Right! Now coming to what I wanted to say at the end of discussions. Although Raja Chandra has promised to post the last few compositions, let me do my speech now
It has been a momentous journey for me to be discussing nearly all the kRtis of a proliferous and serious composer that oDeyar is. In the process, I have discovered a lot about myself too. Iam happy that I have been able to contribute my mite in helping others to become aware of, understand and appreciate oDeyar in whatever little way. I hope that this helps in further popularising his kRtis on the concert platform.
As coolkarni posted the first kRti on the thread(Old one), he expressed a twinge of sadness about an earlier posting of one of oDeyar's kRtis elsewhere on the forum going unnoticed, so to speak. Then I started discussing the kRtis and made a promise to coolkarni that he will see the discussions being carried on for a long time. Thus it was that I got the responsibilty for carrying the thread on with discussions. It was a heavy reponsibility that I carried for a long while and now want to be relieved of as I think I have done what I needed to. I have to make paricular mention of some people here who have contributed to these discussions.
During this long journey, many have contributed significantly. A large chunk of the compositions came from the ever-generous and thoughtful Kulkarni's collection, the rest being contributed by Raja Chandra and myself. Also, coolkarni ensured that my discussions of each rAga becames so much easier to grasp by posting relevant clips and recordings. abadri helped him in this task. Without the clips, the disucssons of both the kRtis and the rAgas would have been a mere academic exercise, quite dry at times. It would be no different from me writing a thesis or a book on oDeyar's kRtis. And without discussions, posting the kRtis would have been meaningless.
Raja Chandra has further enriched the discussions by posting some kRtis, sharing rare and beautiful photos and images as well as anecdotes. This has helped us understand oDeyar as a person rather than just as a composer. We could get a feel of his life, times and influences. In fact oDeyar became that much closer to us.
I, on belhalf of all rasikas, particularly have to express my gratitude to Cmlover for being a critic (constructive of course) of my analyses and discussions. He helped to keep me on my feet making sure that I knew what I was writing about. His constant encouragement and kind words, not to mention his scholarly contributions have been a source of encouragement. Meena deserves our thanks for her meticulous collation and consolidation of all the discussions here and for helping out with lists and details as and when they were asked for(Mind you, I made several such requests for the lists
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I also wish to thank all the others who actively participated by asking questions and adding what they knew, thus helping the discussions and also in encouraging me in persevering with my efforts. Last but not the least, thanks are due to srkris for providing this platform for discussing what is dear to all our hearts. Thank you all.
Let me conclude with a quote from Shakespeare
If music be be the food of love, then play on.
P.S- My apologies to anybody who feels I ought to have mentioned them particularly but have not. It is certainly unintentional.