It was an unusual concert. It began with Dikshitar’s Mayamalavagowla kriti ‘Sri Nathadi Guruguho’ and ended with a Siddhar’s verses in ragamalika. There was the main raga Sankarabharanam for Tyagaraja’s ‘Manasu Swadheena’ with niraval and swaras on ‘Tanavu Tanukadhani’ and sub-main Manirangu for Tyagaraja’s ‘Ra Nidhi Raadhu’ with swaras. Other compositions featured were of Purandaradasa, Bharatiar and Jayadeva, among others.
So what was ‘unusual’ about ‘Geetha Vedantham’? Well, it was high philosophy expounded through Carnatic music in the voice of N. Vijay Siva.
Vijay Siva started with a prologue on the concept of Vedanta. He, in fact, said it is not frightening as everyone believes; in fact, it is a user friendly and a practical policy to lead a blissful life.
Important concepts
It is well known that composers and most poets and philosophers felt music was one of the best vehicles to achieve spiritual salvation. Vijay Siva gave a preface to that before taking up each kriti with an explanation of the philosophy behind it. Through song, he spoke about concepts such as the importance of the guidance of a guru (Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Nathadi’ in Mayamalavagowla), the various paths to self liberation (Dikshitar’s ‘Ambikaya’ in Kedaram), the importance of good association (Tyagaraja’s ‘Vinathasuta’ in Jayanthasena), detached attachment (Tyagaraja’s ‘Ra Nidhi Radhu’ in Manirangu), facing problems with equanimity (Purandaradasa’s ‘Ee Siriya Nambi Heggalu’ in Yadukulakhambodi), love for your soul mate (Jayadeva’s ‘Priye Charusheelae’) and training the mind (Tyagaraja’s ‘Manasu Swadheena’ in Sankarabharanam).
He also highlighted concepts such as freedom from fear and sense of emptiness, equilibrium according to Vedanta, relinquishing one’s ego and total submission to the Supreme through a series of compositions of Bharatiar, Thooran and Thayumanavar, and concluded with Adi Sankara’s Dasasloki.
Vijay Siva tried to project the complex facets of the philosophy through simple examples and logical explanations. However, he also conceded to the fact that preaching is easier than practicing and therefore, he suggested to accept ‘life as it is’ and also try to ‘live as you are’ but always foster the feeling to attain the elusive yet eternal bliss.
It is superfluous and mundane to comment on the musical aspect of such special programmes. Nevertheless, being a seasoned musician, Vijay Siva did full justice to the ragas he chose, most importantly in underscoring the significance of the potent phrases and words of the compositions.
R.K. Sriram Kumar and N. Manoj Siva on the violin and the mridangam, respectively, complemented the vocalist and added to the overall impact.
The programme at the Sivagami Petachi Auditorium was organised by the Ramanathan Think Foundation, an outfit with a mission to equip young minds with the power to think, question and discern.
