Carnatic music has a vast storehouse of compositions belonging to the pre-Trinity, Trinity and post-Trinity periods. There were many musicians, who were equally well versed in language, literature and music. In the contemporary Carnatic landscape, it is difficult to find Vagyakars who, while remaining faithful to tradition, manage to infuse a certain amount of novelty and simplicity into their compositions. Thamarassery Easwaran Bhattathiri has tried to achieve this in his book Ishwar Ganamanjari (Volume 1), which was launched recently.
Easwaran, a disciple of Thrissur V. Ramachandran, hails from a family of musicians. Kushal Easwaran has deep knowledge of classical music in Sanskrit and Malayalam. The book contains three varnas, two works in praise of Ganesha, 16 works on the goddess, 18 Vishnu kirtans, and a few others on deities in the temples of Kerala.
The preface is by Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi of Kanchi Math, and veteran musicians, M. Chandrasekaran and TK Murthy.
In the book, Easwaran explains the role and importance of characters and creations. In this context, he quotes a sutravakya (aphorism), ‘Natakantham kavitavam, varshantham vaggeyakarathavam’ (A poetic genius can write a play, one who can write a varnam is an eloquent). The old-timers used to sing a varnam at the beginning of their concerts.
Easwaran emphasizes the importance of practicing and singing the characters for word cultivation and mastering the rhythmic-patterns in compositions. Explaining the salient features of the works, the author has outlined the confluence of Sangeet (Sangeet), Sahitya (Sahitya) and Bhakti (Bhakti) as the determinant of their merit.
use of currency
Of the varnas included in this book, the varnas beginning with ‘Shri Kamakshi Kanchipureshwari’ deserve special mention as it is composed in the raga Shivashakti, an innovation of the late GNB. Varnam, says the author, usually does not hold Vaggeyakaramudra. Yet in this Easwaran uses his posture, ‘Ishvara’, as it fits well into a devotional composition.
Swaraakshar, Ragamudra and Vagyakaramudra are used skillfully. For example, in a Tamil composition on Madurai Meenakshi in Raga Saveri. In the charanam, ‘Isaiyanamalithidum isaivadivanval/Saveriya Sundareswariya’, the ragamudra is pronounced. Here the meaning of the word ‘Saveri’ is understood at different levels, one of which refers to Parvati, whose body is an example of a raga. It is interesting to note here that while ‘Save’ is Shadjaswar, ‘Ri’ is Rishabhaswar. Similarly, in Raga Purnachandrika on Krishna in Varnam, in Charana, in ‘Purnachandrikadhaval Swarupa’, the Ragamudra is in perfect harmony with the literature. Easwaran’s interest in the secondhand is another attention-grabbing feature of some of his works.
The book not only provides the meaning and context of each work, but also provides technical details such as arohan-abharana swara, muktayi swara and chittaswar. This book can be useful for music students, teachers, artists and musicians.
The author is a critic and connoisseur of the traditional arts of Kerala.