Renaissance in Tamil
Music
Much
has been written about the three composers of Tamil music like Muthu Tandavar
(1560-1640), Arunachala Kavi (1712-79) and Marimutha
Pillai (1717-87) – also
known as Sirkazhi Moovargal.
They preceded the Carnatic Music Trinity
– Shyama Sastri,
Tyagaraja and Muthuswamy
Dikshitar by a few decades.
Other
composers who have made valuable contributions are Uttukkadu
Venkatasubbier, Gopala
Krishna Bharati, Kavi
Kunjara Bharathi,
Neelakanta Sivan, Annamalai
Reddiar, Veda Nayakam
Pillai, Ramaswamy
Sivan and his illustrious
brother, Maha Vaidyanatha
Sivan, Koteeswara Iyer,
Papanasam Sivan, Subamania
Bharathi, Perisamy
Tooran, Dandapani
Desigar, Ambujam
Krishna, MD.Ramanathan, D.Pattammal, Cuddalore
Subramaniam, Gomathi
Sankara Iyer, Tanjavur Sankara Iyer and many more have
enriched Tamil music by their contributions.
Uttukkadu Venkatasubbaiyer
(1700-65) born in Tanjavur Dt was a prolific
composers both in Tamil and
Sanskrit. Though he has composed on many deities, his compositions on
Lord
Krishna have attracted more attention. His Sapta
Ratnas,
Kamakshi
Navavarnams and Anjaneya
panch ratnas
are well known. ‘Taye Yashoda’ (Todi)
and ‘Shankari Sri’(Madhyamavathi)
are two of his popular compositions.
Gopala Krishna Bharathi (1810-81)
was a contemporary of the Carnatic music
Trinity. His Nandanar
Charitram, an opera depicting the trials
and
tribulations of Nandanar, an ardent
devotee of Lord
Shiva turned out to be extremely popular. He lived in Mayavaram
and for some time in Chidambaram. His immortal compositions are ‘Tiruvadi saranam’
(Kamboji) and ‘Sabha
pathikku veru deivam’( Abhogi).
He has composed other operas like Karaikkal
Ammayar, Tiru NeelaKanta
Nayanar and Eyar
pahai nayar.
Kavi Kunjara
Bharathi (1810- 96) was also a scholar in
Tamil and
Sanskrit. He has composed Azhaghar Kuravanji, Perinmba
Keerthanaigal and Skanda
Purana Keerthanaigal.
His ‘Singara Velanai’
(Dhanyasi) and “Elloraiyum
pola vendum’(Suddha saveri)
are his popular kritis. He was an asthana
vidwan at the court of Rajah of Sivaganga.
Neelakanta Sivan (1839-91) was
born near Nagercoil. As a youngster, he
had an innate
ability to compose. Some of his well known compositions are ‘Ananda nada maduvar’(PurviKalyani),’Enraikku
Sivakrupai varumo’ (Mukhari),
‘Navasiddhi petralum’
(kharaharapriya). The
Rajahs of Travancore, Cochin and Ramnad
bestowed
honors on him.
Ramaswamy Sivan (1839-97) and
his younger brother, Maha Vaidhyanatha
Sivan (1844-93) were born in Vaiyacheri, Tanjavur Dt. They
were disciples of Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbayya
and so they belong to the Tyagaraja sishya parampara. Ramaswami Sivan’s
notable
contributions include Tamil compositions from Periya
puranam, Kanda purana
charithram and Manikkavachagar
charithram. They show his remarkable
versatility and grace
in them. He was a highly sought after musician and was honored by
Mysore, Travancre, Pudukottai
and other samasthanams.
His
brother, Maha Vaidyanathan
Sivan was a genius and he was quick to grasp nuances of ragas and
uncommon talas very easily and demonstrate
his understanding right
away. His voice and singing style were captivating and naturally he was
always
in demand to give concerts. No wonder the title of ‘Maha’
was conferred on him by the learned musicians of his day, when he was a
young
man. Often, he was pitted against reknowned
vidwans of his time in contest and
invariably he was judged
better than other contestants. His brilliant composition is the 72 melakartha ragamalika
in praise
of Lord Pranatharthihara. Like his elder
brother, he
was also honored by various royalties of the time.
Vedanayakm Pillai
(1826-89) was born in a Christian catholic family near Tiruchi.His
interest in Tamil and music brought him
close contact with Gopala Krishna Bharathi.His
songs carry emotional outpourings of his feelings as expressed in his Samaya Sanmarga keerthanaigal. ‘Uyyum
vaghai’ (Sankarabharanam)
and ‘Unnai maravamal’
(Amritha varshini)
are representatives of
his creations.
Annamalai Reddiar
(1865-91) born in Tirunelveli Dt
was a devotee of Lord Muruga and is known
for several
popular songs like Kavadi sindu,
a lighter variety in Classical music. He has also composed stalapuranams
mostly on pilgrimage centers of Lord Muruga.
Koteeswara Iyer
(1870-1940) a worthy grandson of Kavi Kunjara Bharathi
was a good
composer in his own merit. He has about 200 compositions in Tamil to
his credit
and out of which 72 mela raga compositions
called
“Kanda Ganamrutham” in praise
of Lord Muruga form a notable part. Others
include ‘Vela va va’(Keeravani) and ‘Maravadiru
maname’ (Kedaram).
Kavi Subramanya
Bharathi’s (1882-1921) lyrical poetry
is
unparalleled. He was an ardent freedom fighter and many of his songs
reflect
his emotional and daring ideas of freedom. His songs on Kannan,
Kannamma and Mahabharatha
are classic. He was born in Ettayapuram, Tirunelveli Dt. He worked as a school teacher. A
number of
his lyrics became extremely popular songs. ‘Vellai
tamari’(Bimpalas),’Dikku teriydad kattil’ (ragamalika)
are two of
his well known compositions.
It
is no exaggeration to say that Papanasam Sivan’s (1890-1973) songs have captured
common man’s
attention as he has been a popular composer of film songs as well as
classical
music songs. The lyrics flow smoothly with grandeur and the music is
just
awe-inspiring. He was a religious person and was famous for his bhajans, which were attended by many celebrated
musicians.
He has composed close to 2500 compositions mostly in Tamil and some in Sanskrit. ‘Kanakkan Kodi vendum’(Kamboji)
and ‘Kapali Karunai’
(Mohanam) can be cited here. He is also
known as Tamil Tyagaraja as his raga and sahithya
bhavam laden compositions lend themselves
for
elaboration like Tyagaraja kritis.
He was honored by various music fraternities including the Madras Music
Academy. It is interesting to note Papanasam
was not his native village nor his name
Sivan. He is from Polagam in Tanjavur Dt and his name, Ramaiya.
VS.Gomathi Sankara
Iyer (1907-91) was on the faculty of Annamalai University Music Department for
several years. He
has composed songs and written books on music in Tamil. ‘Paraman
karunai’ (Sourashtram),’Sinam ennum’ (Nadanamakriya)
are his more well known compositions.
Perisamy Tooran
(1908-87) was a great Tamil songwriter and has composed lyrics for
about 600
songs for which a few musicians have provided tunes. He was also the
editor of
Tamil encyclopedia. Perisamy‘s
works on music include Isai Mani Malai,
Isai Mani Manjari,
Keerthanai Amudam
and Murugan Arul Mani malai.
His most
popular songs are ‘Muruga Muruga’
(Saveri) ‘Muralidhara’(Mand)
and ‘Taye Tripura sundari (Suddha saveri).
Dandapani Desigar
(1908-72) a well known musician and composer was also on the faculty of
music
department at Annamalai University for a
number of
years. He has composed several compositions in Tamil and some of them are
in rare ragams, two
of them
being ‘Anjezhuthiani’ (Raga vinodini)
and ‘Ellam sei’
(Keeravani).
Ambujam Krishna (1917-89)
born in Madurai was a talented composer having used Tamil, Sanskrit,
Hindi and
Telugu as the media for her compositions.
Her lyrics have natural beauty about them and they are all tuned
by
several musicians. Her two operas- Radha Madhavam and Krishna Leela
Madhuryam tuned by KR. Kedaranathan
have been received well. ‘Adinaye Kanna’
(Mohana kalyani)
‘Om Namo Narayana’
(Karna ranjani)
are
examples of her creativity.
Cuddalore Subramaniam
(1920-97) is a noted vaggeyakara. He has
composed
many kritis, varnams,
tillanas, ragamalikas,
kritis in apurva
ragas plus kritis in 72 mela kartha ragas
both in Tamil and Sanskrit. The number of his compositions
is about 300. His mudra is ‘pataleesha’.
‘Neerajakshi vimale’
in Sarasangi and ‘Sandanamum Jawwadum’
in Karnataka Devagandhari
are two examples from his compositions.
M.
D.Ramanathan (1923-84) born in Palghat
was a consummate musician and a good composer in Tamil.Sanskrit
and Telugu. He served on the faculty of the reknowned
Kalakshetra. He has composed more than 300 kritis. His “Sagara
Shayana “(Bageshri)
and ‘Neevanti Deivamu’
(Kapi )
are among the jewels of his compositions.
D.Pattammal (1933-2004) is
known for Tamil compositions in 72 Mela ragams, Ashtapadis
in Tamil and
several janya ragas kritis.
Her two popular compositions are ‘Valli
Manalan Meedu’
(Dhanyasi) and ‘Swami Kanda
swami’ (Bilahari).
Tanjavur Sankara
Iyer (b.1927) born in Toga Malai,
Tiruchi Dt
was a disciple of Tiger Varadachariar. He
is a
respected music composer in Tamil,Sanskrit
and Telugu. ‘Manadirku Ugandadu’
(Sindhubhairavi) and ‘Rama namame’
(Desh) are some of his well known
compositions.
Though
the above composers have been creative, musicologists are of the
opinion that
besides the Sirkazhi Moovargal,
the renaissance in
Tamil music can be attributed to Gopala Krishna Bharathi,
Ramaswami Sivan, Neelakanta
Sivan, Koteeswara Iyer
and Papanasam Sivan, whose contributions
have been significant.
There
are several other composers who have contributed to Tamil music. They
include: Arunagirinathar (Tiruppugazh), Ramalinga
Swamigal, Muthu Kumara Swami Varghur,
Ghanam Krishna Iyer,
Parankusa dasar,
Sudananda Bharathi,
Sabhapathi Mudaliar,
Muthuswami kavi,
Ramanathan Chettiar,
R. Parthasarathy Iyengar,
A. Sambandamurthi, Guru Surajananda, S.Mahalinganm,
Mayuram Vishwanatha
Sastri, Kovai Subri,
NS.Ramachandran,
NS.Chidambaram, Sivanama
Yogi, Madhura Kavi,
Doraiswami Kavirayar,
Nila Ramamurthy and Haimavathi
Tyagarajan.
by
Ashok
Madhav
Editors note: The author, Sri Ashok Madhav, is a prolific
contemporary
composer. He has composed kritis
in Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada, and has to his credit a set of
72-melakartha kritis