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TANJAVUR
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The later capital of the Cholas and thereafter of the Nayaks and the Marattas, Tanjavur possesses a glorious history. Its hoary past speaks of mammoth temples, the most famous of which is the Brihadeeswara or simply, the Big temple, built by the enlightened Chola Emperor Raja Raja, anna chatrams, palaces, giant granaries and the like. The renowned Saraswati Mahal Library founded by the 19th century Maratta king Saraboji II houses ancient and valuable manuscripts on almost all subjects under the sun. Tributaries of the Cauvery flow just outside Tanjavur and innumerable moats and irrigation channels criss-cross the town. The maNTapAs and chatrams on the banks of these waterways provide ample testimony to the existence of a golden era that spanned several centuries. The arts flourished like in no other region. Kings as benefactors of art were lavish in their encouragement and patronage of artists. The Tanjavur court under the Cholas, Nayaks and the Mahrattas witnessed tremendous strides being made in music, dance, painting, sculpture, theatre and literature. Most of the great musicians of the South, why, even of the North, considered it a great honour to perform at the Tanjavur court. It was an atmosphere where talented artists throve, with money, gifts, name and fame literally showered on them.
The later capital of the Cholas and thereafter of the Nayaks and the Marattas, Tanjavur possesses a glorious history. Its hoary past speaks of mammoth temples, the most famous of which is the Brihadeeswara or simply, the Big temple, built by the enlightened Chola Emperor Raja Raja, anna chatrams, palaces, giant granaries and the like. The renowned Saraswati Mahal Library founded by the 19th century Maratta king Saraboji II houses ancient and valuable manuscripts on almost all subjects under the sun. Tributaries of the Cauvery flow just outside Tanjavur and innumerable moats and irrigation channels criss-cross the town. The maNTapAs and chatrams on the banks of these waterways provide ample testimony to the existence of a golden era that spanned several centuries. The arts flourished like in no other region. Kings as benefactors of art were lavish in their encouragement and patronage of artists. The Tanjavur court under the Cholas, Nayaks and the Mahrattas witnessed tremendous strides being made in music, dance, painting, sculpture, theatre and literature. Most of the great musicians of the South, why, even of the North, considered it a great honour to perform at the Tanjavur court. It was an atmosphere where talented artists throve, with money, gifts, name and fame literally showered on them.
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Remaining outside the purview of royal patronage were two musician-composers, their song reserved for the Muse alone. Shyama Sastri who lived in Tanjavur and Tyagaraja who lived in nearby Tiruvaiyyaru now had a soul mate in the poor pilgrim-composer who settled in their vicinity.
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Remaining outside the purview of royal patronage were two musician-composers, their song reserved for the Muse alone. Shyama Sastri who lived in Tanjavur and Tyagaraja who lived in nearby Tiruvaiyyaru now had a soul mate in the poor pilgrim-composer who settled in their vicinity.
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The West Main Street, not far from the Brihadeeswara temple, always resonated with the chanting of the Vedas. Colourful temple processions, feeding of pilgrims in the chatrams, kAlakShEpAs, music concerts and the daily activities at the temples made the street a veritable religious and cultural nerve centre. Goddess Bangaru Kamakshi of Kanchipuram, after a chequered journey through several regions for three centuries, finally found Her home in Tanjavur on the West Main Street in the late 18th century. In a small, enclosed agrahAram just behind the temple lived Her devotee-composer Shyama Sastri. The agrahAram is still there without much change, retaining the 19th century charm. Shyama Sastri�s house too has been maintained well by their family.
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Further down the street is the Konkaneswara temple opposite to which lived Gangamuthu Nattuvanar, his son Subbaraya Nattuvanar and the latter�s four sons. Subbaraya Nattuvanar was a veteran Natyacharya attached to the Tanjavur court and was responsible for training dancers of the court as well as those of the Brihadeeswara temple. Subbaraya Nattuvanar and his four young sons welcomed Dikshitar with great reverence and provided a house adjacent to theirs for the composer to stay. Overwhelmed by the veneration and love shown by the Nattuvanar family, Dikshitar settled down in the house with his wives and brothers. Gangamuthu Nattuvanar and Dikshitar�s father Ramaswami Dikshitar were friends and mutual admirers. It is no surprise therefore that the composer found the atmosphere quite congenial. .
Chinnayya, Ponniah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu, though very young at that time, had already gained considerable insight in music and dance. They had their tutelage in the twin arts from their grandfather as also from their father. Chinnayya and Ponniah used to assist their father in conducting dance performances and both the youngsters had even then won accolades from the discerning connoisseurs of Tanjavur. Dikshitar accepted the four brothers as his disciples.
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There is a tradition in Shyama Sastri's family that it was Shyama Sastri who gave shri vidya dIksha to Muttuswami Dikshitar. It is not possible to say as to how far this is true. One thing that can be said with some authenticity is that, Shyama Sastri's family and Dikshitar's family were well acquainted with each other. Especially, the fathers of both were said to be friends at Tiruvarur. Shyama Sastri and Dikshitar renewed the old ties at Tanjavur. Thus was to begin an association that was to prove of great significance to Carnatic music. Both were Devi upAsakAs who engaged themselves in elaborate worship of the Goddess for hours on end and celebrated Her glory in song.
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Dikshitar would ask his brothers to sing his compositions. Shyama Sastri would ask his son Subbaraya Sastri, who was just 18 years old then, to sing his compositions. Both appreciated each other's works. Shyama Sastri had already visited Madurai by then and had composed the Minakshi Navaratnamalika in praise of Goddess Minakshi. One day, while father and son were delighting in Dikshitar's company, Shyama Sastri asked his son to sing his composition in shankarAbharaNam. Subbaraya Sastri sang sarOjadaLa nEtri. Dikshitar appreciated the rendition and the delightful gait of the song, whereupon Shyama Sastri remarked to his son, 'Look, does not Dikshitar have a partiality for viLamba kAlA? Will he not relish the other kriti in shankarAbharaNam more?' Whereupon Subbaraya Sastri sang the slow tempo masterpiece of his father, dEvi mInanEtri, also in praise of Goddess Minakshi. The highly pleased Dikshitar appreciated the young lad's keen and deep perception of music.
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Sensing that the time was appropriate, the Kamakshi dAsA of high nobility requested Muttuswami Dikshitar to accept his son as disciple. An overwhelmed Dikshitar respectfully accepted his elder contemporary's request. Subbaraya Sastri began learning from Dikshitar. A few years later, Subbaraya Sastri was to become an important disciple of the bard of Tiruvaiyyaru, thus endowing himself with a unique qualification. None else in the history of Carnatic music learned from all the three members of the Trinity. The tutelage under the three great ones resulted in Subbaraya Sastri assimilating their varying styles and incorporating the various elements of their eternal art in a judicious manner in his compositions. The immortality of Subbaraya Sastri's works is due to his being a disciple of the Tiruvarur Trinity. The Dikshitar influence on Subbaraya Sastri can be seen in the latter's kritis like vEnkaTashaila vihArA (hamIr kalYANi), intanucu varNimpa (shankarAbharaNam) and shrI kAmAkShi (vasanthA).
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There was another outcome of this unique relationship between the two composers. Years earlier, Muthuswami Dikshitar's father Ramaswami Dikshitar had composed a varNam in the rAgA shrI ranjani which he had left unfinished with just one svara passage in the caraNam. Muttuswami Dikshitar requested Shyama Sastri to complete the caraNam. Shyama Sastri after composing the second svara passage, requested Muttuswami Dikshitar's younger brother Chinnaswami Dikshitar to compose the next one, which the latter did. Shyama Sastri then called upon Dikshitar himself to compose the fourth and final svara passage. The creativity of two members of the inimitable Trinity invests the shrI ranjani varNam of Ramaswami Dikshitar with a singular greatness.
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Dikshitar took the opportunity of his sojourn at Tanjavur to visit the temples in that town. The massive Brihadiswara temple naturally attracted him and full of admiration for the artistic splendour of the temple and reverence for the Lord, he composed quite a few pieces in praise of Brihadiswara and His Consort Brihannayaki.
It was during his stay at Tanjavur that Dikshitar decided to compose songs in all the 72 mELakarta rAgAs. His aim in doing so was to give a practical example for each of the rAgAs so that they did not remain as academic concepts but acquired a live, melodic presence in the music world. In this monumental task, he succeeded to a very great extent. Dikshitar breathed life into abstract, dry theoretical scales each of which acquired a distinctive melodic character. This was one of Dikshitar's great contributions to music. Many of the songs in this genre, especially those in vivAdi rAgAs, were composed in praise of deities in and around Tanjavur. Some of the deities
who received homage from the great composer through song are: Brihadiswara and Brihannayaki in the Brihadiswara temple, Prasanna Venkateswara, Goddess Jnanambika at the Konkaneswara temple on the West Main Street and Goddess Anandavalli on the Vennar bank. Dikshitar utilised rare mELakarta rAgAs like gAnasAmavarALi, sEnAgraNI, vATi vasantabhairavi, chhAyavati, kiraNAvaLi, nAgAbharaNam, gangAtarangiNi, bhOgachAyanATa, nabhOmaNi, kumbhini, ravikriyA, stavarAjam, jIvantikA, dhavaLAngam, bhUShAvati, santAnamanjari, rasamanjari etc., for his compositions on the Tanjavur deities. In the song in rasamanjari Dikshitar mentions the 72 rAgAnga rAgAs. This proves that Dikshitar had undertaken this task specifically in order to illustrate the mELakarta rAgAs. It must be said here that Tyagaraja also undertook the task of composing in rare mELa rAgAs though he did not compose in all of them. If today, the rare mELakarta rAgAs, especially the vivAdi rAgAs and their rare janyAs each possess a characteristic personality of their own, it is entirely due to the pioneering work of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar.
There were other rare rAgAs too that Dikshitar employed to compose in praise of the Tanjavur deities. The gunTAkriyA piece is in praise of Brihadiswara and the song mentions the fact of the temple being built by Raja Raja Chola in the pallavi itself (rAjarAjEndra cOLa pratiShTitam). Another rare but charming piece is in AndhALi rAgA and is in praise of Brihannayaki. The lalitA song agastIshvaram is on Agasthiswara on the Vennar bank.
Meanwhile, the Tanjore Nattuvanar brothers continued their music education under Dikshitar. With the solid foundation they had, the brothers mastered many of their guru's compositions and were keen to present them to the public. Dikshitar, satisfied with their progress, gave the go ahead for their arangEtram. The four brothers had their formal concert debut at the Tanjore palace amidst a galaxy of great musicians and scholars of various disciplines.
-
Dikshitar would ask his brothers to sing his compositions. Shyama Sastri would ask his son Subbaraya Sastri, who was just 18 years old then, to sing his compositions. Both appreciated each other's works. Shyama Sastri had already visited Madurai by then and had composed the Minakshi Navaratnamalika in praise of Goddess Minakshi. One day, while father and son were delighting in Dikshitar's company, Shyama Sastri asked his son to sing his composition in shankarAbharaNam. Subbaraya Sastri sang sarOjadaLa nEtri. Dikshitar appreciated the rendition and the delightful gait of the song, whereupon Shyama Sastri remarked to his son, 'Look, does not Dikshitar have a partiality for viLamba kAlA? Will he not relish the other kriti in shankarAbharaNam more?' Whereupon Subbaraya Sastri sang the slow tempo masterpiece of his father, dEvi mInanEtri, also in praise of Goddess Minakshi. The highly pleased Dikshitar appreciated the young lad's keen and deep perception of music.
-
Sensing that the time was appropriate, the Kamakshi dAsA of high nobility requested Muttuswami Dikshitar to accept his son as disciple. An overwhelmed Dikshitar respectfully accepted his elder contemporary's request. Subbaraya Sastri began learning from Dikshitar. A few years later, Subbaraya Sastri was to become an important disciple of the bard of Tiruvaiyyaru, thus endowing himself with a unique qualification. None else in the history of Carnatic music learned from all the three members of the Trinity. The tutelage under the three great ones resulted in Subbaraya Sastri assimilating their varying styles and incorporating the various elements of their eternal art in a judicious manner in his compositions. The immortality of Subbaraya Sastri's works is due to his being a disciple of the Tiruvarur Trinity. The Dikshitar influence on Subbaraya Sastri can be seen in the latter's kritis like vEnkaTashaila vihArA (hamIr kalYANi), intanucu varNimpa (shankarAbharaNam) and shrI kAmAkShi (vasanthA).
-
There was another outcome of this unique relationship between the two composers. Years earlier, Muthuswami Dikshitar's father Ramaswami Dikshitar had composed a varNam in the rAgA shrI ranjani which he had left unfinished with just one svara passage in the caraNam. Muttuswami Dikshitar requested Shyama Sastri to complete the caraNam. Shyama Sastri after composing the second svara passage, requested Muttuswami Dikshitar's younger brother Chinnaswami Dikshitar to compose the next one, which the latter did. Shyama Sastri then called upon Dikshitar himself to compose the fourth and final svara passage. The creativity of two members of the inimitable Trinity invests the shrI ranjani varNam of Ramaswami Dikshitar with a singular greatness.
-
Dikshitar took the opportunity of his sojourn at Tanjavur to visit the temples in that town. The massive Brihadiswara temple naturally attracted him and full of admiration for the artistic splendour of the temple and reverence for the Lord, he composed quite a few pieces in praise of Brihadiswara and His Consort Brihannayaki.
It was during his stay at Tanjavur that Dikshitar decided to compose songs in all the 72 mELakarta rAgAs. His aim in doing so was to give a practical example for each of the rAgAs so that they did not remain as academic concepts but acquired a live, melodic presence in the music world. In this monumental task, he succeeded to a very great extent. Dikshitar breathed life into abstract, dry theoretical scales each of which acquired a distinctive melodic character. This was one of Dikshitar's great contributions to music. Many of the songs in this genre, especially those in vivAdi rAgAs, were composed in praise of deities in and around Tanjavur. Some of the deities
who received homage from the great composer through song are: Brihadiswara and Brihannayaki in the Brihadiswara temple, Prasanna Venkateswara, Goddess Jnanambika at the Konkaneswara temple on the West Main Street and Goddess Anandavalli on the Vennar bank. Dikshitar utilised rare mELakarta rAgAs like gAnasAmavarALi, sEnAgraNI, vATi vasantabhairavi, chhAyavati, kiraNAvaLi, nAgAbharaNam, gangAtarangiNi, bhOgachAyanATa, nabhOmaNi, kumbhini, ravikriyA, stavarAjam, jIvantikA, dhavaLAngam, bhUShAvati, santAnamanjari, rasamanjari etc., for his compositions on the Tanjavur deities. In the song in rasamanjari Dikshitar mentions the 72 rAgAnga rAgAs. This proves that Dikshitar had undertaken this task specifically in order to illustrate the mELakarta rAgAs. It must be said here that Tyagaraja also undertook the task of composing in rare mELa rAgAs though he did not compose in all of them. If today, the rare mELakarta rAgAs, especially the vivAdi rAgAs and their rare janyAs each possess a characteristic personality of their own, it is entirely due to the pioneering work of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar.
There were other rare rAgAs too that Dikshitar employed to compose in praise of the Tanjavur deities. The gunTAkriyA piece is in praise of Brihadiswara and the song mentions the fact of the temple being built by Raja Raja Chola in the pallavi itself (rAjarAjEndra cOLa pratiShTitam). Another rare but charming piece is in AndhALi rAgA and is in praise of Brihannayaki. The lalitA song agastIshvaram is on Agasthiswara on the Vennar bank.
Meanwhile, the Tanjore Nattuvanar brothers continued their music education under Dikshitar. With the solid foundation they had, the brothers mastered many of their guru's compositions and were keen to present them to the public. Dikshitar, satisfied with their progress, gave the go ahead for their arangEtram. The four brothers had their formal concert debut at the Tanjore palace amidst a galaxy of great musicians and scholars of various disciplines.
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Saraboji II (reigned 1798-1832), that great patron of arts was the king then. Being pensioned off by the British who took over the administration from him, thereby rendering him free of political preoccupation, Raja Saraboji could devote his time and efforts towards patronising and encouraging art and literature, a noble endeavour which he undertook and performed with missionary zeal. Saraboji's court was adorned by great musicians such as Pallavi Gopala Iyer who was given the task of judging the merits of a musician who either wanted to join the court or had his debut there.
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Other musicians like Sonti Venkataramanayya, Vina Subbukutti Iyer, Todi Sitarammayya, Sankarabharanam Narasayya, Talanayar Krishna Iyer and Rettai Pallavi Sivarama Iyer were also AsthAna vidwans of the Tanjore court. It was no easy task to secure the approval of these stalwarts. The Tanjore Quartette however, banking on their strength of being Dikshitar's disciples, came out with flying colours. Their music was highly appreciated and approved by all the artists of the court. They were suitably honoured and appointed as court musicians by Saraboji.
Saraboji II (reigned 1798-1832), that great patron of arts was the king then. Being pensioned off by the British who took over the administration from him, thereby rendering him free of political preoccupation, Raja Saraboji could devote his time and efforts towards patronising and encouraging art and literature, a noble endeavour which he undertook and performed with missionary zeal. Saraboji's court was adorned by great musicians such as Pallavi Gopala Iyer who was given the task of judging the merits of a musician who either wanted to join the court or had his debut there.
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Other musicians like Sonti Venkataramanayya, Vina Subbukutti Iyer, Todi Sitarammayya, Sankarabharanam Narasayya, Talanayar Krishna Iyer and Rettai Pallavi Sivarama Iyer were also AsthAna vidwans of the Tanjore court. It was no easy task to secure the approval of these stalwarts. The Tanjore Quartette however, banking on their strength of being Dikshitar's disciples, came out with flying colours. Their music was highly appreciated and approved by all the artists of the court. They were suitably honoured and appointed as court musicians by Saraboji.
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At this point of time, there came a few visitors, well to do landed gentry, from Madurai. They had come to visit the kShEtrAs of Tanjavur. Being art lovers, they took the opportunity of listening to the music that was available at the palace. They had heard glowing reports of Dikshitar's music. They were already familiar with Shyama Sastri's music at Madurai as he had visited that place and sung at the temple. The landed gentry met both composers. Expressing deep appreciation of the music of the Tanjore Quartette, they requested Dikshitar to visit Madurai and stay with them for sometime. Dikshitar stated that he was keen on having darshan of Goddess Minakshi but that would have to wait for some time as he had to visit quite a few more shrines near Tanjavur. He also had to return to Tiruvarur for a while to be with his beloved Tyagaraja and Kamalamba. Dikshitar however asked his brothers to accompany the gentlemen and assured them that he would join them soon. Chinnaswami Dikshitar and Baluswami Dikshitar started for Madurai.
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At this point of time, there came a few visitors, well to do landed gentry, from Madurai. They had come to visit the kShEtrAs of Tanjavur. Being art lovers, they took the opportunity of listening to the music that was available at the palace. They had heard glowing reports of Dikshitar's music. They were already familiar with Shyama Sastri's music at Madurai as he had visited that place and sung at the temple. The landed gentry met both composers. Expressing deep appreciation of the music of the Tanjore Quartette, they requested Dikshitar to visit Madurai and stay with them for sometime. Dikshitar stated that he was keen on having darshan of Goddess Minakshi but that would have to wait for some time as he had to visit quite a few more shrines near Tanjavur. He also had to return to Tiruvarur for a while to be with his beloved Tyagaraja and Kamalamba. Dikshitar however asked his brothers to accompany the gentlemen and assured them that he would join them soon. Chinnaswami Dikshitar and Baluswami Dikshitar started for Madurai.
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