Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
Festival ragas
AMBILI RAMNATH
|
The festivities connected to the celebration of Navaratri and the concerts which begin today at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram were codified by Swati Tirunal.
|
At the Navaratri mandapam it is a unique experience indeed – under the soft glow of oil lamps, sans loud noises and untimely applause.
Photo: S. Mahinsha
traditional fervour: The arrival of the Navaratri idols precede the start of the nine-day-long music festival at Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram.
Centuries ago, in the hazy past, there lived a wandering poet-mendicant by the name of Kambar, whom we know today as the author of the Kambar Ramayanam. The sage used to carry with him an idol of Goddess Saraswathi that he worshipped. Upon realising
that his end was near, he bequeathed the idol to a Chera king. The only condition was that the goddess should be offered puja every year by the king wherever he was.
“The vow has never been broken and as the idol remained a chara pratishta – a mobile idol – there have been instances of the Navaratri festival being held in Attingal and Mavelikkara,” says Gauri Parvathy Bayi, of the royal family of erstwhile Travancore. The family traces its unbroken lineage to the Chera dynasty.
The beginning
The idol of Saraswathi is housed in the palace in Padmanabhapuram, the capital of erstwhile Travancore. When Karthika Tirunal ‘Dharma Raja’ shifted the capital to Thiruvananthapuram, the goddess was brought in a procession for the Navaratri festival. This was the beginnings of the Navaratri Utsavam, as we know it today.
The idol of Sarawathi, the patron goddess of the arts, learning and weapons, comes accompanied by the idols of Subramania Swamy and Munnooti Nanga. Lord Subramania, the warrior god signifies the king, and the sword, the ayudham (weapon) that he wields for the protection of his state and subjects, while Munnooti Nanaga symbolises the kundalini shakti.
In fact, the festival is also known as Ayudha Puja and in the Navaratri mandapam, puja is offered to the palm-leaf granthams of holy scriptures and the sword, along with the idol of Saraswathi.
The festivities connected to the Navaratri in its present form was systematised by Maharaja Swati Tirunal. The music for the Navaratri concerts had also been codified by the Maharaja.
Compositions were made by him in the ragas Sankarabharanam, Kalyani, Saveri, Thodi, Bhairavi, Panthuvarali, Shuddha saveri, Nattakurinji and Arabhi to be sung respectively as the main piece for each of the nine days of puja.
The goddess is worshipped in the form of Saraswathi in the first three days, Lakshmi in the next three, and as Durga in the last three days. Instrumental music is usually not played on the last days of the festival as they are kept apart for Ayudha puja.
The Navaratri mandapam used to be the platform for music, dance and allied arts as well as scholarly debates and discussions.
Till the earlier part of the century, the concerts were given by the family of Mullamootu Bhagavathars and it would be marked by participation from the audience too, for instance, in the rendering of the swaras. Today the role of the Mullamootu musicians has been restricted to the singing of the Thodaya mangalam, before the start of the main concert.
Almost all the legendary names in the field of music have sung at the Navaratri mandapam.
Live broadcasts
In the early 1940s, the concerts were broadcast live from the mandapam by the Travancore Broadcasting Corporation. This explains why the singers had to adhere strictly to the timings and stop exactly at 8.30 p.m. For many years now, AIR broadcasts excerpts from these concerts from 9.30 to 11 p.m. the same day.
Innovations in keeping with the times have always been the hallmark of the royal family. In the conduct of the Navaratri concerts, Aswathi Tirunal Rama Varma, himself a singer, scholar and veena-player of repute, has been instrumental in effecting many changes.
Violin solo by T. N. Krishnan, flute by N. Ramani, and vocal concerts by stalwarts like Balamuralikrishna are those first-time events, greatly appreciated by rasikas. Having come a long way from what was once a domain of male vocalists, last year saw a landmark event, when Parassala Ponnammal sang at the mandapam for the first time.
“Now that the opportunity has been thrown open to women singers as well as listeners to enter the mandapam, it is up to them to come and occupy their rightful place” says Rama Varma.
More than performances, the concerts are musical offerings to the deity. To perform at the hallowed mandapam is a pilgrimage of sorts and every artiste worth his (her) name seeks that rare honour. At the Navaratri mandapam it is a unique experience indeed – under the soft glow of oil lamps, sans loud noises and untimely applause. For the singer and the listener, then, it is just the music, muse and you.
* * *
Concerts
The concerts will be held from October 12 to October 20. The vocalists are Rama Varma, Trichur V. Ramachandran, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, M. Balamuralikrishna, T. M. Krishna, Vechur Sankar, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Parassala Ponnammal and Renganatha Sarma.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
