MANIKKAVACAGAR AND CHRISTIANS IN KERALA

The poet of Madurai's tryst with Christianity

I began  listening to Tiruvacakam after I bought an audio cassette  of it from a shop infront of the temple at Sucheendram.It was in symphony,an oratorio composed and orchestrated by Ilaiya Raja(2005).Tiruvacagam is a garland of Siva hymns written by Tamil poet,Manikka Vacagar.Even a Malayali would have definitely heard of him:his name appears in a line in the famous song,written by Bichu Thirumala,Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya,in the path breaking movie,Manichithrathazhu(1993),directed by Fazil.The line of course,is,Manikkavacagar Mozhikal Nalkee Devi,Ilngovadikal Chilambu Nalkee....

That Manikka Vacagar is a poet is known to all.He is one of the main authors of Saivite Tirumurai,the key religious text of Tamil Saiva literature.What I want to recount here is another important facet of him:he reconverted lot of native early Syrian Christans of Kerala back to Hinduism,or more accurately,Saivism.They still carry his name-maniyani nairs(we had a judge,K A Nair).Mani is Manica Vacagar.His festival is celebrated in Tamilnadu in Aani or Aavani,June-July,the month of his reconversion to Saivism.

Sambandhar,Appar,Sundarar,Manikkavasagar

Before going  into his proselytism,let us do a pilgrimage through his tormenting life.
He was born in Vadhavoor or Thiruvadhavoor,near Melur,ten kilometres from Madurai,on the banks of river Vaigai.He belonged to a Brahmin Siva fold which wore a top tilted knot to show servitorship to Siva.A statue of him with this knot is seen in Tirupperunthurai,near Pudukkottai.But he was a Vaishnavite in the beginning of the story.

In his teens,seeing his exemplary talents,Pandyan King of Madurai,Varagunavarman II(Circa 862 CE-885CE),also known as Arimarthana Pandyan made him Prime Minister.The King entrusted a lot of money with Manikka Vacagar and sent him to Tiruperunthurai to buy horses for his cavalry.

Once in Tiruperunthurai, Vacagar heard a divine music and found a sage under a kuruntha (trichilia or forest Mahogany tree;Karuvilangam in malayalam).He realized that it is the Guru he was searching for.Vacagar parted with all the treasure he had and became a disciple.He was converted to Saivism.His assistants went back to Madurai and informed the King. King sent his army and made Vacagar,captive.The sage who was Siva himself,told Vacagar that the horses will arrive on 19th of Aavani.

When Vacagar was imprisoned,  darkness engulfed Madurai and information came to the King that the horses are on their way.Arabs came with horses for eight times the money Vacagar had carried.In the night,the new horses were transformed to foxes and they pounced on the existing horses in the stables and killed them.The King,who became furious,decided to kill Vacagar.He was made to stand below the scorching sun,on the banks of Vaigai;soldiers placed a huge stone on his back.The sky exploded and floods erupted.Once it was evident that Vaigai would swallow his capital,the King freed Vacagar.The foxes became horses again.Vacagar became an ascetic and the King abdicated.Vacagar went on a pilgrimage starting from Uttarakosa Magai,10 kilometres away from Ramnad,finally settling down in Chidambaram.Thiruvacagam is placed near the idol there(I had been to Chidambaram;From there I called Shaji N Karun,Cinematographer of Chidambaram the movie of Aravindan,asking him where did they shoot Chidambaram.He told me it was not shot in Chidambaram!).He travelled through Thanjavur,North Arcot,Chengalpet,Tirunelveli and Madurai.He had traveled to Ceylon,invited the King to Chidambaram and defeated his scholars in intellectual discourse and converted the King and his dumb daughter.

Avudayarkoil

There is a war of words between scholars as to the identification of Tiruperunthurai.T A Gopinatha Rao said it is Avudayarkoil,which is same as Tiruperunthurai of Pudukottai.The Siva temple there has no Sivalingam;only pedestal or avudayar.The temple is near Aranthangi.Tradition says Thiruvacagam originated there;Vacagar built the temple with the money intended for the war horses and converted the King of the region to Saivism.The temple has six sabhas,covered with 21600 copper plates.The temple is administered by Nambiar brahmins.

T Ponnambalam Pillai says Thiruperunthurai is Tripunithura,my place.I am happy about it.He doesn't accept Thiruperunthurai of Pudukkottai because it is not a port town.According to the available sources,Vacagar went to a port town and had initiation there.Thiruvacagam says the town is in the western land.It was girt with coconut groves.In Paranjothi it is stated that he crossed endless forests and mountain lands.The Vathavurar Puranam,a hagiography of Vacagar mentions a western harbor.Such a country according to Chilappathikaram lies between Madurai and the West coast.So,Ponnambalam Pillai anchors in Tripunithura.I know  Tripunithura was a flourishing port till the great flood of 1314.The ancestors of Poonjar and Pandalam palaces had migrated from Madurai via Palakkad to the transit point of  Tripunithura before moving on to their destinations.

But Gopinatha Rao refutes this saying Tripunithura is outside the Pandian kingdom.K G Sesha Aiyar identifies it with Vaikam.It is not outside Pandian kingdom.Vemban in Vembanad lake that surrounds Vaikam,means Pandian.Vaikam Sivan is known as Perumthurai Koil Appan.The Ashtami festival there is a commemoration of Siva's manifestation to a sage at the foot of a tree in the outer quadrangles of the temple.Tradition says the sage was Vyagrapadar.According to Aiyar,it could be Vacagar.Thewords,achan,enthuve,Ninnalai,parai etc that appear in Thiruvacagam are Malayalam.

Both Aiyar and Ponnambalam Pillai mentions the reconversion of the early Syrian Christians of Kerala by Vacagar.

Aiyar states:Pandian kingdom was there centuries before Christian era.Strabo speaks of an ambassador from Pandyan king to Augustus.At the time of Periplus(80AC),Pandyan kingdom included Kerala.


Ponnambalam Pillai quotes one  Ittoop who wrote on the reconversion Vacagar did:"In the Year about 270 AD a certain Manes who hailed from Persia, and who travelled allover China and other places in the far east,went to Malabar(Malabar refers to Kerala:Ramachandran)and tried to influence the Christians there with his own peculiar views,a mixture of Christianity and Budhism....

"About the same time,a man who was named Manikka Vacagar,came from the Chola country,practiced sorcery,healed diseases of man and beast by means of his incantations,instructed people in the use and efficacy of the sacred ashes,the five letters or panchaksharam(Namasivaya)and panchagavyam-the five products of the cow,and thus established a separate community called the Manigramakars which was acknowledged by the then reigning sovereige of Malabar-Veera Raghava Perumal by dubbing the leader of them "the Loga Perum Chetty" or the greatest merchant of
the World".

Rev.Thomas Whitehouse in his Lingerings of Light in a Dark Land quotes historian Mosheim thus:"Eight families were perverted by Manikka Vacagar and these so far increased as to form at length a community of 96 houses whose members had renounced the worship of the true God.The reigning Rajah or Perumal Prince having granted to their headman,Iravi Corttan,ground whereupon a settlement was formed called Manigramam,they were called Manigramakars or(as we should say) the people of the village Manes and the remnant of their descendants still bear the same name among the Syrian Christians".

G T Mackenzie,British Resident of Travancore-Cochin,who wrote Christianity in Travancore extracts two passages confirming this,but quotes Dr Rae of Madras Christian College to dispel the story connected with Manechians,a myth.Manechians were heretic Christians.Thus Manigramam finds its founder in Manikka Vacagar.

The incident mentioned in the above quotes is granting of the charter which is known in history as Tharisappally Sasanam.

Tharisappally copper plates (AD 849)is a grant issued by King of Venadu(Kollam),Ayyan Adikal Thiruvadikal to Manigramakars , christians(not to the Christians only, as they say) ,Jews and others in the 5th regular of the Chera ruler Sthanu Ravi Varma.Inscription describes the gift of land to to the Teresa Church near Kollam,to the Christians led by Mar Sapir Iso.He was a Nestorian priest.Teresa Church was an existing Church.In relation to this Sasanam,Whitehouse mentions 30 families of manigramakars of Kollam and their Priest,Naimar.He had a subordinate called Veera Udayan with a weapon,Yamadhudha.He used to collect the duty from low caste artisans.He mentions Manigramakars maintained only a remote connection with the Christians.The signatories of the available(it is incomplete) sasanam have signed in Hebrew,Pahlavi and Kufic.Jews,Persians and Arabs.Language denotes politics.On the cross on which Jesus was hanged,INRI was written in three languages:Hebrew,Latin and Aramaic.The last was the language Jesus spoke.

K Sivasankaran Nair in Venadinte Parinamam has rightly pointed out that the charter was granted not only to Christians and Jews.According to him,Anchuvannam and Manigramam were two merchant guilds who were entrusted with the implementation of the provisions of the Sasanam. Gundert and Logan viewed Manigramam as  Christian and Anchuvannam as Jew. It is a missionary position!Sivasankaran Nair in his book,Vanijyathilude Parathantryam views Manigramam as a guild of Jains,Vaishnavites and others.He considers Manigramam of Tulunadu as their capital.If we are to accept Vacagar as the founder,this theory will have to be recast with the inclusion of neo saivites,the maniyani nairs.

Manickavacagar was nicknamed Mani,which meant a Brahmin youth.Mani in Tamil,Canarese and Tulu  refers to an unmarried Brahmin,a Brahmachari.Mani bacame Manikkam or ruby after he became a sage.Manigramam,which was founded in Cochin spread to Kollam,Kottayam,Kayamkulam and Mannar.If it was founded in Cochin as some historians say,the theory that Vacagar came to Tripunithura gains currency.To my view, Manigramam of Tulunadu need not be considered the capital.There is a village called Manigramam in Nagapattinam,25 kilometers from Mayiladuthurai.Manigramam founded in Kerala coast in 9th century spread to Tamilnadu and flourished there during Pallava and Chola periods.In the Tiruppatur Sivapuri temple wall of Ramanthapuram,there is an inscription related to Manigramam.They funded the temple.

Ancient Cochin

We find vysyas or chettis allover Tamilnadu.It is a mystery why only few vysyas are there in Kerala.The vysyas of Kerala are definitely christians,the traders.K M Mathew,who was my Chief Editor,  told me once that they,the Kandathil family were enna(oil)chettis before conversion.With the help of Vacagar,another historical mystery is getting solved.
Though there is a debate as to which century does Vacagar belong,Some Christian texts suggest to him to be in the second century.The texts say that alarmed by Vacagar's feat,Kerala Christians sent a deputation to Demetrius,Bishop of Alexandria,requesting him to send a learned scholar to refute the arguments of  Vacagar.Pantaenus,Professor at the Seminary of Alexandria came to Kerala in AD 190.He,the texts say,defeated Vacagar in the debate and brought back the apostatized to Christianity.

There is another mystery about Vacagar-such a powerful advocate of saivism is not counted  among 63 Nayanars.Is  proselytism the reason?If the story Pantaenus is true,the defeat maybe the reason.It is a fact that Hinduism of Aryans doesnt accept reconversion.Only Aryasamajam does it.But Saivism of Dravidians is known for reconversion.The famous Thirunavukkarasu or Appar who was brought in Saivism went to Pataliputram,became a Jain and a chief priest.He was reconverted later.Jnanasambandhar  defeated Jains in Madurai in intellectual discourse.Several Jains were reconverted.What did you learn from the symbolic horse myth of Vacagar?It is the story of reconversion of foxes to horses!

The Christians converted by Vacagar as Nairs didn't become full fledged Nairs.I quote Whitehouse:"If a Nair makes a feat,the males of the Manigramakar maybe invited,but not the females;and if they make a feast in return,the Nair guests will not eat the food if cooked by anyone of the same caste as their host.When the Nairs and they fall out,it is very common thing for the former to upbraid them with their mongrel origin."
It is an inhuman area I don't want to tread.

There is a claim that Maniyani Nairs are temple architects who worked with Mani(bell) and Aani(nail) and are descendants of Agasthya.Again,an area of myth I don't want to tread.The horse myth was exotic:it spoke about metamorphosis.

____________________

Reference:
Manikkavacagar and His Date/K G Sesha Aiyar
Manikka Vacagar and the Early Christians of Malabar/T Ponnambalam Pillai
The Syrian Christians In India/G T Mackenzie
Lingerings of Light in A Dark Land/Rev Thomas Whitehouse
A Survey of Kerala History/A Sreedhara Menon
History of Christianity in India:Source Materials/M K Kuriakose
The Dance of Siva:Religion,Art and Poetry in South India/David Smith
Footprint India/Roma Bradnock
A History of Indian Literature/Sisir KumarDas
Venadinte Parinamam/K Sivasankaran Nair
Vanijyathiloode Parathantryam/K Sivasankaran Nair. 

See my Post,A CHRISTIAN IN THE ZAMORIN FAMILY

A SPRING IN MEMORY: THE NCV CONNECTION

NCV, My Father's Sister

Ramachandran

My father, K Sundar Ram, died in 1966 when I was just five. I was listening to the Maths teacher, Leela, whose husband Timothy, owned the White Shop in Tripunithura when the messenger of death appeared and murmured something to her. I was sent out of the Palace Primary School, which was established to teach the children of the Cochin royal family. Tripunithura was the capital of the former Cochin State. My father's death, coupled with my mother's detachment from relationships, snapped our ties entirely with his family. But my mother, V Saradambal, whose father, Venkitaraman, was a Sanskrit scholar with the Zamorin of Calicut, and lived in Mankavu, near the Western palace, used to boast, till her death, that N C Vasanthakokilam was related to my father.

NCV

The question haunted me always: How is Vasanthakokilam related? 

In 1996, from Thiruvananthapuram where I was a Special Correspondent with Malayala Manorama, I took a taxi to Vellangallur, a village four kilometres away from Irinjalakuda, in the Thrissur district. Since I didn't have any contact number or address, I asked people for Kunnathu Madam, the K in my father's name. People said it is close to the temple. The Sreekrishna temple, I suppose. There were two people in the old house on an acre. To the elderly lady, who came out, I explained, who I am, and told her, I  came to see my father's house." You have come like the flowering of Athi"(the laurel tree or the Banyan Fig), she exclaimed. Niceties over, I asked: "what happened to the salagramam?".

They, the woman and her son were shocked. Salagramam is a holy stone, a spherical black-coloured fossil, found in the sacred river, Gandaki. It is an iconic representation of Vishnu. It got engraved in my mind when a close relative of my father, Parasuram, mentioned it after the funeral. You can keep a salagramam only if there is someone to do the daily pujas. Yes, her son was doing it. I didn't ask them about Vasanthakokilam. But now I have found that she was my athai. Father's sister. My father's father, my grandfather was K Subramanian.His brother was Chandrasekhara Iyer. N C Vasanthakokilam, the legendary Carnatic singer and actress, was his daughter(Athi, I feel, has something to do with Athai!).

Nagapattinam Chandrasekhara Vasanthakokilam (1919-1951) was born in Vellangallur,Irinjalakuda, as Kamakshi.The family shifted from there to Nagapattinam. Her father put her under the tutelage of Nagapattinam 'Jalra' Gopala Iyer, an accompanist in harikatha performances. The family moved to Madras in 1936 encouraged by K Subramanyam, film director.

They could not meet him when they arrived since he was in Kolkata, shooting. A family friend, who had studied with Kamakshi under the same guru, came to her rescue. He was an employee at the Egmore station of the then privately owned South Indian Railway. He gave refuge to her and her father in his quarters. He got her to sing in the radio rum by the Madras Corporation. The AIR was not there. She sang in all places and cut discs with the HMV.

Her name was changed to Vasanthakokilam. She won the first prize in vocal music at the Madras Music Academy annual conference, in 1938.It was presided over by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and opened by Yuvaraja of Mysore,Narasimharaja Wodeyar.A star was born. Her colleague, who was romantically inclined towards her was married off by his family. They remained friends.

Subramanyam

K (Krishnaswamy) Subramanyam (1904-1971), Father of Padma Subramanyam, the Bharathanatyam exponent was a renowned director in the 30s and 40s. It was in his Pavalakkodi that M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar debuted. Though the progressive Sevasadanam made him popular, his best-known film was Thyagabhoomi. M S Subbulakshmi was the heroine in Sevasadanam; Papanasam Sivan wrote lyrics and composed music. Subrahmanyam also produced and directed the first Malayalam mythological movie and third talkie, Prahlada(1941). Kumari Lakshmi, daughter of Chidambaram, private secretary to Dewan Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer was Prahlada; T R Mahalingam, the childhood of Prahlada. The 19 songs in the film, written by Kilimanur Madhavan Nair were set to tune by V S Parthasarathy Iyengar. Actress and singer S D Subbulakshmi was Subrahmanyam's second wife; the Padma is from his first wife. Meenatchi.

Alathur Venkatesa Iyer

Vasanthakokilam shared with MS Subbulakshmi a melodious, high-pitched voice with perfect intonation, sruti and emotion. Her rendering of higher octaves was remarkable with effortless ease to bring off brigas.

In a male-dominated world, C Saraswathi Bai, a Madhva brahmin, was the first woman to give a concert in 1908, the first lady among Bhagavatars.

Sir C Sankaran Nair, the first Malayali Congress (AICC) President, was an ardent champion of her. He organized her first performance at Egmore. Following her came Vai Mu Kothainayaki Ammal and DK Pattammal. At this stage, Vasanthakokilam came without a godfather. The Indian Fine Arts Society gave her opportunities. She became a regular at festivals of Tamil Isai Sangam and Nellai Sangeetha Sabha in Tirunelveli. She sang at Tyagaraja archana during 1942-1951. After Independence, she popularised mystic poet Yogi Suddhananda Bharati's songs. She found and taught Andal, the playback singer, music. She was given the title, Madhuragita Vani by Tiger Varadachari in Kumbakonam. She was a worthy member of the triad of Carnatic music, MS, DK and NC.S (Sundaram) Rajam, actor of yesteryears, who has acted in Sachi's Radhakalyanam had heard NCV singing without a mike.

He remembers: "It was a voice with a rich and pleasant timbre, very pliant and malleable. Although she was thin and frail, her voice combined melody with tensile strength. Her voice rang with vibrancy, a reenkara, as she crossed the tara shadja and dwelt on the rishaba. It is my impression that MS Subbulakshmi took NC's music as a model. In the Simhendramadhyamam kriti Unnai allal vere Gati, NC sang several sanchara-s above the panchamam and in the tarasthayi. Listeners were astounded by her rendition of this Kotiswara Iyer composition."

Papanasam Sivan

She would often take up niraval on the phrase, kai mei palan arul daivamey. The song was a great hit. Sulochana Pattabhiraman, singer and musicologist had heard NCV rendering the Bhairavi varnam of Adiyappaiyer, set to aditala at a chamber concert. She remembers: "Among the rasika-s was the inimitable Alathur Venkatesa Iyer. Even he, the uncompromising great gave a nod of approval after the rendering of the Viribhoji varnam. On another occasion, when she presented a concert at the Srinivasa Gandhi Nilayam, her delineation of Kambhoji  in the three octaves held the audience captive. Sarasa dala nayana in Khamas, Mayetwamyahi in Tarangini, sundari ninnidarilo in Begada and the piece de resistance, Thanthai Thai Irunthal in Shanmukhapriya were some of the sparkling gems in her vast repertoire".

Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan heard NCV singing for the first time in 1941 at the Sangeetha Samrakshana Sabha concert at Madurai. She had 78 rpm records of NCV. Ananthalakshmi was told by HMV that it held NCV on par with MS.Ananthalakshmi remembered:" She came up entirely on merit. She drew large crowds. She sang with a lot of confidence, especially on her raga alapanas, and swaraprastharam. Her music was of a high order. It was powerful and high pitched".

By the time she entered the film world in 1940, her marriage had failed. He never encouraged her career. He set up a modest restaurant at Tiruvaiyar, by the name, of Coffee Club, and closed it down and went away whenever her concert was there. She acted as Princess Chhaya in the movie, Chandragupta Chanakya, directed by lawyer turned film-maker, C K Sathasivan, known as Sachi.

   Sachi and Gangavathar

He hailed from a family of noted lawyers in Coimbatore and was a cousin of novelist, R K Narayan. He had a brief training in filmmaking in London. He became associate director of noted American Tamil filmmaker, Ellis R Duncan in his historic maiden movie, Sathi Leelavati(1936). He entered Vasanthakokilam's life, became patron, protector and much more.A Sadasivam to M S Subbalakshmi;another to Vasanthakokilam.He promoted her to film singer and actress. She looked stunning as Chhaya. The make-up came from London. She acted in six more movies: Venuganam (1940),
Gangavathar ((1942), Haridas (1944), Valmiki (1946)
Kundalakesi (1946) and Krishna Vijayam(1950). Papanasam Sivan scored music for Valmiki.

Sivan, incidentally, had a Kerala connection.He was born as Ramaiah Polagam village in Thanjavur. After his father's death, in absolute penury, he and his mother shifted to Thiruvananthapuram, the attraction being the free food of Padmanabha Swamy temple. He studied in Sanskrit college, learnt Bhajans from Karamana Neelakanta Sivan and lived in a room in Karamana agraharam. After passing the grammar examination, he went back to Thanjavur and became a regular at Papanasam Siva temple, with bhasma smeared all over: People began to call him Papanasam Sivan, who, later flourished in Mylapore.

G Ramanathan

Haridas, the Vasanthakokilam movie, is the only movie to cross two deepavalis in Indian theatres. Its music director G Ramanathan took Carnatic music to the masses through film songs. He dominated Tamil music in the '50s. All the music lovers would have listened to NCV rendering Yen Pallikondeerayya, in mohanam, written by Arunachalakavi. This song, rendered by Krishnakumar, becomes the soul of the Malayalam movie, Swam, directed by my friend, Shaji N Karun.Her other famous songs are: Thanthai Thai Irundhal,Nitirayil Vandhu Nenjil,Aananda Nadanam aadinal,Aasai Konden Vande,Thithikkum Senthamizhal,Andha Nal Ini Varumo,Varuvano Vanakuyile,Saarasa Dala Nayana...

Gangavathar,was made by Sundaram Sound Studios,Adayar.MGR bought it and made it Satyam Studios. Her song, Kalaivani Arul Purivaai in Gangavathar, in raga Dhanyasi, became very famous. I have seen pundits saying this: she was not photogenic; she didn't have the glamour or charisma MS wielded and, with MS and DK Pattammal reigning supreme and with ML Vasanthakumari becoming a cynosure, NCV was beginning to be outshone. All of it was in the womb of the future. When she died, she was only 32. She could have done more. But, the fact remains that Sachi who took her under his wings had lost his hold in Kollywood. Remember, he directed only one movie about her. To be fair to him, he was with her till her end.

NCV  in Haridas

After Krishnavijayam, NCV was not there for long; she was not there to equal or outlive the adulation MS Subbulakshmi enjoyed. She died on 7 November 1951 at her Gopalapuram residence. She was ailing for two weeks with tuberculosis and was in a private nursing home till November 6. She was just 32. It would have been better to end the story here. But a stray search on the internet threw up several posts by a Graphic designer in the US, Shyama Sachi. She is the granddaughter of a one-time stand-up comedian who worked in the toy industry, the Irish American, Walter Hogue and Shantha Sachi. Sachi's daughter, Shantha, had eloped with him. In one of her posts, she writes about grandfather Sachi:"he loved his 'work' so much that he abandoned his family for a young starlet who was like Judy Garland".The young starlet is, of course, NCV.

Judy Garland

Judy Garland (1922-1969) was an American actress and singer, who is best identified for her role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). She was nominated for the Academy Award twice: for her role in Judgement at Nuremberg and in the remake of A Star is Born. She remains the youngest recipient(at 39) of the Cecil De Mille award for lifetime achievement. In 1997, she was posthumously given the Grammy lifetime achievement award. She struggled in her personal life. She was plagued by financial instability, owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. She married five times, and the first four ended in divorce. She had a long battle with drugs and alcohol and died at the age of 47 in 1969.

NCV fails in comparison when she came to know that death is imminent, and she made a will by which she donated all her earnings to charity. It was a different struggle for NCV. She was not accepted by the orthodox ism in her family.

She was an outcast for two reasons: she ditched her husband for a partnership with another; secondly, she acted in films. She was never discussed with adulation in family circles. So, for me, this is a reinvention and a revisit.NCV died of tuberculosis; my father too surrendered to it. Perhaps, it is in the DNA.

Post Script:
1. Announcement in the Ananda Vikatan about NCV singing at Thanjavur Tyagaraja Aradhana on 17 December 1944:

2. The Hindu dated November 8, 1951, carries a small news item. Captioned “Death of Srimathi N.C. Vasanthakokilam” it states: “The death occurred of Srimathi N.C. Vasanthakokilam, the well-known South Indian musician, last evening at her residence in Gopalapuram. She was ailing for the past two weeks and was in a private nursing home till November 6. She was 32.”

The star had been suffering from tuberculosis and it was only a matter of time before death came a calling. On November 21, there was an even smaller news item. It stated that “at a meeting of the Indian Fine Arts Society held on November 10 under the presidentship of Mr K.S. Ramaswami Sastri, a condolence resolution touching the death of Srimathi N.C. Vasanthakokilam was passed.” And with that, N.C. Vasanthakokilam was history. It was a very quiet farewell to a person who for some time was considered to be a leading Carnatic musician.

Reference:

1. Flight of A Nightingale by Sriram Venkat Krishnan (The Hindu, December 5,2008).
2. Blast From the Past: Gangavathar 1942 by Randor Guy.
3.Sruti magazine,August 15, 2007. 

See my Post,VIOLIN COMES TO CHENNAI

VIOLIN COMES TO CHENNAI

THE RISE OF VIOLIN FROM FOUR STRINGS TO SEVEN

It was Christmas,2010.Former Chief Minister of Kerala,K Karunakaran had died a day ago.On the way to Thanjavur,infront of our vehicle,we saw his dead body  traveling to Thrissur.He was a painter in Thrissur in his formative years,who brushed aside music.I have had several breakfasts with him in Cliff House.
Once in Thanjavur,after seeing the marvel of Brihadeeswara temple ,I suggested we go to Thiruvarur.It didn't strike a chord with the people around me.
I explained:there is no place in history like this.The birth place of the trinity of Carnatic music.Thyagaraja,Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Syama Sastrigal.All of them prayed in the Thyagarajaswamy temple in Thiruvarur.

Thiruvarur temple

Thiruvarur had been one of the five traditional capitals of the Chola empire.The temple has inscriptions of Rajaraja and Rajendra Cholas.The temple was there when Manuneedhi Cholan killed his son to give justice to a cow.The temple inspired the trinity.It immensely supported the family of Dikshitars.
Muthuswamy Dikshitar's ancestral family was in Virinchipuram,North Arcot.On October 6,1742,the Carnatic Nawab,Subedar Ali was killed by the Commandant of the fort,Murtaza Ali in Vellore.Murtaza eloped and Subedar's son Mohammad Syed Khan became the new Nawab.Dikshitar's father Ramaswamy was seven then.The family,in search of peace,migrated to Govindapuram,near Mayyavaram.Ramaswamy learned Carnatic music, performed at Thanjavur court and became a musician of Thiruvarur temple.He set up family there and wife Subbammal gave birth to four children:Muthuswamy(1775),twins Chinnaswamy and Balambal and Balaswamy(1786).I am interested in Balaswamy because it was he who introduced Violin to Carnatic music.

Dikshitar

The Raja of Thanjavur,Tulaja II died in 1787.His cousin Amar Singh became Regent since Tulaja's son Sarabhoji was a minor.Amar Singh met Ramaswamy at the temple.Ramaswamy became his favorite and he composed a kriti in 20 ragas.At the time when the missionary Frederick Schwartz advanced the cause of Sarabhoji and Amar Singh became weak,Manali Muthukrishna Mudali ,Chief Merchant of the East India Company came on a pilgrimage to Thiruvarur.He invited the Dikshitar family to Madras.It was in Madras, Dikshitar family saw the Violin.

Subbarama Dikshitar

Christian Frederick(Friedrich)Schwartz ((1726-1798) was a Lutheran German protestant missionary who was contemporary to Dharmaraja(1724-1798).He came to India in 1750,moved to the garrison in Tiruchirapally where he became the Chaplain.In 1769 he became friendly with Sarabhoji.Though Schwartz is credited with the maximum conversions in India,he didn't succeed in converting Sarabhoji.But Sarabhoji built a church in his affection and entrusted his adopted son(Sarabhoji II) and Vedanayagam to him for education.In 1779, at the request of British authorities,he undertook a private embassy to Hyder Ali.When Hyder invaded the Carnatic,Schwartz was allowed to pass through the enemy camp.He was in Tiruchirapally for 12 years after which he moved to Thanjavur.It is believed he had brought a Violin with him and Sarabhoji was attracted to it.It is in the High school he founded in Ramanathapuram,Abdul Kalam had his education.Schwartz learn t Tamil to translate the Bible.

Schwartz

Vedanayagam Sastriar(1774-1864)is the king of evangelical poets in South India.Born in Tirunelveli to Devasahayam,he was taken to Thanjavur in 1785 by Schwartz.At the age of 10,Vedanayagam had a vision of the cross and Jesus.He studied Theology at the Lutheren seminary in Tharagambadi,now Tranquebar.When his classmate Sarabhoji II became king,he was made the court poet.He has 150 books and 500 lyrics to his credit.His lyrics are part of Christian worship.He learn t Violin from Schwartz.He taught violin to Vadivelu of the Thanjavur quartet.
Violin is the smallest but highest pitched member of the violin family:Viola,Cello and Contra bass.It is said Thamburu originated in Uzbekistan.But,Turkish,Mongolian horsemen were earliest fiddlers.It was two stringed then.They were horsehair strings.Violin bows are still strung with horsehair.
Violin took the trade route through China to come to India.It took the silk route to reach Italy. The four stringed Violin was made in Italy in 1555 by Andrea Amati, a luthier in Cremona,Italy.A luthier is one who makes and repairs Violin.The French King Charles IX ordered Amati to make 24 Violins.One among them still survives and it is called Charles IX.In the 16-18 centuries,Violin was made in Italy by five families:Gaspara Da Salo,Giovanni Paolo Maggini,Stradivari,Guarneri and Amati.In Brescia and Cremona.A Stradivari is now valued at 9.8 million pounds! In 1790,Irish military bandsmen were brought to Madras by East India Company.An army band master of Fort St George orchestra  trained  Baluswamy on violin.Remember,Schwartz had been there before. Muthukrishna Muthali died in 1792 and his son Venkatakrishna succeeded him. Ramaswamy wrote kritis with Venkatakrishna signature and composed the longest Carnatic song in praise of him in 108 ragas.A chance acquaintance with Chidambaranatha Yogi took Muthuswamy to Kasi for five years.

On Muthuswamy's return from Kasi,the famiily went back to Thiruvarur.Thanjavur had become English.Ramaswamy died in 1812.Unable to manage property,the Dikshitar family lost them and were approached by the father of the Thanjavur quartet,Mahadeva Annavi(Subbarayan) a Veena player,to teach them music.We know the quartet:Chinnayya Pillai(1802-1856),Ponnayya Pillai(1804-1864),Sivanandam Pillai(1808-1863) and the legendary Vadivelu Pillai(1810-1845).

Chinnayya

Ponnayya

Sivanandam

Vadivelu,who had learn t Violin from Vedanayagam was made an exponent in it by the Dikshitars.Sarabhoji,who was pensioned off  by the British, was experimenting with western instruments.Muthuswamy who taught Vadivelu called him ekasandhagrahi.One who repeats what he heard once.Vadivelu had joined the Thanjavur court as Asthanavidwan at just 14.He became the asthana vidwan of Swati Thirunal at 22.He, for the first time showed the world manodharma sangeetham is possible on violin .He popularized violin in Carnatic music.It is said that he used to sing and accompany himself on violin at the same time.Swati Thirunal gifted him a rare Violin made of ivory in 1834,which is kept at their ancestral house behind Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur.Swati Thirunal died at 34;Vadivelu at 35.Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer immortalized the duo in his poem,Kattile Pattu. 

Vadivelu

But  some say,Dharmaraja,a contemporary of Schwartz is the first Violinist in Kerala.Schwartz had been in Tirunelveli and we don't know whether he met Dharmaraja.If true,he learn t it much before Balaswamy and Vadivelu.If it is proven, the theory that Violin was brought to India by Portuguese missionaries for use in church choir has some substance.When contacted, R P Raja,who wrote the book,New Light on Swati Thirunal, said Dharmaraja didn't knew Violin.Only Veena was practiced in the palace.
Baluswamy who was proficient in Veena,Swarabat,Sitar and Mridangam too,became asthana vidwan at Ettaiyapuram.He had moved with brother Chinnaswami to Madurai in search of patronage.Raja Venkateswara Eddappa became the patron of Balaswami and Chinnaswamy died in the interim.They were the first duo in Carnatic music.Finally,Muthuswamy met Balaswamy here and passed away on October 21,1835.He traveled not only through the sea of music;but the length and breadth of the world. It took another half century for the Violin to enter the realm of Hindustani music-a Malayali,Parur Sundaram Iyer did it!

Sundaram Iyer(right)with son,M S Gopalakrishnan

Parur is of course,is North Parur in Ernakulam district.Sundaram Iyer(1891-1964),father of M S Gopalakrishnan had learned violin from Trivandrum Ramaswamy Bhagavathar,asthana vidwan of Travancore.After a concert Sundaram Iyer gave in Cochin,Sait Govinda Naick sent him to Bombay and there he was introduced to Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar,Principal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.He was made a  professor there and was taught Hindustani music.For the first time in 1909,Sundaram Iyer used Violin in a Hindustani concert-he was just 18! TN Krishnan,was born in my native place Tripunithura,in 1928.Pranams to the 10 Violin maestros who were born before him(apart from Sundaram Iyer):Tirukkodikkaval Krishna Iyer(1857-1913),Malgikottai Govindaswami Pillai(1879-1931),Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu(1893-1864),T K Jayaraman(1894-1971),Chowdiah(1895-1967),Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai(1898-1970),Papa Venkataramaiah(1901-1970),R R Krishna Murthy(1914-2006),Kandadevi Alagiriswamy(1925-2000),M S Anantharaman(1924).

Chowdiah

It was Chowdiah,much before L Subramaniam, who experimented with Violin,by adding three more strings.He had become famous as a Violinist by 1927,and he realized that  the listeners sitting far behind are not able to hear his four stringed Violin.There were no sound amplifiers then.So,he added three more strings,without the knowledge of his Guru,Bidaram Krishnappa,of the Mysore royal court.When he accompanied his Guru in one of his concerts,for the first time in the seven stringed Violin,the Guru found it very loud,and there was an outburst."What is this contraption",the Guru asked.Veena Seshanna,who was in the audience,and who had seen the seven stringed Violin earlier,pacified the Guru.The Guru began to like the new Violin later on.

But,conservatism caught hold of him,and the Madras Music academy banned him and the seven stringed Violin around 1931.He formed the Indian Fine Arts Society,IFAS.The Academy made peace with Chowdiah by 1938,by which time he had become the asthana vidwan of Mysore.IFAS had the generous support of the Justice Party.The Kannada super star,husband of former Malayalam actress Sumalatha,is the grand son of Chowdiah.

Krishnappa

The journey from Thiruvarur, for me, should end in Tripunithura.So I was amazed when the God of Violin,L Subramaniam,in a concert said that he belongs to Tripunithura!I knew his father, Prof.V Lakshminarayanan was from Alapuzha and a road exists there in his name.I listened:Subramaniam said,his mother,Seethalakshmi was from Palliparambukavu in Tripunithura.Incidentally,Tripunithura is the birth place of the first male and female playback singers in Malayalam cinema:T K Govinda Rao and Sarojini Amma. Now I will listen to a concert of Subramaniam with Ganapathi Sachidananda Swami who heads the Dattatreya Peetham,Mysore.No one in the world plays Carnatic in the keyboard like the Swami.A formidable combination.I saw the swami playing twice in the Dattatreya temple in Desam,Aluva.

Reference:The magnum opus,Sangitha Sampradaya Pradarsini,by Subbarama Dikshitar(1904),grandson of Baluswamy Dikshitar

See my posts,MASTERS IN MASTER BEDROOMS & A BRAIN IN CHAOS

MASTERS IN MASTER BEDROOMS

TEMPORAL LOBE SYNDROME AND SWATI THIRUNAL

 All of you will be familiar with the film Perunthachan.I am talking here about a Perunthachan whom I followed.

This was in 1995,when I was with Malayala Manorama in Thiruvananthapuram.One fine morning,my friend,MG Sasibhushan,son of S Guptan Nair,called and told me he will take me to an ammaveedu where Sundaralakshmi, Swatithirunal's consort lived.Ammaveedu is an institution created by Dharmaraja for Travancore princes to procreate.When he shifted the capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram,he had four tamil wives from four villages:Vadasseri,Nagercoil,Thiruvattar and Arumana.He built four palaces for them bearing these names.It became a practice for the princes only to select women from these families.You can still see Arumana Ammaveedu in westfort as Arumana hospital.

Dharmaraja

If you thought  he had only these four,you got it wrong.The political arena was in turmoil.There was an exodus from Malabar to Travancore,during the siege of Malabar by Tipu Sultan.Among them was Manorama, a beauty from the Samoothiri royal family.She was erudite,played veena and became a strong influence on him.He was happy with her at the Krishnapuram Palace in Kayamkulam.

Krishnapuram Palace

Krishnapuram palace was built by his uncle,Marthanda Varma,after demolishing the existing palace of
Kayamkulam Raja,after annexation of Kayamkulam in 1746.Demolishing old palaces was fun for him.He demolished three palaces in my native place,Tripunithura:Thekkumbagam,Udayamperoor and Kandanad.After this,Maharaja of Cochin had a pact with him in Poornathrayeesa temple.
There is some connection between Dharmaraja and Thiruvathirakali.He enjoyed watching it.He composed carnatic kritis and Kathakali aattakadhas.He is said to be the first violinist from the royal family,a claim withou t any proof.He never wanted to lose Manorama,who  played veena. He insisted that he should be able to see the well in the compound from his master bedroom. He was afraid that someone will mix poison in the well.The largest single piece of mural in the world,Gajendramoksham is on the way to the palace from the pond.

Gajendramoksham mural

It seems,building palaces has something to do with cementing relationships.Dharmaraja died in 1798.Swati Thirunal,another scholar genius,built a  palace for his consort,Sundaralakshmi,46  years later,in 1845.You may have known a consort called Sugandavalli of Swati Thirunal.It is a fiction that has been embedded in the malayali psyche by the script written by Sreevaraham Balakrishnan,for the movie,Swati Thirunal.

Here you have the real picture of Swati Thirunal from a mural on the wall of Puthan Malika or Kuthiramalika which he built towards the end of his life:I had the fortune to view the murals;a couple of them have sexual overtones,but the character in them is another Raja.

Swati Thirunal, it seems,began constructing Kuthiramalika for himself and a palace for Sundaralakshmi at the same time.5000  workers worked for four years to construct kuthira malika which has 122 horses carved into the wooden wall brackets that support the southern roof.
Swati Thirunal lived in with  the Mudaliar danseuse Sundaralakshmi,brought by Thanjavur dancer Vadivelu, for few years and married her in 1843.She was adopted to the Vadasseri amma veedu.The palace for her was built in 1845.
We,myself and Sasibhushan went to the palace after it was visited and examined by a master builder,Payyannur Kesavanachari.He had written a commentary to Manushyalaya Chandrika,the foremost architectural work in malayalam.
Achari could not take measurements of the master bedroom with the Kerala Muzhakol.Then a Nagercoil muzhakol was brought in.After examination,Achari exclaimed: whoever built the palace would have died soon after.The master bedrom was not Vasthu compliant.
Achari was right:Swati Thirunal had died within a year,in 1846.
He died in Kuthiramalika.Noone occupied it after his death.

But then,his death was a suicide-some accounts say he committed prayopavesam.It is death by fasting.Maharaja Parikshit was observing prayopavesa when Suka  narrated Bhagavatham to him.Vinayak Damodar Savarkar committed prayopavesam.In november 2001,Sadguru Sivaya Subrahmuniya Swami(1927-2001) did it in Hawai when he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer.It took 32 days for him to reach death.Two Indian political activists had died of hunger strike.Jatin Das died in Lahore jail after 63 days.Potti Sreeramulu,who demanded separate Andhra state,died after 58 days.Swami,a native of California adopted Saivism and in 1985 inventedPanchaganapati as an alternative to December holidays like Christmas.Swati Thirunal was found to be sinking on the Christmas night.

Sivaya Subrahmuniya

Ancient texts allow prayopavesam when you are terminally ill or  if you have no desire or ambition left.Savarkar felt his responsibilities are over.Swati Thirunal was terminally ill.
Dr K Rajasekaran Nair ,famous neurologist,who did a pathography of Swati Thirunal thinks Swati Thirunal had a natural death.From symptoms available,Rajasekaran Nair found  Swati Thirunal had temporal lobe syndrome of brain,or temporal lobe epilepsy.People afflicted with this, walk like drunkards.

C J Thomas

The genius among malayalam writers,C J Thomas had the same syndrome.

Jatin Das

The Times of London, on december 8,1846 carried a classified advertisement:Holloway's ointment has been sent to Swati Thirunal.It was considered a panacea.Thomas Holloway who developed it,made millions.Modern findings say the ointment wont cure anything.Swati Thirunal died on december 27.So, let us assume two things.One,the ointment reached him.Second,he refused to take it because he was in prayopavesam.

Potti Sreeramulu

Sooranad Kunjan Pillai,Dr Rajasekharan Nair's father,has written a biography of Swati Thirunal.In it,he says Swati Thirunal drank milk brought by the servants on the night before his death.So,was it Prayopavesam after all?

Thus,my first blog,is a story of two master bedrooms,two deaths and three masters.Dharmaraja feared death in his master bedroom.Swati Thirunal had death in two master bedrooms.A male death and a female death.You cant blame me with gender bias!

See my blogs,A BRAIN IN CHAOS,VIOLIN COMES TO CHENNAI