Nanda Gopala

Happy Janmashtami to everyone! May Lord Krishna shower us all with his blessings!

I write so very rarely here that my readers have surely abandoned me! But I could not let this day pass without at least a simple offering from my part. You see, our own Gopala has come calling upon us! My daughter-in-law and son have presented me with a grandson who arrived just a few days ago. It seemed right to celebrate this happy occasion with a post to honour Janmashtami. The good God has showered me with the best of blessings, the chance to dote upon another little grandchild.

A few weeks ago I had a very lucid dream, a dream in which I was half-aware of dreaming. In that dream, Goddess Durga came to me, tall and beautiful, clad in red. She handed a child in my arms and leant down to hug me. She was a Goddess, I should have been looking at her, I should have fallen at her feet. Instead, in my dream, I stare down in fascination at the little child in my arms, who stares back at me with wide, beautiful eyes. I don’t know if it was a figment of my imagination, or the Goddess came in truth. But it is clear that all the lectures I hear on vedanta, on remaining unattached, have failed!! My grandchildren have tied me up in their web of love…

This is my life.

Last week, I am telling my first grandson about the baby in his aunt’s belly who is soon to arrive. He looks at his soft, 3 year old belly and back up at me.

‘When will I have a baby in my tummy, Patti ?‘ he asks.

‘Boys don’t get babies in their tummy. One day, you will find a nice girl who will be your wife and then she will have your baby in her tummy‘. I explain. He looks nonplussed.

‘Where will I find her ?‘ he asks in puzzlement. I smile and say not to worry, he will find her when the time is right. But my little fellow has a plan.

‘Will you be my wife Patti ?‘ he asks trustingly.

I laugh. ‘No my Bajji, you have to find someone your own age‘.

‘But why Patti, I love you best!’ he protests.

I melt into a puddle for this wonderous little fellow I have the privilege to love.

Then there is the little one, almost one. I sit on the floor, watching him while he crawls around exploring our rather large home. Every now and then, he crawls back to me, smiling his gummy smile while drool dribbles onto his already soaking wet bib. Climbing onto my lap, he rests his head on my chest and sucks his thumb with a contended sigh. That contentment passes on to me as I too sit quietly, gently rocking his soft, warm body. I don’t know what you all call joy, but that moment, for me, defines joy.

Yesterday, I met my third grandchild for the first time. Covid rules here don’t allow hospital visits; he is already 2 days old when I hold him. His weight is like nothing in my hands, yet it is everything at the same time. I stare at his well defined features, his dark hair, his rosebud mouth. Emotion wells up in me, tears stream down my face as I take in this new love of my life. He sleeps through it all; I have yet to see the eyes I saw in my dream.

‘We are going to be the best of friends‘ I whisper to him. His lips curl up.

‘Look, look, he is smiling for me‘ I exclaim to my son.

‘He’s just scrunching his face‘ laughs my son. But I know better. We are going to be the best of friends.

So it is in joy that I offer this lovely song by Muthuswami Dikshithar (this attribution is questioned by some people) in the soft, melodious raga Yamuna Kalyani. As I translate it, it sounds more like a bhajan, just a string of words in praise of the blue-hued one. Presented below is the great Maharajapuram Santhanam whose rendition is both familiar and beloved.

For an instrumental version, here is the very talented flautist Jayanth with his lovely rendition.

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Footnote : Lyrics
(Source)

Language : Sanskrit
Raga : Yamuna Kalyani

पल्लवि
नन्द गोपाल मुकुन्द
गोकुल नन्दन यमुना तीर विहार

अनुपल्लवि
मन्दर गिरि धर मामव माधव
मुरळी धर मधु सूदन हरे

चरणम्
मन्द हास वदन मञ्जुळ चरण
अरविन्द लोचन आश्रित रक्षण
पीताम्बर धर पन्नग शयन
कलि कल्मष हरण करुणा पूरण
(मध्यम काल साहित्यम्)
वन्दित मुनि वृन्द गुरु गुहानन्द
वैकुण्ठ स्थितानन्द कन्द
गोवर्धनोद्धार गोप स्त्री जार गोविन्द

Transliteration in English :

pallavi
nanda gOpAla mukunda
gOkula nandana yamunA tIra vihAra

anupallavi
mandara giri dhara mAmava mAdhava
muraLI dhara madhu sUdana harE

charaNam
manda hAsa vadana manjuLa charaNa
aravinda lOchana ASHrita rakshaNa
pItAmbara dhara pannaga shayana
kali kalmasha haraNa karuNA pUraNa
vandita muni vRnda guru guhaAnanda
vaikuNTHa sthitAnanda kanda
gOvardhanOddhAra gOpa strI jAra gOvinda

Translation :

Pallavi
O cowherd (gOpala) of Nanda! O giver (da) of liberation (muku)! O One in whom Gokula rejoices (nandana)! O One who takes pleasure (vihAra) on the banks (tIra) of Yamuna!

Anupallavi
O One who holds (dhara) the Mandara hill! O Madhava! O One who holds (dhara) a flute (muraLI)! O One who destroyed (sUdana) Madhu! O Hari! Protect (ava from verb av) me (mAm)!

Charanam
O One with a gentle smile (manda-hAsa) on his face (vadana)! O One with beautiful (manjuLa) feet (charaNa)! O One with eyes (lochana) like a lotus (aravinda)! O One who protects (rakshaNa) those who seek refuge (Ashrita)! O One who wears (dhara) yellow (pIta) garments (ambara)! O One who reclines (shayana) on a serpent (pannaga)! O One who removes (haraNa) the sins/wickedness/impurities (kalmasha) of the Kali Yuga! O One who is full of (pUraNa) compassion (karuNA)! O One who is praised (vandita) by a numerous (vRnda) sages (muni)! O One who delights (Ananda) Guruguha (the composer’s mudra/signature)! O One who resides (sthita) in Vaikuntha! O the root-source (kanda) of bliss (Ananda)! O One who held up/raised (uddhAra) the Govardana hill! O Paramour (jAra) of the herdswomen (gOpa strI)! O Govinda!

Sudha Madhurya Bhashana

Happy Music Season to all Carnatic Music fans! I’m sure you are all immersed joyfully in listening to one concert after another, just as I am! I am rather envious of those who can attend live concerts. But as you know, I have been musically isolated for many years and am quite used to online concerts. It has it’s own advantages. There is no travel time, no limitation on how long you can listen, and you can pick and choose concerts depending on your mood. This year, like last, I bought myself tickets for Musically Margazhi and Yours Truly Margazhi, both from Kalakendra’s site. Since the 1st of December, I have listened to Palghat Ramprasad and Sandeep Narayan on Arkay Ramakrishnan-YouTube, and Saketharaman, Vignesh Ishwar, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Vijay Siva, Mysore Brothers, Sriranjani Santhanagopalan, Malladi Brothers, Gayathri Venkataraghavan and Ramakrishna Murthy on Musically Margazhi-Karthik Fine Arts at Kalakendra’s site.

While listening to all these concerts, it occurred to me that I have deep biases for or against ragas. Those who have studied physics in school will remember tuning forks ? It seems to me that when I listen to some ragas, like a string touched by a tuning fork, my soul tunes into the same vibrations as the raga. I have noticed that I merge deeply into old-and-familiar ragas like Madhyamavati, Kalyani, Todi etc. It is as if the familiarity removes some kind of barrier to being absorbed into the music. Like everyone, I love the crowd-pleaser Hindustani imports like Behag, Desh or Ahir Bhairav but I really can’t ‘sink’ into them. I also seem to have a hidden morose-streak in me which wallows joyously in the unalloyed misery of Shubhapantuvarali, Shivaranjani and the like. My head may nod to dynamic ragas like Natta and Hamsadhwani but it is the introspection of Varali, Abheri or Saveri which appeals at a deeper level. What I am getting to is that my enjoyment of a concert is very personal because it is very dependent on these raga-biases which I have within me. That is, I believe, a very good reason to desist from any kind of concert reviews. That said, I will write a separate post at the end of the music season about the concerts I listened to and the renditions I enjoyed the most.

I confess, I seldom give concentrated attention to any concert because I am always multi-tasking! I don’t watch concerts, I listen while doing chores. And this week in particular, I’ve been very busy. My first grandson celebrated his 3rd birthday for which we had a nice party at home. Thanks to Covid, this was the first gathering in ages. ‘Am I grown up now?‘ he asked me that day! Yesterday, when I was putting him to bed for his nap, I sang a song that I hadn’t sung for quite some time. He listened quietly and then said ‘You used to sing it a long, looooong time back when I was a little boy‘. Then added ‘Dinosaurs lived a long, looooong time back‘. Ah, my little fellow, he gives me such laughter and joy! And for all those who sent so many wishes and prayers after my last post – thank you. My little grandson is now 3 months old, and is off his oxygen for a whole month now! He is growing well and is a happy little chappie.

So I come finally to my song choice of the day. The Mysore brothers played Sudha Madhurya as the first item in their concert, a really good choice as it has a brisk pace and an uplifting melody. I couldn’t quite remember the name of the song or the raga but thankfully the video shows the details for those who, like me, obsess about a tune which they can’t quite place. Then it clicked. I do have the song in my collection sung by Dr. Balamuralikrishna but I haven’t heard it in a ‘long, looooong time’, not since the dinosaurs roamed the earth! It is composed by Tyagaraja in a rare raga called Sindhuramakriya, a janya of Mayamalavagowla. It is a very lovely song, a short one, just perfect for this busy season. I have chosen a video by S.Ramanathan for your listening pleasure.

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Footnote (Lyrics and Translation) :

Composer – Tyagaraja
Raga – Sindhuramakriya
Language : Telugu
Please note that I am not a Telugu speaker. The translations have been taken from internet sources, mainly here. If you are a student, it is best to refer to your guru. This blog is meant only for music appreciation.

Transliteration in Devanagari

पल्लवि
सुधा माधुर्य भाषण सुधाकरानन

अनुपल्लवि
कथामृतमुचे बहु कालमु
आकलि तीरियुन्नानु ब्रोवुमु

चरणम्
दुरात्मुलगु भूकिरातकुल चेर रादनुचु सुन्दराकार नी
परायणुल चॆलिमि रा कोरु त्यागराज नुत ओ परात्पर सुगुण

Transliteration in English

pallavi
sudhA mAdhurya bhAshaNa
sudhAkarAnana

anupallavi
karthAmrtamu chE bahu kAlamu
Akali tIriyunnanu brOvumu

charaNam
durAtmulagu bhU kirAtakula chEra rAdunuchu sundarAkAra nI
pArAyaNula chelimi rA kOru tyAgarAja nuta O parAtparA suguNa

Translation

O Lord (implied) who is as sweet (madhurya) spoken (bhAshaNa) as nectar (sudhA)! O Lord (implied) whose face (Anana) is as beautiful (implied) as the moon (sudhAkarAnana)!

Having imbibed (chE) of your nectarine story (kathA amRthamu) for a long time (bahu kAlamu), I am (unnAnu) satiated (Akali tIri). Protect me (brOvumu)!

O Lord (implied) with the beautiful (sundara) form (AkAra)! I (implied) desire (kOru) to reach/come (rA) the companionship (chelimi) of those dedicated (parAyuNula) to you (nI) so as (anucu) to not (rAdu) associate (chEra) with the wicked (durAtmulagu) barbarians (kirAtakula) on earth (bhU). O excellent (suguNa) supreme one (parAtpara) worshipped (nuta) by Tyagaraja!

Sri Varalakshmi Namastubhyam

I wish you all a very happy Deepavali / Deewali! May the Gods all enlighten us just as the fireworks light up the skies around the world!

Checking back on old posts, I see that I have celebrated the stories of the destruction of Narakasura by Krishna, and the return of Rama to Ayodhya. So this year, my homage is to Goddess Lakshmi who is worshipped during this festival in many parts of India. It is said that Deepavali is the day she was born from the oceans. I am sure all of you know the story, but allow me to tell it again.

It is the story of समुद्र मन्थन (Samudra Manthana) from the Bhagavata Purana (Canto 8, chapters 7-8-9) , Mahabharata (Astika Parva XVIII) and Vishnu Purana (Chapter IX). Due to a curse by sage Durvasa, the Devas led by Indra were defeated by the Asuras who then ruled the universe. The Devas approached Lord Vishnu for help. He advised them to churn the ocean of milk (क्षीर सागर) for Amrita which would make them strong enough to defeat the Asuras. The catch was that they needed the help of the Asuras to churn the ocean! Mount Mandara was used as the churning rod, and the great serpent Vasuki as the churning rope. Lord Vishnu, in his form as the tortoise of the Kurma Avatara supported the Mount Mandara on his back. This churning yielded many different things, some examples are

• Halahala / Kalakuta, the poison swallowed by Lord Shiva in order to protect the world
• Airavata, the elephant taken by Indra
• Kaustubha, the jewel worn by Lord Vishnu
• Parijata, the divine flower, taken by the Devas
• Apsaras, who went to the Deva loka, the land of the Devas
• Chandra, the moon, which adorns Shiva’s hair
• Kamadhenu, the wish fulfilling cow, taken by Brahma and given to the sages
• Dhanavantri, the God of medicine who came with-
• Amrita, swallowed by the Devas

My list is very much incomplete. Here is a link to an illustrated account of the story. The point to the story for us today is that churning of the ocean also drew forth Goddess Lakshmi, who immediately chose Lord Vishnu as her consort. Deepavali is a celebration of this event.

Like so many mythological tales, there is deep significance to this story. Here is one interpretation. The Ocean of Milk represents human consciousness and Mount Mandara stands for a steady contemplation of God. The sum total of our senses is Vasuki the serpent, held by both our good impulses (Devas) and bad impulses (Asuras). Both pull at our senses, churning the ocean of our consciousness for their own desired outcomes. Wisdom says that we must hold steady the ‘mountain of contemplation’ on Lord Vishnu and allow all the ‘poison’ which emerges in the process to be destroyed by Lord Shiva. All kind of siddhis or powers may be realised by such contemplation. Be patient, say the wise, and wait for the emergence of Amrita to make us stronger in the battle with the demons within ourselves and finally be blessed by the appearance of Goddess Lakshmi. It is She who will facilitate our way to salvation (mukti) and to merge ourselves with God just as she seated herself in his vaksha sthala. Our celebration of Deepavali is the celebration of such an event.

I have chosen the beautiful composition Sri Varalakshmi Namastubhyam as a prayer song to the boon-giving Goddess Lakshmi so that she allows herself to appear within all of us one day. Set in the very appropriate raga Sri (one of Her names), it is a composition of Muthuswami Dikshithar. Note the Gopuccha Yati (Cow’s Tail Arrangement of syllables) in the pallavi starting from sArasa padE).

After a very long time, I am featuring Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna in memory of my mother, who loved his voice above all. It is an interesting presentation which I hope you will enjoy!

And for an instrumental version, here is Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh on the Veena. She is so good, isn’t she! It soothes me as I add finishing touches to this post. It was a busy week for me, a tiring one too. I had half-written this last weekend but did not find time to look at it until just now. It’s been a long day and it was past 9:30 pm when I sat down to complete this article. Well, I’m posting it now at almost 11 pm here, but well within the Deepavali day for the rest of the world 🙂

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Footnote : Lyrics and Translation

Composer : Muthuswami Dikshithar
Raga : Sri
Language : Sanskrit

पल्लवि
श्री वर लक्ष्मि नमस्तुभ्यं वसु प्रदे
श्री सारस पदे रस पदे सपदे पदे पदे

अनुपल्लवि
भावज जनक प्राण वल्लभे सुवर्णाभे
भानु कोटि समान प्रभे भक्त सुलभे
(मध्यम काल साहित्यम्)
सेवक जन पालिन्यै श्रित पङ्कज मालिन्यै
केवल गुण शालिन्यै केशव हृत्खेलिन्यै

चरणम्
श्रावण पौर्णमी पूर्वस्थ शुक्रवारे –
चारुमती प्रभृतिभिः पूजिताकारे
देवादि गुरु गुह समर्पित मणिमय हारे
दीन जन संरक्षण निपुण कनक धारे
(मध्यम काल साहित्यम्)
भावना भेद चतुरे भारती सन्नुत वरे
कैवल्य वितरण परे काङ्क्षित फल प्रद करे

Transliteration

pallavi
shrI vara lakshmi namastubhyam vasu pradE
shrI sArasa padE rasa padE sapadE padE padE

anupallavi
bhAvaja janaka prANa vallabhE suvarNAbhE
bhAnu kOTi samAna prabhE bhakta sulabhE
(madhyama kAla sAhityam)
sEvaka jana pAlinyai shrita pankaja mAlinyai
kEvala guNa shAlinyai kEshava hRtkhElinyai

charaNam
shrAvaNa paurNamI pUrvastha shukravArE –
chArumatI prabhRtibhih pUjitAkArE
dEvAdi guru guha samarpita maNimaya hArE
dIna jana samrakshaNa nipuNa kanaka dhArE
(madhyama kAla sAhityam)
bhAvanA bhEda chaturE bhAratI sannuta varE
kaivalya vitaraNa parE kA.ngkshita phala prada karE

Translation

I (implied) bow down to you (namastubhyam), O eminent (shrI) Goddess Lakshmi, the giver (implied) of boons (vara)! O bestower (prade) of fortunes (vasu)! O Sri (name of Lakshmi) with feet (padE) as soft (implied) as a lotus (sArasa), you (implied) are the bestower (pradE) of affection (rasa), be my companion (sa-pade) at every step (pade pade).

You are the one (implied) who is beloved (prANa vallabhE) to the father (janaka) of Bhavaja (=Manmatha, God of Love)! O Goddess (implied) with the golden (suvarNa) lustre (AbhE) and brilliance (prabhE) equivalent to (samAna) millions (kOTi) of suns (bhAnu)! O Goddess (implied) easily attained (sulabhE) by devotees (bhakta)! You are the one (implied) who protects (palinyai) your worshippers (sEvaka jana) who lean on you (shrita), who is garlanded (malinyai) with lotus flowers (pankaja), who is possessed of (shAlinyai) of only (kEvala) virtues (guNa), who sways (khelinyai) the heart (hRt) of Keshava.

You are the one (implied) with the form (AkArE) worshipped (pUjita) on the friday (shukravArE) prior (pUrvastha) to the full moon (paurNamI) in the month of ShrAvaNa, continuing from Charumathi (see legend of Varalakshmi Vratam). You are the one wearing (implied) a bejewelled (maNimaya) garland (hArE) given by (samarpita) Guruguha (=Kartikeya, also signature of composer), demi-Gods (dEva) and others (Adi). You are (implied) a shower (dhArA) of gold (kanaka) expert (nipuNa) in protecting (samrakshaNa) the wretched (dIna jana). You are (implied) clever (chaturE) at alterations (bhEda) of thoughts & attitudes (bhAvanA). You are the eminent one (varE) praised by (sannuta) Saraswati (bhAratI). You are the supreme one (parE) who bestows (vitaraNa) mukti/liberation/salvation (kaivalya). You bestow (prada karE) the longed for (kA.ngkshita) rewards (phala).

Shivakama Sundari

Happy Navaratri to all my readers! Though as I’ve been away so long from blogging, I am not certain if there are any readers left to see my greetings..

The thing is, I’ve not been listening to music and really, its quite impossible to be a music blogger if that’s the case! When I blogged regularly, I was listening to music all day long….when I walked, when I did my household chores, when I drove or pursued my artistic interests. But for quite a while I’ve been very distracted. First, by the stressful process of moving internationally, and then because my attention turned to spiritual matters. Music was replaced by lectures on topics related to the vedas, upanishads, itihasasas and mysticism. We live in lucky times with so many lectures available on YouTube and podcasts as well! I’m learning so much, and my mind is so very occupied that there hasn’t been much space left for music. For those who are wondering, I’ve listened to simply hours and hours of lectures by Swami Sarvapriyananda who is amazingly erudite and a wonderful speaker. But given that I cling to my devotion and advaita is not really my marga, I also listen to upanyasams by Velukkudi Krishnan swamigal, Dushyant Sridhar etc. Of course, music itself is divine and Carnatic Music is devotional in essence so I have not wandered too far from where I was!

I’ve also been busy with family. My grandson is a little bundle of energy, mischief, playfulness and above all, love. I cook for him, tell stories and sing songs, play lego, hide&seek, chase, digging in the backyard and myriad other games which keeps us both occupied all day. He has taken over my life and I feel so blessed to have him even as I lie exhausted after a day of baby sitting! Good karma there..

My daughter made me a grandmother again recently but both mother and child did not have it easy and we have been through some very worrying times. And I’ve had some niggling health issues as well. Life throws these challenges when you least expect them, doesn’t it! We all have to deal with our karma. Who knows what I did in my previous lives? Who can keep track of all the harm I have done in this life? How are we to escape from this never ending loop that we are stuck in?

That brings me to the song choice of today. I was listening to a kutcheri on YouTube yesterday when the musician sang Shivakama Sundari in Mukhari, composed by Papanasam Sivan. Though I have listened to and liked this song for longer than I remember, it was only yesterday that the words of the anupallavi struck a chord. ‘Bless me‘ says the poet-composer ‘to meditate on you so that my old karma does not cling to me‘. How interesting, I thought to myself, that I am searching in all those lectures for something that the music I have listened to all my life has always been saying!

I have to, of course, start with D.K.Pattammal’s rendition as she was famous for singing Papanasam Sivan’s many compositions. I admit that I have not done the due diligence of picking the best possible rendition; the one I found first is what I present below.

I also quite enjoyed Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s rendition which he sings with a lot of emotion. I hope you enjoy it too.

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Footnote : Lyrics and Translation

Composer : Papanasam Sivan
Raga : Mukhari
Language : Tamil

பல்லவி
சிவகாம சுந்தரி ஜகதம்பா வந்தருள் தந்தருள்

அனுபல்லவி
பவ ரோகம் அற வேறு மருந்தேது
பழ வினைகள் தொடராமல் உனை பஜிக்க

சரணம்
கேளாயோ என் முறைகள் ( திரு செவியில் – for repetition) உயர் சாம
கீத வினோதினி போதும் உன் சோதனை 
(இனி) தாளேனே அகதி நானே
ராமதாசன் பணியும் அபிராமி வாமி

Transliteration in English

pallavi
shivakAma sundari jagadamba vandaruL tandaruL

anupallavi
bhava rOgam aRa vERu marundEdu
pazha vinaigaL toDarAmal unai bhajikka

charaNam
kELAyO en muraigaL (tiru seviyil – for repetion) uyar sAma
gIta vinOdini pOdum un sOdanai
(ini) tALEnE agadi nAnE
rAmadAsan paNiyum abhirAmi vAmi

Translation in English

pallavi
Oh beautiful (sundarI) mother (ambA) of the world (jagat) who is desired (kAma) by Shiva, grace (aRul) me (implied) by coming (vandu) and giving (tandu) me (implied) your blessings (aruL).

anupallavi
What else (vEru Edu) is the medicine/cure (marundu) to destroy (aRa) the disease (rOgam) of existence (bhava)? Bless me (implied by pallavi) to meditate on you (unai bhajikka) so that old (pazha) karma (vinai) does not cling/follow (todarAmal).

charaNam
Do listen (kELAyO) (with your to divine ears (tiru seviyil)) my (en) complaints (muRaiyai – muRai is a rule, muRaiyIDu is a complaint against a rule, here the rule of karma), Oh Goddess (implied) who delights (vinOdini) in the great (uyar) music (gIta) of Sama Veda! Enough (pOdum) of your (un) trials (sOdanai), I cannot bear it (tALEnE); I am indeed (nAnE) helpless / with no other recourse (agadi), Oh Abhirami (Paravati-who is beautiful), Oh Vami (Parvati-who is the left half of Shiva) who is served by/bowed to by rAmadAsan (the signature of the composer) (paNiyum).

The Season Online 2020

This year the Music Season in Chennai is online in a big way. Nothing can replace live concerts of course, but in a year of COVID, this is the responsible way to go for sure. For people like myself who do not get to attend the season often, this is an opportunity to hear more concerts than ever before. When I asked my sister yesterday, I was surprised that she really had not heard about most of these concerts. So I decided to write this small post to keep you all fellow rasikas aware of happenings.

1. Music Academy : Details of the program for the 94th Annual Concerts (Digital) and ticketing are now available at the link that follows. There are both free and paid concerts. Links for the paid concerts will be available for 48 hrs after they are streamed. Tickets can be purchased for individual concerts or for the season. Some relevant info is available here. Program and ticketing is at this link : https://musicacademymadras2020.eventvirtually.com/?fbclid=IwAR2UNobVdKrzH5lLupq49QXAveFAG1iQMj1X4ZskE4o-V5KbNAMyc-c-RIY
2. The Federation of City Sabhas : This society includes well-known sabhas in Chennai like Brahma Gana Sabha, Karthik Fine Arts, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha etc. Together they are organising ‘Yours Truly, Margazhi’ , which includes 100+ performances. Tickets are available at Kalakendra (link below) and there is an early bird offer until 5th of December. Link below :
   https://kalakendra.com/yours-truly-margazhi/
3. Madrasana : They are presenting 6 concerts in the Madrasana Virtual Festival 2020. These are ticketed events; there is a season pass as well as individual tickets. Please read their FAQ as the concerts are available for different time zones and links will be timed as well.
   https://www.tikkl.com/madrasana/c/mvf2020-india
4. Sastra Satsangh : They are presenting a full series of free concerts and discourses for a month starting 15th of Dec in their ‘Margazhi Mela’. The full program is available in their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SASTRASATSANGH. The concerts will be presented live in their youtube channel and will be available for viewing later if the time does not suit:
   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2wLAep-tyQYQWL7NZ75iMg/featured
5. Mudhra : They are presenting 62 concerts in their 26th Virtual Fine Arts Festival in the month of December. Each day there will be one concert from their archives, and one recorded specifically for this occasion. The concerts will be streamed with a repeat telecast the next day at a different time. It is free of cost, but donations are welcome. Details in their youtube channel here
   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4t9lxibpCqK3koTkjf_OjQ/videos
6. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan : They seem to be the only ones offering live concerts this year. As always they are free. Their website does not make it clear but it looks like they will also be telecast. Check out the details at
   http://bhavanschennai.org/programmes.html
7. Charsur Arts Foundation : They have a line-up of 30 performances in 16 days, available live and until end Jan 2021 for delayed viewing. Details below :
   https://charsur.in.live/global/
8. Kalasagaram Secunderabad : Their 53rd Annual Cultural Festival of Music is already underway. All the concerts are available on Youtube here : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6wy4oWwCxlYr8gTkOKCMag
9. Carnatica and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha : Bharat Sangeet Utsav 2020 is already underway as well. Information and videos are available on their Facebook page ‘International Music Premier League-IMPL‘. All the concerts are available on YouTube here :
   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz5I2_dvuE7Cxdo2Ub5yE8Q

My thanks to Ramesh for forwarding a few of the above links. There may be other festivals I am not aware of; readers are welcome to provide links in their comments. As you can see, there is already plenty to keep us busy this season! Happy listening!

Kanna Kattarul

Once there was a community called ‘The-Learned‘. They called the others ‘Not-The-Learned‘. I wonder, did the ‘Not-the-Learned‘ call themselves ‘The-Learned‘ amongst themselves? Who knows? Demonising the enemies is a well-known psychological tactic, isn’t it! Our protagonist belonged to the ‘Not-the-Learned‘ community though some say that he was born to ‘The-Learned‘ and went over to the other side. Some even say that he was son of the best amongst the ‘The-Learned‘ himself.

His mother prayed and sought the boon that he should live a long life and be all powerful. How can we know the power of a mother’s prayer? He went on to establish a powerful kingdom far to the east, in high lands after defeating a previous dynasty of ethnic origins, another community that ‘The-Learned‘ demonized. The three dynasties which followed him in that region trace their origins to him. They say he ruled for a long time, eons over different eras. Perhaps it was him, perhaps there were descendants of the same ilk. Let us not question that, stories lose their charm if examined too closely.

Our protagonist became more and more powerful, defeating enemies and enlarging his kingdom amongst the ‘Not-the-learned‘. Then his eyes turned towards the lands of ‘The-Learned‘. He defeated the ruler and took over those lands too. Powerful indeed! It is said that all the power went to his head, that he insulted a venerable lady of ‘The-Learned‘, that he kidnapped 16,000 women. Maybe true. Maybe an exaggeration. Stories are written by the victors, and in our story our protagonist is the not eventual victor. You remember that he was said to be fathered by one of ‘The-Learned‘? Tired of his atrocities, all ‘The-Learned‘ begged his father for assistance.

But there were his mother’s prayers to protect him, and more time passed. Finally, his father was re-born and grew up to marry his mother-re-born. Or perhaps it was his father’s descendants; it matters not to us. It is then that the venerable lady whom he had insulted went to his mother-re-born. Eons have passed, so I imagine that it is another such offended lady. Remember that ‘The-Learned‘ were now the subjugated community? A society which offers violence to women does not stop at one; violence against women, especially subjugated women, often becomes endemic in communities. It happens today. Anyway, it is said that his mother-re-born was offended by his treatment of women, and she herself went to his father-re-born for permission to wage war against her son. The war was furious, with many powerful weapons used by both parties. Finally our protagonist was defeated when he was beheaded by the discus weapon of his father-re-born.

It is this defeat of a powerful foe of ‘The-Learned‘ by the foremost amongst them that we celebrate on Kartika Amavasya, just before syzygy (showing off a new word I just learnt!) in the Oct-Nov lunar cycle. Or at least, one of the myriad reasons quoted by those in the know. I am, of course, talking about Deepavali/Diwali being the celebration of the destruction of Narakasura by Krishna.

As I browsed for ideas for a post today, I came upon this kriti in the auspicious raga Madhyamavati composed by Papanasam Sivan. Surprisingly, I don’t remember having heard it before though I see that there are a few renditions available online. I must also confess that I haven’t quite taken a liking to the song…I wonder why? Maybe you’ll like it better. But it’s still perfect for Deepavali as the lyrics honour the day. Here is a rendition by the evergreen Sudha Raghunathan. I’ve listened to her for close to 40 years and she still sounds good to me!

kriti from 3:00

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Footnote ( Lyrics and Translation) :

Composer : Papanasam Sivan
Raga : Madhyamavati
Language: Tamil

பல்லவி
கண்ணா காத்தருள் மேக வண்ணா
கடைக்கண் பார்த்தருள் -கமலக்

அனுபல்லவி
விண்ணாடரும் முனிவரும் வணங்கி வேண்ட
நரகாசுர வதம் செய்ய விரைந்து வந்த

சரணம்
பாமை வடிவான பூமிப்பிராட்டி
தேரோட்ட அசுரர் குலம் அழித்தவா
சக்ரபாணி உலகெலாம் மங்கள
தீபாவளி ஒளி வீச அருள் புரிந்த

Transliteration

pallavi
kaNNa kAttaruL mEgha vaNNA
kaDaikkaN pArttaruL -kamalak

anupallavi
viNNADarum munivarum vaNangi vENDa
narakAsura vadam seyya viraindu vanda

charaNam
bhAmai vaDivAna bhUmipiraTTi
tErOTTa asurar kulam azhittavA
chakrapANi ulagelAm mangaLa
dIpAvaLi oLi vIsa aruL purinda

Translation

O Lotus-Eyed Krishna (kamalak-kaNNA, also Kanna means Krishna) coloured (vaNNA) like the clouds (mEgha)! Bless (aruL) us (implied) with a glance (kaDaikkaN pArttu – literally looking from the corner of the eyes)!

When the celestial beings (viNNADar) and (-um) sages (munivar) worshipfully (vaNangi) requested (vENDa), you are the one (implied) who came (vanda) speedily (viraindu) to kill (vadam seyya) Narakasura.

With Bhudevi (bhUmi pirATTi) in her form (vaDivAna) as Satyabhama (bhamai) driving (OTTa) the chariot (tEr), you Krishna, the Discus-Holder (chakrapANi), are the one who destroyed (azhittavA) the demon (asura) clans (kulam). You are the one who graced (arUl purinda) us (implied) so that (implied) the auspicious (mangaLa) rows (Avali) of lamps (dIpa) shine brightly (oLi vIsa) worldwide (ulagelAm).

Devi Pavane

Tuesday, 13 Oct
‘Navaratri starts next Saturday, better start working on a post now‘ I tell myself. I’ve already left it a bit too late. I consider my choices and decide on picking a Navaratri kriti by Swati Thirunal. ‘If I alternate between him and Oothukadu, I’m covered for Navaratri for the next 18 years‘ I tell myself and giggle! I peruse the lyrics from Carnatica.net; I remind myself again to buy Govinda Rao’s book once the post from India is normalised. Which song shall I feature? Ah! There is the Saveri kriti I have always liked. That’s it.

Wenesday, 14 Oct
Babysitting day, no time for anything but my darling little tornado!

Thursday, 15 Oct
I am busy in the morning and I don’t sit at my computer until late afternoon. I have the lyrics in a PDF, but the Sanskrit font is old and I can’t copy it. I try a few things but give up soon. I spend the next hour patiently typing out the lyrics in Sanskrit. I can see some obvious spelling errors. I compare the lyrics with the transliterated ones elsewhere. Sigh, I just wish I had the book! I also make a playlist of about 15 renditions of the song to listen to and copy it to my phone.

Friday, 16 Oct
Cleaning and laundry day today. I put on my headphones and set to it. I have chosen artists from four generations, from the venerable elders to the quite young. MDR is the first on my list. I start the music and drown in it’s beauty. There is a சாவதானம் / सावधानम् – an attentiveness, a deliberateness and a leisureliness about his music which is quite hypnotic. When he starts his tanam, I feel such a rush of affection for him! Next on my list is KVN. I fall in love! I listen to it two times, then continue to listen to other renditions by MDR and KVN for the next 4 hours, dropping my playlist altogether. Today I can listen to no other. In the afternoon I split all the sandhis (joint words) in my document but have too much personal work to do to concentrate on the translation. I am so behind!

Saturday, 16 Oct
Happy Navaratri to myself! It’s babysitting day. I rush in the morning to cook lunch for my princeling. He comes soon, and I have to play, feed, change, play again, read, convince him into taking a nap, make biscottis with him, allow him to water the garden-and me, make tawa-naans for him (I have now perfected the recipe!), play some more, give him dinner, help his grandfather bathe him and put him to bed. Everything is easier said than done as his current favourite word is NO! I am too wiped out to do any blogging after he sleeps.

Sunday, 17 Oct
My princeling is up at 5:15. ‘Patti up‘ he says ‘Odi Odi‘ – he wants me to race with him up and down the house. His grandfather gives him breakfast and I get ready to play some more with him. By 10:00 he is ready for his 2nd breakfast/early lunch. I quickly make some dosai and feed him. We pack him up and drop him home. His parents look refreshed. We look quite the opposite. We are home by noon, I could have got to my translation but I’m wiped out. Instead I binge watch ‘Portrait Artist of the year 2020′ from Sky Arts, feeling deep envy for the artists’ skills.

Monday, 18 Oct
Good going today! I must have spent at least 4 hrs on my computer and I have almost finished the translation. ‘Musicians sing only the first charanam, maybe I should have left it at that‘ I think. But no, that’s a half-done job which I just can’t bear. Nobody is going to care except me, I know, but I care and that’s enough to work at it. There are some translations on the net but it is not word for word, so I can’t really verify they are correct unless I do it myself. I find it satisfying actually, and educational as well. I am struggling with a couple of phrases but I leave them for tomorrow.

Tuesday, 19 Oct, 2 am
I wake up in the middle of the night with a perfect translation of a phrase I struggled with yesterday! Thank you, Ms. Subconscious! I try to write my post in my head, but it doesn’t quite work. I abandon it and go back to sleep.

Tuesday 19 Oct, day time
I feel guilty about the renditions I did not hear yet, so I put my headphones on and go through my list. Then I go back to MDR and KVN. Nothing compares. I think with horror of the older gentleman whom I had met in my teen years who had gone on and on about how no one can touch the singing of K.L.Sehgal in Hindi film music. I had been so indignant! ‘What about Rafi’s Chaudvin Ka Chand or Manna Dey’s Pucho Na Kaise?’ I had thought to myself. 45 years or so later, I still remember that conversation and the boredom of older people starting a sentence with ‘in my days‘! Have I now become that? Do I like only musicians of the past ? Please no! But this is my blog and I can feature whomever I like, and it’s the venerable elders for today.

I finish writing this up and then do the transliteration. Tomorrow is Wednesday and my princeling will be back. I have to finish the post now. I have spent all afternoon and it’s time to go make dinner. I have no time for an editorial perusal; my readers just have to take it as it is.

This wonderful composition is in praise of Goddess Saraswati. It is the 3rd of Navaratri Kritis written by Swati Thirunal and sung in the Navaratri Mandapam of the Padmanabhapuram Palace every year. A prayer song, the poet describes and praises the Goddess in many ways, asking for Her blessings. You can read an interesting article about the Goddess and the music festival here. May the Goddesses bless us all this Navaratri! May she give wisdom to the leaders to lead us out of this world crisis, may she give knowledge to those who treat the ill and those who develop medicines and vaccines, and please may she give prosperity to those whose livelihood has been affected.

And finally to the music! Here is M.D.Ramanathan’s excellent rendition

And now the one by K.V.Narayanaswamy which I like so very much

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Footnote (Lyrics and Translation) :

Composer : Swathi Thirunal
Raga : Saveri
Language: Sanskrit
Note – I am not a scholar; I translate merely for the purpose of music appreciation. I have taken the liberty of making small corrections to the lyrics provided by Carnatica.net if the correction seems appropriate. I have especially corrected the long ‘I’ vowels which have been replaced by the short vowels, perhaps to fit the music. My apologies for all mistakes.

पल्लवि
देवी पावने सेवे चरणे ते बुधावने

अनुपल्लवि
भावुक दायी कटाक्ष विलासिनि
भारती देहि सदा कुशलम् भुवनेश्वरी

चरणम्
सोम बिम्ब मदहर सुमुखी भक्तजनाखिल
कामित दाननिरते कान्त कुन्द दन्ति
भीम अनन्त अज्ञान तिमिर भेदन मिहिरायिते
मामक हृदि विहार मान्य गुणा वासे
सामज पुङ्गव चारु गते
सुर साध्य नुते विमले वरदे भुवनेश्वरी

वारिद निभ चिकुरे वासवोपल नयने
मार शरासन रुचि चोर चिल्लिकान्ते
सारस कृत निलये जाम्बूनदमय भूषे
नारदादि मुनि नुत नाम समुदाये
भूरि मनोज्ञक राञ्चित वीणा
पुस्तक भासिनि चारु हासे भुवनेश्वरी

पातित दितिसुते श्री पद्मनाभ विलासिनि
वीत पाप जन गेय विभवे विद्या रूपे
चातको जलदमिव सादरमाश्रयामि त्वाम्
प्रीतिम् मयि कुरु लोक मातरयि नित्यम्
धूत मलम् कुरु माम् सदये
परिपोषित सूरिगुणे शुभदे भुवनेश्वरी

Transliteration

dEvI pAvanE sEvE charaNE tE budhAvanE

bhAvuka dAyI katAksha vilAsini
bhAratI dEhi sada kushalam bhuvanEshvarI

sOma bimba madahara sumukhI bhaktajanAkhila
kAmita dAnanirate kAnta kunda danti
bhIma ananta agyAna timira bhEdana mihirAyitE
mAmaka hRdI vihAra mAnya guNA vAsE
sAmaja pungava charu gatE
sAdhya nutE vimalE varadE bhuvanEshvarI

vArida nibha chikurE vAsvOpala nayanE
mAra sharAsana ruchi chOra chillikAntE
sArasa kRta nilayE jAmbUnadamaya bhUshE
nAradAdi muni nuta nAma samudAyE
bhUri manOgyaka rAnchita vINA
pustaka bhAsini chAru hAsE bhuvanEshvarI

pAtita ditisutE shrI padmanAbha vilAsini
vIta pApa jana gEya vibhavE vidyA rUpE
chAtakO jaladamiva sAdaramAshrayAmi tvAm
prItim mayi kuru lOka mAtarayi nityam
dhUta malam kuru mAm sadayE
paripOshita sUriguNE shubhadE bhuvanEshvarI

Translation

O Holy (pAvanE) Goddess (dEvi)! The learned (budha) bend down (avanE) in worship (sEvE) at your (tE) feet (charaNE)!

O Splendorous One (vilAsini) who (implied) is the bestower (dAyI) of happiness (bhavuka) with just a glance (katAksha)! O Saraswati! (bhAratI)! Please always (sadA) give (dEhi) us (implied) well-being/prosperity (kushalam) , O Goddess (IshavarI) of the whole world (bhuvana).

O Beautiful one (sumukhI) who is (implied) the destroyer (hara) of the arrogance (mada) of the spherical (bimba) moon (sOma) (i.e She who is more beautiful than the moon), you delight in/are committed to (niratE) bestowing (dAna) whatever is wished for (kAmita) by your devotees (bhakta jana) worldwide (akhila). You are one who has teeth (dantI) like jasmine (kunda)! O (ayi) you (tE) who destroys (bhEdana) terrible (bhIma), unlimited (ananta) ignorance (agyAna) like the sun (mihira) destroys (implied) the darkness (timira), you (repeating the meaning of tE) live (vAsE) as the honourable (mAnya) qualities (guNA) in the temple (vihAra) of my (mAmaka) heart (hRdI). You have the beautiful (chAru) gait (gatE) of the best (pungava) elephants (sAmaja). You are praised (nutE) by the learned (sura) and the accomplished (sAdhya). You are the unblemished (vimalE) conferrer of boons (varadE), O Bhuvaneshwari (name of Saraswati, also means Goddess of the whole world)!

O Beautiful One (kAntE) with (implied) hair (chikura) like (nibha) rain clouds (vArida), eyes (nayanE) like sapphires (vAsava=Indra, upala=precious stone; indranIla is sapphire), and (implied) eyebrows (chilli, short for chillikAlatA) which steal (chOra) the beauty (ruchi) of Kamadeva’s (mAra, name of manmatha) bow (sharAsana) ! O Lustrous one (bhAsini) with a beautiful (chAru) smile (hAsE) who has made (kRta) an abode (nilayE) on a lotus (sArasa), who wears (implied) golden (jAmbUnadamaya – of gold from the river jambu) ornaments (bhUshE), who is praised (nutE) by a multitude (samudAyE) of important (bhUri) sages (muni) like Narada etc (nArada Adi), on whose beautiful (manOgya) curved (anchita) hands (kara) is a Veena-musical instrument (vINA) and a book (pustaka), O Bhuvaneshwari (name of Saraswati, also means Goddess of the whole world)!

O wife (vilAsini) of Shri Padmanabha (note: by some traditions, Saraswati was wife of Vishnu before being married to Brahma), who struck down (pAtita) demons (ditisutE)! People (jana) who lose (vIta) their sins (pApa) sing (gEya) of your greatness (vibhavE)! O Embodiment (rUpE) of knowledge (vidyA)! Like (ika) Chataka birds (chAtaka) take refuge (implied) in clouds (jalada), I respectfully (sAdaram) take refuge (AshrayAmi) in you (tvam). O (ayi) Mother of all people (lOka mAtara), be loving (prItim kuru) to me (mayi) always (nityam) and remove/destroy (dhUta) the sins/impurities (malam) in me (mAm). O Compassionate one (sadayE), with the nurtured (pariposhita) learned (sUri) qualities (guNE)! O Bestower of (dE) prosperity/well being/auspiciousness (shubha)! O Bhuvaneshwari (name of Saraswati, also means Goddess of the whole world)!

Natha Hare

Why does some poetry last eight centuries in the memory of men while others last not even a generation? I don’t really have an answer. I am referring to Jayadeva’s epic work Gita Govinda. If a work’s success is to be measured by its longevity, this work from the 12th century surely meets its mark. It is sung and danced to in different parts of India, from its native Odisha to Kerala, a couple of thousand kilometres away. I have already featured one song from Gita Govinda in this blog; today I am exploring Natha Hare which is well known to Carnatic Music fans.

The song describes Radha in a state of viraha or abandonment by her beloved. She is a forlorn heroine and Jayadeva paints a pitiable picture of her. My last post on a Qawwali describing an intoxicated lover is not that different from this post featuring a lovelorn Radha. Both represent the longing of the soul (Jeevatma) for the Divine (Paramatma), both use the human emotion of romantic love as an analogy. The former shocks us with drunken revelry, the latter with erotic imagery. Poets always use a combination of imagination and life experiences to draw us into an emotional understanding of what they want to convey, and Jayadeva has done that with exquisite artistry.

That exquisite artistry is matched by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (1926-2004) in giving abhinaya (expression of the sentiment) to this beautiful song. I particularly chose an ashtapadi this week because I wanted to feature this revered Guru of the Odissi dance tradition. He was acknowledged with the Padma Vibhushan in 2000 for exceptional and distinguished contribution to the arts. A dancer from Odisha to give abhinaya for poetry from the same State seems apt! I particularly enjoyed his portrayal of Radha dressing herself and secretly leaving her house to meet Krishna.

There is a longer version here for those who are interested.

Natha Hare has been sung by Carnatic musicians in different ragas. However none of the many renditions I listened to were of the full song. If you would like to listen to some renditions, here are a couple of links :

• A rendition by Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna in Darbari Kanada. His renditions are very well known of course. I am a bit surprised that he has sung it as ‘nAda harE’ instead of ‘nAtha harE’.

• A rendition by Unnikrishnan in Madhuvanti. Both the softness of the raga and the silkiness of his voice match the mood of this poetry to perfection.

As with other long pieces, I have given a word for word translation and an interpretation based on my understanding, limited though it is.

पश्यति दिशि दिशि रहसि भवन्तम्।
तदधर मधुर मधूनि पिबन्तम्॥
नाथ हरे जगन्नाथ हरे।
सीदति राधा वासगृहे धृवम्॥

pashyati dishi dishi rahasi bhavantam
tadadhara madhura madhUni pibantam
nAtha harE jagannAtha harE
sIdati rAdhA vAsagRhE dhRvam

Radha is surely (dhRvam) pining (sIdati) in the bed-chamber (vAsagRhE), sucking at (pibantam=drinking) that (tat) sweet (madhura), honeyed (madhUni) lower lip (adhara), secretly (rahasi) looking (pashyati) in all directions (dishi dishi) for you (bhavantam), O Lord (nAtha) Hari (harE), O Lord of the Universe (jagat+nAtha)

Radha awaits Krishna for a union much as a devotee awaits a union with the Divine. She looks in all directions, not knowing where He is. This quest for God is described by many poets in many different ways. A song from an old Hindi film comes to mind – तू ढूंढता है जिसको बस्ती में या के बन में, वह साँवरा सलोना रहता है तेरे मन में – He, whom you search for in populated places or in forests, that beautiful dark skinned one lives in your heart. Radha, who has Krishna in her heart, still looks blindly for Him everywhere.

त्वदभिसरण रभसेन वलन्ती।
पतति पदानि कियन्ति चलन्ती॥
विहित विशद बिस किसलय वलया ।
जीवति परमिह तव रति कलया॥

dvadabhisaraNa rabhasEna valantI
patati padAni kiyanti chalantI
vihita vishada bisa kisalaya valayA
jIvati paramiha tava rati kalayA

She (implied) eagerly (rabhasEna) hastens (valantI) to your (tvad) rendezvous (abhisaraNa), walks (chalantI) a few (kiyanti) steps (padAni) and (implied) falls (patatI). Girdled (valayA) with the soft (vishada) sprout (kisalaya) of a lotus plant (bisa) (implication-in order to cool the heat of her desire), now (iha) henceforth (param) she (implied) lives (jIvati) by imagining (kalayA) the pleasure of your love-making (tava rati).

She is eager for the union but stumbles and falls as she hastens to meet Him. Shall we take it to imply that the path to our union with the Divine is not a straightforward one? We will have doubts, we will stumble and fall and sometimes all that will console us is imagining that one day we will be be one with God.

मुहुरवलोकित मण्डन लीला ।
मधुरिपुरहमिति भावन शीला॥
त्वरितमुपैति न कथमभिसारम् ।
हरिरिति वदति सखीमनुवारम्॥

mahuravalOkita maNDana lIlA
madhuripuhamiti bhAvana shIlA
tvaritamupaiti na kathamabhisAram
haririti vadati sakhImanuvAram

Adorning herself (lIlA-disguising or dressing as one’s paramour) with ornaments (maNDana) like that of Krishna (implied), she (implied) looks (avalokita) again and again (muhuh) at herself (implied) and is accustomed to imagining (bhAvanashIlA) ‘I am (aham) Krishna (madhu ripu=enemy of Ripu)’ . How is it (katham) that Hari doesn’t (na) swiftly (tvaritam) come towards (upaiti) the rendezvous (abhisAram), she (implied) says (vadati) to her friend (sakhi) time after time (anuvaram).

To take on the colours or the form of the beloved is a metaphor for drowning oneself in His love. Our beloved Meera said मैं तो सांवरे के रंग राची – I am dyed in the colour of the dark one. The wonderful Bulleh Shah said रांझा रांझा करदी नी मैं आपे रांझा होई । सद्दो नी मैनूं धीद्दो रांझा, हीर ना आखो कोई । – By repeatedly calling for Ranjha, I myself became Ranjha. Call me Ranjha from now, don’t call me Heer. Jayadeva, who predates both Meera and Bulleh Shah, has used a similar metaphor in these verses. ‘I am Him‘ is Vedantic thought isn’t it, no wonder we come across it in many forms! .

श्लिष्यति चुम्बति जलधरकल्पम् ।
हरिरुपगत इति तिमिरमनल्पम्॥
भवति विलम्बिनि विगलितलज्जा ।
विलपति रोदिति वासकसज्जा॥

shlishyati chumbati jaladharakalpam
harirupagata iti timiramanalpam
bhavati vilambini vigalitalajja
vilapati rOditi vAskasajja

Thinking (implied) that (iti) Krishna (harih) has arrived (upagata) she (implied) embraces (shlishyati) and kisses (chumbati) the vast (unalpam-not small) cloud-like (jaladhara=cloud, kalpam=similar to) darkness (timiram). Realising that he (implied) has become (bhavati) delayed (vilambini), Radha (implied), a woman ready to receive her beloved (vAsakasajja – vAsaka=home, sajja=decorated/prepared), wails (vilapati) and weeps (rOditi) without shame (vigalita lajja).

Radha takes the very darkness that surrounds her to be Krishna, the dark one. Darkness is often used to symbolise ignorance. Radha, who in her ignorance thinks she is separate from Krishna, weeps in despair.

श्रीजयदेव कवेरिदमुदितम् ।
रसिकजनम् तनुतामतिमुदितम्॥

shrI jayadEva kavEridamuditam
rasikajanam tanutAmatimuditam

May this (idam), which has been said (uditam) by the poet (kavi) Shri Jayadeva accomplish (tanutam from verb tanutE) great (ati) delight (muditam) in an appreciative (rasika) audience (jana=public).

Jayadeva signs off, hoping that his verses pleases his audience. To me, this is not a very meaningful or important verse, but this is the verse included by most musicians!

Image citation : Radha Pining for Krishna from a Gita Govinda manuscript, Freer Gallery of Art
https://asia.si.edu/object/F2005.7/

A Voice for the Stars

‘Oh no, he has passed away!’ I read the news item with sorrow. I know that he has been in critical care for a while. But it still hits hard. I go about my day but it is there at the back of my thoughts….this passing of a voice which has been so familiar and so dear for so long.

Browsing the internet, I see that ‘Ayiram Nilave Va‘ was one of his earliest songs. Oh! I remember the radio blaring out this song from when I was just a young girl! One doesn’t forget the songs of one’s childhood and youth, does one? I listen to his songs in the background as I read the eulogies which flood the internet. His voice is like velvet, enveloping me in a zone of comfort. What can I say that so many others have not already said? Only that I love his voice, and that I am grateful for the many gems that he has given us over the years. He may be a public figure but I grieve his loss as if it were a personal one. My respects to the great S.P.Balasubrahmanyam.

It is very difficult to choose just one song from his repertoire of more than 40,000 recorded songs. But I have chosen one, a song which appealed from the first time I heard it and still does. More importantly, it features a glimpse of SPB in a role that he has played all his life with such excellence.

Here’s a link to a totally light hearted song in which his singing prowess shines brightly as always. I hope it makes you remember him with a smile just as I do 🙂 Thank you SPB.

Mere Rashk-E-Qamar

This is a post I have been meaning to do for a long time so I am happy to have finally come to it. Regular readers know that though I write mostly about Carnatic Music, I am very fond of a few other forms as well. Qawwalis are near the top of my list. There is something about the passionate singing, the clapping rhythm and the beautiful poetry which appeals very much to me. My choice today is a Qawwali written by Fana Buland Shehri, tuned and sung by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan originally in the late 1980’s.  There is also a recent ‘filmi‘ version but I have not heard it.

Devotion comes in many guises, doesn’t it. There is the cerebral kind, the followers of which are very interested in philosophy and meaning. They tend to think of mythologies as analogies and scriptures as setting direction rather than dictating rules. Many of them are loners in their devotion, internalising their beliefs and preferring to go their own way rather than follow any organised groups. I confess that my devotion belongs in this category.

There is ritualistic devotion, the followers of which find great solace in performing religious dictates to perfection. They will fast on the days one is meant to fast, make a study of ‘puja vidhi‘ or its equivalent in different religious practices, visit places of worship as ordained and generally see the perfection of their rituals as proof of their devotion. These people enjoy devotion in a community; at times allowing the lines between social and religious interaction to blur. The cerebral kinds look as these ritualists with benign bemusement but are happy to join in occasionally.

Then there is passionate devotion, the followers of which seem to have an almost intimate association with the Divine. Not for them the rules and rituals of established religion, nor the studious examination of philosophy.   Sometimes they are in a community, at other times they weave a lone path. The ritualists abhor them for they follow no rules, the cerebralists look askance for they seem to have no thought of consequences. They seem to just Love God, and I do mean to capitalise the L as it seems apart from all that I call love. But ah, to love like that!  If one of my young lady friends from a good family suddenly declares that she will abandon everything, and take to the streets singing and dancing in praise of God, I’ll probably call their family and offer a referral to a good psychiatrist. But this is what Meera did and we still sing her songs! What does it take to have passionate devotion like that? Qawwalis are songs of such passionate devotion, and they quite intrigue me.

Coming to my song choice of today, I have given the lyrics with transliteration and translation as I always do. Sufi songs always seem to have a meaning within a meaning so I have also given my personal interpretation. I’m no expert; I know little of Islam, even less of Sufi beliefs. I understand only the parts of Urdu which are common to Hindi. Using dictionaries and other resources online, I present you with a ‘good enough’ translation in order to enjoy the music – or so I hope!

Of note : The poet gives the Divine a feminine persona, taking up a masculine one for himself. This is interesting in itself. In Hindu devotional poetry, though there is plenty of poetry addressed to Goddesses, the Divine principle or ‘Purusha‘ is masculine. Male poets at times take on a female persona or ‘Nayika Bhava‘ but I wonder if male divinities are given a female persona in poetry? As I write this, I can only think of the ‘Kannamma‘ songs of Subramaniya Bharati, where Krishna is portrayed as a girl child. This feminine divinity allows the poet to present his ‘enthralment’ in a romantic light.

Listen to the maestro sing below, while you peruse the lyrics and my interpretations which follow.

Note: I present the lyrics in Devanagari script as I do not know Urdu script.

मेरे रश्क़-ए-क़मर तू ने पहली नज़र जब नज़र से मिलायी मज़ा आ गया
बर्क़ सी गिर गयी काम ही कर गयी आग ऐसी लगाई मज़ा आ गया

mErE rashk-E-qamar tU nE pahlI nazar jab nazar sE milAyI mazA A gayA
bark sI gir gayI kAm hI kar gayI Ag aisI lagAyI mazA A gayA

O my (mErE) envy-of-the-moon (rashk=envy, qamar=moon i.e. so beautiful that the moon envies that person) when you (tu nE) met my eyes (nazar milana = to meet eyes, an idiom) for the first time (pahlI), how enjoyable was that! (mazA A gayA)! It was as if (sI) a lighting (barq sI) fell (gir gayI), and did what it was meant to do (kAm hI kar gayI), igniting (lagayI) such (aisI) a fire (Ag) that it was greatly enjoyable! (mazA A gayA)!

The poet talks of the ‘pahlI nazar‘ or the first meeting as being like a lightning strike alighting a burning passion. Love at first sight is not something I trust in, but I do understand the concept. Well, I did love my children from the moment they were put in my arms!  What then is a first meeting with the Divine? I have felt a certain something in some holy places, yes. And also when seeing some natural wonders. Do some people feel these things so strongly that they become passionately devoted from that moment on?

जाम में घोल कर हुस्न की मस्तियाँ चाँदनी मुस्कुराई मज़ा आ गया
चाँद के साये में  ऐ मेरे साक़िया तू ने ऐसी पिलाई मज़ा आ गया

jAm mEṅ ghOl kar husn kI mastiyAṅ chAṅdnI muskurA-I mazA A gayA
chAṅd kE sAyE mEṅ ai mErE sAqiyA tU nE aisI pilAyI mazA A gayA

After mixing (ghOl kar) the intoxications (mastiyAṅ) of beauty (husn) in (mEṅ) my (implied) goblet (jAm), the moonlight (chAṅdnI) smiled (muskurA-I); how enjoyable was that (mazA A gayA)! In the (mEṅ) shelter (sAyE) of (kE) the moon (chAṅd), O (ai) my (mErE) cup-bearer (sAquiyA), you (tu nE) gave me drinks (pilAyI) in such a way (aisI) that it was greatly enjoyable (mazA A gayA)!

Intoxication is an analogy for being in a heightened state of divine love, an analogy often used in Sufi poetry. The beauty of divinity is mixed into the goblet which the poet imbibes. Who then is the sAquiyA or the cup-bearer? Perhaps it is the Guru or the teacher who initiates one into loving the Divine. I like the use of moonlight to set the scene – it is so much more gentler than sunlight, isn’t it? In moonlight, much is still in the dark, just as for us all, much about the Divine is unknown.

नशा शीशे में अंगड़ाई लेने लगा बज़्म-ए-रिंदां में सागर खनकने लगा
मैकदे पे बरसने लगी मस्तियाँ जब घटा घिर के छायी मज़ा आ गया

nashA shIshE mEṅ angṛA-I lEnE lagA bazm-E-riṅdAṅ mEṅ sAgar khanaknE lagA
maikadE pE barasnE lagI mastiyAṅ jab ghaTA ghir kE CHAyI mazA A gayA

Such was (implied) the intoxication (nashA) that started stretching out (angṛA-I lEnE lagA) in (mEṅ) the glass (shIshE), that goblets (sAgar) started clinking (khanaknE lagA) in (mEṅ) the dissolute (riṅdAṅ) gathering (bazm). When storm clouds (ghatA) gathered (ghir), becoming overcast (chAyI), and intoxication (mastiyAṅ) started showering (barasnE lagI) upon the tavern (maikadE pE), it was greatly enjoyable (mazA A gayA)!

The poet talks about a dissolute gathering of intoxicated people. To the ritualistic devout, this passionate love will of course seem dissolute! As the love for the Divine took root and stretched, says the poet, the goblets started clinking. I think he means that a resonance is created, and devotees feed on each other’s fervour.  As that happened, it was as if more intoxication, more love, poured down upon him. It seems to me that the poet talks about reaching an ecstatic state.

बे हिजाबाना वह सामने आ गए और जवानी जवानी से टकरा गयी
आँख उनकी लड़ी यूँ मेरी आँख से देख कर ये लड़ाई मज़ा आ गया

bE hijAbAnA vah sAmnE A gayE aur jawAnI jawAnI sE takrA gayI
Aṅkh unkI laṛI yUṅ mErI Aṅkh sE dEkh kar yE laṛA-I mazA A gayA

Unveiled/openly (bE hijAbAnA), she (vah) came in front (sAmnE A gayE) of me (implied), and youth (jawanI) collided (takrA gayI) with youth (jawanI). Her eyes (Aṅkh unkI) and mine  (mErI Aṅkh sE) exchanged loving glances (ankh ladnA-idiom meaning cast loving glances, fall in love) in such a manner (yUṅ)! Seeing (dEkh kar) this (yE) casting of glances (laṛA-I – implied from prev phrase) was greatly enjoyable (mazA A gayA)!

It is in such an ecstatic state that the Divine becomes unveiled and clear to the seeker. The poet likens the meeting to one of youthful lovers. It is a mutual love, the poet clearly states, not a one-sided affair. I like that!

आँख में थी हया हर मुलाक़ात पर सुर्ख आरिज़ हुए वस्ल की बात पर
उस ने शर्मा के मेरे सवालात पे ऐसे गर्दन झुकाई मज़ा आ गया

Aṅkh mEṅ thI hayA har mulAqAt par surkh Ariz huE wasl kI bAt par
us nE sharmA kE mErE sawAlAt pE aisE gardan jhukAyI mazA A gayA

There was (thI) modesty (hayA) in her eyes (Aṅkh mEṅ) at (par) each (har) encounter (mulAqAt), and her cheeks (Ariz) reddened (surkh) at the talk of (bAt par) union (wasl). At my questions (mErE sawAlAt pE), she (us nE) bent (jhukAyI) her neck (gardan) in embarrassment (sharmA kE) in such a way (aisE) that it was greatly enjoyable (mazA A gayA)!

Portraying the Divine in a feminine form to the poet’s masculinity lends an interesting aspect to the poetry. Here the poet takes on the masculine pursuer’s role, while the Divine is the one pursued. I interpret this to mean that those who are seek the Divine need to actively pursue this, and not wait passively for it to happen. The poet seeks union, and the Divine shies away; the Divine is not easily ‘caught’.

शैख़ साहिब का ईमान मिट ही गया देख कर हुस्न-ए-साक़ी पिघल ही गया
आज से पहले ये कितने मग़रूर थे लुट गयी पारसाई मज़ा आ गया

shaikh sAhib kA ImAn miT hi gayA, dEkh kar husn-E-sAqI pighal hI gayA
Aj sE pahlE yE kitnE mag̠rUr thE luT gayI pArsA-I mazA A gayA

The faith (ImAn) of the venerable gentleman (shaikh sAhib) was destroyed (miT hI gayA) and seeing (dEkh kar) the beauty of the cup-bearer (husn-E-sAqI), it just melted away (pighal hI gayA). How proud (mag̠rUr) he (yE) was before today (Aj sE)! Now his virtue (parsA-I) is lost (luT gayI), how enjoyable was that (mazA A gayA)!

Here I hesitate in my interpretation. Who is the venerable gentleman? Is it the poet himself? If that is right, he had been a traditional devotee before, with a strong faith and pride at his own virtue. A ‘ritualistic’ devotee perhaps? The transition from ritualistic belief to passionate belief must occur with a break-and-remake. All that you consider to be virtue – the rituals, the beliefs, the rules – have to be thrown away before you can embrace this new type of devotion.

ऐ फ़ना शुक्र है आज बाद-ए-फ़ना उस ने रख ली मेरे प्यार की आबरू
अपने हाथों से उसने मेरी क़ब्र पर चादर-ए-गुल चढ़ायी मज़ा आ गया

ai fanA shukr hai aaj bAd-E-fanA us nE rakh lI mErE pyAr kI AbrU
apnE hAthOṅ sE usnE mErI qabr par chAdar-E-gul chaDHAyI mazA A gayA

O Death (fanA -also the pen name or takhallus of the poet)! My (implied) gratitude (shukr) that today (Aj), after my death (bAd-E-fanA), she has (us nE) kept (rakh lI) the honour (AbrU) of (kI) my love (pyAr). With her own hands (apnE hAthOṅ sE) she  (usnE) spread (chaDHAyI) a covering (chAdar) of flowers (gul) on my (mErI) grave (qabr) which was greatly enjoyable (mazA A gayA)!

Again I interpret the ‘death’ to be the death of the old prideful self. In Hindu philosophy I have read that the ego, this feeling of self, must be destroyed before one can find union with the Divine. Not that different, is it! Through it all, the Divine keeps honour with your love, the poet says. I have not so far commented on the refrain ‘mazA A gayA‘ which adds so much beauty to these lyrics! The poet has enjoyed every step of his transformation from his first introduction to Divinity, his intoxication, the pursuit of a union and the destruction of his old self. He implies that this is a joyful transformation indeed!