Guest guest Posted February 4, 2010 Report Share Posted February 4, 2010 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 The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Homepage. http://in./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.