Sydney Music Circle proudly presents Tyagaraja Aradhana 2020 Promoting local Carnatic talent in Sydney since 1983 15 & 16 February 2020 Redgum Function Centre Cnr Lane and Veron Street Wentworthville NSW 2145 www.sydneymusiccircle.org Blacktown With over 15 years of printing experience Rama and his team at Snap Blacktown can help you with all your needs including: Printing, Business stationery, Graphic design, Websites, Posters, Banners, QR Codes, E-Publication eMail Marketing and more. Call us on 9621 6055 or visit snap.com.au/snap-blacktown.html Directors: Rama Kudva & Poornima Kud va Poornima Enterprises Pty Ltd ABN 97 162 648 697 A business operated under franchise from Snap Franchising Ltd t Snap Blacktown r S e Forge St m d e s s e Unit 1, 1-3 Carnegie Place, G lt R B ate Rd CARNE o GIE P h L y Blacktown, NSW, 2148 n t un e S S rg Tel: (02) 9621 6055 t o F l S e e Besse t mer St S Fax: (02) 9831 1637 Besse mer St e v Email: [email protected] ago A www.blacktown.snap.com.au Bu d tterfield S hic t C lt R o h y unn S Tyagaraja Aradhana A humble namaste from the SMC team! 2020 As we re-dedicate ourselves to serving the community through the divine art of Carnatic music, our grateful pranaams go to to the ever-swelling numbers of rasikas, music teachers, artistes, and (most importantly), the corpus of volunteers whose selfless service makes events such as the annual Tyagaraja Aradhana possible. On the auspicious occasion of the Aradhana, it befits us to introspect on the importance that Saint Tyagaraja attaches to naama-samkirtana (choral recitation of the names of the Lord). This is particularly relevant in this day and age when most of us – caught up in the hurdles of our daily existence – cannot conduct elaborate poojas, or visit pilgrimage spots as often as we would like. Tyagaraja asserts his reformatory zeal in declaring that a concourse of devotees chanting Lord Rama’s name loudly is more pleasing to Him than other forms of worship. The importance accorded to Rama-naama-japa in the Upanishads (particularly the Rama Rahasyopanishad) leads Tyagaraja to describe His name as veda-varna- niyamau in the Devamanohari song “Evarikai”. He also characterises Lord Rama as a taaraka-naamadheya, “He whose Name saves one”. Going a step further, poet Kalidasa says that when Sage Vasistha gave the name Rama to Dasaratha’s first son, he did so because of the effulgent personality of Lord Rama – and Kalidasa adds that the name immediately became the foremost auspicious thing of the world. Tyagaraja, in his Durbar song Ramabhirama Ramaneeyanama, says that the name chosen was as charming as the person. This accords with the tenets of the worshippers of the Lord’s name, that the Name is indisguishable from the Form. The name, therefore, is not merely a means to reach the Lord, it is the Lord Himself. Tyagaraja’s prayer was always that his tongue should become used to the continuous repetitions of the Lord’s name, as he mentions in his Devagandhari song Sri Raghuvara. It is intriguing that similar sentiments were expressed by Sangita Pitamaha Purandaradasa in the ugabhoga, “Baliya Manege”, wherein he prays that the name of Purandara-Vittala should always be on his lips. The Tyagaraja Aradhana will see a fascinating cornucopia of the Lord’s names being recited chorally or individually, by participants from different age groups and with different levels of proficiency in music. Nevertheless, the strand joining all of them – much like a thread running through a garland – is a contagious devotion that also permeates the audience. In a way, the Aradhana is as much of a homage to the saint composer as it is a celebration of the divinity in Carnatic music. We pray to Lord Rama to shower his blessings on all. Sarve Janaa Sukhino Bhavanthu. Sydney Music Circle - Promoting local Carnatic talent in Sydney since 1983 Let Noble Thoughts Come to Us from Every side Affiliated to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Central Bhavan) Mumbai, India Founded in 1938 by Kulapati Dr. K.M. Munshi with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia is pleased to support Annual Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival 2020 presented by Sydney Music Circle in their 37th year. We note that Sydney Music Circle has been providing a forum for both practising and amateur musicians in Sydney via free monthly concerts comprising of a student segment and a senior segment for the benefit of classical music lovers from any community. We greatly commend their two-day annual music festival during the auspicious month of February celebrating the life and works of one of the greatest saints and composer Sri Thyagaraja. We congratulate the people behind the Sydney Music Circle for their ongoing efforts in preserving and promoting the ancient heritage of Indian classical music. Headquartered in Mumbai, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, one of the largest cultural organisations in the world, aims at promoting the unifying ideals of Indian philosophic thought through the vehicles of art and culture. Various Kendras (centres) Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, especially in the southern India do honour Sri Thyagaraja with their music festivals and workshops in Carnatic music. The Sydney Centre, launched in 2003, is the first in Australia (and the first in the Asia Pacific region). Bhavan Australia has been expanding its activities in fields of Arts and Culture. With a view to spread the rich culture as well as to meet the increasing demand of the community Bhavan Australia has undertaken a number of cultural and multicultural projects and publishes high quality content based magazines like Bhavan Australia uploaded on www.bhavanaustralia.organd Nonviolence News: uploaded on www.nonviolence.org.au. On behalf of Bhavan Australia I offer my best wishes to Sydney Music Circle and all its artists, volunteers and supporters for the success of their annual music festival preserving the age old Indian classical music. Gambhir Watts OAM President Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia 30 January 2020 Suite 102 515 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Postal Address: GPO Box 4098 Sydney NSW 4018 Tel: +61 2 9283 6088 Fax: +61 2 9283 7088 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bhavanaustralia.org Tyagaraja Aradhana 2020 Endaro mahanubhavulu, a retrospect Dr Padma Mallela Mad Bhakta yetra gayanthi Tatra tishtami Narada is a sloka wherein Lord Vishnu himself says, “wherever my devotees sing about me, that is where I live Narada”. It represents how much of an important part music has in the relationship between a devotee and god. Music is the easiest path to salvation. To better understand how to utilise this path, there is no better way than to study how these devotees, ie composers, offered themselves to the Lord through their work. Let us try to understand bhakti marga through the eyes of Tyagaraja in the classic Endaro Mahanubhavulu. The heart of any composer can be understood through the lyrics he/she writes. It is important to note that improper pronunciation can completely change the meaning of any lyrics. It is almost an insult to the composer’s work when words are pronounced wrong. First of all, we need to note that it is Endaro and not Entharo, a common mistake that many musicians make. Endaro means many, whereas Entharo, means how much. When we observe the structure of Tyagaraja’s kritis, the compositions always follow an essay-like construction. They start with an introductory statement in the pallavi, and a statement to back up the argument made in the pallavi through the anupallavi. The charanams usually contain reasons that go into an in -depth justification of the pallavi and anupallavi and finally provide a concluding statement toward the end of the krithi. In this krithi, the pallavi is: Endaro mahanubhavulu, andariki vandanamulu meaning that there are many great people and he (Tyagaraja) offers his namaskarams to all of them. But why does he want to offer his namaskarams and who are these people? He justifies this in the anupallavi: Chanduru varnuni anda chandamulu hridayara vindamuna juchi brahmananda manubhavinchu varendaro which means that he offers his namaskaram to all those people who experience the moon-like face of Rama in their hearts and go to a state of bramhananda, or ecstasy. This is a subtle suggestion that attaining salvation is Sydney Music Circle - Promoting local Carnatic talent in Sydney since 1983 Tyagaraja Aradhana 2020 Endaro mahanubhavulu, a retrospect (contd.) as simple as meditating upon god and visualising his (i.e. Rama’s) presence through singing his praises. Through that, God can take form in our hearts and take us to a state of samadhi and therefore moksha . Then come the charanams, which provide a profound explanation of all the qualities a devotee should possess in order to get to that state, and the names of all the great devotees that have these attributes. Through observing them, we provide ourselves a one-way ticket to salvation. Charanams 1 to 6 focus on the attributes of what makes a devotee pious. They describe how Tyagaraja offers his salutations to all the beings who offer their souls to the lotus feet of Sree Rama. They are void of emotions like kama, krodha, mada, lobha, moha and matsarya and surrender themselves to the blissful sama gana. In the subsequent charanams, he mentions those who enjoy this musical ecstasy and are always in an enlightened state. These beings range from lord Shiva, Sanaka, Sananda, Hanuman, Suka, Narada, Tumburu etc. and also all the “parama bhagavatas” i.e. those who are in constant thought of bhagavan.