and a well-rested voice, the maestro was in peak shape that day to deliver a real treat to his rasikas. The venue was bordering the tank of the Marundeeswarar temple. If we think of Him as being Man’s doctor, then it would be apt to call TNS the pharmacist of that day… selecting the most potent ingredients, concocting the finest musical medicine, and thus taking the rasikas to a higher state of spiritual health.

He began with a brief assay in suddha-danyasi, followed by Harikesanallur Muthiah BAgavathar's varnam "SrI rAja mAthangI”. A brief swarakalpana was a good warmup for both performers and rasikas. Next was Shyama Sasthri’s gem, “O Jagadamba" in Anandhabairavi. TNS artfully hooked the lyrics onto the numerous prayogas this raga has to offer, including delightful glimpses into antara gAntaram.  Pace changed with a brisk rendition of Tyagaraja’s “Krupaji chutaku" in chAyAtarangiNi. Next came a raga alapana in pUrvikalyAni – a  TNS hallmark. I must have heard at least 40 renditions of this raga by him, and a new prayogam is uncovered every time! The piece that beckoned this alapana was Tiruvarur Ramaswami Pillai’s "Ekkalathilum unnai maravamal”. Neraval and swaram were taken at the charanam line: “ithutharuNam ithu kavalai". HMB’s "yArukkum adangAtha" followed in bEgada. A unique characteristic of TNS is that regardless of whether a song is preceded by an alapana, we are still sure to be treated with a vast number of alapana-like akarams during the song itself – particularly between stanzas. True justice was given to bEgada in this manner. Next came Dikshitar’s “AkhilAndEswari" in dwijAvanthi. The leisurely description of the Goddess, dancing on characteristic sancharis such as “G3-M-R-G2-R-S” was sure to bring about misty eyes. This was followed by another Dikshitar Gem, “mAmava meenAkshi" in varAli.

The piece de resistance was Tyagaraja’s famous "kalikiyunTE gadA" in kIravAni. TNS’s alapana rendition once again brought about brand new phrases (at least for me). He frequented the haunting “R-G-D-P-M-G-R” prayogam that day. Neraval was taken at “bAguga shrI raghu rAmuni padamula bhakti jEsina rIti tyAgarAjunikipuDu” (Yes, all of it!). TNS exhibited his mastery over the language by rendering different phrases and sub-phrases from these two meaning-laden lines. The neraval summed up the quintessence of what the great Saint was all about. Swarakalpana brought out TNS's usual adeptness at kannaku, korvais, kaarvais. Any one of those korvais would have been respectable in a mridangam thani! The thani that ensued was a treat, not only with the high caliber we expect from Dorai Sir, but with the outstanding kanjira support by Sreesundarkumar. His efforts were lauded by several instances of “sabAsh” from both TNS and Durai – rare indeed!

Following the main piece, the sabha secretary spoke words of praise and thanks to the artistes. He said TNS left nothing further to explore in kIravAni. (Of course this only holds true until the next time TNS sings kIravani!) The last item was a Kabeer Das piece “Dhan dhan ki”. The raga sounded like ahir-bhairavi, but I am unsure.

MC’s support on violin was excellent as always. He did seem more conservative than normal in shadowing TNS’s bold arithmetic during swaraprastharam. Guruvayur Dorai’s anticipation was topnotch. I find his style to be a bit on the knotty side (to borrow Vijay’s phrase), and prefer a balance between this and sowkyam/sarvalaghu style. However this is purely a personal subjective opinion, and in no way a criticism of the vidwan’s capability. I am very excited to see Sreesundarkumar keeping par with giants like UKS and Dorai.

All in all, this was easily one of the best concerts I have heard this season! Going home, I was stuck standing in a crowded bus for an hour, due to a traffic jam. But I didn't mind at all. Vehicle horns and irate mumblings of fellow passengers all sounded like KIravAni!

Raja

 Raja.has given a wonderful review. I was also present as always in this concert but have no more words to add tohis. .But still as Vedantadesika has said he tried to write about the Lord out of his desire to talk about Him which is like nector to the ears and the tongue, even though great masers like Valmiki and Vyasa have said what all that has to be said, I also wish to say a few words. The poorvi kalyani  never fails to delight the rasikas no matter how many times one has heard him sing  and it is true with all the ragas. The poorvikalyani that day was apoorvikalyani, never heard before and something extraordinary.The kirvani was another marvel  . It was badhamkheer vani! I left by car of my friend  known and it took 1hour to reach Abhiramapuram due to traffic jam unusual at that hour but we were savouring kirvani and never bothered about  it. The kondu kootti technique he followed in kalikiyunte was marvellous and audience applauded two times during neraval itself.The svara had all the acrobatics and polevaults. As the secretary remarked ,his music deserves aksharalaksham and he did not leave anything out , of course , till he sings it next time! Every time it looks as though he has covered everything possible to explore only to find that he goes even higher the next time. For TNS sky is the limit The secretary has rightly said that whenever he sings anything it acquires a special status stamped with his mudra. his kirvani is still ringing in my ears!

Rasika_tns

sangaithakalanidhi award function-1-1-2007

The unparalleled, unexcelled, one and only and without a second creative genius, the n maestro of music, Madurai TNSeshagopalan,  is now sangithakalnidhi and the function of conferring the title to him went on exceedingly well and in a grand manner. When the title was conferred there was a nonstop cheering from the rasikas for a few  minutes.

After the formal function his students paid their tribute to their guru and presented him a huge tanjore-painting of Lord Lakshminarasimha and Madurai Sundar, Gayatri Girish and others honoured him. Dr. Hamsini NagEndhra his desciple from Bangalore who, inspite of her being visually impaired went to the stage with the help of a friend to pay her respects to her guru. Another member of the rasika_tns group, Dr. Jaikrishna went and paid his respects to his manasikaguru and presented him with a citation on behalf of the group.Some friends and disciples of TNS paid their tribute to the great master with lifesize garland (ALuyara mAlai)

In all respects it was a grand function unparalleled in the recent history of the music academy.  Some one in the Academy was heard saying that after the conferring of the title  to GNB,   forty years ago, there has never been such a public acclaim like this for any other sangithakalnidhi. Every one in the auditorium was exceedingly happy which reflected in their faces.

1-1-2007-at Tamizisai sangam

TNS had taken 'Azagarkuravanji ' by kavikunjarabharathy for his thematic progrmme in Tamizisai this year. The first was 'pahigajamukha vibho'in Kanada for which TNS sang delightful svara. After this TNS gave an introduction wherein he mentioned that the Tamil language has become rich by incorporating some of the words from other languages especially sanskrit! TNS alone could do this in Tamizisai sangam ! He further  said that even Subramania bharathy has composed lyrics in sanskrit  such as "Bhooloka kumari.' He said Tamil is establshed firmly because of the adaptatruion of the words from other languages!

The azagar kuravanji he said, is a mutthamiz kaviyam as it contains isai, iyaal and natakam, that is, music , lyrical beauty and drama. Kuravanji deals with the nayaka-nayaki bhava, the heroine seeing the hero  coming in a procession and falling in love with him. The hero of the work is usually a deity such as Lord Siva as in kutralakuravanji or Lord Azagar of Madurai as in this one. The rasa is sringara but of devotional fervour, madhurabhakthi.The heroine is Mohanavalli the amsa of Lakshmi.The sakhi  or the friend to whom the heroin appeals and later the kuratthi, denote the guru or acharya who unites the jeevathma with paramathma.TNS said the thiruvarul, grace of God, will come only if one gets guruvarul, the grace of the guru first.

The type of music in this work is that of padham, folk music and classical music. Some of the compositions from the work demonstrated by TNS were  'arutcheyyavendumadi' in atana, 'kolamigum' in saranga and 'mandaradaramaadhavasundararaja' in thodi. the arrival of Mohanavalli  to see the processsion of Sundararajan, Azagar, is in Hameerkalyani, TNS sang the raga Hameerkalyani in his own inimitable style  making it a 'ameer'(rich) kalyani  On seeing him the thought that came to the mind of Mohanavalli expressed in the song 'ivanaaro,' in kambhodhi which contains the whole lakshana of Kambhodhi, he said.

 'Mohanavalli' in manji was the next and sung beautifully Manji, said TNS,  is not Bharavi sung slowly as some seem to think but Manji has a separate 'moonji', face,  and this song has been made popular by him in his concerts .This padam contains all the aspects of raga alapana, neraval and svara, said TNS, and called kavikunjara bharathy a svarakavi.

The next was 'paavaiye swami varum munnaal' in kedaragoula in which the sakhi  advises Mohanavalli to be patient till the Lord comes to her of His own accord. TNS said that the grace of the Lord will come only when it would and the devotee has to be patient because He only knows when and how to give His blessing.

Mohanavalli addresses the sea and asks it whether it is also lovesick and the lyric in senchurutti is in folk tune and was pleasant and then the advent of the kuratthi is in begada 'malaikkurvanji vandhaale.' The words describing the malaivaLam, the mountainous regions from whcih the kuratthi hailed were beautiful being tastefully explained by TNS.

The raga was Anadhabairavi as it is usual in all kuravanji kavyas The male tiger is singing lullaby to a calf and the female tiger is giving milk Such is the glory of the hills.The most beautiul part exquisitely explained by TNS were ' vAnaippidi enru yAnai pidikkum,' the male elephant grasps the rain cloud thinking that it is a female elephant and realising its true identity squeezes it and drinks the water. The way  he sung it  was more picturesque.

Kuratthi extolling her own powers asks Mohanvalli to show her hand and the lyric is in yadhukulakambhodhi and the prediction 'vandhuseruvaar maane ' is in sahana.TNS said that the lakshana of the raga can be seen in this composition.

Then the marriage is sung in Mohanam. Here TNS remarkd that all kalyanams are having only the name of the bride as in sitakalyanam, rukmimikalyanam,  meenakshi kalyanam etc  with the sole exception of Srinivasa kalyanam But perhaps it is not an exception ,he said , because the word Sri, denoting Lakshmi prefixes the name of the Lord as Srinivasa.

Last but not least came a RTP on kavikunjarabharathi composed by TNS for the occasion in the raga simmendramadhyama.with words 'varakavi, svarakavi,kunjarakavi, kuraivillaadha veera kavi.' He said he composed the pallavi in simhendramadhyama because  kavi Kunjara bharathi was not only a kunjara but also a simha and that too a king among the simhas, simhendra. TNS proved that he too is a simhendra, not madhyama but utthama, gayaka simhendra utthama singing simhendramadhyama raising it to the status of Simmendrauttama.

The programme ended with mangalam from the kurvanji kavya in surutti and Madhyamavathi and 'Vazia senthamiz' as it is the practice with the cocerts in Tamizisai sangam.

31-12-2006-concert at Brahmaganasabha

Rasikacame ti ot his concert full of expectation and they were not disppointed. The reason for this is that TNS was flanked with M.Chandrasekaan and Umayalpuram Sivaraman.

The concert started with  'bajanaseyave' in Kalyani a Thyagarajakrthi  ith svara sung at 'vaadhacharcha.' The next was 'sadguruswamiki in anandhabhairavi ,a composition of Poochi ayyangar. The succeeding one, 'aanandhnatamaaduvaar' in poorvikalyania composition of Neelakanta sivan fulfilled the expectations of the rasikas to a great extent. the raga itself was aanandhamaya and the krthi with the accompaniment of UKS was very picturesque. The svara that followed depicted all kinds  of nrthya attributed to Lord Siva, such as thandava, lasya, ajaba etc.Aided with the expert exposition of UKS it was really a joy to behold, yes to behold as it was nearly visual.

The krthis that followed were 'ambaneelayathakshi' of Dikshithar in Neelambar,a favourite of the rasikas for which  UKS was playing to suit the mood of the song, and 'thappulanniyu' in bouli ,a composition of  Mutthiah bhagavathar  and 'sonnal oziya manam , a ootthukkadu composition in raga kannada.The next was on a listener's request, the krthi 'vAnchathOnu' in karnaranjani.by Muthiah bhagavathar.

The main raga was Thodi and the krthi was 'Dasarathi.' I give below the excerpt from the review of the concert by Ramakumar, a rasika of TNS regarding this piece with my remarks added in the end.

The tODi alapana was an elaborate affair. It lasted for about 18 minutes and reminded me of a much longer tODi I had heard him sing in Bangalore a few months back (the Bangalore one is probably the best tODi I have heard till now) . Sri TNS did graha bhedam with rishabam as the base to sing mOhanakalyANi and with dhaivatam as base to sing kEdAram. Sri M. Chandrasekaran during his turn in the alapana also did graha bhedam with madhyamam as the base to play Anandabhairavi in kavaDi chindu style. The neraval and kalpana swarams sung for the kriti were fantastic as well. After the last kalpana swaram by Sri TNS ended, Sri UKS requested Sri MC to play kalpana swaram on the violin before the taniavartanam began. Sri MC initially would play a few phrases and allow Sri UKS to play his replies on the mridangam. After hearing him exactly translate whatever he played on the violin on the mridangam with some very good use of gumukis, Sri Chandrasekaran said "aaha ... enakku idha kettunde irukkalaam pola irukku (aaha

" I just feel like simply listening to your mridangam)" to which Sri TNS jokingly remarked "naa rendu per odadhaiyum kettindirukken (and I am listening to you both")-Ramkumar .- Source: http://ram

The svara prasthara in 'Dasarathi' was at 'bodhinchina ' in charanam  and  TNS sang

'sa dha nee' bhodhinchina, ' sa dha bhodhinchina and  'nee paa dha bhodhinchina to the amusement of the rasikas.

After this was the thani avarthanam by UKS and Sundarkumar which was a real fanfare.

The concert  ended with a sloka followed by a bajan "harigunagavatha' and a thillana in Bilahari.

The mangalam as usual ended with the sloka 'sriyahkanthaya' about which  I reproduce the comment of Ramkumar which was as follows.

". The really delightful part of this slOkam rendition was when Sri TNS held his breath and elaborated the raga srI just using the word "srI" from the beginning of the song. A wonderful concert from Sri TNS once again."-Ramkumar.

concert on 29-12-2006 at KKNagar.

The concert being arranged by Ramabhaktha janasabha almost all krthis were from Thyagaraja with few exceptions..The first was 'Apparamabhakthi ' in panthuvarali for which TNS sang a short raga and exotic svara.This was followed by 'ninnuneranamminanaura' in devamanohari, a compositoin of Muthiah bhagavathar. the next was 'muddhumomu' of Thyagaraja in suryakantham preceded by raga alapana

'Sarasasamadhana ' in kapinarayani of Thyagaraja was the next which is always 'ka api'  (something beyond description) when TNS sings it and the svaraprasthara at 'hithavumartalentho' was exquisite the way he kept on riverting to nishadha everytime emphasising 'nee hithavu maata.' The krthi 'nepokadakunte ' in varali followed this and then came an enchanting mohanam, Krishna also  joining in  to spread the magic. The krthi was 'nannupalimpa,' for which TNS did neraval in detail at 'karamuna kodhanda'  like the drawing up of the kodhanda (Villai edutthu nANetri) and the svara that followed were the saras  from the kodhanda, a saramaari.

The tail piece comprised of a verse from Kamban  extolling Ramanama in raga desh followed by the si ong ib nthesane raga, 'ramanamme thudhi maname.'  The concert ended with a sloka in sindhubhairavi and the bajan of swathithirunal 'ramachandraprabhu.'  

concert on 28-12-2006 at bharat kalachar

TNS started hich concert with the Thyagarajakrthi 'yochana' in durbar with a short svara

at the end and it was followed by 'hecchrigagaraaraa' another Thyagarajakrthi in yadukula kambodhi.

Next was hamsanadham and the krthi was bantureethi kolu of Thyagaraja. Hamsanadham was rajahamsanadham  and the svara singing was areal jugalbamdhi between father and son.After the thiruppavai pasram of the day 'pullinvi keendaanai' was the real treat in Brindhavanasaaranga., the main raga of the day.

The saranga (Bee) was fluttering  from flower to flower, bower to bower in the Brindhavanam buzzing gleefully with cuckoo(saranga) giving out melodious notes which made way for  the elephant (saranga) leading the path for the arrival of the simha,(saranga) Soundararaja. (The word saranga means all these). The krti was, as you might have guessed , 'sri soundhararajam' of Dikshithar, for which TNS sang beautiful and elegant (soundharyamAna) svara.

Brovavamma of Shyama sasthri  in Manji was the next  followed by 'padaravind' in saveri a composition of Kshetrajna. Next was alistener's choice, f requested by Mrs.YGP, the oothukkaducomo position 'vandhuketpaar illaiyo,' a beautiful song in ragamalikai portraying Krishna stealing the hearts by his doings, comprising of simple words but was made rich byt he singing of TNS, This and the ragamalika  pasuram.puLLinvai pilaLandhittai' were audio- visuals as usual.

The concert ended with 'ajagiridhar' a bajan and thillana in Dhanasri.

Every item in the programme was a gem as Mrs. YGP said, and TNS was assisted by HKVenkatesh on the violin, Trichur Narendran on Mrdangam and BS Purushottham on Ganjira.

27-12-2006- Lecture demonstration on Mutthaiah bhagavathar

TNS was showing his superb mastery over any subject he handles and his sincerity and involvement  during the morning session of the Music academy in his speech rounding off the days proceedings and the hall in the mornings were overflowing with rasikas who came especially to hear him speak.His own lec/dem found the hall crammed with people many of them standing through the whole programme.

Vardarajan and Velore Ramabadran were accompanying TNS on this programme. He said that to speak about the great musicians like  Mutthiah bhagavathar within the time span allotted is like trying to cram the ocean into a small pot.

Muthiah bhagavathar came in a guruparampara of vaggeyakaras as his guru was Patnam Subramania ayyar. He was a verstile artiste having many faces, doing harikatha, Namasankirthanam, as a musician and a composer etc. TNS described his history shortly as being influenced by his uncle,Lakshmansuri a great scholar, and having had his addhyayanapata at the age of ten but that he was more interested in music. He first sang through listening only and later did nadhopasana for ten years as the disciple of Patnam Subramania Ayyar.

Muthiah bhagavathr could  sing in three different voices. TNS said that in those days there was no mike facility available and musicians had to sing in full throated voice and quipped that what they had was no saarira for the mike but a mayakku saarira..One could not whisper secrets with the mike , he said. Muthiah Bhagavathar went to Thanjavur and had training in harikatha with Abraham Pandithar. He included all sorts of compositions in his harikatha. like kavadi chindhu. Here TNS sang the piece 'moosivandu ' in the manner of the great giant with the two ragas mohanam and mukhari in the phrase 'mohanamukhari ragam padudhe,'  to the delight of the audience.

TNS mentioned that the note Maurai Mani Iyer used to sing was composed by Muthiah Bhagavathar. At this instance he praised Mani iyer as a nadhayogi, a super star who used to sing with svarasuddham and sruthi suddham.

Everybody knows that Muthiah bhagavathar composed krthis in new ragas and TNS said that he was able to do so only because he mastered what was already there and said that anyone who wants to do something new should first know the existing material well. Not only that, he was eager to learn anything new no matter who did it, let it be music or anyhing else and was the first to praise  when he came across anything good.He was generous not only in giving away gifts but also in praise which ,TNS said is a rare thing  to see especially in the society of musicians.At this juncture we cannot help the thought that TNS himself has been following his guruparampara  not only in musical tradition but also in his broadmindedness in commending talent where it is due.

The kadhanakuthoohalam krthi of Patnam Subramania Iyer 'raghuvamsa sudha ' starts from the lower shadjam while Muthiah Bhagavathar composed his krithi 'giripriyam gangadharam' from the higher shadjam and TNS said that may be he thought that it should be so since Lord Siva is up in the mount Kailas! The chittasvaram of the krthi is described by TNS as 'kaalatthai venra chittasvaram.'

The raga Hamsanadham was handled by  Muthiah bhagavathar differently according to the old sampradhaya  as the janya of Neethimathi. TNS has sung this krthi as such in his concerts.TNS insisted that   sampradhaya  should not be changed  to suit our facility and made into sowkaryasampradhaya. He defined sampradhaya as the powerful research done over the decades or centuries and which stays and will stay and it is the responsibilty of the vidvans to preserve it.

TNS demonstrated the svaraksharavarnam of Muthiah hbagavathar in suddhadhanyasi and displayed the aesthetics of the vadi samvadi svara combination. The mohana varnam 'Manamohana' was composed on the Ramanatha Sethupathy and contains the  svarakshara sa haja dha dha, ga ri dha, pa  ri dha etc as though asking the king to give horse etc  calling him a natural benefactor. The dharu varnam of Muthiah bhagavathar is well known and has been sung by TNS beautifully in his concerts.The speciality of that is pointed out by TNS as containing chittasvaram with solkattu and sahithyam.

Muthiah bhagavathar, said TNS,  became a full fledged composer only after he started enjoying the patronage of the king of Mysore. He established his composership there in front of the galaxy of vidvans of the samasthatna of  Mysore.

As it is the usual hazard of the musicians who sing in a fullthroated voice .Muthiah bhagavar had trouble with his voice on his first performance in Mysore and he was not acclaimed.as he deserved and he felt that it was due to his forgetting the Devi, whom he propitiated through srividhya upasana during the time his voice was affected at the age of 35 or so and got it back, from then onwards becoming a staunch Devi upasaka. Immediately he went to Chamundi hills and composed and   sang the krthi 'maanamukaavalanu thalli' in sahana which starts unusually in madhayamam. The king of Mysore  who came there heard him and understood his worth and therafter held him  in high esteem.

TNS said that the raga Hamsanandhi, founded by Ramadikshithar was popularised only after Muthiah bhagavathar. The raga Karnaranjani is one of those founded by Muthiahbhagavathar in which he has composed the krthi 'Vaanchathonunaa' for which TNS has composed the chittasvara on the command of his guru Ramanathapuram Sankarasivam, one of the foremost sishyas of Muthiahbhagavathar. This krthi as many others in rare ragas by Muthiahbhagavathar has been popularised by TNS, none the less by his famous chittasvaram, which has always been  a listener"s choice in his concerts.Another one for which TNS has composed a skilful chittasvaram is the krthi 'saravanabhava' in Pasupathipriya.

TNS said that we owe it to Muthiah bhagavathar that we have so many swathithirunal  krthis because he collected  and presented them. Then TNS sang his own composition in kapi raga with the words  ' raga brhmamaanaar harikesanadhabrhmam,' in which he has included the names of almost all the ragas composed and popularised by Muthiah bhagavathar. Then he demonstrated the raga niroshta in which Muthiah bhagavathar has composed the krthi 'rajarajaradhithe' and on public demand he also sang the thillana he himself has composed in Niroshta.

TNS further said that Muthiah bhagavathar was familiar with many north Indian ragas which were popular in Mysore and composed a thillana in hamsanandhi for the sake of the kathak dancers who were there at that time . TNS also demonstrated beautifuly  how the thillana was suited to dance,  to the delight of the rasikas.

After mentioning and singing a little of the other compositions of Muthiah bhagavathar, his pithamahaguru, like  'andavan darisaname , mavoor valam peruga, moovasai' etc he concluded the lecdem which went on for longer than the time allotted for whcih everyone felt happy and never wanted him to finish it. With his eloquence, humour and wonderful music he made  the programme a memorable one and nobody noticed the time till he finished.As Sri V.S.sundaram pointed out he proved himself to be a complete vidvan.

Concert on 26-12-2006 at  Thyagabrahmaganasabha -vanimahal

Begada varnam marked the beginning of the concert and it was followed by 'ramaninneganinannu' of Thyagaraja in Huseni. with neraval svara at 'rajarajavandhitha.' Next was Hameerkalyani aleways 'ameer ' (rich) kalyani when TNS sings it, the krthi was 'venakatasaila ' of Dikshithar. As a contrast to this mellifluous krthi the  next was 'paridhanamicchithe' in Bilahari by Patnam Subramania ayyar. The svara to this racy krthi was something stupendous and was real bilahari, that is , a lion from  its den, 'bilaath hari.' The oothukkadu krthi 'needhaan mecchikkolla' in sriranjani followed this and the main raga was sankarabharanam, with the krthi 'sahajagunarama' of Mutthiah bhagavathar, the neraval svara sung at 'parambhakthudaina.' The sankarabharanam had all the usual grandeur and the concert ended with a bajan 'thoo dhayalu ' of Tulsidas and 'saramaina' a jaavali by Swathithirunal.

concert at the Music academy on 25-12-2006

The concert started with the Malahari geetham 'lambodharalakumikara,' which came as a surprise to those who had not looked up the programme book but not for the rasikas of TNS who have heard him sing that before.It was an example to show how even the beginner's lesson which has been made threadbare by now can be transformed into a thing of beauty at the hand of the maestro of music.The Mohanavarnam came next followed by the sriraga pancharathna of Thyagaraja.

The panthuvarali that followed  had the unmistakable stamp of the creative genius and was delectable to the rasikas as ever. The krthi was 'ramanatham bajeham,' which was a little surprise for those who were expecting 'apparamabahkthi or 'sarasaksha,' and the svasra was sung at 'kumaraguruguha' The panthuvarali from TNS is always a rasika's delight and this was no exception.

The next was a krthi of swatitirunal 'palaya mam,' in Nayaki, not frequently heard, followed by the Annamyya krthi 'Namoralakimpave ' in yadhukulakambodhi.What succeded this was a beautiful deliniation  of Lalitha and the krthi 'nannubrovu' of Shyamasasthri. After  this was a krthi of cheyyur chengalvaraya sasthri 'emamma vinave ' in suruti.

In  a banquet noramally the dessert will be the most delicious . Likewise in this musical banquet the RTP which formed the tail part of the concert was the most fabulous and was acclaimed by one and all . It was a rare treat indeed not heard for so many years and in such a manner. It was the four raga pallvi of yore worded as 'sankarabharananai azaitthOdic vaadi kalyani darbarukke,' comprising of  shankarabharanam, thodi , kalyani and durbar.The way TNS sang this proved that he is the emperor of ragas.The ragas sung in quick succession backwards and forwards in short phrases was astounding  and he was  like an elephant playing in the raga(coloured) waters splashing the ragas around which was like frolic during holi and which set the stage for what was to follow, that is, the sloka on Rasakreeda, 'sayankale.'  There were more ragas and ragas in 'sayankale,' .a spectrum of colours (ragas). One could count as many as 20 ragas in the piece as a whole and in the phrase 'navarasabharithaih' alone.there were 16. He ended the sloka with sindhubahairavi and sang a thillana in sindhubaiaravi and mangalam,  when the audience gave him standing ovation. The accompaniists were his seasoned partners in music, M.chandrasekharan and Guruvayur Dorai whose participation added to the richness of the music.

Concert at Parthasarathy Swami Sabha on 24-12-2006

TNS started with sriragavarnam which was followed by the Dikshithar krithi  'srimahaganapathe 'in Gaula for which he sang the chittasvaram in three kAlas. Next came Hameerkalyani and the thiruppavai 'thoomanimaadatthu ' the rendering of which was embellished with the style of 'kondukootti,' or assembling the words one by one in 'ghanam' method.TNS sang svara at 'maamaayan maadhavan.'

Next was 'kaaneere' in kamas a ootthukkadu composition.As all ootthukkadu compositions this also acquired added beauty when sung by TNS.This was followed by 'Srirajagopala' of Dikshithar in Saveri and a crisp and beautiful 'Marivere' in Shanmukhapriya, a krthi by Patnam Subramania ayyar, with svaraprasthara.

After the Karnaranjani krthi of Muthhiah Bhagavathar, 'Vanchathonu' came the real visvaroopa of TNS in Raga alapana of Kambodhi and the Thyagaraja krthi 'O Rangasayi.' The experience on listening to it is something indescribable by words. The picture that presented to the mind of this rasika was that in the eighth skandha of Srimadbhagavatham where the incarnation of Lord narasimha occurs.

As we could not foresee which krithi was going to follow when the alapana started, the scene that came in front was the appearance of the Lord Narsimha out of the pillar creating a magnificent and inexplicable awe  on the onlooker and his leisurely but forceful destruction of  evil, in the form of Hiranyakasipu and gradually developing into a merciful and beautiful form as Lakshminarasimha to bless Prahladha and the world.

When the krthi started the scene changed and we witnessed Lord Ranganatha and TNS sang the krthi in the manner that we were transported to the bhoolokavaikunta, Srirangam, to witness the suprabhatham of the Lord and could imagine the way Thyagaraja would have wakened Him up. The krthi which is by itself beautiful was further enriched by the rendering of TNS and the svara was in accordance with the mood of the song and depicted the gradual and effective awakening of the Lord. It was indeed an experience quite out of this world which lasted till the next day evening when TNS gave a different treat in the music academy.

TNS was ably assisted by TNSKrishna who gave vocal support and VVRavi on voilin and Velore Ramabadran on Mridangam and Madippakkam Murali on Ghatam

Concert at  Naradaganasabha on23-12-2006

The Kanada adathala varnam was the gateway to an extraordinary (but ordinary to TNS) concert.Brovabharama followed with svara which was bahudhA(bhrama)ri, like the abundant(bahudhA) reemkara of the bee(bhramara).Next was 'kadaikkan vaitthu enai ALamma' a composition of MahaVaidyanatha Ayyar in Begada.

The Kumudhakriya that followed was sumudhakriya(mudha =delight) extremely delightful in svaraprsthara and pulakakriya, creating horipulation in the delineation of raga.

The makuta was the Kedaragoula , very elaborate  alapana of which looked as though TNS is ploughing the field, kedara to bring out the fertile crop. the krithi as expected was 'Sargunapalimpa' by Poochi Srinivas ayyangar and the neraval at 'varagunaseshadri, took us up the seven hills to have the darsan of the Lord Venkatesvara by a luxurious AC car and brought us back only to climb again through the steps provided by his svaraprasthara. So we were  blessed with the darsan twice! Not only that! The svaras were so full of variety and grandeur that it looked as though he is performing the brahmothsava depicting the Lord in all vahanas.

The concert ended with 'MohanavaLLi'  in Manji by Kavi kunjarabharathi and a bajan 'baso mere.'

Accompanying artists were M.Chandhrasekharan  on violin, who provided his usual eminent support and Guruvayur Dorai on mridhangam and Sundarkumar on Ganjira , the seasoned  pair who always delighted the rasikas.

concert at sri krishna gana sabha on 22-12-2006

The krthi 'Sriragukula' of Thyagaraja in Hamsadvani marked the beginning of the concert for which TNS sang svaras and then elaborated on Panthuvarali which contained all the nuances usually found in this raga when sung by him. The krithi was 'Ninnuneranamminanura,' and not 'Apparamabhakthi' as you would have imagined and the svara was short and sweet. The next was raga Abhogi followed by the krthi 'mansavrtha' by Thyagaraja. TNS sang svara for this too.

Then  followed the rasika's favourite 'Ranganayakam' in Nayaki in which one could visualise the Lord leaisurely reclining on His bed of Sesha ( pun intended)!

The Thiruppavai 'keechukeechenrengum' in Huseni was sung in the method of 'kondukootti' each  word joining with the preceding ones in succession and the sangathi in 'matthinaal' created an impression of the gopis churning the curd.

'Nadaloludai' in kalyanavasantham by Thyagaraja was the next followed by a melodious kambodhi and the krthi 'Sri subramanyaya namasthe.' The svara prasthara was at 'vasavadhi' and 'bhoosuradhi' alternatively and  was a mellifluous and skilful presentation.

The last piece was the sloka 'ambamohini' sung as a ragamalika. The mohana in the line ' Ambamohini ' was a real mohana (enchanting) and the line 'Anandasandayinee' was sung in Anandabharavi and amrthavarshini whcih can be better described by the very names of the ragas, (Ananadamrthavarshini). the next  line 'vani pallvapani' was in Girvani followed by kalyani and yaman kalyani while singing the word 'kalyani' ending with sriraga in 'Srirajarajesvari.' an exquisite delineation.

TNS was ably assisted by his usual wing commanders M.Chandrasekharan on the violin and Gutruvayur Dorai on Mridangam.

concert at MOP Vaishnav college on 20-12-2006

A bonus for the rasikas, which might have been missed by many who did not note the announcement in the morning paper. The concert started with Abhogi varnam with  kalpanasvara as usual. This was followed by 'Sadhinchane, pancharathnam of Thyagaraja in Arabhi and then came the raga Dharmavathi  and the krthi 'Bajanaseyaradha' The svaras were like the reemkara of the bees while being layapradhana.

Then came Subhapanthuvarali and the krthi 'ennaallurage' of Thyagaraja and the raga alapana, neraval and svaraprasthara were all in keeping with the mood of the song. Subapanthuvarali of TNS is always special and this was no exception. The svara singing was fantastic.

After the thani by Neyveli Venkatesh on Mridangam the concert ended with sloka 'shankachakragadhapane' the plaintive entreaty of Droupadi to Krishna for her manasamrakshana which was followed by 'baro Krishnaiya' a Dasarpadha in ragamalika.

TNS was  accompanied by Nagai  Sriram on violin who did a wonderful job of it.

Concert at The Mylapore Fine Arts on 18-12-2006

The concert, which proved to be rich and creamy, started with the Thyagaraja krthi 'aparadhamula,' in raga rasali followed by "merusamana' in Mayamalavagoula with neraval at 'galamuna sobillu kanakabhooshanamula' in charanam  and the svara that followed was racy with poise.

The next was 'YarukkutthAn theriyum' in Devamanohari  a composition of Gopalakrishna bharathiyar, a remnisence of  the lec/dem in the morning on the author by Chinglepet Ranganathan for those who attended it,  which TNS as the president of the conference nicely rounded up with his excellent speech and sample of his music as he does every day.The svara that followed  the krthi was  fabulous that made the rasikas exclaim , "yarukkum thAne theriyum ivar mahamai!"

Then TNS expounded the raga poorvikalyani in his usual fantastic skill of portrayal of the svarupa of the raga and the krthi that followed was 'ninnuvinaga,' of Shyamasasthri. The svara prasthara whcih was at 'pannagabhooshanudaina,' was shared by TNS krishna, who gave vocal support and stole an applause to his own credit, and it was something wonderful experience to listen to the lion and his cub, whcih will be ever green in the memory of the rasikas.

The creamy layers continued to be relished in the Hindolam that followed ,the raga alapana of which was again shared by the two of them and was exquisitely beautiful and here too Krishna was acclaimed for his singing by the rasikas. The krthi was Neerajakshi kamakshi and was juicy with bhava and gamaka. No svara followed but even without it the piece was rich.

The next and central layer of the dessert pudding  was Kalyani, the raga was developed with masterly strokes and grahabhedha to suddha dhanyasi and the krthi was 'Ethavunara of Thyagaraja. The neraval at 'sitagouri ,' and the svara that followed was full of gamaka- oriented phrases with the usual laya display. This was followed by Thani by Guruvayur Dorai on Mridangam and N.Govindarajan on Ghatam. It was an elaborate thani and well appreciated by the audience.

It was 9pm and normally one would expect that there will not be a separate RTP after this. But the rasikas  of TNS know better! Yes, there was a RTP , that too in three ragas, Kapi, Narayani and Kapinarayani, though it was short. The pallavi was worded 'kapi narayani sapi mokshapradhayini.' meaning, "who is the unparalleled(Kapi)  Narayani , she is also mokshaprahdayini" which was explained by TNS himself. Though short it was wonderful and the rasikas became expectant of a more eloborate exposition of it in the near future.The concert ended with the bajan 'thum aza' followed by thiruppugaz and mangalam.

M.Chandrasekharan who accompaied TNS on the violin did an admirable job of it.   

 concert at  SAFE-SSHall-14-12-2006

  The concert started with a krthi 'abhimanamu' in Begada which served as  an appetizer for a wholesome feast that followed. with its racy svaras. Next was he dharu varnam 'mAdhe malayadhvaja ' of Mutthiah bhagavathar in kamas, which asks at every step 'sukamasukama the way it is rendered always by TNS.

Next was the raga alapana in Vachaspathi and the krthi was 'ennALu nee,' by Patnam subramania iyer again and the niraval svara was sung at the first line 'kannathanrinApai ' of the charaNam. The svara that followed was the usual delightful fare by both TNS and TNS Krishna who gave him vocal support and drew applause by himself on his svaraprasthara.

 The slow moving 'abhayamba navavarana' of Muthuswami Dikshithar in sahana was the next one which was followed by  'Nadhupai' in Madhyamavathi of Thyagaraja, which had all its usual beauty including the svara combination at 'veda sannutha' as 'sa,' 'ma.' (samavedasannutha)

The soul of the music was delineated in the rendering of "mayamma '  of Shyamasasthri in Ahiri, which was  rendered in an  exquisite manner  , being steeped in bhava as only TNS could do. It was really moving and reflected the exact sentiment the composer has infused into it. Guruvayur Dorai who played the Mridhangam contributed ably to the mood of the song by his soft touch.

The main piece was  'sakkani raja' in Karaharapriya. The ebullient waves of the raga flowed like a high tide on a full moon day and the alapana was spiced with closed mouth singing which was awe inspiring to the rasikas. TNS constructed a rajamarga, a royal highway absolutely clear with no traffic for the royal krthi to follow. When TNS sang 'chikkani paAlu,' the milk (pAlu) was brought to boil and cooled and served with sugar. The svaraprasthara was full of pyrotechniques that never failed to delight his rasikas. The main piece lasted for one hour before the thani was given to Guruvayur Dorai  and Sundar kumar, who played on the Ganjira. Sriram kumar on the violin also re ndered able assistance to TNS.

That was not all! The viruttham 'puLLinvai piLandhittai,' and the song KaNNallavo , a Oothukkadu compositon , sung on request from a rasika were like the payasam of the feast. The viruttham was in ragamalia, comprising of sankarabharanam, sarasangi, subapanthuvarali and suruti followed by the song ' kannallavo' in suruti and it was just beautiful. TNS Krishna took over from his father during the subapanthuvarali and did a fantastic job of it. His singing was fully laden with bhava and he has proved his worth, not only in raga, svara and laya but also in bhava,  as the offspring of such illustrious father. The song kanallavo one could see  Krishna in the act of gobbling butter and the censure of gopi which was brought picturesquely by the singing which amused and delighted the rasikas.

The concert ended with a thillana in Mohanam by Mutthiah bhagavathar and thiruppugaz

concert at Meenakshi college -8-12-2006

The concert started with natakurinji varnam followed by 'Mahaganpathim' in Nata.Next was an elaborate alapana in sriragam with the krthi Srivaralakshmim which was good as usual. the panthuvarali that followed was exotic and the krithi kenjinene is new and I have not heard it so far. The neraval svaram in 'sundharam niraindha 'was really a sundharamniraindha svaraprastharam and kept the audience thrilled.
The next was something which proved that the concerts of TNS are audiovisual. It was "Ramanukku mannan mudi tharitthale"and it should be heard to enjoy the bhava. There was a review in recent Kumudam that TNS will sing ten sangathis in this line of the song.And he did!Such an eloquence that portrayed the actual coronation  of Rama was fantastic.
Later in the anupallavi in  "paamaramE unakkennadi pEcchEpazam nazuvippAlil vizundhArpol"  the elegance with which the pazam slipped and fell into the milk was something remarkable!Pazam nazuvippaalilvizundha azage azagu!We could actually feel it.
Later in the  charanam singing the line "parasuraman garvam theerthavandi" TNS portrayed the garva of parasurama through his  music that is not only audible but perceivable .Similarly "nAAlu pEril moothhavan"  was shown to be such!
This krthi which made everybody jubilant with its visual effect was significantly followed by Kalyanarama which is always delights his rasikas.
Next was 'etijanam'in varaliand the main raga was sankarabharanam the portrayal of the raga was picturesque and the work of the master artiste who painted it with his masterstrokes  like a brilliant atrtist. the grahabhedha with thodi was areal master stroke and was applauded heavily.The krthi was svararaga sudha and it was really a 'svararagasudha ' nectarine in its delineation of raga and display of svara and laya and it was a svararagalaya sudharasa.

The end part consisted of ashtapadi 'sancharadhadhara ' in raga shyama kalyan and in the word 'mama' TNS brought into play both madhyamas ,Ma.ma, which was wonderful.This was followed by ' nirupamana,'  a javali in Behag and sindhubairavi thillana.
The audience apprciated the concert in every part  and never got up even during thani, which was acclaimed by TNS himself and there was standing  ovation in the end.

concert in Karthika fine arts at Naradagana sabha-6-12-2006

The concert being organised by Karthik Fine Arts TNs chose all songs on Karthikeya today after starting with 'Vathapi Ganapathim' in Hamsadvani, precede by a sloka. the krthi itself being fast moving the svara was also in fast tempo and lively for the start.

Then TNS sang the last verse of Kandaranupudhi 'Uruvai aruvai uladhai iladhai,'  in anandhaba hairavi and the alapana that preceded was exemplary and moving. The krthi was 'Manasa guruguha as expected and the neraval and svara at the unusual place 'nathva srigurucharanam' and rendered  in a way in which only TNS is capable of. Anandhamana svara in Anandhabhairavi!

Next was a detailed alapana in shadvidha margani followed by the krthi of Koteesvara ayyar 'antharanga bhakthi.'This was followed by 'paradesi petrapillai' in Bilahari a compostion of his mother.

The main raga was thodi that gave the anticipation of the krthi 'Karthikeya gangeya' of Papanasam sivan and it was the same. The closed mouth singing which a speciality of TNS resembling the sound of nadhasvaram was amazing and one rasika remarked that what he sings with his mouth closed many cannot do even with open mouth! The thodi was of course marvellous and the svara had all the embellishments that could be expected from the great maestro.

 The next was a song by his mother which he sang in  two ragas shanmukhariya and behag, beautiful words rendered in beautiful ragas and presented full of bhava.The concert ended with the thillana in Niroshta, his own composition and thiruppugaz followed by sampradayamangalam

concerts of TNS in November 2006.

1-11-2006-Naradaganasabha-oothukkadu compositions.

TNS was awarded the title of Bharath sngeetha samrat by the carnatica.com

The concert was different from the later one at RKSwami hall as there were many new compositions while the other one consisted of all the popular ones.

The first was svaghatham Krishna as in the other concert, in which he has welcomed the Lord Kriishna  in Mohanam ,who must have come and sitting in the front row, surely!

Next one in Natakurinji 'kodutthuvaittha punniavan' made all feel that we were kodutthuvaitha punniavangal to hear it.

Sloka in sahana 'krshnaya vasudevaya' was followed by 'vasudevaya namo namasthe,' which was also  repeated in the second concert and HOW! I will relate the same when I come to it.

The next was a new one in kalyani'sarasijabhavajaye' ab nd the kalyani was anantha kalyanagunavisushta kalyani, in the delineation of raga and in the svaraprasthara. Next TNS sang 'pullinvai pilandhittai  in kamas, a pasuram, favourite of his rasikas, followed by Nan ennat havam in Kamas which was 'sukamas', sugamanakamas,.

The next one was again a new one 'kallame ariyadha,' in amrthavarshini, which was a delightful piece. We were thanking our stars that the rains inChennai stopped for the day and had some trepidation as he sang Amrthavarshini. But we were saved!

Next was the rasika's favourite 'thaye yasodha.' The main piece of the day was 'etthanaikettalum in bhairavi,' which was elaborate unlike that in the later concert which was shorter for want of time.

Next was a new one 'anname' in Sama.
The rest of the concert consisted in muddukrishna,in senchurutti, neelavanam inpunnagavarali and kannallavo insuruti ending with thillana in sindhubhairavi, all of them were dripping with melody and charm and one could feel the presence of Krishna as he did for Oothukkadukavi.

12-11-2006-Mudra- One raga one krthi  concert-Naradaganasabha


The raga taken was Kapi and TNS sang the krthi  'inthasoukyamanine' of Thyagaraja.

THose who heard the concert that day was really fortunate because the kapi raga was 'KA API'raga, meaning something that could not be described in words."kapi" or "kopi" in sanskrit besides meaning something or someone also used to denote something wonderful that cannot be described in words. The kapi that day was so exquisite that to describe it in usual terms as a kumbakonam degree kapi etc will be a gross understatement!

'Inthasoukyamanine' was rendered with such skill and imagination that made the audience exclaim with Thyagaraja ;inthasukyamanine , entho emo evariki thelusuno.'

15-11-2006-

Muthiah bhagavathar compositions -Naradaganasabha
.Muthiah Bhagavathar's compositions always attain a special perfection in the hands of TNS he giving full sway to his masterly perfection in svararagalaya.This concert was no exception.

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16-112006-oothukkadu compositions atRKSwami hall

The concert started with 'sollinile varum sukhame' in sankarbharanam as a guruvandana and irt was forllowed by svaghatham Krishna when Lord Krishna came and sat in front! The concert that followed was superb, magnificent and fantastic!

 The atana was adadana! The krthi was 'Madhuramadhura' which was madhura indeed! The beauty of the compositon was fully brought out. There is a dificulty in presenting oothukkadu compositions. Unless the musician is skilled  there is the danger of the sahithya swallowing the sangeetha because of the abundance of words in the krthis. But TNS enhances the sangeetha aspect without sacrificing the sahitya also. Both sahithya and sangeeth were wellbalanced and presented a bhava which otherwise would have been absent.

Padmavathi ramanam was beautiful and the sloka that came next 'krishnaya vasudevaya was something unimaginable. In singing the word Govindaya TNS performed Gvindapattabhisheka as was done to the Lord after the govardhanoddharana by Indra. TNS was transformed into another Indra in crowning Govinda .
Next in asaindhadum mayil we could see the cvisualisation that is alwatys present on his concerts and we felt, 'nijamansukham enru onru irundhal' adhu idhudhan.

Next piece 'sonnal oziya manam kelaadhe,' exacctly depicts my view in writing this review. Though Ram has given an elaborate review my mind will not be satisfiled unlessI out in a few words cbecause the joy of listening to the concert is overflowing and will have to be spilt out or spelled out!

All the songs were beautifully rendered  that is, Kalyanarama which was always the favourite of rasikas and the kambhodhi 'konju mazalai,' was a delightful portrait of Krishna and his leela, Bharavi 'etthanaikettalum reflected the feeling of his rasikas, wh o were never satiated in hearing his music.

TNS singing 'vanduketpar illaiyo,'a ragamalika , described aptly the performance as it describes the stelaing of the hearts by Krishna, that is exactly what TNS did that day, stealing thehearts of the audience!

Asthika samajam -venus colony-16-4-2006

            Rasikas of TNS come with certain expectations worthy of his creative genius and mastery over music. He also never dissappoints them and scales the heights never reached by others. People who cannot look up to his height fail to appreciate him owing to their own limitations. The only requisite to enjoy such an exquisite music is to keep an open mind and not to expect a set formula beyond which such a person cannot comprehend. Simple truths are sometimes understood by simple and honest  minds but elude those who profess to have superior knowledge.

           The concert on 16th April at Astika samajam had all the specialities that rasikas admire in TNS. He started the concert with the Thyagaraja  krti 'hechchariga' in Yadukula kamboji , aptly welcoming Lord Rama  as it was Ramanavami concert. Next was 'dayajuchuta' in Ganavaridhi followed by 'Orajupuju'  in Kannada goula , all rendered in his usual pleasing manner. Then came' Paramapavana ' in Poorvikalyanai when the  natural buoyancy became explicit and it was followed by 'Marugelara' in Jayanthsri which is always a delight for the rasikas.

             The main piece was 'Nidhisala sukhama' in Kalyani. The raga was portrayed by deft strokes of the master artiste(e) and what ensued was a beautiful portrait of Kalyani with all its splendour and grace. TNS sang niraval and svara  not at 'mamatha bandhana ' or 'dhadhi nava ' but at 'dasarathi dhyanabajana ' which  spoke volumes of his aesthetic sense.

            Then the rasikas were treated to a lovely verse from Kambaramayana followed by 'ramaramarmarama ramaayenilo' in Lalat. The concert ended with 'Pahi kalyanarama '  and the rasikas  were left with  a contentment of having worshipped Lord Rama through music.

Concert at Ayodhya mandapam on 15-4-2006

            The concert started with Sriraga varnam fllowed by 'salamelara' in Margahindolam. Next was ' apparamabhakthi' in Panthuvarali which is ever a thing of joy for his rasikas. After 'ela needhyaradhu' in Atana , 'Yarenru raghavanai' a Ramanataka kirtana in Yadukulakamboji and 'kalyanarama ' a Uthukkadu composition in Hamsanadham, all of which were delightful, came the main raga sankarabharanam which was beyond description with wonderful delineation of raga and exotic svaraprastara.  The krti rendered was' enthuku peddhala.' The hall was packed and it was a 'good' crowd

 Harikatha on Kambaramayanam at Hamsadhwani from 5/4 to9/4-2006

   Madurai T N Seshagopalan gave a rare treat to his rasikas by doing the harikatha on Kambaramayana for five days at Hamsadhwani from 5th to 9th of April2006. It was like triveni sangamam with the lyrics of Kamban flowing like the holy Ganges, the eloquence of Seshagopalan was like the cool waters of Yamuna while his music was the antarvahini, Sarasvati. Seshagopalan plunged deep into the ocean of Kambaramayana and collected the precious pearls and strining them in the double strands of his flowing tamil and  lilting music presented a beautiful necklace to Sri Rama.

                     In the beginning itself TNS made it very clear that it was not a mere literary discourse or a wayside carnival with a flourish of overacting , music thrown in between, but it was going to be a depiction of the deep devotion which underlies the  work of Kamban which earned him the title of Kambanaattaazvaar among the devotees. It was not Ramanatakam but Raamakaadhai,or Ramavathaara as it was originally named by Kamban, steeped in devotion, culture and above all, in dharma. So those who had come with such expectations would not have been able to  enjoy the rich cultural and devotional nevertheless poetical repast.

                     TNS has enhanced the enchantment of the lyrics of Kamban by his novel and imaginative explanations and his divine music. To describe his performance one would echo the words of Sri Ramachandran, secretary of Hamsadhwani, that the description of the land of Kosala by Kamban, 'thandalai mayilgal aada thaamarai viLakkam thaanga--------marudham veetrirukkum maalo' alone, which TNS explained beautifully,  can be the fitting tribute. Sri Ramachandran has also praised the subtle and refined humour, the second nature of TNS, that ran undercurrent in the harikatha and his cultured manner of presenting even the episode of Ahalya and above everything else his gurubhakthi which manifested through out, all of which made his harikatha unique.

                      The rasikas come to hear TNS not for the mere story or for the monoacting but to enjoy his depth of knowledge and inspiring and involved devotion which even brought tears to some in the audience as one gentleman openly confessed on the stage on the last day. So sentiment, rasa, was not lacking but without ostentation.

                       Kamban upheld Rama as the paramporuL, the ultimate reality and this was explicit in the very first verse 'ulagam yavaiyum thaamulavaakkalum,' said TNS, who also pointed out that Kamban has made reference to Ramayana as a sarnagathi sastra, as it is called by devotees, by the last line of the above verse, annavarkke saran naangaLe.'

`                     There were various instances to show the   deep study and thinking  TNS has put forth in this venture such as his explanation of 'irukai vezam ,' by which Kamban refers to Rama; the 'iru kai' being ,one for dushtanigraha and another for sishtaparipalana as in the case of the elephant, 'vezam,' which can uproot the tree with its trunk as well as lift a child gently and put him on its back In 'sEl unda senkanaarin,'  in which kamban paints the picture of the young swans seated on the lotus drinking the milk given out by the 'sEtrumedhi,' buffalo, TNS quoted aptly the  thiruppaavai pasuram 'kanaitthiLam kattrerumai kanrukkirangi, the buffalo giving out the milk simply by thinking of its calf.  In the verse'karaamalaiya thaLar kaikkari eytthE,' describing  the namakarana of Rama,  in which Kamban  refers to gajendhramoksha episode, the word 'kaikkaliru, ' as explalned by TNS,   iindicates that only the hand of gajendhra was visible above the water and at that juncture the Lord gave His hand to resque him..

                        One feels, to put it in words of Kamban ,'thOLkandaar thOLe kandaar'.in describing the salient features of the harikatha by TNS. Still one cannot do full justice to a review without mentioning some of his gems, notwithstanding the bavaladen music, such as that in ,annal nokkinaal,' the meeting of Sita and Rama, and his explanation for the word 'nOkki' was superb as he has brought out the purushakara of piraatti and the need of lakshmikataaksha even for Rama to finish his avatarakarya. It is to be noted that he has tuned  1000 verses of Kamban in apt ragas.It would be a great  treasure to posterity if someone comes forward to make a recording of it.

  Some of the gems are;

1) Sita remembers Rama and pines for him and here Kamban uses the word ' thaazndha kaigal ' of which TNS said that it reminds of Vamana whose hands were low on account of  receiving the dhaana, which is an implication that Rama is none other than Narayana.

2) His explanation of  ' thaLLaadhakaalam' as 'edhaiyumthaLLaadhakaalam' which results in misery for man.

3) Why does the elephant puts mud on its head soon after bathing? TNS gave a beautiful reason. The earth has been covered by the Lord in all His avatharas and the elephant  sprinkles the particles of earth  touch by His feet to purify itself.

4) Kamban describes Rama as mazaimugilvaNNan while he calls Thataka maivaNNattharakki, said TNS, to show the colour of the former is like rainbearing clouds indicative of His mercy while the colour of  the latter was the darkness of thamas.

5)Why does kamban refers to Paarkadal as karumkadal? It is because the Lord is the emerald, maragathavaNNan, which, when put in the milk will change its colour from white to black

6)TNS gave a beautiful explanation for the words of Kamban 'anjil aimbadhil onrariyaadha' in the verse 'nanjam annavarai,' the message to Sugriva, who forgot his promise, from Rama through Lakshmana. He gave out several meanings with reference to Sita, Ravana and The lord Himself who has come as Rama and so on by different grouping of the letters.

7) Rama says to Sita ' ippiraviyil irumaadharai chindhaiyalum thodEn.' TNS elucidated it to mean that Rama, as Narayana, promises not to think even about His own consorts, Bhoo and NeeLaa , in that incarnation as Rama. The word was 'irumaadhar' and not 'piramaadhar'  as it could have been.

8) TNS highlighted the humour of Kamban  in the lines ' venjina vaali  meeLaan vaalum poi ozindhadhu anre,' where Hanuman informed Ravana of the killing of Vali, as Ravana had a reason to fear the tail of Vaali.

9)Hanuman tells Rama ' kandanan karpinukku aNiyai kaNgaLaal'. TNS  gave a wonderful explanation of the word 'kaNgaLaal' and said that all would see only with eyes which was not meant here but that Hanuman saw the chastity of Sita through her eyes as eyes are the windows of the soul.

10) Last but not least was the scene of Vibheeshana saraNaagathi where TNS gave out the essence of Vaishnavadharma, consisting in selfless service, hospitality, self effacing  devotion to Bhagavaan and Bhaagavathas, Ahimsa, sathyam etc.

                           On the whole the Harikatha, besides the enchanting music of Seshagopalan, brought out the real spirit of Kamban as a devotee, simultaneously enhancing his lyrical value. Kamban portrayed Rama through out as the Supreme Lord who covered Himself with His own Maya, athireka maayaa, to quote TNS,  and enacted the role of chakravarthitirumagan. TNS explained this athireka maayaa with excellent examples. One would conclude that those who can find anything disparaging to say about this harikatha programme must have been covered with athireka maayaa, that is, an illusion of their own making which made them find  non-existing faults.                                                                                                                                                                                       

11-3-2006

  There were RTP broadcasts on All India Radio sung by TNS for the past five weeks. HE sang Hamsadvani/Nagasvaravali, Shanmukhapriya, Kamalamanohari, Dharmavathi and Bhagesri. There is none to excel TNS in manodharma which is explicit in his delineation of raga and svaraprasthara. No one else except perhaps some of the stalwarts of yesteryears can sing such an RTP on such a minor raga like Kamalamanohar except TNS. When TNS sings the svaras he fondles them as though he is patting them with a peacock feather and deposits them like deepas let down on a river of music. His svaras are mellifluous yet forceful. The svaras gush forth with alacrity and like flowers strewn on the river. He loves his music and the music loves him.

TNS infuses bhava even in his delineation of raga. Not only the sahithyabhava but even the ragabhava is enough to move the heart of a rasika. The divinity that is manifest in music is visible through the raga sung by TNS. He is able to portray the raga in one svara alone like the strokes of a master artist who later fills it up with deft strokes of paint (raga). He is a master artiste indeed!

4-3-2006 -  concert at Hamsadhwani

The concert started with varnam in Begada which was followed by the Thyagaraja kritis 'Girirajasutha' and  'sobillusaptasvara.' Next came Saaranga which was 'sa ranga,' colourful. The kriti in Saranga was 'neevaada' of Thyagaraja, with his usual extraordinary kalpanasvaras. The Sarmati kriti 'Mokshamu galadhaa,' that followed proved that the music of TNS is the passport to Moksha as specified by Thyagaraja, rich in bhakthi and sangitajnana. The kudos was reached in Bhairavi which was really BHA  RAVI, the splendour of the Sun. The rasikas were treated to his bhairavi three times so far within the short duration of three months, on 25th Dec. at Tarangini, on 30thDec. at Valayappatti naadhaalaya and today at Hamsadhwani. The exotic Bairavi and the kriti 'Thanayuni brova' was splashed with a cascade of svaras endin in a whirlpool  centered  round 'Pa Da Pa' resembling the chanting of Samaveda and the sound of Padukasahasra in which a whole stanza consists of the same syllables. TNS then took up the Uththukkaadu composition ' sonnaal oziya  manam in Kannada and after 'bhaagaaya, ' a padham in Saveri the concert ended with the Periyaazvaar pasuram 'siruviralgal  thadavi, which describes Krishna, the flute player, which was as usual an audio visual presented by the expressive music which ended with Thillana in Sindhubairavi. An unparalleled exposition indeed!

24-2-2006    Veenaconcert at Hamsadhwani

When TNS plays on the veena or keyboard his fingers seem to vie with his voice. His veena speaks and one can hear the words. The resonance is somthing fantastic as he produces infinite gamakas with just one stroke of his finger. The concert on 24th was no exception. Starting from the Mohanavarnam  the kriti 'Devadeva in Mayamalavgoula , the Nattai panchrathna and the Anandabhairavi kriti 'Marivere ' were all of the usual standard of excellence The Bindumalini  of Thyagaraja was full of melody but the highlight of the day was the Subapanthuvarali 'Ennaallurage' in which the raga and the svara were fabulous keeping the audience enthralled. The main piece was the Sankarabharana kriti 'Svararagasudha' of Thyagaraja for which TNS played Thanam in Ragamalika. At the end TNS surprised the audience by playing ' kaatrinile varum geetham' and 'Hariharathmajam.'