Here are a few articles on Harikeshanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar ----------------------------------------------------- Scanned from articles in -> ALAPANE Series in the Deccan Herald, Bangalore ----------------------------------------------------- -> May 28, 1994 GREAT MASTERS: -> MYSORE VASUDEVACHARYA remembers Muthaiah Bhagavathar, the master who composed Bhuvaneshwariya nene manasave and other beautiful songs. GEM OF A COMPOSER ----------------- -> "WHERE do you have your bath?" "There is the river, by God's grace. Three dips in it and my bath is over. I need neither a boiler nor any fuel!" "What about your food?" "It is enough if I get a few morsels of rice from a couple of houses. I am a Brahmachari, my Upanayana having been already performed. If I ask for alms, some kind-hearted woman gives me food. Each day I have a different sort of food and a different relish!" "You bathe in the river, you get your alms, it need hardly be said that you must be living in some choultry." "Your guess is right. Right from my twelfth year, this dharma chatra has been my home. What else do I need?" -> This in brief was my very first conversation with Muthaiah Bhagavatar when we were students at Thiruvayyar. Even when he was speaking of the mis- fortunes he had faced, he maintained a cheerful countenance. One evening, when we were sitting in the front verandah of his choultry, we talked about our younger days and thought the Creator had made both of us sail in the same boat. Thereafter, we became fast friends. -> Harikeshanellur in Tirunelveli district was Bhagavatar's birthplace. He was born in January 1887; Lingammayyar was the name of his father. When Muthaiah Bhagavatar was yet a boy of ten, Lingammayyar passed away and it was left to his uncle to bring him up. The uncle was an orthodox Vedic scholar who believed that music and dance were not for the respectable and tried very hard to make his nephew turn to the study of Sanskrit. -> Muthaiah Bhagavatar studied Sanskrit for about two years but his heart was not in it. Finally, one day, he left Tirunelveli for Tiruvayyar without telling anyone. He had resolved to learn music even if it meant begging for a living. Bhagavatar wandered about in search of a guru. At last, a reputed vidwan named Sambasivayyar agreed to teach him. Muthaiah Bhagavatar studied under him for seven years and acquired proficiency in music. -> Muthaiah Bhagavatar was 20 when he returned to Harikeshanellur. He stayed in his hometown for about five years, and gave a few concerts. In those days music concerts did not receive as much encouragement as musical discourses did, and Muthaiah Bhagavatar decided to switch over to that form for a career. He had good scholarship in Sanskrit, he had fluency of speech, an excellent knowledge of music and a rich voice. No wonder his discourses became popular within a short while. He was able at last to make ends meet. -> Meanwhile, he went to Travancore, where he displayed his learning at the palace and earned, as a mark of royal recognition, a pair of golden wrist-lets and shawls. The patronage and support that he received at Travancore encour- aged him further to pursue music. -> In his 25th year, Muthiah Bhagavatar settled down in Madurai. He made a living by teaching music; he ran a small music school of his own. Shortly after this, he went to Karur where he was able to gain the friendship of a wealthy landlord of Andipalli named Petta Chettiyar. Fortune smiled on Muthaiah Bhagavatar now. The Chettiyar, who was all admiration for his learning, honoured him profusely. As suggested by Muthaiah Bhagavatar, he celebrated the Skanda Sashti festival every year at Karur. He invited well-known vidwans from all over south India to give concerts, and rewarded them liberally. This gave Bhagavatar an opportunity to come into contact with the famous artistes of the time, as also to further his scholarship. But those happy days did not last long. Petta Chettiyar passed away and Bhagavatar felt dejected. He left Karur and went on a tour to places like Calcutta and Rangoon and on his return settled down in Madras. Mysore visit In 1927, Muthaiah Bhagavatar visited Mysore during the Dasara festivities. He was about 50 then. He gave a couple of concerts at the palace and earned the benevolent attention of Krishnaraja Wodeyar. He secured a position of pres- tige among the musicians of the court. In 1928, the Maharaja bestowed on him the title of Gayaka Shikhamani. In Mysore, Muthaiah Bhagavatar used to go to Chamundi Hills every Friday and offer worship to the goddess. His Ashtottara Kirtanas are ample testimony to his devotion. He had been busy composing these kirtanas between 1929 and 1932. When he completed a kirtana, he sang it before His Highness and won his admiration. The words of the kirtanas were composed by Devottama Jois, who was a scholar in the court, while Muthaiah Bhagavatar composed the music himself. The Ashtottara Kirtanas, which were rich in musical and emotional content, delighted His Highness who honoured Bhagavatar with a golden pendant bearing the figure of Chamundeshwari. In 1936, Muthaiah Bhagavatar received an invitation from the Travancore palace. At the request of Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bai, he stayed there for two years and entertained the court with his melodious performances. He was appointed the first Principal of the Swati Tirunal Music Academy which was established in 1938. Muthiah Bhagavatar systematised the notations of about 300 kirtanas of Swati Tirunal. He wrote and published a book in Tamil on the theory of music, entitled Sangeeta Kalpadruma. In recognition of his invaluable contributitions Travancore University honoured him with a doctorate. He later returned to Mysore where he spent his last days. He passed away on June 30, 1945. -> Muthaiah Bhagavatar, who had undergone several hardships in life, had great compassion for the poor. No musician who went to him returned empty handed. His was a small family himself, his wife and his daughter. Even the daughter passed away shortly after his coming down to Mysore. Though they were only two at home, husband and wife, at least 15 persons would be there for food, morning, and evening. Friends and relatives always flocked around him but Bhagavatar never encouraged idle talk; his life was dedicated to music and he spoke only about music. Those who went to him would hardly ever return without acquiring some valuable piece of information or other. Occasionally, when he felt bored, he played cards. On many occasions, he invited me to join him in the game. -> Before he composed his kirtanas in Shankarabharana and Kharaharapriya, he sent for me and made me sing half-a-dozen times the kirtanas I had composed in those ragas, namely, Harini BhaJinche and Rara Yenipilichithe. He then remarked: "Acharya, I now have a complete picture of the emotional shades of ragas and I shall begin my composition". Apart from his varnas and kirtanas which are rich specimens of melody and emotion, I had a great admiration and liking for his tillanas and darus. Many a time, when I sang at the place, he accompanied me on the mridanga. No one could question his skill. After all, he had learnt under no less a vidwan than Narayanasamappa of Tanjore. He possessed an accurate knowledge of rhythm which explains the excellence of his tillanas and darus. He first sang his compositions before vidwans and welcomed their suggestions and comments. He accepted all the criticism he found valid, and incoporated the necessary changes. Though he could render all ragas equally well, fully elucidating their emotional content, Mukhari was his favourite and his rendering of that rag a was unique. --- Script: S. KRISHNAMURTHY __________________ A FOLLOWUP POST ON RMIC Thanks for the excellent article. Muthaiah Bhagavathar is indeed a very interesting person. A nice photo of Muthaiah Bhagavathar appears in "The History of Carnatic Music" by RangaRamanuja Iyengar (Ch. 22 p 256). There is also an interesting description of Muthaiah Bhagavathar in the same book in pages 267-269. Some excerpts... " He was a rare phenomenon, an institution by himself. His indomitable energy, infectious good humor and affability, large heartedness, and happy-go-lucky indifference to economy and the devil-take-tomorrow abandon to hedonism had a blinding glamor with an amalogam of the sublime and the ridiculous... If anyone carried the day through physical makeup, Muthiah Bhagavathar did. He spurned cotton and silk and was attired in gorgeous clothes made of gold lace. He surrounded himself with a cloying aroma of Javad used in profusion! His walking stick (was) engraved with gold and silver..." "With a loud thundering orchestra in the background he filled the atmosphere with his own euphoria one moment; The next moment he switched over to display of voice jugglery with striking effect. A low hum blending with Tambura sruti, would present in a nutshell the core elements of a Raga like Punnagavarali. The brief tratement buttressed with effective gestures that would do credit to a dancer suggested a world of ethereal sound images. Verily, he was wizard of sound, the soulf of music. He made a raucous voice dance to the magic tune of a snake charmer..." !! I wonder if anyone has ever come across a recording of Muthaiah Bhagavathar's voice. I'd greatly appreciate if you can tell me how to get a copy from the US or India. Regards, Viswanathan Krishnan PS: 1. Muthaiah Bhagavathar has invented his own ragas such as Sumanapriya (kriti in this is Sri Saravana...) and brought other ragas (such as Valaji?) to Karnatic music. Some of his inventions and compositions have become quite popular. Shall we make a list? That would also help throw some light on what makes some ragams and compositions popular and others not. (Hopefully this would also lead to some discussion on Lagudi's and Balamurali's compositions.) 2. For a number of years, Muthaiah Bhagavathar was simply a Bhagavathar doing Harikathas, and performed only Valli Kalyanam. He was very proficient in Tamil, and "his endless puns and witicisms, his mimicry of regional idiosyncrasies..." made him a favorite with the masses [RangaRamanuja Iyengar]. He was one artiste who was a success both in his own days, and also in the long term. 2. TN Seshagopalan has been doing a wonderful job of popularizing Muthaiah Bhagavathar's kritis. (Does he come under the Sishya parampara of Bhagavathar?) Is there a book of Muthaiah Bhagavathar's compositions (kritis, thillanas etc.?) 3. The song "Himagiri Tanaye" is a good example of Muthaiah Bhagavathar's genius. Great tune, prose, and pace. Is there any background to this song as to where it was composed, what occasion etc.? Very nice to hear GNB render this song. 4. Did the Academy adorn Muthaiah Bhagavathar with a Sangita Kalanidhi? Asst. Professor, The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712 "Arthamanartham bhAvaya nithyam; nAsthi thatha(h) sukhales~a(h) sathyam" (Riches brings in only grief; Truly, no joy abides in them.) - Adi Shankara ______________________________________________________________________ Here is an article by N. V. R. SWAMY published in The Hindu on 30/6/95 The article was made available by: From: "Puduhai Sreeram" Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 12:33:44 -0400 Subject: Muthiah Bhagavathar. ============================================================================== A versatile composer ================================================================= Muthiah Bhagavathar occupies a distinguished place among the post-Tyagaraja composers of classical Carnatic music. A tribute on the occasion of his 50th death anniversary. ================================================================= Muthiah Bhagavathar was a leading luminary, one of the few musicians who combined good story-telling with high quality of music, late E. Krishna Iyer had rightly said. Born in 1877 at Punaiveli, near Srivilliputtur and having lost his father at a tender age, Muthiah Bhagavathar came under the tutelage of his maternal uncle at Harikesanallur, who exposed him to the Vedas, under the guidance of Muthu Ganapadigal of Tiruvayyar. At that time, Tiruvayyar was the home of classical music exponents such as Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar and Patnam Subrahmania Ayyar. Attracted by their music, young Muthiah gave up his `adhyayana' and switched over to the study of classical carnatic music. He became a disciple of violin vidwan Sambasiva Ayyar. At 16, after completing his studies, Muthiah Bhagavathar returned to Harikesanallur and devoted himself to music practice for three years. He gave concerts and soon became a recognised vidwan. His performance before the Maharaja Mulam Tirunal of Trivancore in 1897, fetched him the highest State honour. The death of Thanjavur Krishna Bhagavathar left a void in the field of Harikatha, and Muthiah Bhagavathar joined vidwans Anantharama Bhagavathar and Vedanta Bhagavathar in taking to Harikatha. His fine personality, wonderful power of exposition, scintillating wit and humour, besides his knowledge of Tamil and Sanskrit, helped him, and his reputation as Harikatha exponent surpassed that as a music vidwan. The Kalakshepams he popularised include ``Valli Parinayam'', ``Sati Sulochana'', and ``Tyagaraja Charitram.'' In 1905, he went to Thanjavur and lived there for three years with his uncle Lakshman Suri and established himself as a concert vidwan and a Harikatha performer. He specialised the theory of Indian music with the foundations laid by Sambasiva Ayyar. He established contacts with famous vidwans, including Abraham Pandithar, who associated Muthiah Bhagavathar in his work. The latter availed himself this opportunity to gain mastery over his subject.Muthiah Bhagavathar began to compose kirtanas and wrote his own `nirupanams' for his Harikatha performances. Soon he established himself as a composer of kirtanas. He was patronised by the Raja of Ettayapuram, Raja of Ramnad and Zamindar of Andipatti. p73 In 1927, his concert before Maharaja Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar, during the Dasara festival won him the title ``Gayaka Sikhamani''. He was also appointed as an Asthana Vidwan and as desired by the maharaja, he composed Ashtothara Satha Kirtanas in praise of Chamundeswari, followed by another on Siva and the Navagraha Krithis. He also composed several varnams, ragamalikas, darus and tillanas. Muthiah Bhagavathar presided over the Annual Conference of the Music Academy, Madras, in 1930 and was conferred the `birudu' Sangita Kalanidhi. He also served as Principal of the Teachers' College of Music from 1932 to 1934.Unable to bear the sudden demise of his only child in 1928, he went to Benares for about six months, when he heard a good deal of classical Hindustani music and also evolved `Hamsanandi', which has become one of the most famous ragas. Muthiah Bhagavathar, whose 50th death anniversary is being observed this year, was known for his captivating discourses, sparkling wit and matchless music. His compositions were innumerable both in Sanskrit and Telugu. He displayed remarkable versatility in handling rare ragas. His 103 kritis on Chamundeswari are a substantial contribution to music literature. His compositions are marked by originality, vigour and systematised variations. Muthiah Bhagavathar's disciples include Madurai Mani Iyer and Budalur Krishnamurthy Sastrigal. N. V. R. SWAMY. -- Puduhai Sreeram psreeram@pms238.pms.ford.com