The ordinary ways of enjoying TiruppAvai - 3

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Dear friends,

 

The TiruppAvai as a work of both beautiful and profound scripture is " all things

to all people " .

 

There is indeed something in this Tamil hymn for everyone to read and delight

in. One can choose to follow the  scholarly commentataries of the traditional

theologicians like say, Sri Parashara Bhattar or Sri Periavaachaan-pillai and

regard it as lofty scripture. Or one can simply opt to enjoy the TiruppAvai as

charming drama --- a tale about a band of cowherdesses in the village of

SriVilliputtur who observed a month-long pastoral rite, half worshipfully and

half playfully, with the hope of attaining the Almighty as their paramour. Or

else, the TiruppAvai can be enjoyed as a pre-eminent and historic text-book of

Tamil poetry... There are indeed so many " serious " ways to study the TiruppAvai;

but there are perhaps an equal number of " ordinary ways " too in which this

extraordinary Tamil hymn is savored by people from walks of life that are far

less eminent or accomplished than those hailing from the hereditary ranks of

well-schooled  SriVaishnavite

orthodoxy.

 

Precisely because the the appeal of TiruppAvai to both and religious sense of

people is so wide, popular and timeless, one can venture to describe it as a

" smash box-office-hit " and not be guilty of inappropriately borrowing a

superlative term from the world of modern Indian cinema. There is no doubt that

future generations of TiruppAvai-lovers will cherish and celebrate the hymn just

as past and present fans embraced and apotheosized it for centuries now. It

shall certainly rank as one of the finest " super-productions " ever to come out

of the " scriptural studios " of SriRangam which I in my last posting rather

facetiously had to describe as " SRollywood " simply because I was unable to find

a more sensational way to describe the sheer creative brilliance of the Mystic

Order of ancient SriVaishnavite " AchAryAs " and " AzhwArs " who lived and worked in

SriRangam and swore eternally by the great Deity presiding there: Lord Sri

Ranganatha.

 

                      *******************

 

In Chennai, the commonest commoner mode of enjoying the TiruppAvai is through

the medium of classical Carnatic music. I know a gentleman-friend of mine in

Mylapore who best typifies this particular " ordinary way " of delighting in

TiruppAvai.

 

During the month of " mArgazhi " this gentleman will awaken in the small hours of

the day, complete his ritual ablutions and then sit down in his  household

" pujai " and begin loud recitation of the verses of the TiruppAvai, his

recitation conforming to the general custom i.e. the general way (known as " sEva

kaalam " ) in which the hymn is conventionally chanted by priests in temples. The

recitation, I had noticed, used to continue from verse no: 1 right through to

no: 24 without much ado. But as soon as the gentleman arrived at Stanza no: 25

beginning with those stirring words: " orutthi magannaay pirandhu.... " , I noticed

the gentleman abruptly stopped the regular chanting and launched instead into a

full-throated and enthusiastic rendition of the verse in authentic Carnatic

music " kutcheri " style!!

 

Listening to him suddently break into a song one would have thought he was

striving to belt out " paasuram " no: 25 in the same way in which perhaps he

thought the great doyen of the past, the Carnatic music maestro Sri Ariyakudi

Ramanuja Iyengar might have rendered it at some grand public performance! It is

well known indeed that the stanza used to be rendered by Sri Ariyakudi (and

later if one remembers by his great disciple Sri Palghat KV Narayanaswamy too)

in that beautiful and most evocative " raag " known as " behaag " , a very popular

" raag " in which several of other most beautiful compositions of Carnatic music

too have been set.

 

After rendering thus the entire Stanza no: 25 in the " raag " " behaag " in his big,

bellowing, stentorian, grandstanding, boom-box voice, this gentleman would

immediately revert next to conventional chant mode and proceed rather tamely,

almost as anti-climax, to the finale of Verse 30 of the TiruppAvai... And

through all this he would remain quite unmindful of the earthquaking drama,

spectacle and sensation he had created in his " puja " just moments ago and of the

effect it had had on all of us, his captive audience, well and truly in shock

and awe !!

 

                    ********************

 

One day after the " puja " was over, as we, his " mArgazhi mahOtsavam " guests, were

all served hot and delicious " venn-pongal " , I politely asked him the reason for

his rather exuberant, unusual and hybrid mode of reciting the TiruppAvai.

Chewing on a mouthful of rich and steaming hot " venn-pongal " , the gentleman

explained:

 

" Sir, many years ago as a young boy, I once heard a live concert and the great

Ariyakudi Ramanjuja Iyengar rendered " orutthi maganaay pirandhu... " in " behaag " .

Believe me, since that day, I am convinced this " paasuram " of TiruppAvai when

AndAl sang it she must certainly have had " behaag " in mind and equally " behaag "

too as a 'raagam' must have been conceived in the " sangeetha sAstras " for this

very " paasuram " of the TiruppAvai. The two are most certainly made for each

other --- like sun and sunshine, moon and moonshine and like " pongal " and

" maargazhi " too, I reckon! I have since then resolved never to merely recite

Verse 25... I resolved I will always sing it and sing it in " behaag " only! "

 

                   *******************

 

What an extraordinary way, I thought to myself silently, what an extraordinary

way to enjoy the TiruppAvai in an " ordinary way " and that with a mouthful of

tasty " venn-pongal " !!

 

More in the next few postings.

 

Best Regards,

Sudarshan MK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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