An ode to Thyagaraja

In the months of January and February, Carnatic-music lovers, both organisers and performers, will be seen arranging Thyagaraja Aradhana at different venues across India, but especially in south India. In fact, these events are even held abroad in countries wherever Carnatic-music connoisseurs and practitioners are found in big numbers. What’s more, many of these events even extend into March.

The Thyagaraja Aradhana is an annual event that pays tribute to Thyagaraja, the great saint-composer and his immortal compositions. At such events, vocalists and instrumentalists all render his musical creations. However, the main feature is goshti gaanam or group rendition of his Pancharatna Krithis or five gems of compositions, in which both the onstage musicians and the audience-members participate with enthusiasm.

One such Thyagaraja Aradhana event was held at Shivam, in Hyderabad, a major centre of activities of theSri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations founded by philanthropist and spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Actually, a plethora of classical-music events happen round the year even at the organisation headquarters in Prashanti Nilayam, Andhra Pradesh, with many of India’s upcoming and legendary artistes considering it a privilege to perform there.

At Shivam, on Republic Day, 2024, well-known musicians of the city took to the stage for the Thyagaraja Aradhana. The open-air auditorium was packed with music-lovers with many of them sitting on steps and other corners to savour the event. The event was organised by the Seethaphalmandi unit of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations and their members including Y Saibaba, Raghuram, R Sundar, etc.

The Carnatic-music performers included well-known vocalists Sreevidya Janakiraman, N Ramamurthy, S Chandrasekhar, Vasa Gopinatha Rao, and sister-duo Aruna-Padma. Violin was played by B Janakiraman, B Chandrasekar, and Komanduri Rajan. Mridangam support was provided by T P Balasubrahmanyam, K Mallikarjun and Vijayalakshmi.

Appropriately, before the concert began, there was a brief speech by an organiser Vijayalakshmi about Thyagaraja, his life and the significance of the Pancharatna compositions. Radhika and Hymavathi also spoke introducing the artists. A few bhajans were then rendered by the Shivam singers’ group.

The event began, as is customary, with Thyagaraja’s composition Sri Ganapathini (Saurashtra ragam), as it is a tradition to begin events with an ode to Ganesha. Then followed the Pancharatna krithis in the order that they are usually sung. So, the musicians sang Jagadanandakaraka (Nata ragam), Dudukugala Nanne Dora (Gowla ragam), Sadhinchene O Manasa (Arabhi ragam), and Kanakanaruchira (Varali ragam), The finale was the best-known of the Pancharatna compositions, Yendaro Mahanubhavulu (Sri ragam).

There were some light-hearted moments towards the end when a recording was played of the philanthropist and classical-music patron Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s humorous comments on classical music and the importance of crystal-clear pronunciation of the sahityam or words. Thyagaraja’s composition Ne Pogadakunte Neekemi Rama was used to illustrate this. The audience and the onstage musicians broke into amused smiles at this illustration. As is mandatory, there was the performance of the customary Mangalam or Mangala Arathi towards the end.

As it was Republic Day, all musicians stood onstage and sang the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, while the audience also rose from their chairs in respect.

Of course, Carnatic-music lovers can never have enough of Thyagaraja, so there are more such Aradhanas coming up around the city and across the world where one can savour the creations of this saint-composer.