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Spirit of Tyagaraja Aradhana
http://thyagaraja-vaibhavam.blogspot.com Harish Bevinahally
Sri V. Govindan of Chennai has done a great service to Carnatic music lovers through his blog. This is a content-rich, interactive resource dedicated to saint Thyagaraja's works. It is simple, well organized, and offers lyrics in several languages including English, Devanagari, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam . For each Kriti in the blog, Sri Govindan has provided a gist as well as full translation. I like the word-by-word translation, which brings out the linguistic richness of the kritis, and can serve as a great teaching aid. For example, Thyagaraja sings the importance of devotion in "sangeeta jAnamu bhakti vinA": pallavi sangIta jnAnamu bhakti vinA san-mArgamu kaladE manasA O My Mind (manasA)! Mere knowledge (jAnamu) of music (sangIta) bereft of (vinA) devotion (bhakti) will not lead (kaladE) to the right path (of God realization) (san-mArgamu). ~ 14 ~ anupallavi bhRngi naTESa samIraja ghaTaja matanga nArada-Adulu-upAsincE (sangIta) O My Mind! Mere knowledge of music – worshipped (upAsincE) by bhRngi (a devotee of Siva), Lord naTarAja - Lord (ISa) of Dance (naTa) (naTESa), AnjanEya – son of Wind God (samIraja), sage agastya – born of pitcher (ghaTaja), matanga, nArada and others (Adulu) (nAradAdulupAsincE), bereft of bhakti will not lead to the right path (of God realization). caraNam nyAya-anyAyamu telusunu jagamulu mAyAmayamu-ani telusunu durguNa kAyaja-Adi shaD-ripula jayincu kAryamu telusunu tyAgarAjuniki (sangIta) Knowledge of music together with bhakti will lead to the right path of (God realization) through which what is right (nyAya) and what is not (right) (anyAyamu) (nyAyAnyAyamu) can be known (telusunu); the truth that (ani) this universe (jagamulu) is of the nature (mayamu) of illusion (mAyA) (mAyAmayamani) can be known (telusunu); the method (kAryamu) of gaining victory (jayincu) over evil-some (durguNa) six (shaD) (internal) enemies (ripula) - kAma (kAyaja) etc. (Adi) (kAyajAdi) (kAma, krOdha, lObha, mOha, mada and mAtsarya) can be known (telusunu); O My Mind! To this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAjuniki) mere knowledge of music bereft of bhakti will not lead to the right path (of God realization). Sri Govindan has provided alternative interpretations of lyrics where literal translation may often miss the true intent of the saint. Also posted on the blog are variations in practice, and appropriate usage. I found search feature on the blog a bit tricky, but works reasonably well. As a personal journal on the Worldwide Web, this blog contains posts, making it interactive and interesting. You can read posts from others, post your questions for Sri Govindan, or connect with other Carnatic music enthusiasts. Sri Govindan is passionate about music, loves to write, and has done a great deal of research to compile this blog for the public to enjoy the great works of saint Thyagaraja. Happy Blogging.
~
Please note that a printable version of Thyagaraja's kritis can be found at: https://skydrive.live.com/? cid=bbaf7e1ca0356380&id=BBAF7E1CA0356380%21433
Articles on Saint Thyagaraja
1. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...ght-heart.html
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16591093
3. http://www.karnatik.com/article007.shtml
The Spirit of Thyagaraja Aradhana Priyanka Dinakar
Thyagaraja Aradhana, an annual event held to honor Saint Thyagaraja, is an event that everyone in this community looks forward to; they get to meet their musically-inclined friends after a winter break and listen to people sing. The day starts with a short pooja, conducted by a priest or someone that is familiar with the worship ritual. The Utsava Sampradaya group and the Pancharatna groups then perform, after putting in weeks of practice. But the most attended part of the program is the individual participation. This is where each student gets to showcase all of the hard work that they have put in for the past few months; therefore, everybody attending is obligated to be there, listen, and support the singers. Upcoming artists are sometimes invited to perform to get more experience with performing. But what do these series of events really symbolize? The renditions should symbolize homage to Saint Thyagaraja and keep the wonderful tradition alive. The Aradhana is held every year in Thiruvaiyaru on the astrological day when Tyagaraja gave up his physical body. The Thiruvaiyaru celebrations are now well renowned with lots of media coverage. The Sruti Thyagaraja Aradhana got started in 1987, the year after Sruti was founded. Every year, music lovers eagerly await this event to sing themselves, or to watch others sing. The music teachers put some thought to pick a nice and if possible heavy composition of the composer to teach each ~ 13 ~ student or groups of students. The audiences wait to hear each of the students and discuss their progression in musical learning since the last Aradhana. If the participant delivers well, even more kudos to them! Everyone should definitely come to support these participants who have worked so hard to present the compositions. Students must stay back to listen to their peers sing, encourage and cheer for them. Because of the focus on individual participations, Aradhana has shown signs of becoming more of a ―talent showcase day‖ than an aradhana, which is defined as ―an act of glorifying God‖. Today, let us forget trying to showcase all of our talent and hard work and sing in remembrance of Thyagaraja, this great saint who spent his life composing hundreds of masterpieces that have brought so much joy and peace to the listeners and practitioners.
http://thyagaraja-vaibhavam.blogspot.com Harish Bevinahally
Sri V. Govindan of Chennai has done a great service to Carnatic music lovers through his blog. This is a content-rich, interactive resource dedicated to saint Thyagaraja's works. It is simple, well organized, and offers lyrics in several languages including English, Devanagari, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam . For each Kriti in the blog, Sri Govindan has provided a gist as well as full translation. I like the word-by-word translation, which brings out the linguistic richness of the kritis, and can serve as a great teaching aid. For example, Thyagaraja sings the importance of devotion in "sangeeta jAnamu bhakti vinA": pallavi sangIta jnAnamu bhakti vinA san-mArgamu kaladE manasA O My Mind (manasA)! Mere knowledge (jAnamu) of music (sangIta) bereft of (vinA) devotion (bhakti) will not lead (kaladE) to the right path (of God realization) (san-mArgamu). ~ 14 ~ anupallavi bhRngi naTESa samIraja ghaTaja matanga nArada-Adulu-upAsincE (sangIta) O My Mind! Mere knowledge of music – worshipped (upAsincE) by bhRngi (a devotee of Siva), Lord naTarAja - Lord (ISa) of Dance (naTa) (naTESa), AnjanEya – son of Wind God (samIraja), sage agastya – born of pitcher (ghaTaja), matanga, nArada and others (Adulu) (nAradAdulupAsincE), bereft of bhakti will not lead to the right path (of God realization). caraNam nyAya-anyAyamu telusunu jagamulu mAyAmayamu-ani telusunu durguNa kAyaja-Adi shaD-ripula jayincu kAryamu telusunu tyAgarAjuniki (sangIta) Knowledge of music together with bhakti will lead to the right path of (God realization) through which what is right (nyAya) and what is not (right) (anyAyamu) (nyAyAnyAyamu) can be known (telusunu); the truth that (ani) this universe (jagamulu) is of the nature (mayamu) of illusion (mAyA) (mAyAmayamani) can be known (telusunu); the method (kAryamu) of gaining victory (jayincu) over evil-some (durguNa) six (shaD) (internal) enemies (ripula) - kAma (kAyaja) etc. (Adi) (kAyajAdi) (kAma, krOdha, lObha, mOha, mada and mAtsarya) can be known (telusunu); O My Mind! To this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAjuniki) mere knowledge of music bereft of bhakti will not lead to the right path (of God realization). Sri Govindan has provided alternative interpretations of lyrics where literal translation may often miss the true intent of the saint. Also posted on the blog are variations in practice, and appropriate usage. I found search feature on the blog a bit tricky, but works reasonably well. As a personal journal on the Worldwide Web, this blog contains posts, making it interactive and interesting. You can read posts from others, post your questions for Sri Govindan, or connect with other Carnatic music enthusiasts. Sri Govindan is passionate about music, loves to write, and has done a great deal of research to compile this blog for the public to enjoy the great works of saint Thyagaraja. Happy Blogging.
~
Please note that a printable version of Thyagaraja's kritis can be found at: https://skydrive.live.com/? cid=bbaf7e1ca0356380&id=BBAF7E1CA0356380%21433
Articles on Saint Thyagaraja
1. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...ght-heart.html
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16591093
3. http://www.karnatik.com/article007.shtml
The Spirit of Thyagaraja Aradhana Priyanka Dinakar
Thyagaraja Aradhana, an annual event held to honor Saint Thyagaraja, is an event that everyone in this community looks forward to; they get to meet their musically-inclined friends after a winter break and listen to people sing. The day starts with a short pooja, conducted by a priest or someone that is familiar with the worship ritual. The Utsava Sampradaya group and the Pancharatna groups then perform, after putting in weeks of practice. But the most attended part of the program is the individual participation. This is where each student gets to showcase all of the hard work that they have put in for the past few months; therefore, everybody attending is obligated to be there, listen, and support the singers. Upcoming artists are sometimes invited to perform to get more experience with performing. But what do these series of events really symbolize? The renditions should symbolize homage to Saint Thyagaraja and keep the wonderful tradition alive. The Aradhana is held every year in Thiruvaiyaru on the astrological day when Tyagaraja gave up his physical body. The Thiruvaiyaru celebrations are now well renowned with lots of media coverage. The Sruti Thyagaraja Aradhana got started in 1987, the year after Sruti was founded. Every year, music lovers eagerly await this event to sing themselves, or to watch others sing. The music teachers put some thought to pick a nice and if possible heavy composition of the composer to teach each ~ 13 ~ student or groups of students. The audiences wait to hear each of the students and discuss their progression in musical learning since the last Aradhana. If the participant delivers well, even more kudos to them! Everyone should definitely come to support these participants who have worked so hard to present the compositions. Students must stay back to listen to their peers sing, encourage and cheer for them. Because of the focus on individual participations, Aradhana has shown signs of becoming more of a ―talent showcase day‖ than an aradhana, which is defined as ―an act of glorifying God‖. Today, let us forget trying to showcase all of our talent and hard work and sing in remembrance of Thyagaraja, this great saint who spent his life composing hundreds of masterpieces that have brought so much joy and peace to the listeners and practitioners.