THE NAVARATHRI MANDAPAM

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THE NAVARATHRI MANDAPAM IN TRIVANDRUM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navarathri is the nine day festival in the month of October, in honor of Devi or the mother Godess. She is worshipped as Saraswathi, the deity of all learning and arts, Lakshmi the Godess of wealth and Durga , embodiment of courage and power .Navarathri Mandapam is situated on the right side of the East Gopuram of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navarathri Mandapam at Padmanabhapuram

 

Every year in the month of October the nine nights of the festival are celebrated here with much fervor. Saint Kambar ,the author of Kamba Ramayana is believed to have gifted the idol of goddess Saraswathi to the Chera King who was his disciple and made the King promise that the Devi will be worshipped during every Navrathri.This promise is being kept by the Travancore Royal House, the descendants of the Chera Kings. Till 1834 AD the Navarathri festival was conducted at the Saraswathi mandapam in the Padmanabhapuram Palace complex.The Saraswathi idol is now kept at the temple inside the Padmanabhapuram Palace complex. It was Swathi Thirunal who shifted the Capital to Thiruvananthapuram from Padmanabhapuram. But the King made arrangements for the idol to be brought to the new

capital during the Navarathri in a grand procession and built the Mandapam for the festival. During the festival the idol is kept at the Navarathri Mandapam for nine days. Special poojas and vedic rites are conducted during the festival. But the highlight of the Navarathri festival is the music concerts in the evenings. Maharaja Swathi Thirunal composed nine songs in nine ragas for the Navarathri concerts. During the first three days the Devi is worshipped as Saraswathi, as Lakshmi during the next three days and as Durga on the last three days. On the first day Devi Jagajanani in Raga Sankarabharanam will be rendered. It is Pahimam Sri Vageeswari in Kalayani for the second day and Devi Pavane Seve in raga Saveri for the third night. Bharathi Mamava Kripaya is sung on the fourth day. It is composed in raga Thodi. Janani Mamavameye in Bhairavi and Saraoruhasanajaye in Panthuvarali are rendered on the fifth and sixth days. The last three days will have

Janani Pahi in Sudha Saveri, Pahi Janani Santhatham in Nattakurinji and Pahi Parvatha Nandini in Arabi in the same order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navarathri Mandapam at Padmanabhapuram

 

Navarathri Mandapam at Padmanabhapuramside view

 

Earther Pot SoundReflectors in Navarathri Mandapam

 

 

 

 

The Navarathri Mandapam is situated inside a beautiful wooden building. During the festival it is decorated with fresh flowers and fruits. The entire place is lit by oil lamps. Sandalwood and camphor are used as incense. It is a rare and divine experience to visit the Navarathri Mandapam and listen to the special concerts. Even today age old codes of dress and conduct are followed here. Women are not allowed to give concerts and the only the royals can get inside the Mandapam. The public will be restricted to the nalukettu around the Mandapam.

The concerts are according to strict time schedules, they start at a ring of the bell at sharp 6 pm and conclude at another ring at 8.30pm.Even the style of the concerts is very different. Only at the Navarathri Mandapam that it is mandatory to play the mridangam during the rendering of Thanam. Till recently Khatam was not permitted here.

The Navarathri mandapam has a very curious arrangement of earthen pots kept in place by means of coir ropes tied around the neck from one pot to another. The mouth of these pots open down earthwards. The pots are of different sizes.. Their mouths are also of different measurements. The pots are not uniformly arranged, but kept in different angles. The thickness of the pots also vary.They are very ingenious and indigenous way of providing Sound Reflectors. They also prevent echoes. The Sound Reflectors are arranged over the area where the musicians give their performances. In olden days, when modern acoustics were not their, these earthen ware pots ensured the even distribution of sound through the mandapa without the noise pollution of echoes.

Preceeding the main concert, there is a 30 minute thodaya mangalam recital by the traditional Mullamoodu Bhagavathars even today. They have a fixed repertoire of Swathi kritis : Jaya Devaki Kisora (Natai) and Pari Pahi ganadhipa (saveri). They conclude with , curiously enough , a no-Swathi Kriti Narayana Thee namo Namo composed by Annamacharya. T is believed that Swathi suggested this kriti for inclusion as a good specimen of kritis other than his. This Annamacharya kriti is popular in kutcheri circutes and Dr. Balamuralikrishna has performed iit in Behag, though it is rendered in Madhyamavathi in the Mandapam.

Almost all major musicians have performed in the mandapam.. Semangudi Srinivasa Iyer tops the list , having performed over 50 times in the Mandapam. Palakkad K.V. Narayana Swamy, M.D. ramanathan, G.N. balasubramaniyam, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, T.N. Seshagopalan, Maharajapuram santhanam, T.K. Govinda Rao, T.V. sankaranarayanan, Neyveli santhana Gopalan, Neyyattinkara vasudevan, R.K. Sreekantan, Sanjay Subramaniyam, Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma, Trichur V. Ramachandran, O.S. Thyagarajan have all graced the Mandapam. Conspicuous by absence are Chembai and his disciple K.J. Yesudas. The longing for Chembai’s magical music in the Mandapam is qunched by many by enjoying the popular Malayalam film song Nakshatra Deepangal Thilangi which mentions Chembai singing in the Mandapa

 

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