How about sEkkizhAr's periyapurANam for CM?

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 06 Mar 2007, 00:44

The Kutcheribuzz video of Natyanjali at Cidambaram featured Padma Subramanyam's item on Nandanar as described by sEkkizhAr. It was done beautifully with a pallavi line describing the existence of nandanAr, "oppu il avar nandanAr ena oruvar uLar AnAr" (there is a person called nandanAr who has no equal). It then covers several stanzazs as caraNams. One describes nandan's profession of making drums, strings for vINai and yAzh, and kOrOjanai (the fragrant material obtained from the cow's abdomen) for the worship ritual, the next one describing his yearning to see god from a distance, another featuring the tiruppungUr nandi (saRRE vilagi irum piLLAy style), and a few more including the fire ordeal and his entry/disappearnce into/from the sanctum sanctorum. It flowed smoothly in Padma Subramaniam's performance.

Why can't others adapt this and other verses of sEkkizhAr in CMconcerts?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 06 Mar 2007, 01:11

Why not?

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 06 Mar 2007, 04:01

sub

lyric is different from music. One has to know the music and the theory to set to music a lyrical piece. Those require special skills. Nandanar came to life from SEkkizhAr due to the musical genius of GKB. We need such giants to attempt such compositions. Unfortunately our current brand of musicians are happy and content dishing out existing pieces and the Trinity and perhaps they do not know the theory too well too! Note that many learn music just by parrotting! These things can be achieved only if a team of musicians and scholars get together and with funding.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 06 Mar 2007, 04:07

GKB changed the storyline as well (poetic license? or shrewdness that a twist in the story was more marketable?) - he changed nandan's occupation, made him a bonded laborer, and came up with the concept of a cruel landlord who kept him away from cidambaram - rather than the fact that it was nandan's involvement in his own business that kept him away...

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 06 Mar 2007, 05:00

our current brand of musicians are happy and content dishing out existing pieces and the Trinity

Based on some of our own members' reactions in the review section, I would think that the audience expectations have something to do with that.

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 06 Mar 2007, 05:54

Regarding the indentured status of nandan portrayed by GKB, I think GKB being a liberal, had an ax to pick with the orthodox and punitive brahmin community of his time. SEkkizhar pushed nandan further into the pit and made him wallow in his lowly birth. GKB, I think, elevated him to a more dignified laborer status. That gave him an opportunity to take a dig at the vEdiyar. (GKB also made nandan agonize beyond belief when he makes him sing, "varugalAmO ayyA" when he enters the city of Cidambaram). However, GKB made amends later by redeeming the vEdiyar (through his request to nandan to reveal him the secret of godhead) which gave nandan a higher status over the vEdiyar when he sings, "iyyE mettak kaDinam..."

However, even SEkkizhAr mistreated nandan. In order to let nandanAr reach godhead he made him enter the fiery pit and transfigure himself into a holy sage. No other nAyanmAr had to undergo such an ordeal. Everybody else attained salvation just as they were. A potter gained mukti as a potter, a fisherman did as he was, a toddy-tapper did likewise, and the hunter kaNNappan could feed meat to the Lord and still prevail. Only nandanAr amongst the 63 servitors was subjected to such a harsh treatment. In my mind that makes nandanAr unique among the 63.

I read somewhere that SEkkizhar flouted the basic instruction issued by Lord Siva. ThirumUlar said, "anbE sivam" and "onRE kulam, oruvanE kaDavuL". Even appar (tirunAvukkarasar) declared that he would worship those who are lepers and the pulaiyars provided they are the devotees of the Lord. So nandan was God as far as appar was concerned. nandan's chronicle as cataloged by sEkkizhAr went against these pronouncements in that nandan had to ascend out of his low caste to reach godhead. Perhaps he realized that "sweet are the uses of adversity".

Notwithstanding such a transgression, SEkkizhAr's work (12th tirumuRai) is commendable for its elegance.

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 06 Mar 2007, 05:59

cmlover wrote:sub

These things can be achieved only if a team of musicians and scholars get together and with funding.

cmlover:
Arunacala kavirayar was not a musician but he got a couple of folks (musicians) to tune his lyrics into musical marvels. My question is why the tEvArams and the other tirumuRais have been ignored except for occasional use as vruttams.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 06 Mar 2007, 08:11

How many do sing AK as a concert piece? Also I don't think they are notated...

kaapi · Post by **kaapi** » 06 Mar 2007, 19:20

mahakavi wrote:GKB, I think, elevated him to a more dignified laborer status.

sEkkizhar portrays nandan as self employed. I think this is a more dignified status than a laborer.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 06 Mar 2007, 19:39

CML,
IIRC, AK's compositions were notated and set to music by 2 gentleman who were MD's disciples.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 06 Mar 2007, 21:05

Shankar
I know they were singing it all over SI. It was said my grandmother will sing them very nicely and will always quote from the lyrics. But is there a surviving notation? TNS sings them, like the kambaramayanam. He is the right person to notate them when he find time from his Harikathas which are getting outrageously popular

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 06 Mar 2007, 21:15

kaapi wrote:sEkkizhar portrays nandan as self employed. I think this is a more dignified status than a laborer.

kaapi:
Self-employment may be better than bonded labor. But the very nature of the profession--processing the carcasses of the cows is demeaning as a profession to most people. Doing farming is a better profession than skinning carcasses despite the indenture involved. When I said sEkkizhAr mistreated nandan, I meant that he would not bear to let nandan achieve salvation "as is" and hence had to fire-proof him, if you will, and convert him to a higher status.

It is my guess that nandanAr's time was before the tEvAram trinity period (6th-8th centuries CE). It is not clear whether sEkkizhAr wrote the denouement of nandan in his own imagination or as the story was transmitted through the ages as it happened.