PAPER 5 DANCE, POETS AND POETRY, RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE MODULE 17 THE MUSICAL TRINITY: TYAGARAJA

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5 PAPER 5 DANCE, POETS AND POETRY, RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE MODULE 17 THE MUSICAL TRINITY: TYAGARAJA Saint Tyagaraja / त य गर ज is the most popular composer of the of the Carnatic music trinity. He was born in 1767 at Tiruvarur to Kakarla Ramabrahma and Sitamma in a Telugu Brahmin family. He was named Tyagaraja after Tyagaraja, the presiding deity of the temple at Tiruvarur. Tyagaraja's paternal grandfather was Giriraja Kavi who was a poet and musician in the Tanjore court. Tyagaraja's maternal grand father was Veena Kalahastayya a veena player. Tyagaraja learned playing veena in his childhood from Kalahastayya. Tyagaraja s father Rama Brahman was also attached to the court. Tyagaraja began his musical training under Sonti Venkata Ramanayya, a music scholar, at an early age. He felt music was the path to attain God. His objective while practicing music was purely devotional and the technicalities of classical music did not interest him greatly. He also showed flair for composing music and while still in his teens, composed his first song, Namo Namo Raghavayya / नम नम र घवय य, in Desika Todi / द श क त ड़ and inscribed it on the walls of the house. Soon after his training Tyagaraja rendered his song, 'Dorakuna Iduvanti Seva / द र क न इद वनट स व ' (Bilahari / ब ऱह र ) before a congregation of musicians and poets. In the house of Sonti Venkatasubbiah at Tanjavur and in the presence of 1

6 samasthanam / समस थ नम artistes, he sang an elaborate raga Kambhoji / क म ज and sang his 'Mari mari nine / मर मर न न ' (Adi tala) which moved all present. Thus young Tyagaraja revealed his innate ability as composer and musician even while very young. It is said that he studied kavya / क व य, alankara / अऱ क र and nataka / न टक under Govinda Dikshitar for four years and that Ramayana attracted him the most. At another time, he sang at the request of his guru, beginning at 8 p.m. and finishing only at 4 a.m. Sonti Venkataramanayya informed the king of Thanjavur of Tyagaraja's genius. The king sent an invitation, along with many rich gifts, inviting Tyagaraja to attend the royal court. Tyagaraja, however, was not inclined towards a career at the court, and rejected the invitation outright, composing another kriti / क र त, Nidhi Chala Sukhama / र नधध चऱ स खम meaning, does wealth bring happiness? Dr. S.Radhakrishnan, former President of India writes: "The name Tyagaraja means the prince of renouncers, of those who give up worldly desires. In the case of Tyagaraja, renunciation is the result of undistorted devotion to God. He was a person of great humility, utter self-effacement. He expressed the truths of the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita in simple and appealing language. He had deliberately chosen a life of simple living by unchavritti taking what is voluntarily given." Tyagaraja's compositions are remarkable not only for their immense volume but also for variety and quality. Tyagaraja in his lifetime is believed to have composed about 24,000 devotional songs. Many of the songs however, are lost due to poor documentation. The highest musical excellence is found in 2

7 his compositions which are called kritis, in which he captured the essence of ragas. There is a wide variety of form and type from metrical compositions and settings to creations like O Rangasay / ओ र गस in Kambodi or Dharini Telusukonti / ध ररण त ऱ स क त which have progressively complicated sangatis, built step by step. Some are plaintive outpourings reflecting his desire to obtain the grace of Lord Rama. In addition to these masterpieces he composed 'Utsava Sampradaya Kirtanas / उत सव सम रद य क त न ' and 'Divyanama Sankirtanas / ददव यन म स क त न' for adoption in bhajans and festivals. Tyagaraja composed musical plays 'Prahalada Bhakthi Vijaya / रह ऱ द भक तत ववजय ' and 'Nauka Charitra / न क चररत र'. The songs of Nauka Charitram which consists of only one act have a flowing cadence and simple rhythm. 'Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam' is of five Acts with 45 kritis in 28 ragas and 132 verses. Tyagaraja, with over 800 documented kritis to his credit, is considered to have been the single largest contributor to Carnatic Music on account of the quality and enduring popularity of these compositions. He was prone to composing songs spontaneously on the occurrence of various incidents on different provocations and this has led to a large number of kritis in a wide variety of moods. Tyagaraja has composed not only in many rare ragas, but also in many major ragas like Sankarabharanam / श कर भरणम (30+ compositions), Todi / त ड (30+), Arabhi / आरभ (13), Devagandhari / द वग ध र (12), Saveri / स व र (20), Saurashtram / स र ष ट रम (18), Varali / वर ऱ (14), Pantuvarali / ऩ त वर ऱ (13), Madhyamavati / मध यम वत (15), among others. In addition to this, only his compositions existed 3

8 in some rare ragas like such as Suddha Seemantini, Simhavahini etc. An outstanding contribution of Tyagaraja is his defining compositions in the raga Karaharapriya / र ग कर हरवरय and Harikambhoji / हररक म भ ज both of which are major ragas today, solely due to his compositions (12 in each). Tyagaraja has also composed in Hindusthani ragas and some of his compositions include Haridasulu / हररद स ऱ (Yamunakalyani), Kamalaptakula / कमऱ ऩत क ऱ (Brindavana Saranga) and Manamuleda / मन म ऱ द (Hamirkalyani). Tyagaraja also has several compositions in the Western style to his credit. These include Sara sara samarai / स र स र समर, Chentana sada / च तन सद, Kalinarulakai / कलऱन र ऱ कई in Kuntalavarali / क त ऱ व रऱ and Raminchuvarevarura / र लमन छ र वर र in Suposhini / स ऩ लशन. Of these, Sara sara samarai, seems to be the one most similar to Western music, with its quick racy tempo perfectly matching the topic of Rama's mastery over archery and mimicking the sound of the shooting of arrows in its very first line. Tyagaraja travelled on pilgrimages to many temples in the area from Tanjore to Tirupati and composed songs on deities in these places. He had many disciples who would commit his compositions to memory and then note them down. Many of these kritis have been grouped into various Pancharatnas / ऩ चरत न by musicologists. For e.g. the Thiruvottiyur Pancharatna Kritis in praise of Goddess Tripurasundari / बत रऩ रस न दर, the Kovur Pancharatna Kritis in praise of Lord Sundaresa / स दर स 4

9 and Goddess Soundaryanayaki / स दय न यक of Kovur. His Pancharatna kritis are indeed musical gems. The Pancharatna kritis are written in praise of Lord Rama. They are set to Adi tala and each raga represents the mood of the song and the meaning of its lyrics. All the kritis have a pallavi / ऩल ऱव, anupallavi / अन ऩल ऱवव followed by a charanam with several swaras. They are in Nata, Goula, Arabhi, Varali and Sri raga,which constitute the five Ghana ragas of Carnatic music also called the ghanapanchaka / घन ऩ चक. In Sri ragam, Endaro Mahaubhavulu / इन दर मह भ व ऱ is believed to be one of the early kritis of Tyagaraja composed in Telugu. The song is a salutation and sings the praise of all the great saints and musicians down the ages. Tyagaraja clearly delineates and lists the 'Mahanubhavalu / मह न भ वऱ ', or great ones, in the kriti itself, mentioning the saints Narada and Saunaka, among others. In this poem, Tyagaraja describes the greatness of devotees of the Lord. In the Pancharatnas, Tyagaraja has given guidelines as to how to systematically and scientifically develop a raga. The two fundamental conditions that must be satisfied for a systematic development of a raga are the arrangement of the solfa swaras in the natural order of Arohanam / आर हणम and Avarohanam / अवर हणम of the ragas so as to satisfy the sound principles of harmony and continuity. Pancharatnas satisfy these scientific principles in an unparalleled manner. The swaras in the Pancharatnas are composed in perfect sarvalaghu / सव ऱघ pattern. 5

10 His devotion and love of God, is akin to that of a doting child to its mother or the suckling calf to the cow. In his songs he runs to his Rama to report, explain, complain, appeal, solicit, beg or lament. At other times, he protests and even gets angry with his favourite Lord. Tyagaraja clearly saw that he was born with a mission of singing of Rama. Either he soliloquizes or is in inspired, intimate conversation with Rama, who constitutes his parent, brother, sister, friend and God all in one. Though he was an advocate of Rama Nama Taraka Mantra / र म न म त रक म त र, Tyagaraja has taken time out to deviate from this theme, to compose several beautiful krtis in praise of other Gods and Goddesses of the south Indian Hindu pantheon. Besides Lord Rama, he has composed and sung in praise of Lord Ganesa, Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Parvati (in several forms), and the sacred river Kaveri, in addition to a large number of songs glorifying Nadabrahmam / न दब र हमम, the medium of saptaswara through which he expressed his feelings toward God. No description of Tyagaraja compositions will ever be complete without mentioning his numerous kritis on the theme of eulogising music, which praises the glory of divine music, the Nadabrahmam. He echoes the Vedic dictum that Lord Siva is Nada tanu, and praises Lord Sankara in the Chittaranjani song Nadatanum Anisam Chintayami / न दतन म अर नसम धचन तय लम! He describes Lord Siva as the essence of Samaveda, the one who delights in the art of the seven Svaras which are born of his five faces. In the Sri raga song, Namakusuma / न मक स म, he asks us to place the supreme Lord on the bejewelled pedestal of Nada and Swara, and worship his feet. Mere knowledge of music without bhakti or devotion does not lead us to the right path, says Tyagaraja in the Dhanyasi 6

11 kriti Sangita Jnanamu / स ग त ज ञ नम. In the Andolika kriti / आन द लऱक क र त Ragasudharasa Panamu / र गस ध र रस ऩन म, Tyagaraja suggests in the charanam that nada, swara and pranava are the core of the form of Lord Shiva. One can attain bliss by contemplating on nada, according to the Kalyanavasanta song Nadaloludai. Sangita Kalanidhi G.N.Balasubramaniam wrote, 'Tyagaraja has composed songs in such a manner as to give ample scope to the singer to bring out the essence in ragas in a pleasing and satisfying manner thus giving abundant scope for manodharma. Although he composed 26 songs in Todi, 20 in kalyani, 14 in Kamavardini, 12 in Varali, etc., one does not see any repetition of ideas. Instead there is invigorating freshness in each. T.V.Subba Rao has said, It may sound surprising that even familiar ragas like Karaharapriya, Harikamboji and Devagandhari are his gifts. His magic touch could transform any scale into a raga." One of the biggest contributions of Tyagaraja was popularising the usage of madhyama kala through his compositions. Madhyama kala was especially suitable for bhajana and expressing his feelings in a musical form, while keeping rhythm with his cymbals. Tyagaraja's judicious use of this tempo not only brought music closer to the layperson and made it catchier but was also done without compromising on classicism and therein lays his greatness. Most of Tyagaraja's compositions are in popular talas like Adi, Rupakam and Misra Chapu, though he has also composed kritis in talas like Misra Jati Jhampa, Tisra Triputa and Khanda Chapu. His compositions in elongated talas 7

12 and vilamba kala were mostly composed for imparting knowledge on the intricacies of melody to his disciples. Among the Trinity, only Tyagaraja has used Desadi and Madhyadi talas. Tyagaraja brought Carnatic music into popularity with his experimentation with 'Kalapramanam'. Traditionalists of his time might have frowned on his music for being too 'fast', as most classical music at that time was set to vilamba kala / ववऱम कऱ. Given that it is easier for a lay person to appreciate music that is a blend of rhythm and melody ( as opposed to pure melody or pure rhythm), it is not a surprise that Tyagaraja's kritis became popular with their easily understandable lyrics, lilting melody as well as the variations in kalapramanam with his madhyama kala and durita kala kritis. Looking at compositions of Tyagaraja, we can see several instances where the sangatis themselves have a rhythm and a gait matching the sahitya for e.g. in the Kharaharapriya Kriti 'Chakkani raja margamu / चतकन र ज मरग म ', the measured and majestic nature of the sangatis in the pallavi are evocative of the building of the rajamarga. In his Athana song, Chede buddhi manura / छ ड़ व मन र, the starting phrase in tara sthayi rishabha is very suited to the words and emotion conveyed there. Similarly, in O Rangasayi / ओ र गस य, the letter O itself stretches for almost half the avartana and is an ideal choice to convey an impression of Lord Ranganatha reclining on his bed in a grand manner. In Sara sara samarai / स र स र समरज in Kuntalavarali, the choice of raga and kalapramanam captures the mood of arrows flying from Lord Rama s bow. Tyagaraja s kritis are typically structured according to a Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam(s) design. In 8

13 this type of composition, we see that Tyagaraja links the Pallavi and Anupallavi together using the second syllable alliteration scheme. Often, the regular kind of alliteration, using the first syllable, is also found together with that on the second, while in some instances we find it extended into even the third syllable, to increase the effect. Another outstanding feature of Tyagaraja's innovations with Tala and Laya is his experimentation with eduppus / य ड प ऩ or grahas. Grahas are of three kinds Sama / सम, Atita / अत त and Anagata / अन गत. If music commences at the beginning of the avarta, it is called the Samagraha / समग रह; otherwise, it is called Visama graham / ववसम ग रह, which, again may be Anagata (music commences after the tala avarta begins) or Atita (music commences even before the Avarta starts). Most musical compositions are in either Sama or Anagata graha with very few in Atita graha. Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri have composed kritis starting with Atita graha. In fact, Tyagaraja has systematically taken up one by one, a large variety of grahas and even by just looking at his Adi tala kritis in double kalai we can see that he has used Samam, 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 eduppus to great effect. Tyagaraja is also the only composer to have created kritis where the eduppu (graha) of the song is in the middle of the little finger, which innovation contributed greatly towards the popularity of many of his kritis. Tyagaraja seemed to have foreseen the conditions, two centuries into the future ahead and composed Kritis that would suit the needs of the modern concert platform. As many of his Kritis are set in Madhyamakala and have a catchy rhythmic set up, their appeal has not dimmed over the years and is proving especially popular with today s impatient audience. With the growing neglect of Pallavi singing, 9

14 niraval has to be sung in some passage of kritis and Tyagaraja s kritis give wider scope for niraval singing. Another aspect of Tyagaraja s kritis that sits well with the modern day audience is their variety. In his kritis, he not only exploited all the possibilities in major ragas but also experimented at length with janya ragas, creating many rare and new ragas too, in the process. For example, he has given a shape to Kharaharapriya with a number of kritis and further composed in Janya ragas like Sriranjani / श र र जन, Abhogi / अभ ग, Deva manohari / द व मन ह र etc. He has also explored lesser-known Janya Ragas like Manjari / म जर, Devamritavarshini / द व म तवलश न, Dilipakam / ददलऱऩकम, etc. Kritis like Patti viduva radu / ऩट ट ववद व रड (Manjari) seem perfect for today s variety-hungry audiences.while Tyagaraja's contemporaries were primarily concerned with bringing to audiences the music of the past, Tyagaraja also pioneered new musical concepts at the same time Popular as they are among musicians, Tyagaraja kritis are also taken up by dancers in their performances. Bharatanatyam exponents have danced to a number of his kritis as the emotive content as well as lilting madhya laya offer immense scope to the artistes. I have seen some of the Pancharatna kritis danced excellently by the legend Yamini Krishnamurthy many years ago. They offer immense scope for both nritta and abhinaya. The Nauka Charitram opera of Tyagaraja has been a great favourite among Bharatanatyam dancers. Prahalada Charitram has been danced by both Kuchipudi as well as Bharatanatyam dancers. I have seen B. Bhanumati and her troupe use the Mayamalavagoula kriti, Vidulaku mrokkeda in a beautiful group 10

15 presentation. Sujatha Srinivasan, Urmila Satyanarayana, another famous dancer based in the US has danced to several of Tyagaraja s kritis. Many leading dance schools have put up dance-dramas with Tyagaraja as theme using several of his well-known kritis. The Dhanajayans have produced a dance drama on the life of Thyagaraja himself called Sri Thyagaraja Vaibhavam. A number of Thyagaraja s compositions were used in this group performance. The performance opened with Sreeganapathini in Sourashtram. Other compositions that were used were Tulasidalamula che / त ऱस द ल म ऱ छ in Mayamalavagowla, Nagumomu / न ग म म in Abheri, Venuganalolunikana / व न ग नऱ ऱ ननक न in Kedaaragowla / क द रग वऱ, Evarikkai / एव ररक कई in Devamanohari / द वमन हर, Nidhichalasukhama / ननध च ऱ ख म in Kalyani, Melukovayya / म ऱ क व य in Bauli, Nenenduvedakudura / न न द व द क द र in Karnataka Behag raga, Evarimatta vinnavo / एव ररमत त ववन न व in Kamboji, Kanukontini sreeramudu nedu / कन क नतन स र र म द न द in Bilahari, Nannuvidachi / नन न ववद च in Ritigowla and Sita kalyana vaibhogame / त कल य ण व भ ग म in Kurinji. The production ended, as very many Bharatanatyam performances do, with the mangalam, Pavamanasuthudupattu in Saurashtram. Guru Kalyanasundaram of the Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatanatya Kala Mandir has staged Tyagabrahmanjali, employing several of the composer s kritis. Beginning with Sri Ganapatini in Sowrashtram, he moved on to the Nata Pancharatnam Jagadanandakaraka., Ela nee dayaradu in Atana, Ra ra maa inti daka in Asaveri, Sogasuga mrudanga talamu in Sriranjani, 11

16 Nauka Charitram and concluded with another Pancharatnam Endaro Mahanubhavulu in Sri ragam. Ananda Shankar Jayant, an exponent of Bharatanatyam from Kalakshetra, staged Thyagaraja Ramayanam at the music academy using compositions of Thyagaraja to portray the story of Rama. The songs used included Sogasuchooda tharama, uyyala loogavaiya, Muni kanu saiga thelisi, Sita kalyana vaibhogame, Sandehamu theerpavaiya, Oka mata, Oka banamu, Entha nine varninthumu sabari, Marukelara O Rahgava, Apa Rama bhakti, and Sarasa sama dana. These are just a few examples of how popular Tyagaraja s compositions are with the dance fraternity. During Tyagaraja Aradhana celebrations, dancers and musicians dance and sing the saint s composition with great devotion. Several Harikatha exponents have conducted Ramayana Katha Prasangams employing solely his compositions, to illustrate the essence of this epic story, since there is a wealth of Rama Nama Mahima scattered through his songs. Thus Tyagaraja s versatile compositions are a great favorite with dancers as well. The bard of Tiruvaiyaru chose to live in the 'Empire of Rama Consciousness', Rama Bhakthi Samraiyamu as he says in, his composition in Suddha Bangala. Tyagaraja attained Samadhi on 6 January 1847, Pushya Bahula Panchami day. Every year on this day thousands of musicians pay homage to the saint composer. The Thyagaraja Aradhana, conducted annually in Tiruvaiyaru, the saint's samadhi on the banks of Cauvery at Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur.Started in 1925 by Bangalore Nagarathnamma an ardent devotee singer of Thyagaraja Shisyaparampara, who built the shrine for Saint Thyagaraja at his samadhi, the Aradhana has been a time-honoured tradition in which musicians of high repute participate. An important component of the proceedings is the re-enactment of 12

17 unchavritti, the daily rounds that Thyagaraja as a Bhagavatha made, to gather alms. Leading vidwans take part in this event, starting from the Tirumanjana Veedhi residence of Tyagaraja and ending at the site of his samadhi. At the samadhi, musicians pay tribute to the memory of the great vaggeyakara through choral-singing of the Pancharathna Kritis. Chetulara, a composition in Bhairavi, is customarily rendered by flutists preceding the chorus. Due eminence is given to the great musicians present on the occasion. The Aradhana is conducted in many places all around the world and the group singing of the Pancharatna kritis is a focal item of the event. In conclusion, I would like to quote Rajaji who said, Every kirtana of Tyagaraja is a beautiful temple in which the great composer has installed the God of his heart for worship by those who sing and those who hear." 13

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