Songs, stories and philosophy
KAUSALYA SANTHANAM
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Kousalya Sivakumar knitted songs and stories seamlessly in her lecture demonstration.
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METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED: Kousalya Sivakumar presenting `Sarvam Subramanyam'. Photo: K. V. Srinivasan.
Thematic presentations are her forte. On the evening of Skanda Sashti, Kousalya Sivakumar took the audience at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan into the realm of the spiritual through her musical discourse, "Sarvam Subramanyam."
Songs and stories, rhythmic cadences and philosophic concepts were knitted seamlessly in the two-hour recital which celebrated the glory of Lord Muruga, beloved God of the Tamils and the embodiment of youth and beauty.
Comprehensive
A team of singers — Rajalakshmi Sampath, Bhanu Ranganathan, Sujatha Krishnakumar and Chitra Nandakumar — supported Kousalya. The meticulously researched discourse in well-enunciated Tamil was punctuated with lines from Sanskrit slokas and dealt comprehensively with all aspects of the Lord.
Performing with relish, Kousalya imparted her joy to her listeners. The programme was held under the auspices of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Kala Kendra.
"Sarvam Subramanyam' is one out of the considerable repertoire of the artiste. In the past ten years the singer has presented discourses on 25 themes. On Siva, Ganesa, Anjaneya, Dakshinamurthi, Dattatreya, Balakrishna, Thygaraja, Vallalar, Advaitam and Arutpa, among others. She has also presented programmes on Doordarshan and All India Radio.
"I developed interest in the genre of musical discourse when I released an audio cassette, "Kamalamba Navavarnam," the nine enclosures that take us to God," says the singer who has also trained in Bharatanatyam. "I was asked to give a lecture demonstration at the Srinivasa Sastri Hall in 1994 to mark the release of the cassette. The dormant spiritualism in me was kindled and I became very interested in the field."
Musical discourses are quite different from Katha Kalakshepams, Kousalya points out. `I choose passages and verses from various texts and then find songs to suit the episode or idea."
It is hard work entailing much research. Though a trained classical singer she has never given a traditional vocal concert. ``I am a disciple of Vaigal Gnanaskandan, retired producer, All India Radio music section, and so are the others in my team. He sets the Tamil words in the narration to music and I do the same with the Sanskrit lines."
Kousalya who holds a masters in Sanskrit belongs to a family of Sanskrit vidwans. "My grandfather was a Sanskrit pundit and my ancestors were Veda Kavis in the court of Serfoji maharaja of Tanjore." A chance meeting with (late) Dr. Janaki of the Sanskrit College gave her the opportunity to participate in the Sanskrit plays staged by Samskrita Ranga. Educated in the Tamil medium, she learnt the nuances of English from her father who taught English literature at the Loyola college.
Does it need courage to perform to such a well-informed audience? "It is quite scary," she admits. " But I have never had criticism. I breathe and live my programmes," says this singer who has drawn great inspiration from her spiritual gurus Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Shantananda Swamigal of Pudukkottai.
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