MODULE 21 REGIONAL POETRY IN SOUTH INDIA POST INDEPENDENCE COMPOSERS OF BHARATANTYAM

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5 PAPER 5 DANCE, POETS AND POETRY, RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE MODULE 21 REGIONAL POETRY IN SOUTH INDIA POST INDEPENDENCE COMPOSERS OF BHARATANTYAM Dance is a visual art and its prime purpose is to communicate a story or a message to the people. Hence it is very important to covey in a language which will be understood by the people. All dance forms in India have their poetry and songs in the indigenous language. Bharathanatyam is no exception. Bharathanatyam was known as koothu / क थ, aadal / आडऱ, etc till the 16 th century A.D. The dance and music were performed in the temple premises and the royal families witnessed the arts in this background. Temples were the centres for active finearts. At this point the songs adapted for the dance were in the indigenous language Tamil to reach the rasikas. Historical background From the 15 th to 19 th century Tamilnadu was ruled by the kings with different language and culture. This brought in a versatile of songs and poetry in Telugu, Marathi and Hindi. The Marathas continued the royal language as Telugu after they succeeded the Nayaks. The Marathas were also great composers and encouraged all the art forms like the Nayaks. Tamilnadu saw an unprecedented growth in the field of fine arts and literature. Koothu which later came to be known as sadir had songs in the languages like Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Sanskrit. Telugu being the court language it gained more popularity. During this period the Tanjore quartet created the 1

6 Margam format for Sadir. The language used in the songs of the margam were in Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit.The dance dramas were in Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and sometimes Manipravalam / मण प रळ लम. Kuravanji natakams were all in Tamil while the songs in Bagavatha mela natakams were in Telugu. This was because the Bagavathamela natakams were performed only in their respective temple premises and the audience in that area was comfortable with Telugu. Whereas the kuravanji natakams were performed all over Tamilnadu showcasing to the Tamil audience. Bharathanatyam, the name coined in post independent India is a medium where any forms of poetry or songs in varied language can be choreographed effectively. Hence many genres like Ashtapathi, Tarangam, Devarnama, etc. took a pride place along with the kavadicindu, keertanam, padam, tiruppavai, etc. in the margam of Bharathanatyam. There are various forms of indigenous poetry starting from Thevaram / त ळ रम, Thiruvasagam / ततर ळ सगम, Thiruppugazh / ततर प ऩ गल, Divyaprabandam / ददव यप रबन धम, Thiruppavai / ततर प ऩळ ई, Thiruvempavai / ततर ळ म ऩळ ई, Padam, Javali, Kavadi / क ळड, chindu / च द, etc. performed in dance. Many poets and composers like Muthu Thandavar, Marimutha Pillai, Arunachala Kavi, Neelakanta Sivan, Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Subramanya Bharathi, etc. have composed songs on various genres and they are used effectively in the performance of Bharatanatyam. Kodhai Nacchiyar / क ड़ ई न च य र and Karaikkal Ammayar / कर कऱ अम मयर are said to be the foremost among the women poets who 2

7 were prominent in propagating Bhakti elements of Vaishnavism and Saivism respectively. There have been many female contemporary composers some became prominent and many did not come to light. Many Carnatic musicians, nattuvanars and dancers have penned lyrics for dance repertoire. POST INDEPEDENCE COMPOSERS PAPANASAM SIVAN Papanasam Sivan was a prominent composer and a singer of Carnatic music who was born on 26th September 1890 and died on 10th October He was a famous composer and was also known as Tamil Thyagaraja. He has composed songs for Bharatanatyam and also many songs based on classical Carnatic music for films. He is the receipine of many prestigious awards. Papanasam Sivan named as Ramaiya was born at Polagam Village in the district of Thanjavur. Ramaiya used to be an active participant in the devotional music sessions at the home of Neelakanda Sivan in Thiruvananthapuram. Thus, he learned many of the musical compositions of Neelakanda Sivan and popularized them. He was a regular visitor to the temple at Papanasam, and he would smear vibhuti on his body and start singing songs in praise of Shiva. Hence, people began to refer him as Papanasam Sivan, the name by which he was to become well known later. Papanasam Sivan was more interested in the devotional aspect of music. He has composed many Keertanams based on Bhakti element. Varnams composed by him depict Madura bakti / मध र भक तत. His mudra is ramadasan / र मद सन. Almost all his compositions are in eloquent Tamil language, easily understandable which reached the 3

8 masses. These are used frequently in the present day Bharatanatyam repertoire. Sri Papanasam Sivan composed more than two thousand songs, mostly in Tamil. Eight hundred of these were for Tamil films. Around four hundred of his Carnatic music compositions are sung in music and dance concerts. Some of the famous compositions used in Bharatanatyam repertoire are: Keertanams on Ganesa: Mooladhara Murthy, Gajavadana Karuna Sadana, Sri Ganesa Charanam. Keertanams on Muruga: Saravanabhava ennum tirumandiram, Sri valli devasenapathe, Mayilvahana valli manamohana. Keertanams on Shiva: Kaana kan kodi vendum, Adum deivam nee, Idadhu padam thookki aadum, Ananda natamidum paadan. Keertanams on Ambal: Devi neeye thunai, Ma ramanan Uma ramanan is a unique composition praising Vishnu and Shiva. Enna thavam seydanai Yasoda is another composition in praise of Krishna. Kosalai pudalvanai panivay maname is a famous Sriramacharita gitam which is performed by Bharatanatyam dancers. Pada Varnams like Ni inda mayam, Swami nan undan adimai, Swami nee manamirangi arul tha, etc. DANDAYUDHAPANI PILLAI K. N. Dandayudapani Pillai was born on 14th July 1921 at Karaikal. He belonged to Isai Vellaalar family of musicians, nattuvanars, nadhaswaram players, vocalists and dancers. With a wonderful musical background his passion for music was nurtured from a very 4

9 early age. He always thought that people will appreciate dance better if the songs for dance were in a language they understood. During the revival of Bharathanatyam the nattuvanars followed the traditional padavarnams and padams performed in the sadir concerts which had Sringararasa as the main emotion. There were lots of young children showing interest to learn and perform. To suite them he composed songs with bakti rasa in simple Tamil language which the student could understand. He has composed ten padavarnams eleven jatiswarams, three padams, nine kirtanams, ten tillanas, and jathis in adi tala and rupaka tala. His composition annayai maravenadi a varnam in Abhogi ragam is specially apt for children. Samiyai azaitodi vaa in navaragamalika is a beautiful varnam in which each line of the song has the name of the raga in it. He has composed a varnam maa moham thane meeruthe in nattakurinji ragam and rupaka talam which is in the form of a Swarajati. Some of his unique keerthanams are arputa chirpiyadi in ragamalika which describes the Lord of dance as the sculptor of the Universe. Another ragamalika composition muttamizh cholayile describes the dream of a noble lady about the glorious Tamil Nadu. Yet another song which is different from the usual dance songs is ulagam pugazum naattiya kalaye, a ragamalika composition set to Adi talam. This song describes the greatness of the art of dance. He has composed a song on dasavataram, on Mahatma Gandhi and on Jesus Christ. 5

10 SUDDHANANDA BHARATI Dr. Suddhananda Bharati ( ) was born in Sivaganga in South India. He was a philosopher and poet. His teachings were focused mainly on the search for God in Self, through the Samayoga practice he created. He has composed many devotional songs in the form of Keertanams. Arul purivaay, Ananda natanam adinal, Aaro vandennai aasai kaatti, Aasai konden, En mugam paar, Eppadi paadinaro, Karuna Sagarane, Gaana reengaram seyum, etc. are famous among them in both dance and music concerts. BALAMURALIKRISHNA Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna was born in 1930 at Andhra Pradesh. He later settled in Chennai. He is a Carnatic vocalist, multiinstrumentalist, playback singer, composer and actor. He came under the tutelage of Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu who was a shishya of Tyagaraja. He was well versed in the raga classifications and has composed a number of songs especially in Telugu and Sanskrit. He has composed many invocatory songs, Varnams, Kritis and Tillanas for Bharatanatyam repertoire. He used muraligana / म रलऱग न as his mudra. Some of the famous songs are: Varnam: Omkara pranava, Amma anandadayini Kriti: Omkarakaarini Thillana in raga Brindavani, kadanakudukalam, kundalavarali, dvijavanti, etc. 6

11 PERIASAMI THOORAN Periasami Thooran was a Tamil teacher, patriot, poet and a composer of Carnatic music. Periasami was born to K. A. Palanivelappa Gounder and Paavaathal on 26th September 1908 at Manjakattuvalasu, in the Erode district. He was greatly influenced and inspired by the revolutionaries like Subramaniya Bharathiyar and Mahatma Gandhi. A prolific writer, he composed over six hundred songs on national, spiritual and moral issues. A man with noble ideals, Thooran is an acknowledged poet and composer. Deep philosophical truths lay hidden in his simple devotional songs. Musical aesthetics are evident in his compositions. While he was not a musician, he had profound poetic talents. Sivaramakrishna Iyer who was a music teacher was his guru who set his songs to music. His popular compositions used in dance include Gananaathane, Kaliyuga Varadhan, Muralidhara Gopala, Muruga Muruga, Thottu Thottu, Thaye Thripurasundhari and a Kavadi chindu azhagu deivamaga vandu. N.S. CHIDAMBARAM He was a Tamil composer whose popular songs include Koovi azhaittaal, Kandu nee solla and Yaar adinaar ini evar aduvaar are used in dance concerts. He has also composed varnams such as Amma jnanam alikkum surya (a daru varnam). His famous kriti Needan thunai Neelambari is a Ragamalika with eight ragas. KALKI KRISHNAMURTHY Kalki Krishnamurthy was a famous novelist of yesteryears. His compositions in film Meera such as Kaatrinile varum geetam, Kannan 7

12 leelaigal, Vandaadum cholai thanile, Maalai pozhudinile, etc. became very popular in dance field. Songs such as Kaliyuga deivame, Poonguyil koovum poocholaiyil orunaal, etc. are still popular in Bharatanatyam performances. DAYANANDA SARASWATHI Swamiji was born as Natarajan in Manjakudi located in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu on 15th August An erudite scholar and a composer many of his songs like Bho sambho, Madura madura meenakshi, Mahalinga vibho, etc. has been popularised by Bharatanatyam artists. MYSORE VASUDEVACHAR Mysore Vasudevachar ( ) was a musician and composer of Carnatic music compositions who belonged to the direct lineage of Thyagaraja's disciples. Vasudevachar's compositions numbering over two hundred are mostly in Telugu and Sanskrit. Some of his most popular kritis include Brochevarevarura, Mamavatu Sri Saraswati, Bhajare Re Manasa and Ra Ra Rajeevalochana Rama. He was a recipient of Padma Bhushan. Mysore Vasudevachar also taught in Kalakshetra. He became the chief musician in Kalakshetra and helped in setting the music for Ramayana dance drama. He died in 1961 at the age of 96. S.Rajaram, his grandson worked at Kalakshetra eventually took charge of the institution. He has also composed many songs for Bharatanatyam. 8

13 MADURAI T. SRINIVASAN Madurai T. Srinivasan, a well-known mridangist, who has been bestowed with many titles and also awarded the "Vaggeyakaarar" by The Music Academy He is a composer and writer in Tamil songs for Vocal music and Bharathanatyam repertoire. He has composed Alarippu in thirty five talams, Mallaris, Jathiswarams, Sabdams, Padavarnams, Keerthanams and Thillanas. Some of the famous compositions being Om enum pranava gananadane, Kanne en Kanmaniye on Muruga, Ninaitthalum azhaittaalum on Kamakshi, Annai meenakshi, Karunai deivame karpagame, Agaya malayil oru avataram, etc. He has composed an asta ragamalika where the gods names match with the ragas which starts as sakala kalai arulum Sri Saraswathi. LALGUDI G. JAYARAMAN Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman is a combination of a lyricist and a musician. He revolutionized the style of violin playing, in the process inventing a whole new technique - the prestigious Lalgudi Bani. He is a composer par excellence and has composed songs in simple Tamil. He has to his credit several Pada Varnams, Varnams, Kritis, Jathiswarams and Tillanas, which are a scintillating, blend of raga, bhava, rhythm and lyrical beauty. Some of his famous padavarnams being Sendhil nagar mevum in Nilambari, Innum en manam in Charukesi, Devar munivar in Shanmukhapriya and Angayarkanni anandam kondale, a Navarasa varnam in Ragamalika. MADURAI N. KRISHNAN ( ) He was a musician and composer. He was one of the founder directors of Bharathalaya Chennai. He has composed many songs for Bharatalaya students which became popular among other dancers too. He has composed fifteen varnams among which maye 9

14 mayensodariye is very popular. Twenty five tillanas, many keertanams, all of which are compiled as Madura Margam and is available in book, cd and dvd format. He has composed music for Divyaprabandam and many dance dramas. UDUPI LAKSHMINARAYANAN Udupi lakshminarayanan is a vaggeyakara who has penned and composed many songs and ballets for Bharatanatyam repertoire. He was born in 1926 into a family of orthodox Sanskrit scholars. He has composed many songs like Ganapathy stuthi, varnams, padams and tillanas in Sanskrit has been published as a book titled Udupi Spoorthi Ranjana. Some of the famous kritis being Siddhi vinayaka palayamam, Sree saraswathi devi, Amba paavani, Tejomayee, Tunga theera nivasini, Annapurneswari pahimam and Varnams like Dayanidhe on Muruga and Devi sritajana paalini on Mahishasuramardhini. C. V. CHANDRASEKHAR Prof. C.V.Chandrasekhar, born in 1932, is a Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, academician, dance scholar, musician, composer, and choreographer. He is the alumini of Kalakshetra. He has composed songs in Sanskrit and Tamil for margam and number of dance dramas. He has choreographed a few jathiswarams and tillanas in rare talas. Famous pada varnams choreographed by him are Samikku nigar yaradi, Kanavu nan onru kanden. M.V.NARASIMHACHARI Exponent of Bharathanatya, Kuchipudi, musician, composer, mridangist, teacher and many more. He has composed music for many thematic presentations such as Megasandesam, Bakthiyogam, 10

15 etc. He has also set music for Pallakiseva prabandam of Sahaji and brought out audio CD. MADURAI R. MURALIDHARAN Madurai R. Muralidharan is a dancer, musician, choreographer, nattuvanar, teacher and a composer. All his songs are in Tamil. He has composed and choreographed several dance dramas like Silappadikaram, Kandha Puranam, Nandanar Charitram, Ramayanam, Thirukkural, Anarkali, Sri Krishnaleela, Buddha, Nammalwar, Thirumangai Alwar, Thulukka Nacchiyar, Sarvam Brahma Mayam, Sri Bhaktaprahalada Vijayam, Sivagamiyin Sabadam, Yajnyaseni and many more. He has choreographed a number of mallaris, pushpanjali, alarippu, jathiswaram, kouthuvam, keertanam, padavarnam and thillana varieties for Bharatanatyam margam. His thematic compositions on Anjaneya, Krishna, Muruga and Shakthi are very famous and have been choreographed by many Bharatanatyam teachers. He has released CD s, DVD s, and books of his compositions. S. VISWESWARAN A musician and santoor player. He has composed many songs for Bharathanatyam margam performed by his wife Chitra Visweswaran and her students. Some of his famous compositions are: Pushpanjali ----ragamalika, Jathiswaram --- ranjani, Tillana rasikapriya, lalitha. He has also composed songs for many thematic presentations. 11

16 WOMEN COMPOSERS: There had been many women composers whose work did not come to light. Some of the literary works mention about women poetesses of the yester years. Many of the sadir dancers were adept in composing songs and dance spontaneously for a situation. We do not get any of these songs because they were not recorded. For past fifty years the songs of many women composers have been recognized and used widely in the dance choreography. ANDAVAN PICCHAI Margadavalli / मग दळल ऱ also known as Andavan Picchai is a woman composer born in Mylapore, Madras ( ). She has composed songs in Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit. She was an ardent devotee of Muruga and Devi. Almost all her compositions are in the genre of Keertanams. Her famous compositions are Ullam urugudayya, Kaakkavenro, Kalmaari aadiya and Varnam - Nee manamirangi in Lathangi ragam. MEENAKSHI SUBRAHMANYAM Meenakshi Subrahmanyam, has composed number of padams, keertanams and bhajans for the Bharatanatyam repertoire in Tamil. She composed for the students of Nrithyodaya which was adapted by other dancers too. Some of the famous ones are Krishna damodara nityananda, Ponaal pogattum podi, Senru varuven enru, Ennidame velavanai, Neelakadal orathile, etc. 12

17 AMBUJAM KRISHNAN Smt Ambujam Krishna was a musician and gifted poetess. In August 1951, she happened to visit the Samadhi of Tyagaraja at Tiruvayyaru and while there became inspired to compose songs. Her first kriti was Unnai allal on Goddess Meenakshi. Most of her compositions are in simple Tamil. She has also composed songs in several languages such as Telugu, Kannada, Sanskrit, Hindi and manipravalam (a combination of two or more languages). Her songs are noted for their imagination, chaste language, clarity of thought and inspired spontaneity. She came to Musiri Subramania Iyer who was much impressed with the lyrical content of the songs and offered to set them to music. Her mudra is ambuja. Several of her songs continue to be set to music and have become integral components of the concert platform. Smt Krishna also composed Radha Madhavam and Krishna Leela Madhuryam, two operas for which music was set by K.R. Kedaranathan. Almost six hundred songs are compiled and released in four volumes titled Gitamala.. Famous keertanams used in Bharatanatyam repertoire are: Om namo Narayana, Gana mazhai pozhiginran, Ododi vanden Kanna, Ennasolli azhaittal, Nee poi azhaittu vaadi, Chinna china padam veithu, aadinaye kanna, Azhaga azhaga, etc. K. LALITHA Smt. K.Lalitha founder of Saraswathi Gana Nilayam has written many songs for dance and they are released as seven full length Bharanatyam dance audio cassettes and CD's as Lalitha Vandanam, Nrithya Geetham, Bharatha Geetham, Guru Samarpanam, Naradhana Priya, Krishnam Smarami and Pranamamyaham. Famous songs being Kanna karmegavanna and nalla sagunam noki chelladi 13

18 a ragamalika Padavarnam. Lalitha is the mudra she used in the songs. RANGANAYAKI JAYARAMAN Smt. Ranganayaki has also composed a variety of dance songs, including Pushpanjalis, Jathiswarams, Padavarnams, and Thillanas. Celebrated dancers and dance teachers have praised her work and her compositions are being performed regularly by various institutions all over the world. DR. PADMA SUBRAMANYAM Exponent of Bharathanrithyam, musician, research scholar, musicologist, composer and teacher has contributed many songs for the margam. Some of her famous choreographic compositions are Pushpanjali ---- gambeeranattai Jathiswaram ---- ragamalika, malayamarutham Varnam ramapriya (on venkatachalapathi) Tillana ---- vijayanagari, kannada, harini Most of her choreographies are based on her music compositions. RAJEE NARAYANAN Smt. Rajee Narayan is a dancer musician and a composer. Smt. Rajee Narayan was born on the 19 August 1931 in Chennai. She has composed over two hundred songs in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Marathi for Bharatanatyam and has published some of them in her book Nritya Geetamala. Her songs are based on Bhakthi and 14

19 madurabakthi elements and include invocatory songs, Devasthuthi, Sabdam, Kritis, Padam, Thillana, etc. She has also released a book on the basics of Carnatic music called Sangeeta Shastra Mala and Natyashastra Mala, a book explaining the basics of Natyashastra. SIVAKAMI RAMAMURTHY She was born in 1930 at Coimbatore. She is a musician and poetess. She has composed poems on nature and people. She has travelled widely in India and abroad. She has composed songs on the deities of the temples she visited which include set of songs on all the deities in the Meenakshi temple at Houston Texas. Her dance drama on Sri Ayyapan, Vigyana Kannotam (on science) and Om Sakthi were composed specially for children and it was well received by the audience. Sivakami is the mudra she uses for her songs. Some of her compositions are: Jathiswaram sriranjani, saraswathi, ragamalika, Sabdam ---- ragamalika, Varnam ---- kalyani (on Meenakshi), karaharapriya (on Rama), poorvikalyani (on Ganesha), Keertanam ----kedaragowla, anandabairavi, valaji, Keertanam on Allah sivaranjani, Tillana ---- hindolam, abheri. Mangalam ---- madhyamavathi. Many composers became famous due to their songs though one or two which are performed in the Bharatanatyam concerts. They are: Madhura nagarilo challanamma bonu Chittoor Subramanyam Pillai. Mahadeva shiva shambho and Ranjanimala Thanjavur Sankara Iyer. Sringara lahari Lingaraj Urs. Karunai deivame karpagame Madurai Srinivasan. 15

20 Thandai muzhanga Semmanaar koil Shanmugam. Janani janani Cuddalore Subramanyan Thrithajam tha jamtharitha pushpanjali Rajaratinam Pillai Some composers had written many songs for films but some classical raga based songs are still used in Bharatanatyam. Parkadal alai mele and Chinnanchiru pen pole Udumalai narayana kavi. Dheena Karunakarane nataraja Papanasam Sivan Vairamuthu is a poet and song writer in films.his poems have been taken up for dance choreography. The growth of any art form depends on the rasikas. The audience of the present day always wants short songs with simple language. A blend of old traditional songs and new compositions are popular among the rasikas. Many dance teachers suggest the topics to the poets to compose a custom made dance item or dance drama exclusively for them. In some dance schools the margam items are not shared to the other dancers. It becomes their signature items. The present trend of rasikas enjoy dance with instrumental ensembles for which there is no need for any poetry. There is still abundance of indigenous poems which have to be researched and brought to light. 16

Classic Poetry Series. Tyagaraja - poems - Publication Date: Publisher: Poemhunter.com - The World's Poetry Archive

Classic Poetry Series. Tyagaraja - poems - Publication Date: Publisher: Poemhunter.com - The World's Poetry Archive Classic Poetry Series - poems - Publication Date: 2004 Publisher: Poemhunter.com - The World's Poetry Archive (1767-1847) is incomparable to other Indian mystics in that he falls into the genre of not