Ram(ar)Prasadam - Palghat Ramprasad

 



Ram(ar)Prasadam



It is probably only Lord Rama’s Prasadam that Palghat Ramprasad is gifted with the kind of musical proficiency & knowledge he has.
It was my first live concert of his and it was in a very intimate & lovely ambience at the vocalist Late Indira Ranganathan’s house which has been made into a Trust by her students and as a tribute to her, they have formed a platform ‘Sunaadalahiri’ where they often host kutcheris. It is a pleasant open air yet cosy setting and a small stage designed in an ethnic style where the artistes performed. I loved the ambience and think it’s extremely thoughtful to have converted this space for this purpose. Who would have guessed that there is such a place tucked away in the backyard of an unassuming house on the busy C.P. Ramaswamy Road !
Ramprasad began the concert with a song on Lord Vinayaka, which is how often people start to invoke his blessings for an obstacle free concert.
It was ‘Vathapi Ganapathaye’ in Sahana Ragam set to Adi thalam written by Papanasam Sivan. Every Hindu temple, especially in South India will have a place for Lord Ganapathi irrespective of who the main deity is, mostly at the entrance. This song is supposed to be composed on the idol of Ganapathi in the temple of Lord Thyagaraja in Tiruvarur. It is believed that this idol was brought from a place called Vathapi which was a part of the Chalukya kingdom. Vathapi is today known as Badami. This was after the war that the Pallava king Narasimha Varman of the 7th century had with the Chalukya King Pulakesi 2 where the Chalukya army was defeated by the Pallava army under the command of the army chief(Paranjothi who was later known as a servitor of Shiva by the name of Siruththondar). At the end of the war the army chief brought this idol from Vathapi as a symbol of his victory and installed it in Tiruvarur. There is also another idol of Ganapathi in the native village of the army chief (Tiruchenkattankudi which is not far from Thiruvarur) which lays claim to the same war memento. It is believed that during the dawn of war, Paranjothi worshipped a Ganesha sculpture on the walls of Vathapi fort. On the return from the victorious battlefield, he took the statue of Ganesha to his birthplace Tiruchenkattankudi in Nagapattinam, which came to be worshipped as Vathapi Ganapathi. Whichever was the real incident, we are lucky to have two wonderful compositions, one by Muthuswami Dikshitar, ‘Vathapi Ganapathim’ in Hamsadwani Ragam and one by Papanasam Sivan in Sahana Ragam on this idol, and the Dikshitar composition is more common. This made it more enjoyable to hear Ramprasad sing Papanasam Sivan’s song.

Then came an impeccable rendering of Thyagaraja’s ‘Endhuku Daya’ in Thodi Ragam set to Misrachapu thalam. Ramprasad chose the heavy Thodi and it is some time that I had listened to this kriti. In this kriti, Thyagaraja asks Rama to have pity on him. Interestingly, the saint composer uses a metaphor in the third charana, which Ramprasad chose to sing.
Jagela idi samayamu kadu jesite
E gati palukavayya Sri Rama
Nive Kani dari ledayya dina Sharanya
Thyagaraja vinuta Taraka charita nīk..(Enduku)
The meaning of this 3rd charanam is :
Why this delay or hesitation? Now is not the appropriate time to delay or hesitate and if you do so, O Lord Sri Rama, tell me who is my saviour ? O Lord, I have no refuge but you..O Lord who is praised by this Thyagaraja ! O Lord who has a history of enabling your devotees to cross the ocean of worldly existence ! Why don’t you have compassion on me?

Although this metaphor is used to describe the state of mind of a ‘Gnani’ or a realised person who is untouched by the sorrows and the changes which is characteristic of the world. Thyagaraja has deviated in the interpretation, nevertheless a valid one. As in Thyagaraja’s other kritis, charanams though differing in lyrics, follow the same music pattern as in the first one, which is why all these 3 charanams are not sung in concerts, because it sounds repetitive and often the second charanam is omitted. Ramprasad was very emotive which got the audience feeling, that with such divine music, Rama would have definitely listened to Thyagaraja’s pleas !
His next choice was Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Arunachala Natham Smarami’ in Ragam Saranga set to Rupaka thalam.
It is obvious that this song is dedicated to Lord Shiva as Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai where his manifestation is in the form of an Agni Lingam, an emblem of fire. This song belongs to a set of compositions by Muthuswami Diksthar called the Panchabhutalinga Kshetra Kritis. Dikshithar describes Shiva as resembling a crore of rising suns but also as a source of mercy.
The ambience was conducive to enjoy Ramprasad’s meditative rendering of this song. The focus is on the purity of the composition, which appeals to me. Careful listening will make one enjoy the repeated use of sound ङ्ग (nga) in the charanam as much as I did !
In the charanam of this song, Dikshitar writes ‘aprakta tejomaya lingam‘ which means he manifests as the extraordinary fiery linga. Another word is aprameyam which means Shiva is inestimable or immeasurable. This is a reference to the appearance of Shiva as an endless tower of fire the origin and end of which Vishnu and Brahma search for in vain. This manifestation is celebrated during Kartikai Deepam when a fire is lit on the hill, perhaps commemorating the volcanic eruption that is said to have given rise to Arunachala. Ramprasad had made a thoughtful choice of this song, it being Karthigai month and the Karthigai Deepam festival coming the next week.

What followed was a lively composition in Ragam Hindolam by Papanasam Sivan, ‘Maa Ramanan’. This song is so popular that I have heard it in lots of concerts by very senior artistes. One memorable performance of this song was by Unnikrishnan, whose voice melted anyone’s heart. But that was so long ago, here Ramprasad gave a scintillating performance.

Next he sang a Kannada song which I had never heard before, though I brag of my Bangalore childhood. Then Google came to my rescue and I found that it was a Kamalesha Vittaladasa composition in Ragam Purvikalyani set to Kandachapu thalam. I loved its simple lyrics appealing to Raghvendra Swamy who took samadhi in Mantralaya. Ramprasad’s diction was perfect and it was very pleasant.

Ramprasad chose Ragam Bhairavi as the central edifice of this concert, laying a solid foundation with an elaborate alapana, then embellishing with exquisite neravals. It was ‘Yaaro Ivar Yaaro’ by a Tamil poet Arunachal Kavi (1711-1779)from his musical drama ‘RamaNatakam’. Vidushi Vedavalli used to say that it should be sung as ‘Aaro Ivar Aaro’. The music of this drama was composed by Arunachala Kavi’s disciples, Venkatarama Iyer and Kodandarama Iyer. This musical-drama contains 197 songs and 278 viruththams (devotional verses. From this, Ramprasad presented a song where the poet describes the emotions of Rama when he first sees Sita. Originally it was sung in Ragam Saveri, no one knows, not even Google when this changed to Ragam Bhairavi.
‘Who can it be? What is her name?’ Rama wonders after getting a mere glimpse of Sita. ‘In this beautiful Mithila which abounds with clouds and wealth, who is this standing the andhpuram balcony?’. He is smitten by the vision of Sita. ‘With her beautiful moon like face turned towards me, is she looking at me? Perhaps our relationship in a previous life is why she presents herself to me today’.
This is not love at first-sight that the poet describes, but recognition at first-sight. Vishnu born as Rama recognises his consort Lakshmi born as Sita and the love that they have for each other from time immemorial resurfaces. Modern youngsters who think they are rational, may scorn the theory that Vishnu is born as Rama and recognises his wife Lakshmi born as Sita but the same people will recommend you to read Dr. Brian Weiss’s books on the same theory, ‘Many Lives, Many Masters’ and ‘Same Soul, Many Bodies’!
Many think that this is a song sung by Sita upon seeing Rama, but if one were to read the first charanam (which is never sung) where there are certain attributes which can only describe a woman, it is undoubtedly Rama who is singing this in the musical drama.
Ramprasad concluded the concert with an exquisite Javali, ‘ Saramaina Mataleno’ by Swati Tirunal in Ragam Behag , which has been a popular choice for many Bharatnatyam artistes. If there is surprise as to how Swati Tirunal being from Kerala knew Telugu, we must in good faith believe that he was a linguist and a genius. Anyway, I think the context of this Javali, is a conversation between the nayika and her lover who is probably trying to defend his actions for having ignored her, and tries to make clever arguments, when she intervenes and asks him to stop throwing such pretentious(saramaina) words (matalu)...
And in the first charanam, she says that it is her great fortune that the moon has helped her by lighting her way when she comes to meet with her lover, and in the next line, she probably calls attention to her lot when she is not united with him, even though being with him brings them both such joy. Ramprasad could bring all this in front of our eyes with the appropriate bhavam.
It was a wonderful evening, and there was a good number of masked people, who had come to listen to his singing.....they surely went back very fulfilled and completely happy. I am glad that I didn’t miss it !

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. Love the way you give the background to the deity of Vatapi Ganapathi.

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