ISSN. 0970-3101 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE AND ART OF MUSIC Vol. LX 1989 *ra im rfra era faw ifa s i r ? ii ''I dwell not,in Vaikuntha, nor in the hearts of Yogins nor in the Sun; (but) where my bhaktas sing, there be I, Narada!" Edited by: T. S. PARTHASARATHY The Music Academy Madras 306, T. T. K. Road, Madras-600014 Annual Subscription — Inland Rs. 20 : Foreign $ 3-00 OURSELVES This Journal is published as an Annual. All correspondence relating to the Journal should be addressed and all books etc., intended for it should be sent to The Editor, Journal of the Music Academy, 306, T. T. K. Road, Madras-600 014. Articles on music and dance are accepted for publication on the understanding that they are contributed solely to the Journal of the Music Academy. Manuscripts should be legibly written or, preferably, type­ written (double-spaced and on one side of the paper only) and should be signed by the writter (giving his or her address in full). The Editor of the Journal is not responsible for the views expressed by contributors in their articles. CONTENTS Pages The 62nd Madras Music Conference - Official Report 1-64 The Bhakta and External Worship (Sri Tyagaraja’s Utsava Sampradaya Songs) Dr. William J. Jackson 65-91 Rhythmic Analysis of Some Selected Tiruppugazh Songs Prof. Trichy Sankaran (Canada) 92-102 Saugita Lakshana Prachina Paddhati 7. S. Parthasarathy & P. K. Rajagopa/a Iyer 103-124 Indian Music on the March 7. S. Parthasarathy 125-132 The Greatness of the Compositions of Saint Arunagirinatha P. K. Rajagopala Iyer 140-167 Jatisvaram and Svarajati Dr. S. R. Jayasitalakshmi 168-175 Book Reviews Sakuntafa Narasimhan & 7. S. Parthasan&y IT* THE 62n d MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE OFFICIAL REPORT THE OPENING DAY 18—12—1988 The 62nd Annual Conference of the Music Academy, Madras was held at the T. T. Krishnamachari Auditoriufn, 306, T. T. K. Road, Royapettah,' Madras from the 18th December 1988 to 1st January 1989. The Conference was inaugurated by His Excellency Dr. P. C. Alexander, Governor of Tamil Nadu. The inaugural function began with a prayer by Smt. Malathi Janardhanan and Kumari V. Girija. MESSAGES Sri T. T Vasu, President of the Academy, read messages received from the United States National Council of Arts and others. The following messages had also been received : Princeton University, Pan Orient Arts Foundation, Mr. Robert E. Brown, San Diego, California ; Mr. Sam and Luise Scrips, New York and the students of the Wesleyan University. The President of the Academy, Sri T. T. Vasu, welcomed the distinguished guests, members of the Academy and the public. In his address, Sri Vasu said : “ On behalf of the Music Academy it is my privilege to extend to all of you a warm welcome to this, the 62nd Annual Conference of the Academy. The first conference of the Academy was held 2 THB JOURNAL OF THE MADRAS MUSIC ACADEMY [Vol. LIX in 1927 when the Indian National Congress met for its annual session in Madras. It was a period when the upheaval in every layer of India’s consciousness produced by that wizard, Mahatma Gandhi, had almost reached its highnoon. Bharati, as the source, and symbol of a powerful, new awakening in the world of Tamil letters, had practically concluded his seminal labours. Sir C. V. Raman, as the herald of the new age in Indian science, was at the peak of his career. And Rajaji, as an apostle of the Mahatma was spearheading a quiet movement to spread the ethical message of Gandhiji and implementing the Congress constructive programme in the villages. The Music Academy was the aesthetic response to this all-sided renaissance. In those days it was customary to hold conferences of all the new movements that were at work on different tiers of Indian society. The women's conference, the social reforms conference, the science conference, the historical conference and other con­ ferences used to be held either in the places where the Congress met or at different places. The Music Academy was a product of this period. The first Conference of the Academy was there­ fore held in 1927 and so today’s Conference becomes the 62nd in the series. As the Academy was registered only in 1928, this year maks the completion of 60 years of its service for the advancement of the science and art of music. The completion of 60 years is a landmark both in the life of an individual and an institution. It is customary to mark} this event with appropriate celebrations at the domestic level in the case of individuals and at the institutional level in the case of organisations like this. We are celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the Music Academy without the frills and paraphernalia that usually go with such a celebration. However, you to com­ memorate this happy event, I am pleased to inform that the Music Academy has brought out a comprehensive Diary giving details of how the Music Academy was formed in 1927, bio-data of all THE 62ND MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE 3 the Sangita Kalanidhis honoured by the Academy, the origin of classical music, details of great composers, etc. This will be available for members at a nominal price. I offer His Excellency, Dr. P. C. Alexander, a very warm welcome to this Conference. The Indian Administrative Service is manned by the cream of intellectuals India. Some of these civilians have been great administrators, some of them have been stern bureaucrats who were guided by the rules and regulations and facts on the files ; some of them have been stern rulers, but with a human face ; yet others have been academicians interested in books, in research and in contributing to the sum total of knowledge on various aspects of Indian life, history and civili­ sation. But there have not been many who have been all these and more. Dr. Alexander, besides being one of the most able administrators, is a distinguished academician interested in study and research. Mr. Alexander is a Doctor of Literature. He has had training at the Board of Trade; U. K., under a Nuffield Foundation Fellowship and has been a research scholar at the Stanford Research Institute, California, under a Ford Foundation Fellowship. His three publications, “ The Dutch in Malabar ”, “ Buddhism in Kerala ” and “ Industrial Estates in India ” provide eloquent testimony to his deep scholarship and research work. He has held various positions in the Central and State Governments. More than all, he has been the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister during 1981-85—a tumultuous period in recent history— and still enjoys the trust and confidence of quarters that count. Dr. Alexander, who is all this, has not distanced himself from cultural movements which have been valianly at work to preserve our precious artistic traditions. He is one of the pro­ ducts of renaissance which I have mentioned earlier and he must have been, in his youthful years, deeply influenced by men and movements in this part of the country. After all, Madras was for long the capital of practically the entire South India ard Dr. Alexander is one of the distinguished sons of South India. 4 THE JOURNAL OF THE MADRAS MUSIC ACADEMY [Vol. L1X I am therefore confident that he will feel himself at home here. 1 offer him once again a very hearty welcome. I extend a cordial welcome to Vidwan T. Viswanathan and thank him for kindly agreeing to preside over this conference. This is the first time that a musician or a musicologist not resident in India is being invited to preside over our conference. But the manner in which our choice of Vidwan Viswanathan was welcomed by musicians, music loving public and others bear testimony to his intrinsic merit as a musician and a teacher and the high esteem in which he is held by the music world. Apart from the high achievements in the line of Carnatic music, he has the unique distinction of belonging to the family of Vina Dhanammal and of inheriting the precious music tradition that she had evolved. Nature, which is niggardly in the matter of lavishing its gifts on an individual, had been particularly partial in respect of Vina Dhanammal, so much so she became the repository and exponent of a peerless music tradition. Usually Nature never repeats or reproduces a genius. Nor are the opulent gifts of a genius passed on to the succeeding generations in the family. But even in this matter, Dhanammal was unique. All the members of her family are the proud inheritors of her musical legacy. And Balasarswati, her grand-daughter, shone as an outstanding genius in the field of dance. Vina Dhanammal was held in the highest esteem by hep contemporaries who were giants in their respective fields. Lesser ones stood in awe before her. Everywhere Vina Dhanammal was extended the courtesies that are normally shown to members of the royalty. Dhanammal’s connections with our family were very close. My grandfather, a very high judicial officer of vast erudition and severely austere habits, while he was in Kumbakonam, had always t h e 62nd Madras music conference 5 deemecf it a privilege to receive her in his house. And his house, naturally, attracted all the leading musicians of the time My father, who had grown in that atmosphere, had learnt to admire her to the point of reverence. It is said that Vina Dhanammal was an institution by herself. She was a peerless player on the vina and also a peerless musician.