Revisiting Sivan Brothers’ Kandapuranam songs

Among the galore compositional legacies rescued from the margins of euphony past are the kritis by Brahmasri Ramaswami Sivan and his member that are concise versions of Kacchiyappa Sivacharya’s Kandapuranam verses. The Sivan Brothers, who lived and composed successful the 19th century, were musicians of exceptional learning. Fluent successful Tamil, Sanskrit and Telugu, they were besides renowned for their literate scholarship. Both adopted ‘Guhadasa’ arsenic their mudra, composing extensively crossed devotional and literate themes. Only a tiny information of the kritis, 1 of the astir important works of the Sivan Brothers, past — with astir 40 of them published by Annamalai University.

These forty songs formed the ground of the Sri Guhadasa Trust’s thematic performance series, presented annually successful honour of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan. A five-part league that began astatine the 178th jayanti, concluded astatine the 182nd celebrated precocious astatine the Arkay Convention Centre. On the occasion, the last 7 kritis were performed by Bhavya Hari, Vidya Kalyanaraman and Brindha Manickavasakan, who were accompanied by Ananthakrishnan connected the violin, Guru Ragavendra connected the mridangam and Trichy K. Murali connected the ghatam.

The programme began with 2 songs extracurricular of the Kandapuranam bid composed by the Sivan Brothers. Brindha sang ‘Athi mugathavan padam’in raga Janaranjani, acceptable to Adi tisra gathi, composed by Venkatraman belonging to the lineage of the Sivan Brothers. This was preceded by Kacchiyappa Sivacharya’s Kandapuranam cheyyul virutham ‘Mann ulaginil’. In fact, each the virtham rendered by the vocalists were Sivacharya’s compositions. Bhavya Hari followed with phalasruti virutham ‘En nayagan’ successful Bilahari, starring into ‘Mal maruganai ninaindiru’, a Mel kala thani paadal, composed by Ramaswamy Sivan.

Then began the Kandapuranam kritis. The first, sung by Vidya was ‘’Indha porutkalukul’, introduced by the virutham ‘Aadai thol’moving betwixt ragas specified arsenic Anandabhairavi and Mohanam for its 2 halves. The virutham described however Shiva, disguised arsenic an aged man, teasingly lists his ain expected inadequacies to trial Parvathi’s resoluteness to wed him — from his graveyard abode and tiger-skin attire to erukku and umathai flowers, skulls, bones, snakes, poison, and an service of bhoothams — carried a literate precision that recovered an adjacent successful the kriti that followed, whose clarity of meaning matched its quality of expression. The violin traced a afloat arc crossed some ragas, and the 3 vocalists sang the kalpanaswaras together.

Brindha past sang ‘Avatharithare’ successful Surutti and Chapu tala, a virutham from the Asura Kandam successful which the devaguru bows to Tiruchendur Muruga and narrates the origins of the asuras, preceded by the virutham ‘Thandayum madanai’;the consequent virutham by Bhavya, from the Yuddha Kandam — ‘Pannugindradhu en’split betwixt Purvikalyani and Khamas, with the violin playing 1 operation successful each raga, it seamlessly led to the kriti, ‘Un karuthedhu sollada’in Khamas was besides sung by Bhavya.

Vidya followed it up with the virutham ‘Pudayura vananginar’ successful Varali, from the Deva Kandam, followed by the kriti, ‘Indraniyum vandhu’in Shankarabaranam — its pretext goes by, erstwhile Indra was pleased and blessed astatine Muruga’s victory, Indra decides to connection his girl Devayanai successful matrimony to Muruga astatine Tiruparankundram, helium sends a messenger to telephone Indrani, his woman on with their daughter. Then Indrani on with Devayanai arrives connected Airavata from Mount Meru to the temple town.

The Daksha Kandam formed the halfway of the thematic presentation. Here, the devaguru narrated the communicative of Daksha to Jayantha, Indra’s son; Brindha sang the virutham, ‘Enbu neerodu kazhiyodu’ successful Hamir Kalyani and Dhanyasi — the violin singular throughout— earlier the kriti ‘Igazhchiyo pugazhchiyo’, its kalpanaswaras sung successful ‘Magizhchiyai marai’, all 3 vocalists performing a neat afloat circle. The tani avartanam that followed was precise — bold mridangam strokes, the ghatam and mridangam interweaving cleanly extremity to end, the tiny chatusram-tisram premix successful the mohara provided a infinitesimal of excitement.

Bhavya moved connected to Valli Ammai avatharam conception of the performance with the virutham ‘Emathin vadivam sarndha’ followed by the kriti, ‘Mogham niraindhane’ successful Abhogi. The concluding kriti of the bid was rendered Vidya, who opened with the ‘Mullai kuravar’virutham successful Sahana earlier taking up the kriti, ‘Tirumagal valarndale’. With the Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan mangalam, composed by Swetha (belonging to the Sivan Brothers’ lineage), the five-year bid came to a close.