Melodic strains of bhakti
Namasankeerthanam group led by Kanthimathy Santhanam ...
HUGE IDOLS of Gods and incense permeating an atmosphere of tranquil prayer, with the traditional floor mat adding colour to the informal ambience... is it a prayer hall, one wonders. The residence of Kanthimathy Santhanam, a virutham, bhajan and namavali expert, at Rangarajapuram, Chennai, exudes divine warmth. Her camaraderie is infectious and you are drawn towards her devotion, hymns and service mind.
"My father wanted me to take up Carnatic music but I deviated slightly and brought in more bhakti into my music. I preferred Sankeerthanam to Sangeetam," she says. Born to Thiruppugazh singer T. M. Ramasamy, Kanthimathy reminisces upon her childhood days that were always amidst the soft strains of Namasankeerthanam. "I vividly recall the days when my father took the initiative to sing viruthams at Kamakshi Dasar's (composer of Kamakshi Thiruppugazh) bhajan sessions." Ramasamy was a Todi enthusiast, as he belonged to the family of Talaignayar Pallavi, Todi Somu Bhagavathar.
Kanthimathy learnt under Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer, Prof. P. Sambamoorthy and Swami Haridas Giri. "Even though I love Carnatic Music , it was Namavali that I was attracted to. The simplicity couched in the lines brings me closer to my Lord and the audience," says she. Every kind of bhajan is taken up in her concert, depending on the place she sings in. She travels widely and presents more than 120 performances annually. This year's music conference at Krishna Gana Sabha began with an early morning bhajan session by Kanthimathy and her group. Her 30-year-old Shanmukapriya Sankeerthana Sabha is a veritable blend of working professionals (both men and women), housewives and children.
Kanthimathy strings her bhajans with viruthams and namavalis and has composed more than 700 namavalis in praise of every God, in a variety of ragas ranging from the common Kalyani and Mohanam to the rare Karnaranjani, Dharmavathi, Varnarupini and Sumanesaranjani. She has also set tunes for Ganesha Pancharathinam, Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam, Kandar Anubuthi, Lingashtakam, Annapurnashtakam, and Sri Stuthi.
Her sankeerthana sabha also performs Sita Kalyanam, Andal Kalyanam and Radha Kalyanam and is also into Tevaram Bhajanai in traditional Pann Murai.
Kanthimathy sounds excited while recalling a challenging incident that her sankeerthana sabha had to face: "We were preparing ourselves for performing Sita Kalyanam for Sri Rama Kavi of Kerala. Generally we precede such sessions with a Krishna Ashtapadi, but Rama Kavi wanted us to set to tune 24 Ashtapadis on Rama (based on the Ramayana). It was quite a challenge and we handled it in Sampradaya Bhajana Paddhati, in just a few hours. The music was widely appreciated," she says.
Meticulous planning
Kanthimathy has also performed at Orlando, Florida, and Buffalo in the U.S. At the Kumbhabhishekam of Siva Vishnu Temple in Atlanta, she took up Tevarams during the Yagasala Puja and received accolades. She takes great interest in formatting her bhajans meticulously.
A Thiruppugazh, for instance, would be followed by a Subramanya Namavali, Tevaram will precede a Sivan Namavali and a Pasuram would be tagged with a Narayana Namavali ... all tuned and composed by her.
Kanthimathy was a bhajan instructor for several years at The Ashram, a school run by Latha Rajnikanth, in Chennai. Having seen the interest that children showed during the singing sessions, she insists that bhajans should be part of the curriculum in every school as it induces bhakti in the supple minds.
She takes pride in the fact that she devoted half-a-day, singing bhajans and providing succour to the mentally ill at the Kilpauk Mental Hospital, when she saw patients clapping hands and dancing in ecstasy. Her service also extended to a slum area in Gummidipoondi recently where she delighted hundreds living in abject poverty.
Kanthimathy has penned four books: Bhakthi Ranjani, Shodasa Ganapathi Dyanam, Ambal Divyanamam and Kandar Anubuthi with namavalis (available in cassette form too). Her Nama Ratna Mala with 1,500 namavalis will soon be in print. Kanthimathy was honoured as `Sirandha Penmani,'by the Tamil Bhakti Ilakkiya Peravai, in August 2004.
RANJANI GOVIND
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