(Click on the image to watch the videos)
The life history of Purandhara Dhāsa has been very interesting for me from childhood because of the events that led to he becoming a devotee. The number 5 lakh (compositions) sounded like a fantasy to me. My early age inspirations to Dhāsa Sāhithya were T N Seshagopalan sir’s stunning renditions of rāma manthrava, bega bāro and narajenma bandhāga.
One day when I was practicing at home, a frail old lady, all about 4 feet tall, came to my house and walked right into where I was singing (I have the habit of keeping my house’s door wide open while practicing). She was thrilled to see me practice and started singing too – māthanādai mannāru krshna… in behag. With no exaggeration, I felt a rush of devotion, love and excitement. I cannot pin point, if it was the tune, the ragam, her voice or the lyrics. Yes, love at first ‘listening’ is true.
Leela māmi is the one that
re-oriented me, saying,
“when you sing,
you should feel that the deity is
standing right in front of you”
“What you sing is sangeetham,
what I sing is sāhithyam,
do you see the difference?”
She continued to sing few more Dhāsa sāhithyas that day, which were tuned by her, each of which were pearls of a garland she was making for Lord Krishna. From that moment onwards, I became her fan and she taught me few Sahithyas in the years that followed. What Leela mami (Smt. Leelavathi Padmanabhan – a nonagenarian) had done to me and my perspective to music is of immeasurably valuable to me. In the recent years, I have taken a particular interest in Dhāsa Sāhithyas, which I owe it to her.
CLICK HERE to watch my renditions of ➡ DHĀSA SĀHITHYĀS
I was thrilled when TTD-Daasasaahithya Project (in association with Nadhajyothi Sangeetha Sabha) gave me an opportunity to sing the ‘Navarathna set’ krithis of Purandhara Dhāsa as a goshti gāyanam with my students. It was because of this oppurtunity that we learned all the 9 krithis – NĀTTAI, ĀRABHI, KALYĀNI, BHAIRAVI, ATĀNA, KĀNADA, KĀMBODHI, SHRI, SHANKARĀBHARANAM, paying attention to sahithya, synchronisation and also researching on the few variations of renditions already published on the web. Here are few from the collection of Purandhara Dhāsa Navarathna set, which were recorded later at home, digitally mastered by a sound engineer, during the pandemic lock down, all at the luxury of staying at home.
CLICK HERE to listen to ➡ Purandhara Dhāsa NAVARATHNA KRITHIS
music and srividya 