Dushyanthaha, Dushyanthow Dushyanthaaha

 


Dushyanthaha, Dushyanthow Dushyanthaaha

If you have studied Sanskrit, in school, (however briefly it might have been) you would surely have learnt Vibhakti declanation. If you were like me, then the choice of Sanskrit would have been thrusted by your parents, who thought it was a ‘scoring subject’, and you would have sulked because you thought it was ‘cool’ to take French or German, having not even the faintest idea what we are going to do with these languages ! Anyway, this should indicate my limited romance with this glorious language, though I tried to rekindle my romance at Samskrita Bharati, a few years when I had realised the value of this ancient language.

Well, here we have this young man Dushyanth Sridhar, who is a qualified engineer from one the premier institutions, who had been in the corporate world, who had chosen to devote his time & life to pursue Indic studies, Vedanta, Vaishnavism, several languages(Sanskrit being one of them), possessing extraordinary memory, and above all a master story teller ! He has made it both his career and his life choice to explore, study, understand, share the countless scriptures and profound philosophy that has been the identity of our country !

What makes him different is that he has the intelligence, the technical knowledge & business acumen. During the peak of Corona, when almost the whole world had come to a standstill & many were trying to mobilise funds for artistes, Dushyanth didn’t whine about lost opportunities. Instead, he realised that the online virtual world is a new market and there was a huge demand created, which made him a primary supplier. After all, what is better than philosophy to hold on to during this uncertainty of the pandemic. He smartly used business ideation techniques to come up with a sure fire winner. Thus was born his 2 courses Bharatiya Sara Bodhini & Prabhandha Sara Bodhini, with a very nominal fee ending up enrolling lakhs & lakhs of people....now that is what I would call ‘Smart thinking’ ! By the way, I am also one among the lakhs who have enrolled for these courses 😀

Agreed, that there are other well read people, who also give ‘Upanyasams’ and they also try to make it contextual and relatable but it is my own opinion that he is the most engaging & talented of all. Now that I am done with my gushing about Dushyanth and his many talents.....let me get to the ‘live’ Upanyasam of the day at Rajaji Vidyashram. It’s difficult to write about the experience of attending an Upanyasam and it’s very different from writing about a concert. And, it is more difficult to write without praising Dushyanth, but guess I have done enough of it ...so I can share only what I understood and more tricky is what I can remember !

The topic was ‘Ramabhaktiyum Vibhaktiyum’, which sounded something new. I would have gone even if it was mentioned just ‘Ramayana’ for two reasons, this like ‘Mahabharata’ is ageless and can never become outdated (why else will modern, contemporary authors like Ashok Banker & Amish resort to retelling (it is more reselling) this epic, stating artistic licence, can’t they think of their own plots & stories?) The second reason is that the narrator’s style makes a difference.

Dushyanth explained how Sanskrit was different from English and Vibhakti was a part of Sanskrit grammar. In this Upanyasam, he took Muthuswami Dikshitar’s 8 Rama Vibhakti Krithis and wove the storyline around that. Obviously, it would not be possible to sing all the 8 krithis completely because that would become a vocal concert instead of an Upanyasam! That is where a lot planning had gone into how to deliver such a unique topic, as to where to be concise and where to elaborate.

He was accompanied in singing, by two sisters Anahita & Apoorva, who are easily one among the best talents we have with us. They marvellously wove a garland of songs taking only the Pallavi from 8 krithis, with Dushyanth stepping in to elaborate the brilliant compositions of Dikshitar, and connect these with the Vibhaktis, with references to situations from Ramayana. I need to mention the flawless singing by Anahita & Apoorva, but since this blog is about Dushyanth’s Upanyasam & not the sisters, I will have to write about them in a well deserved exclusive blog, ideally about their full kutchery. I will not even attempt to try and quote or narrate anything from Dushyanth’s discourse for the fear of not doing justice to it. Still it is imperative to share the krithis and how they connected to the Vibhaktis.

In Prathama(First) Vibhakti : When Rama is the Subject ,it is Ramaha, Ramow, Ramaaha. Where Ramaha is in Ekavachanam or singular, Dwithya vachanam is Ramow and Bahuvachanam is Ramaaha. For this Vibhakti the krithi was ‘Sri Ramachandro Rakshatumam’ in Sriranjani Ragam. Here that part of Ramayana is mentioned where Rama has killed Tataka, destroyed Parasurama’s arrogance & entered Mithila which is in today’s Nepal, married Sita, after breaking Shiva’s bow. Dushyanth here clarifies that contrary to the popular belief, Sita didn’t have an elaborate swayamvar nor were there many kings among suitors, who tried lifting the Shiva Dhanush ! I am sure he has enough to substantiate whatever he says, though it kind of deglamourises this part of Ramayana. After all we have grown up believing that several macho kings, with ripping muscles like Salman Khan, failed to lift the bow, while Rama just lifts it with his little finger and breaks it..

In Dwitya Vibhakti, where Rama becomes the object and for this, it is Ramam, Ramow, Ramaan. The song chosen to depict this Vibhakti was ‘Ramachandram Bhavayami’ in Ragam Vasantha, set to Rupakam Thalam. Here Rama is described as the king of Ayodhya, husband of Sita, one who embraced Hanuman. Practically, covering a portion of Ramayana.

In Tritiya Vibhakti.......By/With Rama, it is Ramena, Ramabhyam , Ramyhi. The song to illustrate this was ‘Ramchandrena Samrakshithoham Sita’ in Ragam Maanji. Here Hanuman sings Rama’s glory & saved the life of Sita and Bharata. The phrase ‘Manjira manimandita’ in the Charanam contains the Raga Mudra, which is typical of Dikshitar.

In Chaturthi Vibhakti..... ‘For Rama’, it is Ramaya, Ramabhyam, Ramebhyha. The song for this was ‘Ramachandraya Namaste Rajeevalochanaya Varaya’ in Ragam Thodi. Here Rama’s beauty is described and also how he gave refuge to Vibhishana. Dikshitar in this composition, gives us a bird's eye view of Ramayana. While the anupallavi focusses on how delighted the Lord gets while listening to Sama veda and is the protector of virtuous people, Dikshitar walks us through the lifeline of Rama in the Charanam right from his birth to his coronation. Dasaratha raja kumaraya, indicating his birth, the phrase ‘dasa grIva pranaharaya, indicating Ravana vadha and a special mention to Rama's family- Kusalava Sita samEtAya ( is accompanied by Sita and sons Kusha and Lava)’

In Panchama Vibhakti..... ‘from Rama’ , it is Ramaath, Ramabhyam, Ramebhyha. The song was Ramachandrath anyam na janeham, in Ragam Dhanyasi Dikshitar stresses on the esoteric worship of Rama in the phrase ‘SrI hari hara-Atma rUpiNO (the one who is Shiva and Vishnu himself)’. He also humbles himself by telling that it was only by Rama’s grace that he could comprehend music in the phrase “sarasa guru guha sangIta tatva bOdhinO (the one who instructs the theory of music to the Guruguha)”

In Shashti Vibhakti, where it needs to show possession, (belongs to) it is Ramasya, Ramyoho, Ramaanaam. The song for this was ‘Ramachandrasya Dasoham Shri Sitanayakasya’ in Ragam Dharmavati. Here Dikshitar calls himself a slave of Ramachandra, who is the husband of Sita. Rama is described as the one who valued harmony, one who rewards bhakti. Rama also adheres to traditions and follows the rule book and he was the one who granted Moksha to Shabari. This kriti mentions, the four means of achieving ends (particularly in politics) are - harmony or peace, rewarding with gifts, creating rivalry and punishing.

In Saptami Vibhakti...... In/On Rama, it is Rame, Ramyoho, Rameshu. The song here is ‘Rame Bharata Palita Rajyamarpayami’ in Ragam Jyoti. When I first heard Anahita & Apoorva singing this, I thought it was Ragam Nasikabhushani. Here it is highlighted in this kriti, that the kingdom protected by Bharata is often interpreted to mean the Bhakti-Samrajyam, the kingdom of Bhakti. In other words, this means offering one’s heart to Rama.

In the last Vibhakti, which is Sambodhana ....In order to address it is Hey Ramaha, Hey Ramow, Hey Ramaha. The song sung for this is ‘Rama Ramakali Kalushavirama’ in Ragam Ramakali. Dushyanth took to explaining all these Vibhaktis so well associating them with every segment of Ramayana laced with humour, and many among the audience may thought Hey Dushyantha, Hey Dushyanthow, Hey Dushyanthaha !

I know, this post is going on & on like a mega serial, but that is how Upanyasam’s are ! There is one very interesting thing, that can’t be ignored. There are many people who believe that only 3 Vibhakti krithis are written by Dikshitar. Only 4 krithis are mentioned in the book ‘Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarshini’ published in 1905, written by his own grand nephew Subbarama Dikshitar. Subbarama Dikshitar has stated that the last song in Ragam Ramkali is written by himself ! Subbarama Dikshitar thought that the other 4 krithis are written by other people, where they have added Dikshitar’s mudra Guruguha. Now, this is matter of debate ! It is not a rare thing that works of geniuses are often linked to some controversy. Sometimes the geniuses themselves are in middle of some controversy! Certain people also think creating controversies will make them appear as geniuses! Have I started a controversy about the authorship of these krithis? Does that make me a genius?


About the Author:
Sandhya Shankar belongs to a well respected business family in Chennai. She is a Life Skills & Corporate Trainer by profession. She is an avid reader and a natural writer, who has written several poems and articles. She even presented her poems as a reading at the British council. She has keen interest in all art forms  and has explored many different forms of painting like stained glass and Tanjore being among them. 

Music being her first passion, she had her formal training under Terakotti Chandrasekharaiah at Bangalore and later briefly under Mrs Champa Kumar. She is a regular visitor of concerts, theatre and other live performances. Her witty reviews have gained a loyal and interactive readership for their sound technical commentary and relevance for every kind of melophile, from the casual-goer to the ragam expert, frequenting Chennai’s rich music scene.

(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.)


Comments

  1. Hey Sandhye ..Review utthamam. Really missed hearing his upanayasam in person. Hopefully next year

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Sandhye ..Review utthamam. Really missed hearing his upanayasam in person. Hopefully next year

    ReplyDelete

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