Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 8:30 AM Hindu Temple of Delaware 760 Yorklyn Road Hockessin, DE 19707 SRUTI - The India Music and Dance Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in the Philadelphia region and founded in 1986. Sruti’s principal mission is to promote and present Indian classical music and dance. In addition, SRUTI seeks to educate the Philadelphia community at-large about Indian arts. SRUTI is a volunteer-run organization. Its leadership comprises an elected Board of Directors and several committees. Every year, around 10 or more world class music and dance recitals are presented during the Spring and Fall seasons by SRUTI in the Greater Philadelphia area. SRUTI also collaborates and partners with other presenting organizations like the Painted Bride Arts Center, Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and Montgomery County Community College. SRUTI has received generous grants from private foundations and public organizations including the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Dance Advance and Philadelphia Music Project (funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts) and the Sam Fels Foundation in addition to a loyal and appreciative audience. SRUTI Board of Directors 2014 President Sunanda Gandham President-Elect Santi Kanumalla Treasurer Venkat Kilambi Secretary Madhavi Ratnagiri Director, Resources & Development Kishore Pochiraju Director, Publications & Outreach Suresh Tyagarajan Director, Marketing & Publicity Nari Narayanan Director Uma Sivakumar Director Sundar Arunapuram Resources & Development Kishore Pochiraju (Chair) Venkat Kilambi Srinivas Pentavalli V.V.Raman Raji Venkatesan Marketing & Publicity Publications & Outreach Nari Narayanan (Chair) Suresh Tyagarajan (Chair) Sundar Arunapuram Vidya Jayaraman Bheem Bhat Lakshmi Radhakrishnan Srikant Raghavachari Srikant Raghavachari Ranjini Shridhar Balaji Raghothaman Uma Sivakumar ~ 2 ~ Program 08:30 AM - Pooja 08:45 AM - Group singing of Utsava Sampradaya Kritis followed by Pancharatna Kritis 11:15 AM - Individual Participation 12:30 PM - Lunch and Stage Setup 01:00 PM - Introducing the 2014 SRUTI Board of Directors Unveiling 4S - SRUTI Sangeetha Sahithya Sangraha 01:30 PM - Main Vocal Concert by Sri. Madurai R. Sundar Accompanied by: Smt. Sandhya Anand on Violin Ms. Rajna Swaminathan on Mridangam 03:30 PM - Snack Break 04:00 PM - Individual Participation (Continued) 3 Pancha Ratna Kriti’s of Tyagaraja Dhanya Karra When I decided to write an article about Tyagaraja for Tyagaraja Aradhana utsavam, I started researching about the great Saint, his compositions and what is Tyagaraja Utsavam. Tyagaraja Aradhana Utsavam is a commemorative music festival held every year at Thirvaiyaru in the months of January and February in honor of Saint Tyagaraja. In this weeklong festival various carnatic musicians from all over the world come to his resting place (Thirvaiyaru) and sing the pancharatna krithi's in unison. This got me curious to learn more about Pancharatna Kriti’s. Pancha Ratna kriti's when translated to English Pancha meaning five, Ratna meaning Gems, which means Five Gems. These are the five gems of Saint Tyagaraja’s compositions. Out of these five kriti’s only one is written in Sanskrit and the remaining four are in Telugu. The Pancharatna kriti’s are written in praise of Lord Rama. They are set in Adi Tala. All the 5 ragas used in these kriti’s are Ghana ragas which are Nata, Gaula, Arabhi, Varali and sri. Naa gowaa va sri is the formula to remember them. Ghana ragas have depth and serious kind of nature in structure and exposition, and improvisation is possible with these ragas. These compositions have a special structure. After Pallavi and Anupallavi with certain variations, comes a series of charanams. The charanam parts of these kriti’s are set as ‘swara-sahityam’, it is better for group singing. Hence these five are rendered as homage to Saint Tyagaraja on his Aradhana day. Since now we know why these kriti’s are sung now let me write what each kriti is about.. Jagadananda Karaka – Ragam Natai: In this song, Tyagaraja praises Lord Ramachandra. He praises Rama as one who is the cause of all bliss in the universe. It deals with this theme with all its depth of thought and expression. Duduku gala – Ragam Goula: In this song Tyagaraja lists all the errors he has committed in his life and asks Rama to redeem such a sinner. It deals with the serious subject of man’s follies. When Sadguru lists the follies normally committed by a man, he touches his own life in a retrospective manner and lists out the mistakes he himself has committed. He mentions how petty things and mundane considerations like even a full meal, unnecessarily wasting time by giving sermons to people who cannot comprehend such things, considering himself as above all of them etc. made him feel good earlier. This supreme realization that results to self-evaluation makes him great beyond description. Sandhinchane – Ragam Arabhi: This song is very sweet in nature as the ~ 4 ~ Raga used is Aarabhi. In this Saint Tyagaraja describes Lord Rama& Lord Krishna in a different angle with happiness and enthusiasm. He says that though you gave this mind to all of us to satisfy the worldly desires but later you got us arrested with your wish to control us in both mind & body. He then tells about Lord Rama and says he is eternal and untouched or untainted by anything. He questions “How can Rama go in such a way ignoring our earthly prayers?” But then says “this Tyagaraja understands your plays of all kind and keep you all confined in my heart”. Kanakana Ruchira – Ragam Varali: This is the least sung or performed of the five Kriti’s, due to the peculiarity of Varali Ragam in which it is composed and the associated obscurity, but it is considered by some to be the most beautiful song. This song deals with the story of Dhruva and it leads to analogies from the Ramayana, the favorite subject of Saint Tyagaraja. It is believed among musicians that if it is taught, it will eventually create a rift between teacher & student. Due to all these factors, this has become the less used among the Pancharatna. Endaro Mahanu bhavulu – Ragam Sri: This song is a salutation to and praise of all the great saints and musicians down the ages. This is the fifth and the final one of Pancharatna and is the most famous, most often sung composition. This composition defines the great names in the context of music. It includes Saints Narada, Saunaka etc. Saint Tyagaraja is bowing before the great souls of music. This is believed to have been composed and sung at the young age of Sadguru before his own Guru. Later a widespread belief came that this was composed in honor of Shadkala Govinda Marar, one of eminent history makers of Carnatic music in Kerala. It is believed that when Marar sung an Ashtapadi in 7 kalas (speeds) with absolute & meticu- lous precision, Saint Tyagaraja out of his sheer joy composed this song to honor Marar. But those who study Sadguru Tyagaraja have a difference of opinion about this since Sadguru never praises a human being. In this kriti he says clearly “Narastuthi Sugama”, that means does the praise of a human being gives me happiness? He always wants to praise only Lord Rama. So here also it is extremely remote that he composed this to honor Marar. But it is believed that on getting pleased with the extraordinary musical skill of Shadkala Govinda Marar, Sadguru asked his senior students to sing this composition which was taught to them earlier to honor Marar. I would like to thank my guru Mrs. Lata Suresh for giving me this opportunity, and also will take this opportunity to thank my very first guru Mrs. Uma Sivakumar. Dhanya Karra is a student of Mrs.Lata Suresh and is 9 years old. 5 Music and Sadhana Mira Srikant Saint Thyagaraja’s life and kirthis are the eternal verities of divinity. According to Sri Thyagaraja, Music is a way to experience the Love of God. Sri Thyagaraja, lived, to demonstrate, that realization of God is best achieved through Nadopasana (Music and Devotion).His compositions though primarily devoted to Rama, also reveals his deep understanding of the tenets of the Vedas and Upanishads. Among musicians of his time, Thyagaraja led a poignant life of devotional and spiritual striving. Through the meaning and messages packed in his songs, he takes his place among the greatest musician- saints of our country, like Kabir, Purandaradasa and the pioneers of devotional poetry, the Azhwars and the Nayannmars. Of all arts, music has the greatest power to take us away effectively, easily, immediately and completely from the earthly plane and helps make our inner spirit elevated to a higher level of consciousness. Our ancestors realized this truth almost at the very dawn of our history. Sri Thyagaraja made his compositions in such a way it energizes our inner spiritual forces to attain moksha or salvation in this life. As a Musician and a saint, Thyagaraja has handled this noble art for the moral and spiritual enlightenment of his self and humanity. The greatness of Sri thyagaraja is the way he linked the human to Divine. Through his compositions, Sri Thyagaraja explains that only through Divine grace, can one, realize his aspirations. A true devotion makes oneself deserve the continuous grace from the Divine. In his krithis, Sri Thyagaraja has taken himself to guide, admonish and appeal to erring humanity. There are several references to nadopasana in Indian music, philosophy, and epics, as is evident, in The Sangita Rathnakara, the opening slokas explain how nada or music awakens the inner energy and how this knowledge is important for salvation.