Tyagaraja (1767-1847) – Sruti Magazine

Tyagaraja Aradhana Festival
at Kalakshetra
Photo © Ludwig Pesch

The period 1750-1850 was a golden era in world music, when some of the greatest musician-composers lived and enriched the field. In Europe, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann and others lived during this period and created the symphony repertoire. It is a significant coincidence that the Carnatic Music trinity—Tyagaraja (1767-1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776-1835) and Syama Sastry (1762-1827)—lived in a single area in Tanjore District during the same period.
As a tribute to Tyagaraja as we celebrate his 250th birth anniversary, we explore Tyagaraja’s compositions, his contribution to Carnatic music, his lyrics from the point of view of literature, prosody and poetics, his creation and craftsmanship of ragas((The most concise definition of a raga may be that by Joep Bor: a tonal framework for composition and improvisation.)) and his devotion to Rama.

Source: “Tyagaraja 250: His art and craft: Cover Story by Pappu Venugopala Rao (Sruti Magazine, Issue 393)
URL: https://www.sruti.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=6&product_id=465
Date Visited: 6 December 2021

For details on the classical music of South India (including staff notation for ragas covered in the Flow series), see the present author’s critically acclaimed reference work: The Oxford Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music >>

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Muthulakshmi Reddy – A Trailblazer in Surgery and Women’s Rights: Biography of a “reformer from the inside” by VR Devika

Muthulakshmi Reddy – A Trailblazer in Surgery and Women’s Rights is the story of a pioneer path-creator for women. She was the first girl student in Maharaja’s School for Boys in Pudukkottai, the first Indian woman surgeon from Madras Medical College, the first Indian member of the Women’s Indian Association, the first woman member of legislature of Madras Presidency, the first woman deputy speaker and the first alderwoman.

In this book the author describes the indomitable spirit of a woman who campaigned to get rid of the practice of wet nurses, fought for girls’ education and widow remarriage, equal property rights for women, education reform, and rural healthcare for women. She took up the case of getting the practice of dedicating young girls as Devadasis abolished.

“Muthulakshmi Reddy was a reformer from the inside, as it were like Dr Ambedkar was. Which is different from being like a corrector from the outside.” – Gopalkrishna Gandhi

(Pioneers of Modern India series, www.niyogibooksindia.com, INR 299) 

Excerpts (pp. 13-14, & 17-18 and Ch. “The Devadasi Question”, pp. 119-143)

Muthulakshmi was privileged as the daughter of this educated and liberal Brahmin man who gave her the much-desired access to formal learning. However, Muthulakshmi faced discrimination on account of being the daughter of Chandrammal, who belonged to the Melakkara community. The women of the community were trained in music and dance, and were permitted to perform in temple processions and rituals, and for the public on social occasions. Marriage in the conventional sense was barred for them according to religious rules, but they could be chosen by an upper caste male patron of means as a companion outside his own legal marriage. The children born in such relationships were not formally acknowledged by the fathers. Most members of the Melakkara community carried the name of the village or town they hailed from as identity, like Tirugokarnam Kanakambujam or Tiruvalaputtur Kalyani. […]

Muthulakshmi endured unkind remarks from boys who would stand at road corners as she walked to the Nellumandi Baliah School with a writing slate in hand.
‘Here is a daughter of a Thevaradiyar (a corruption of the word ‘devdasi, used in the Melakkara community for women dedicated to God in a ritual marriage but were partners to the male members with no strings attached) going to school, they would shout. To avoid the boys, she chose to walk through smaller lanes and by-lanes.

‘Any art or culture worth preserving will certainly hold its own against all times and against all conditions. Our attempt should be to free it from its ugly associations and the incrustations of ages which now keeps it dim and repulsive to many so that the divine art may be learned by all … then only India’s art, the rich legacy of ages, will shine brighter and will command respect and admiration of the world.’ [Endnote 1.: Muthulakshmi Reddy, “Anti Nautch Movement”, Madras Mail, 17 December 1932]

Muthulakshmi was concerned that the word ‘Devadasi’ was considered as an abusive term in Tamil. She wanted to release women born to Devadasis from the curse, and give them a future free of such an association. If dance and music were so integral to the system that so oppressed a woman, they must be halted too, so that new art could emerge.

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Video | Vocal recital by Dr. K. Gayatri – Naada Inbam Festival

Dr. K.Gayatri – Vocal,
Vid. Vittal Rangan – Violin,
Vid. R.Shankaranarayanan – Mridangam,
Vid. H.Prasanna – Ghatam.
Recording of Live Concert on 22.12.2022 Thursday 6.15pm

Items in YouTube Comments by courtesy Swami Nathan >>
(please check the above link for any updates)

1. ​Reethigowlai (after sloka) 00:02:30
2. Jaganmohini dayApayOnidhE mAm pAhi.. Composer: Mishu Krishna Aiyyar 00:10:11
3. Madhyamavathi ​naadupai balikeru thyagaraja 00:17:20
4. Kedaragowla alapana 00:31:02 antha raama soundaryam Arunachala kavi 00:45:55
5. Veeravasanta vIra vasanta tyAgarAja mAm tArayAshu karuNA nidhE jaya (MSD) 00:54:50
6. Garudadhwani raga – Garuda Garuda ? -by her guru Smt. Suguna Purushottaman 00:58:30
7. Kalayani alapana 1:02:00 ​talli ninnu neranammi (Shyama Sastri) 1:18:30 Thani 1:38:03
8. virutham Petra thay thani maga marandhalm (raga malika) 1:55:12 Nadanamakriya ArAr Ashaip-paDAr nin pAdattukku … Shri Muthu Thandavar… 2:00:35
9. Mand thillana Lalgudi Jayaraman (see reply for lyrics) 2:03:45
10. Bhavamana 2:08:10

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Sangita Kalanidhi: The Lalgudi music journey continues

“The Lalgudi bani focuses heavily on the lyrical content of each song and on the emotional experience it should evoke in the mind of the listener.”
https://www.lalgudigjrkrishnan.com/lalgudi-bani/

For details, also refer to the Oxford Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music

  • Glossary-cum-index
  • In the following section(s)

Index of Names, p. 374

Video | Playing and tuning the South Indian tambura

Tambura played by Katharina Bunzel for singer Bhushani Kalyanaraman
Fine tuning of the tambura demonstrated by T.R. Sundaresan

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As performers-cum-teachers, we should practise with the traditional tambura and teach music with the same to the students.

Malladi Brothers quoted by Aruna Chandaraju in The Hindu >>
Learn more about the tambura (tanpura) >>
“Tambura is my constant companion – a bridge to my past, keeping the memories of my childhood alive.” – Bombay Jayashri >>
Learn more about the tambura (tanpura) >>

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