Sringaram - Through the eyes of Tyagaraja | Sri V Sriram | Sringaram An Immersion

[sureshvv]

Not sure if this has been discussed here. Just ran into this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAsYl2hOF44

[RSR]

https://highonscore.com/social-message- ... positions/
"In the kriti composed in raaga Suddha Dhanyasi- the composer says “Entha Nerchina.. Entha Chusina.. Entha Vaaralaina.. Kaantha Daasule” (Meaning: No matter how much you learn, how much you see, or how much you are, you are eventually a slave to a damsel!). With a euphemism, Saint Thyagaraja says about the social conditions of those day when men ......."

[sureshvv]

It seems to me that Thyagaraja includes himself when he castigates the character flaws of the common man - he does not put himself in a pedastal above. This has not been brought out sufficiently in the discussion above.

[RSR]

https://sreenivasaraos.com/2015/02/22/s ... t-ii-life/

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13.1. Tyagaraja , even as a teenager was deep into the Bhajana sampradaya – singing devotional songs, in group, with great fervour- which was at its height in the Cauvery delta at that time. During a Bhajana sessions which lasted for hours, a cycle of religious hymns consisting Namavali, Kirtana, Dhyana Slokas, Mangalas, Divya Nama Kirtans and other hymns were sung. Nama-sankirtanam became his devout passion.
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13.2. In the Bhajans that were held in the homes or in the halls (Bhajana-mandali), the groups celebrated special festivals such as Seetha-Kalyana, Rukmini-Kalyana, Radha-Kalyanam etc with great enthusiasm, singing in chorus devotional songs that followed a certain traditional pattern (paddathi). The songs commenced with welcoming the Lord (Heccharikaga raara) ; offering him seat (kolavu) ; then the actual wedding (kalyana mahotsavam) ; waving of light (Aarathi) ; putting the Lord to sleep by singing soothing songs (Lali) ; and , waking him up next morning (Suprabhatam). For the use on these occasions, Tyagaraja composed a set of songs (numbering about twenty-seven) that have come to be known as Utsava-sampradaya-kirtanas. They are simpler in structure; but, rich in melody and lyrics. Tyagaraja also composed many other songs (about seventy-eight) – Divya-Nama-sankeerthanam – that celebrate the glory of the Lord and his name. Songs selected from these two sets are now rendered by musicians in the later part of their concerts.
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16.1. Music for Sri Tyagaraja was not mere Sangeetha-sadhana; but was indeed the Moksha-sadhana, the path to liberation. His pursuit of Nadopasana was for the realization of Nada-Brahman who is none other than the Absolute Reality, the Para-Brahman. Sri Tyagaraja, in the heart of heart, worshiped Ista-devata Sri Rama as the Supreme deity, Para-Brahman. Sri Tyagaraja devoted his entire life for worship of Sri Rama and of Nada (Nadopasana)–Music.

16.2. All his life, Tyagaraja derived inspiration from his mentor Upanishad Brahmendra and from his Guru Swami Ramakrishnananda. Further, he was guided by the hoary tradition of the Sadashiva Brahmendra the Avadhuta and Sri Narayana Theertha, the composer of Krishna Leela Tarangini. And, all these saintly persons were Sanyasins in whom the three paths of Jnana, Bhakti and Music converged harmoniously. Tyagaraja, in the last phase of his life, yearned to embrace the spiritual order as in the manner of the noble persons (Mahanubhavulu) that preceded him.
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[Pratyaksham Bala]

Not sure if this has been discussed here. Just ran into this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAsYl2hOF44

viewtopic.php?p=357499&hilit=ZAsYl2hOF44#p357499

[RSR]

http://thyagaraja-vaibhavam.blogspot.co ... gaula.html
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From what we know of the saintly composer's life, there is NO evidence to conclude that he was self-deprecating . Every year, hundreds of our musicians have been singing this kruthi at Thiruvaiyaaru. --Are they all confessing to their weakness?
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No.
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Nevertheless, a straight devotional and nice kruthi like 'DinamaNi vamsa' can be substituted in its place....
Harikambodhi was a specialty of Thyagaraja Swami. No kruthi in this raagam by the others in the Trinity., though it is a regular-non-vivadhi-parent scale.
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The choice of the kruthis for group singing was done by leading vocalists in 1920's.
https://mssgems.blogspot.com/2022/01/di ... bodhi.html

[shankarank]

I did post this in my feedback thread on that years nATya kala conference. Priya Sisters , once asked in mArgazhi mahA utsavam about SRngAra answered thus: "you get up in the morning and have a sweet look at your beautiful child - that is SRngAram as well".

I was reminded of that, when I heard SrI Vijay Siva in his vandE SangItam series claiming, tODi was never used in SrngAra rasa. It seems, we let ourselves fall into the rut of familiar narratives that padams and jAVALis are SRngAra themes. So there aren't any tODi padam or a jAvaLi?

Now "kAlinil cilambu konja kaivALai kulunga muttu mAlaikal asaiya teru vAsalil vandAn" is not SRngAra? Are we now, going to hide behind: "Oh! we don't know the original tunes of OVK?" What about "mAlaiyiTTavan pOl vAyil muttaminDanDi ... nAlu pErgaL kETkacconnAl nANamigavAgutaDi"? tODi used in SrngARa rasa??

"SrI velayu citra vIthilO vEDkaga rAka" (rAju veDala) - SrI veli is a term now current only in Kerala. "oh! now that is not tODi that is dEsiya tODi - huh?" Original Tune!!!

We have made SRngArA a "theme", one of the many "subjects" that humanity deals with.

It seems, ancients considered that as the basis of creation!

[RSR]

p-8
The topic of this particular thread is 'srungaara in Thyagaraja Swami' kruthis. So, how is OVK composition' relevant here? Thyagaaja has given us nearly 30 compositions in Todi , so very unique to CM. When we go through the meaning of ALL these compositions, there is absolutely no trace of so-called Srungaara' of the Nayaki stuff.
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Padams and Jaavalis are simply , lighter art forms in music.. They are primarily meant to be sung and not necessarily as accompaniment for dance....much less for dance of carnal themes,
The theme can be yearning for Divinity. and much depends on the lyrics.
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Music tune, itself does not create the bhaavam. though some HM melodies create a romantic yearning effect even without words.
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The OVK composition is not about the usual srungara theme. It is about the pranks of a mere child.
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There are so many wonderful poems of Subramanya Bharathi, on 'girl child'.. especially ' chinnanchiRu kiLiyae, kaNNamma, selvak kaLnjiyame', a wonderful song set to tune by Smt.DKP ,herself, perhaps, which speaks of the great affection of a parent, foro a 'Girl child'; so very different from ALL the prevalent songs on children invariably on male-child. from Sangam period itself.

https://sites.google.com/site/dkpattamm ... iru-kiliye
Gives Lyrics and raagam information along with the wonderful rendition of Smt.DKP. It is a raagamaalika -old 78 rpm record.
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https://youtu.be/WGk1nkqodf0
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If at all, there are kruthis about girl child, they are about the Divine Mother as a child ,.This has been our tradition and Baarathy adapted
that tradition. for a daughter, ... a call to do away with gender bias, even with one's children.
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Let us not get confused between Vaathsalyam' and 'Srungaaram'.
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