Time for a few e-pointers

Dear Friends, I am pleased to direct you to a couple of nice websites. The first one is a dedicated website that propagates Jaya Deva's immortal Gita Govinda. Site 1: The website features a nice commentary on Gita govinda, some great paintings , audio and video. Don't miss to check out the video clippings of 1. O.S Sunder, one of the proponents of Naama Sankeerthanam. He follows the maruthanallur padhathi(style). Here ,here and here are his video clips . UPDATE: Friend Sivakumar actually says that Sri O.S Sundar follows the PudhuKOtai Padhathi. 2. Janardhan Nedungadi, the renowned Sopaana Sangitham artist who has more than five decades of experience in sopaana sangeetham. He has been the ashtapadi bhaagavathar of the famous guravayoor temple. If you are alien to Sopaana Sangeetham, it is a kind of bhakthi music that has its roots in kerala. Shadgala Govinda Marar, the famed musician and devout poet , praised by Tyagaayya in Endaro Mahanubavulu is considered to be the father of Sopanapattu. Sopana means the stairs leading to the Garba Graha (sanctum sanctorum) . Just like the stairs , the saahhitya are rendered in ascending and descending tones. This kind of music is usually supported by a drum called Edakka (sort of like a Udukkai in tamil:) . In Guruvayur, no offering to the lord is made without the ashtapadi bhavagavathar singing with devout fervor the verses from Ashtapadi. SopAna Sangeetham is a music that emphasizes bhaavam (expressions and feelings). Hence, traditionally , sopana sangeetham was sung to support the dance forms like Kathakali and Mohiniattam but since Swathi Tirunals time, the influence of carnatic music has forced this pracitise extinct. Here is another clip of sri Nedungadi from that site. 3. Dr Leela Omchery , one of the great proponents of Keralite folk and classical music. Here is her clip You might want to buy the Sri Janaardhanan Nedungaadi's rendition of ashtapadis here> Site 2 : Sangeetha Kalanidhi Smt T. Brinda (or Brindammma as she is affectionaly called) who passed away in 1996 ,is a great and highly respected vocalist known for her adherence to tradition(padhathi). She ,and her sister, muktha are very popular for rendering Kshtrayaas padams, which are songs that are laden in shrungara rasam. Hailing from the great Vainika, Veena Dhanammal , they are equally great vainikas too. Their music is very melodious and as they strictly adhered to the tradtion , they were able to bring about the bhaava(the feelings) exquisitely. This is something that is lacking in most of the budding vocalists. Even great musicians including Smt M.S.S Amma and Semmangudi Srinvasa Iyer have learnt compositions from Brindamma. In this site you can find a couple of video clippings of Brindamma and her daughter in Settle,Washington ,1969 Site 3: The third site is actually my new audio blog:) . Castpost is a free audio blogging service. So, why wait? g , if you don't have one. Om Namo NaadaBrahmaaya Nama: Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu.

Sangita Gnanamu Bhakthivina

Dear Friends Whew..it was quite a long hiatus from blogosphere indeed..... First up, I would like to offer my salutations to the lotus feets of the Sri Tyagayya, the great Vaggeyakara and the sanctum sanctorum in the magnificient temple of "raama bhakthi" . It should be a well known fact to most of us that he is one of the trinities of Carnatic Music. Some of you folks might have known that his music and compositions can be compared to that of "Draaksha Rasa" (taste of grapes), very quickly enabling the listener to get the the taste of the nectarine music. Is that all? May be there is something more.Atthaiyum paarthudalaam. (Let us explore further) and also please be aware of the fact that these are simply the reflections of an amature enthusiast based upon the very liitle i have known and experienced. Kindly let me know the mis-interpretations and other fallacies. Let me start from ground zero. Music(sangeetham) is something that creates an aural melody. Of course there are so many kinds of music that are melodic. Depending upon individual taste, people acknowledge and enjoy listening to their favorite melodies. Now, how is carnatic music different ? The word carnatic means "hauntigly pleasing to the ears".How is the melody created? Of course, it is because of those wonderful raagas born out of naada(divine sound). Being born out of Naada Brahman, these sounds evoke the ever present divinity in the audible zone of the singer. At this juncture, I should make it clear that care should be taken by the singer to render the krithi in accordance with the prescribed manner.The outcome would defintiely depend upon the efforts and the skill level of the vocalist. Of course, a smooth ,clear and a melodic voice is an added advantage and is perhaps a prerequisite. Without any doubt, it is the RASA (taste) induced by the raaga that creates the melody. Each raaga has got its own lakshana and corresponding rasA. The great vaggeyakaras like tyagayya, dikshithar ,syama sastri et al were masters in the usage of appropriate raasa to express their emotive state to whom ?? to GODS. They didn't create numerous krithis just for their aural pleasure. They never composed songs of mundane passion. Their krithis were all soaked in the pot filled with nectarine bhakthi. If you take out this important BHAKTHI RASA out of their music (which is of course impossible,yet some people are managing to do that OR purposely filter it out:), then the resulting form of music would definitely be like decorating a jada(dead matter) with flowers. Hence , it is pretty clear now that , carnatic music is just not for aural pleasure but for upliftment of the soul lost in the samsaaric ocean and offering it as a neivedhyam (offering) to Shri rama or Shanmuga, shiva or ambAL(Shakthi). Take Tyagayya as an example. He sings in extreme joy "Raama neepai tanaku premaa podu, Sita Rama" (O sita Rama, my mind is always obsessed with you) in the melting Bilahari Raga. Like this, in so many other krithis ,He has very neatly and appropriately made use of naada in constructing and rendering simple yet insightful and wonderful krithis with BHAKTHI. Since , he was able to appreciate the greatness of naada, he himself has composed many krithis on the divine nature of naada and how appropriate use of the naada can take one to infinite bliss This allows us to assume and observe that he had the naada and the raagas springing out of it in a royal status. He worshipped them. He is the one who said in "Sangita Gnanamu Bhakthi Vina" that mere knowledge of music without devotion can never lead to the right path. He only accepted as his discliples those who are disciplined and those who would preserve his invaluable treasure for the future generations.Thanks to them. Hence, it doesn't really matter much if someone is an expert practising carnatic music or an amateur or a carnatic music enthusiast who adores this form of music if none of them take it from the bhakthi point of view. It would eventually end up like tasting a sweet piece of Tirunelveli halwa that won't satiate ones hunger and if you try to eat more of it hoping that eventually your hunger will be fixed, at some point of time you would end up getting saturated, (thegattidum). Athukapparam , konjam "karaama ethavathu saapda thonum"(After that,he will feel like eating some thing crisp and hot). I think that this is the main reason for some carnatic musicians with great skills and voice failing to make use of the great gift they have got. Dear friends, having said about sri tyagayya ,bhakthi and carnatic music, I'd like many of you guys to continue with me in enjoying a very beatiful krithi of tyagayya . Let me start with some prefatory cooked up thoughts. It should be a well known fact to most of you folks that if there is something that Tyaggayya craved for, it could only be that of the darshan of his hero, Sita Rama. But his brother was a total contrast. It is also known that Tyagayya had a tough time dealing with his greedy brother who craved for everything but Sitarama. Hence, it is understandable that a person like tyagayya would have preferred to remain silent rather than disputing according to the very popular Tamil saying , Dushtanai KandAL Dhoora Vilagu :). .....Finding his own brother disregarding and ill-treating him, he would have become really upset. Without any doubt, he would have resorted to his Lord. He might have then bursted out with a krithi expressing his sorrowful state and pleading his lord to speak to him. "Aaada modi Galade " in the wonderful Charukesi raga could well have been such a krithi. For tyagayya, just having a darshan of his hero is brahmaanandam. Why then would he ask him to speak? He says to his lord , " I have sought you as my sole support and shelter and stuck to you steadfastly". These words clearly indicate the need for somebody to console him with kind words and who can that person be? It could only be his SitaRama. Later , in the same krithi, he consoles himself by quoting that when the great Raama bhaktha , Anjaneya wanted to talk to him , His Lord commanded lakshmana to speak to him. How can then he expect his Lord to speak to the frail Tyagaraja. Why do you think he makes such a comparison? Would Sita rama talk only to strong ones like Hanuman and not to frail people like tyagayya? Nope. I think sri tyagayya compares the flawless character(swabhaavam) of Anjaneya with his. hmm...why else would he do such a comparsion ?? What can we say about our characters then? >Do feed back your thoughts. .. Here , you can find the lyrics and the translation of the krithi As usual , let me conclude this post with an audio. Let it please your ears and more importantly let it please your souls. Here you can find Shri Madurai Mani Iyer rendering Sri Tyagayyas 'Aadamodi Galade'. Note: At this point , I would like to inform those that are new to Shri MMI's paddhathi (Style) that it is not quite easy to enjoy his music as you do someone like yesudas. It takes time.But sooner or later, if you really happen to like carnatic music, you will end up adoring his sangita jnana. For me , he is a true maestro:) UPDATE: WITHOUT SITA RAMA , THERE IS NO TYAGAYYA and WITHOUT BHAKTHI, THERE IS NO CARNATIC MUSIC and HENCE NO MUKTHI (INFINITE BLISS:) NAADA BRAHMAAYA NAMO NAMA: SRIMAN NARAAYANAARPANAM

Using DSB to talk with God

Dear Lord's Dear Aatmans, Pranaamams First, I would like to offer my vandanams to the Supreme guru, Sri Dakshinaamurthy ,who is the representative of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the acharyas, Bhagwad Adi Sankaracharya, Bhagawad Ramanujacharya and Bhagawad Maadhavachaarya and to the lotus feet of all other great Saints and Vaggeyakaras. Blessed indeed we are , the people of Bharatha Varsa, the land made great and fragrant by the presence of those magnificient god-like souls and their fragrant works. Preface: In this Kaliyuga, An individuals consciousness has two options . 1. Be aware of the temporal nature of life on earth and seek permanent THE TRUTH. 2. Be ignorant and continue to be bounded by the temporaty nature of life. Of the two, the wise is the one who eventually makes up his mind to head in the direction of the infinite ocean of knowledge and bliss, which ,of course isn't a smooth ride in a freeeway but rather a bumpy ride in a remote indian village that displaces (or somettimes even throws) the determinant off path. Even more wise is a person who acknowledges the fact that eventually the bumpy village road is going to merge into a smoother and a better highway and takes effort to maintain the vehicle under control. Alas, more problems on the bumpy road. The treacherous road seems to be inviting more traffic (his other peers ). Though wise , the determinant is young and lacks expereince.He acknowledges this fact and decides to seek help from some one. Who can be that someone? Definitely and obviously , that person should have already had a similar experience. Fortunately, the determinant is not alone. He has got a friend or two in his vehicle who have already had such an experience. He seeks the help from one of them and follows his way. Not long time afer, the determinant finds it even more challengin to cling to advice given by that friend. He decides to ask the second friend and finds the second way easier to follow. He might have been wiser by asking both of them about their means to tackle the problem at hand and could have decided to go for the one that seems to suit him. Nonetheless, it is never too late. Thus, he follows the second friends expert advice and eventually reaches the abode of smooth roads. Thus a spiritual aspirant should always be in SatSangh (the friendly experts) and use their guidance appropriately to reach the abode of Lord , Vaikunta ( abode of smooth roads) . Keerthanam and Sravanam of the names of Lord are considered to be the easiest means to overcome the effects of Kali. This is the means advocated by greatest of the Sages like Sukha (in Bhagawatha Purana) . Same is the path advocated by Adi Shankaraachaaryaa in Bhaja Govindam. Since the days of adi shankara, there have lived many such great people who have realized the greatness of bhagawan naama and have set examples and protocols for the future generations to follow. The Birth of Dakshina Sampradaya Bhajana(DSB) and National Integrity Many of you might be knowing Sri Tyagarajha Brahmam, Muthuswamy Dikshithar and Syama Sastrigal as the trinities of Carnatic Music. Similarly , Bhajana Sampradaya has its own trinites, three noble souls that spread the fragrance and ruchi of bhagawan naama sidhaantha . Let us take a bit of a virtual tour of their glorious past. The credit of emphasizing the efficacy of Bhagawan naama goes to the 58th Achaarya of Kanchi Mutt, Sri Bhagawan Nama Bhodendra Saraswathi swaamigal who belongs to he 17th century. He was a great Rama Bhaktha. He left his office at Kanchi and went to a town called Govindapuram located in the banks of Veera Sozhan River, a tributary of Cauvery. He perfomed intense meditation on Sri Raama chandra there. He used say "Raama naamamey Kalkandu, Athan Rasam Theriyaadhavan Kal Gundu" (Raama Naama is sweat candy and the guy who doesn't know its taste is a massive stone :) . He attained Jeeva Samaadhi when he was covered with the sands of Veera Sozhan river by some of the boys ,who were playing on the river bed. The boys thought that he would come out again but not that time. Naama Kowmudhi, Rama Karnaamrutham and Naamamrutha Rasaayanam are a few of his immortal works . It is believed that his devotees can hear sound of raama naama near his samaadhi. Sridhara Venkatesa Aiyaavaal , a contemporary of Bhodendra Swamigal is a great Siva and Krishna Bhaktha. He propagated both Shiva and Krishna Naama Japam. If you are able to hear the beautiful songs like brUhi mukundeti , brUhi mukundeti and piba re rAma-rasam , the credit should go to Venkatesa Aiyaavaal not because he composed them but he was responsible for making another great Shiva Bhaktha, SadaSiva Brahmendra , (a class mate of Aiyyavaal) to sing out during his last days. It would be unfair of me if a don't mention a word or two about Sadasiva Brahmendra and his greatness. Sadasiva became a naked sanyasi and was once seen walking right through a muslim harem of a nawab. Since such a kind of sanyasi would see nothing but Brahman (aatman ) eveywhere, he was not at all affected in that trance state. The nizam got infuriated and had his men cut his hands . His hands fell off and he was walking as if nothing happened. Nawab got scared seeing him unmoved and ran to the sage in remorse. When the sage stopped, the hands became normal. Next came Sri Maruthanallur Sadguru Swamigal. Sathguru Swamigals task was to go aroud India and collect kirtanas and other works rendered by the innumerous bhakthi poets starting from Jayadeva's Ashtapadis ,Tukaraam Abhangs, meera's songs, Purandaradasas and Kanakadasas vithala songs, Annamaayyas padams,Narayana Theerthars songs , bhadrachala ramadas kirtanas, tyagayyas krithis , Subrahmanya Bharathis songs etc. What an effort to bring out unity in diversity? He collected the songs and laid out the structure for rendering bhajans. It has already been 300 years since Sathguru Bodhendra Swamigal attained Jeeva Samaashi. Maruthanaalur Swamigal was performing anga prathakshanam in the river bed . Suddenly he heard chantings of Bhagawan Naama. He immediately started digging up the place and lo! , he found the book ,Nama Kowmudhi. He then took the sacred book to his matam and worshipped the book by performing puja and bhajana. It would be interesting to note that Sri Tyagayya took his bhajan lessons from Maruthanallur Swamigal. The current bhajana sampradya exists only because of the truly outstanding work done by the above mentioned trimurthies especially the maruthanallur swamigal. The DSB paddhathi What is this protocol or paddhathi that Maruthaanallur Swamigal drafted out ? or Why need such a structure? Well, take a dinner for example. Even when the food is served, there is an order that we normally follow. We don't mix everything together and eat. DSP perhaps can be thought about to have been formed for similar reasons. For reaching any objective , it is always better to follow an order. Accordingly, one first calls out the name of Lord and worships him ( Thodaya Mangalam). Would he come so easily?? Nope. So , we seek the help of a Guru who is much closer to him ( Guru Keerthanam) . Here kirtanas on the gurus ( inlcuding the trimurthies ) or krithis of the gurus are rendered . Next , the krithis of great dasas and bhakthas of god such as Purandaradasa, Jayadeva, Annamaya are rendered . (Daasarval Keerthanam) After this , we invite god again and perform worship and archana. Hence, a bhatha is steered towards God by following this kind of protocol. Since performing this kind of bhajan requires knowledge in multiple languages and skill in rendering the kirtana with raaga lakshana, rigorous training has to be taken under a guru. More than anything , the bhagwatha should always have and seek bhagawad sankalpam. He should rendered the songs right from his heart (aatmaarthama paadanum). Udayalur Kalyanaraman Shri Udayalur Kalyanaraman has been doing a great job in further propagating the dhivya naamas of God beyond asia follwing the footsteps of HH Haridoss Swamigal. He is normally accompanied by Babu Rajasekaran,the disciple of Vellore ramabhadran , Pichumani Bhagavathar, the discliple of HH Haridos Giri Swamigal (vocal support) and the 74 year old Balarama Iyer on the harmonium(also plays violin ,dilruba ,flute) . I was blessed to have gotten a chance attend one of their performances in Maryland not long time back. It was a truly amazing experience. Shri Udayalur himself is gifted with a great voice, and knowledge in raaga lakshanas and more than anything, bhagavan anushtaangam. When he starts out to sings , "daymaado ranga" of purandaradaasa, with "ninna naamva nennathu puneetha naadtheno " it would feel as if that Aranganaathan is already on his way to please his devotee. One has to actually listen to get the scintiallating experience. So, without any further delay , let me direct you to this website where you can download Shri Udayalurs naama sankeerthanam. I am sure that you ears will enjoy the sounds of the Lords Name ,especially when rendered by a bhagavatha like Shri Udayalur. I am sure that I have not done enough justice to some of the great people that I have mentioned in the blog post. I am also sure that even numerous words of praise won't do justice to their greatness. Yet, it is only due to time constraints , I had to keep the commentary short. The interested reader will know where to head next to know more. :) Let me conclude this post with the verses from Raama Karnaamrutham , the work of Shri BodhendraaL Parjanam Bhava Bheethaanaam Aarjanam Kula Sampathaam Dharjanam yama dhoothaanaam Rama Ramethi Garjanam (The roar of Rama"s name wards off samsaric ills, Chase away the servants of Yama, Lets one acquire untold wealth.) RAMA RAMA NAMOHSTHUTHE SHRIMAN NARAYANAARPANAM P.S Kindly check out "Mukundaanands" post on the two Great Geniuses in Smt M.S.S Amma's blog and feed in your thoughts.

Karuna Cheyvan Enthu Thamasam Krishna

My dear blogger aatmans, Iniya Deepavali Nalvaazhthukkal Happy Deepavali. I am sure that I will be an immense pleasure zone at the end of this blog post . I also would like and hope it to be the same for you guys too. Let me first invoke the blessings of Sri Guruvayoorappan and all the great people who have sung in praise of the glorious deity of Guruvayoor. In fact , this post is going to revolve around gurvayoorappan.I offer my salutations to the balakrishna , who is none other than the Supreme being. Sri Gurpavana puraadeeshaaya Sri Krishnaaya Parabrahmaney Nama: Gurupavanapuri Mahaatmyam In a place ,free of any materialistic contamination , housed in a very simple yet elegant and beautifully structured Keralite temple,5000 years old, is the extremely sacred , four-armed divyaroopam of Sriman Narayana, Gurvayoorappan,the bountiful giver fo those who are dear to him. That beautiful HE, made of a precious and rare stone called as Pathala Anjananam (Black Bismuth) is said to have its origin even before the Satya Yuga (approx 4.5 millions years ago) when Sri Vishnu himself is believed to worship. It was later given to Brahma. Once King Suthapas and Prsni performed penance for twelve thousand divine years in front of that Idol, which was given to them by Brahma. Lord Vishnu , pleased with their devotion , appeared before them and asked for a boon. Very pleased after seing Vishnu, Suthapas prayed thrice and spoke " It would be good if a son equal to Thee is born". Lord Vishnu replied "Only I am equal to Me. Therefore, I shall Myself incarnate as your son, in order to fulfil your desire. Since you have repeated your prayer thrice, I shall be assuming the aspect of your son in three births." Not long after that, Prsni lord himself incarnated in Prsnis womb as Prsni Garbha, who later propagated the greatness of Brahmacharya to the world. Likewise ,in the next two births of Prsni and Suthapa , the lord incarnated as Vamana through Aditi and Kasyapa and and as Sri Krishna through Devaki and Vasudeva. After slaying Kamsa, Lord Krishna himself installed and consecrated the idol in Dwarakaa. Before swargarohana , Sri Krishna requested his friend Udhava to entrust the job of rescuing the idol from a deluge to Brhaspathi(Guru) and Vayu. The rescued idol was later installed at a location named after Guru and Vayu as Gurupavanapuri , which later became Guruvayoor in Malayalam. Since, the idol was worshipped by Vishnu himself in Vaikunta, Guruvayoor is referred to as 'Bhooloka Vaikuntha". Some Tid-bits about Gurupavanapuri The Gurvaayoor Devaswom is one of the richest in India, only next to TTD, Tirupathi The gurvayoor temple owns and maintains the largest number of captive elephants (about 63) It is believed that Adi Shankara was made to prostrate before the detiy when he ignoringly wanted to flew past over the place along with Narada Muni. The great Bhakthas of Gurupavanpuri It would be of no wonder to find such a divyaroopavigraham of Sri Krishna to have enchanted and still enchanting many devout hearts. It would be my pleasure to write a bit about some of those people whose bhakthi can't be described in words. There was once a proficient scholar, who accepted a paralytic disease from his guru owing to his guru bhakthi. Not being able to tolerate the disease, he decided to goto the temple at Guruvayoor and composed each day approx 10 verses (decads) in Sanskrit about the greatness of the Guruvayoorappan for 100 days. At the end of 100 days, he got the vision of Sri Krishna of Guruvayoor and he was cured of his disease. The eminent scholar is none other than Narayana Bhattathiri and the work he composed became to be known as the beautiful Narayaneeyam , an abridged version of Srimad Bhagawatham. It is a gem of a work with profound Jnana, bhakthi and vibhakthi ( beauty of language). Another great devotee of Lord that used to walk every month 100 kms to darshan the Guruvayoorappan. Once , he was attacked by robbers on his way to Guruvayoor. Sensing the approaching danger, he closed his eyes and cried out "Krishna Krishna". Immediately out of nowhere appeared the local king with his sword and fought the robbers away. The bhaktha immediately took out his ring and presented it to the King. The same night, the chied priest of Guruvayoor had a dream where Krishna appeared and told him that the next day he will find a ring on the idol and told him to take and give that ring to the devout bhaktha who will come tommorow.The next morning events happened exactly the same way and the devotee was totally flabbergasted to find that the ring the chief priest gave is the same ring he gave it to the local king who rescued him from the robbers. Then only he reailzed that it was the Lord himself who had rescued him. The devotee is none other than Poothanam,he author of the Malayala Gita or Jnana Pana, who once humbled Narayana bhattathiri in another incident. Once there was a virtuous and a devout girl who used to bring garlands to the Lord every day. One day she was late and the temple got closed. Disappointed totally, the girls started to weep. Seeing her, Poonthanam gave her some words of comfort by telling her to keep the garland near the banyan tree since god is everywhere. Having convinced , she place the garlend near the banyan tree and left. The next morning , when the chief priest was removing the garlands , one garland alone got stuck to the idol. Seeing that , Poonthanam immediately noticed that the garland is the same as the one placed by the devout girl. The devout girl's name is Manjula and the banyan tree was later named as Manjulal. Apart from such great bhakthas , the deity at Guruvayoor had always been adored by the elephants. Some of the elephants very simply extra-ordinary devout animals. Padmanabhan and Kesavan are two of the most remebered elephants. Padamanabhan was nick named "VeeraShringala" owing to his kingly, majestic yet humble nature. Kesavan was nicknamed , 'gajarajan' or the 'king of elephants' . Though Kesavan was more aggresive , he never caused any harm to others. Whenever he turned aggressive , he would run straight towards the the temple and circumambulate the temple . He would stop whenever a child or two crosses his way. He died on an Ekadasi day with his trunks stretched towards Gurvayoorappan. A 12 ft statue has been erected near the temple to commemorate him. Irayimman Thampi To conclude this post, I have to mention a few words about Iravivarman Thampi (popularly known as Irayimman thampi), the uncle of the great Maharaja of Travancore state, Swathi Thirunal. He is none other than the composer of the very popular lullaby song, "Omana Thingal Kidavo" , which he composed for the new born baby Swathi Thirunal . There is another compostion of his that was highly popularized by a bhagavatha and musician of Kerala, the late Vengalakural (bronze-voiced:)Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagawathar. That composition, "Karuna Cheyvan Enthu Thamasam Krishna" , was composed by Irayimman on the Guruvayoorappan. It is a very beautiful song ,initially set up in Sri Raaga. It is a compostion that has a Karuna rasa inducing saahitya(lyrics) . Once , during his concert in Sucheendram, Chembai almost lost his voice. He sought the help of numerous medical experts but none of them were able to cure him. Chembai ,immediately sought the help of Guruvaayoorappan, when he sung this soung aloud in the beautiful karuna rasa inducing raaga "Hari kambhoji". He immediately got back his voice with a never before brilliancy. Even now , his voice remains matchless. After that , he always concluded his concerts with that song. To commemorate his devotion for Guruvayoorappan ,each year, as part of Ekadasi celebrations, Chembai Sangetthostsavam is held. The fun parts starts now..:) I am going to upload the above mentioned song as rendered by Chembai and a couple of others including the great Me;) . My personal favorite is Chembai's. His rendition is peerless. Even my attempt at this song is based on his version. Since the song is in Malayalam , for the sake of Tamil and other Telugu readers, I am aslo going to have the song transliteration and the meaning. My special thanks to Dr P.P Narayanswamy , who had the translation mailed to me on request. TRANSLITERATION : karuNa ceyvAn entu tAmasam iriyamman tampi krti yadukula kAmbooji (shrI) tALam cApu pallavi karuNa ceyvAn entu tAmasam krShNA kazhalinE kai tozhunnEn anupallavi sharaNAgatanmArkkiShTa varadAnam ceytu cemmE guruvAyUr puram tannil maruvumakhila durita haraNa bhagavan$ caraNam gurutara bhavasindhau duritasa~ncayamAkum tiratannil muzhukunna naragatikkavalambam marakata maNivaNNan hari tannE ennum tava carita varNNanaN^N^aLil sakala munikaL paravatarivanadhunA TRANSLATION (Thanks to Dr P.P Narayanswamy) Why the delay in showing kindness, Lord Krishna, I worship your feet with my folded palms. Granting the desires of devotees who seek asylum in you, You rest in Guruvayoor, oh Lord, remover of all sorrows. Your chaste feet, lovingly caressed by the Lotus Maiden, Whether I serve them with reverence from near Or think of serving them from afar To you, Whose greatness fills the universe, This is a matter of indifference. I have learned from the Sages who have extolled your exploits That you, Hari, emerald like handsome Lord, Are the refuge for the teeming humanity Who live on the surf of the great ocean of suffering called life. I see you in my heart, handsome as Cupid, Your hair adorned with peacock feathers, Your glances, a mixture of compassion and smile Your chest showing Kousthabham and garlands of wild flowers Your ankles adorned with jingling golden anklets. Creator and protector of the worlds Lord Padmanabha, who resides in Guruvayoor, May it please you, without delay, with compassion, To remove my illnesses like rheumatism And bless me with health and prosperity. Renditions : 1.KarunaCheyvan - Chembai ( For the carnatic music enthusiast) 2.KarunaCheyvan2 ( soft, cool , Sri ragam) 3.KarunaCheyvan3 ( by Unni Menon) 4.KarunaCheyvan-Me ( great voice ;) UPDATE: Here is another rendering of the same song by Sri K.V. Narayana swamy, the disciple of Late Sri Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. Kindly bear with the quality of sound. Also, the song will actually start in the second half of the first mp3 file. I would also like to encourage the reader to listen the song by following the lyrics and the meaning provided above for maximum enjoyment. Karunacheyvan ,Shri KVN -PArt 1: Karunacheyvan ,Shri KVN -PArt 2: Let me conclude this Diwali Special post by offering my salutatuons to all the great bhakthas , with a special mention to Irayimman Thampi for composing a wonderful composition and of course , Chembai Bhagavathar. If not for him, I wouldnt have gotten a chance to enjoy this nectarine music. Finally, I meditate on the lotus-feets of Guruvayoorappan, who is none other than the Krishna -Vasudeva , the poornavataara of Sri Man Narayana , the destroyer of Narakaasura and all things that are dark and evil. Hantha Bhaagyam JanAnAm , (Worderful indeed, is the fortune of the mankind) SRI GURUPAVANAPURADEESHAAYA KAMALAPAADHA SAMARPANAM JAI SRIMAN NARAYANA