Thirssur Pooram Kaanaan
Thirssur Pooram Kaanaan
They started as many do traditionally, on Lord Ganesha with a composition of Keshavananda Bharati, ‘Sumukaikadantha’ in Ragam Saraswati. It was what followed that made me coin this title. Every song after that was resplendent and a treat to the listener. It would be simpler to just list the songs and share details about the song because these brothers Srikrishna Mohan and Ramkumar Mohan accompanied by their father Vidhwan Trichur Mohan are undoubtedly a winning combination of natural talent & continuous innovation.
This was evident in their next song ‘Sakethanagaranatha’ composed by Mysore Sadashiva Rao in Ragam Harikamboji set to Rupakam thalam.
Mysore Sadasiva Rao lived in the 19th century and has composed hundreds of songs in diverse Ragams and Thalams, though only a fraction of them have survived. Sadly, both the details of his early life and rest of the songs are unavailable. To my limited knowledge, the only source of information about him, is the book published by Sangeeta Kalabhivardhini Sabha, Mysore, in 1954, when Mysore K. Vasudevacharya was its President. Sadasiva Rao was born in Chittoor and belonged to a Desastha Brahmin family of Maharashtrian origin. He was the Asthana Vidhwan in the Mysore court for 50 years from 1835 to 1885, therefore this Maharashtrian immigrant from Telugu country came to be known as ‘Mysore’ Sadasiva Rao. Apparently, while he was in Walajapet, he reportedly met Tyagaraja. This incident, is mentioned by Ramaswamy Bhagavatar, grandson of Venkataramana Bhagavatar, in Tyagabrahmopanishad. When Thyagaraja Swamy was visiting his disciple in Walajapet, Sadasiva Rao composed the kriti Thyagaraja Swamy Vedalina and sang it before him and received his blessings. Unfortunately, this kriti is among the hundreds that have gone missing. There is a very interesting narrative of his death. It is said that he was aware when his life would end and on that day, he sat facing north and started singing softly to himself his own composition Kamalakanta Sree Krishna, in the raga Vasanta. Then, after massaging his head with a spoonful of ghee, he withheld his breath and gave up his life. The story goes that the tambura and other musical intruments in his house reverberated on their own at that moment! Only 47 of Sadasiva Rao's compositions are available, of which 35 are with notations and the other 12 have only sahitya. The pada varna and the tillana are addressed to the king Krishnaraja Wodeyar. Like Muthuswami Dikshitar, Sadasiva Rao composed many of his kritis while on visits to kshetras or places of pilgrimage.
Thus, ‘Sri Parthasararathy’ is associated with the temple in Triplicane, Paramadbhutamaina with Srirangam, Samrajyadayakesa, Kanugoni and Kamakotipeetha sthitey with Kanchipuram, Sree Lakshmiramana with Bhavanipura,situated between the Kaveri and Bhavani rivers, and Sri Subrahmanya with Palani. He used four different mudras with which to sign off his kritis namely, Sadasiva, Sadasivakavi, Kavi Sadasiva and Varakavi Sadasiva. Interestingly, he did not use any for his thillana and for his erotic composition like the pada varna. Perhaps, the devout and orthodox brahmin that he was, he subconsciously felt he should not acknowledge overtly sringara oriented compositions as his own creations.
Coming back to Trichur Brothers, they took the phrase ‘RajithaAmarapala’ and what we saw sheer brilliance and dedication. Both of them are able to hold their own without overshadowing each other, which is so uncommon when siblings sing together. Like in the case of Priya Sisters (or should we say Priya Sister?) or even in the case of the amazingly talented RaGa who everyone is GaGa about!
The song that followed was Shyama Shastri’s ‘Rave Himagiri’ in Ragam Thodi, set to Adi thalam. This was very enjoyable with listening to both of them taking turns to high & low pitching, which creates a great impact. It was the Saint Thyagaraja’s composition ‘Manavayalakim’ in Ragam Nalininakanti set to Adi thalam, which followed. Nothing could have been faster, as they sped with the song. Every time I hear this duo, I don’t just enjoy but also notice their steady growth in their singing prowess & innovative presentation skills. It has been quite sometime since I have heard Dikshitar’s composition ‘Hariharaputhram’ in Ragam Vasanta. Ramkumar gave some wonderful shades of Hindustani style of singing while you can just close your eyes to feel the Bhakti & Bhavam in Srikrishna’s perfect singing!
It was amusing to see both the brothers discussing during this particular juncture, almost making the viewer feel that it was a live kutcheri and forget that it was a prerecorded one. Good that, no one edited these cute moments which made the experience a little natural. They gave a soulful rendering of Gopalkrishna Bharati’s ‘PithamTheliya’ in Ragam Senjurutti, set to Rupakam. What followed was Gabbita Venkata Rao’s Rama Neela Megha Shyama’ in Ragam Yamunakalyani, set to Adi thalam. Personally I think, they sing this song much too often. Although they sing this very well, it is kind of repetitive to listen to this in most of their concerts. After all, there is so much more they are capable of offering!
There came a composition or rather a devotional poem by Poonthanam Namboodiri, who lived in the 16th century ‘Njnanappana’ in Malayalam. This is regarded as an important piece of literature in Kerala both for its poetic style & also for its devotional style towards Lord Guruvayurappan. Just like how Sant Gnaneshwer’s work ‘Gnaneshweri’ in Marathi, ‘Njnanappana’ is considered as good as Bhagwat Gita in Kerala. The story goes that Lord Guruvayurappan himself preferred Poonthanam’s ‘Njnanappana’ to his contemporary Narayana Bhattathiri’s more famous ‘Narayaneeyam’, though it much shorter than ‘Narayaneeyam’ !
Anyway, while I managed to get an English translation of ‘Gnaneshweri’ and read it too, I haven’t been able to lay my hands on the translated copy of ‘Njnanappana’, though it can never be the same as reading anything in it’s original language. For Trichur Brothers it must have been natural to sing in Malayalam. They ended the lovely concert with a Mangalam by Bhadrachala Ramadas’s as they always do, followed with their signature prayer to Mahaperiva, Sathya Saibaba and Anjaneyar.
While there are many technically proficient singers in the Carnatic music, in my opinion there is something magical about the ‘Voices from Kerala’, which makes them stand out. Like it’s Yesudas for the previous generation(s), it is Trichur Brothers for the current one!!
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.)
Thanks once again for a spectacular review ! Sadasiva Rao's story is very interesting indeed..
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