Father Paul Poovathingal of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) is known as the Singing Priest from Thrissur. Right from his childhood, he was drawn towards Carnatic Music as well as the Church. For him, the twain does meet. Because he believes that music is divine, cutting across all religious boundaries. “Carnatic music is deeply divine; it’s full of songs in praise of god. When you listen to a Carnatic music concert, you’ll be lifted to a different world, both spiritually and aesthetically,” he says.
Fr. Poovathingal points out that for him singing popular kirtanas of Carnatic music, which praise gods of the Hindu pantheon, is just like learning the poem ‘Krishnagatha,’ composed by ancient poet Cherussery, during his school days. “When we were taught ‘Krishnagatha’ at school, it was more about literature, the poetry and metric details were important. Just like that, in Carnatic music, sahithya is just a base, with raga or raga bhava becoming more important. Therefore, my whole intention was to learn about ragas, how they are able to convey the sense of devotion, the bhakti.”
Born in Viyyur, a suburb of Thrissur, Fr Poovathingal’s childhood was spent in the vicinity of Manalarukav Bhagavathy Temple at Viyyur. “I studied in a primary school situated close to the Manalarukavu Temple. During breaks, we’d all be playing in the temple compound. I was used to watching temple rituals, festivals and Kettunira of Sabarimala pilgrims. All these are really beautiful celebrations and I’d participate in all that together with my friends from different communities. We were surrounded by Hindu families, who would share all the delicacies of Onam and Vishu with us. And we’d also send them Christmas specialities. We never saw them as the other or as a threat.”
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High school days at CMS High School in Thrissur also opened the world of Vadakkunnathan Temple and Thrissur Pooram. “I had a lot of inter-religious exposure, which may have helped me to think differently.”
In his Ph.D. thesis on ‘Christianity and Carnatic Music’ from the University of Madras, Fr Poovathingal included a chapter on ‘Universality of Carnatic Music. “If you know the history of Western music, there was a time when it was closely associated with Church music. But during the 17th and 18th centuries, called the Romantic Period, great composers like Beethovan or Mozart gave a secular tone to the classical music. We could say that western classical music came into its own since then. Now, western classical music has become secular, completely liberated from the Church.”
The history of Hindustani music is also similar, he points out. “Hindustani music developed into what it is now after the arrival of the Mughals and Persian Music, after the 14th century. That’s how the Ustads and Pandits rose in Hindustani music, creating the secular dimension of the music.”
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Fr Poovathingal believes that the universality of Carnatic music is extremely important. “Carnatic music is unique in the world. It has a distinctive structure that makes it unique, with 72 mela kartha ragas, various janya ragas, bhasanga ragas and so on. We have the gamaka system, the ornamentation of the music. This music can convey the spirit of devotion, cutting across religions.”
He believes that music should become a bridge between religions and to this end, he has designed his unique inter-religious music concert, in which is included songs from all religions. When he performed the concert before APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2007, he opened the concert with ‘Vatapi Ganapathim bhaje…’ followed by ‘Salamulla Salamulla,’ a kirtana in praise of Allah composed in Ananda Bhairavi and Adi tala. The third one was ‘Sree Yesu Natham Bhaje…’ in Abhogi raga. He followed it up with a Hindi song on national integration, ‘Jai Ho Bharat ma ki…’ and concluded the concert not with a traditional mangalam, but with ‘Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu.’
His team for the past 15 years is also inter-religious, with Abdul Azis on the violin, Guruvayoor Sanoj on the mridangam and Vellattanjoor Sreejith Nambisan on the ghatam. And Fr. Poovathingal’s usual dress for his concerts is his white cassock.
Fr Poovathingal, presently heading the Chetana Sangeet Natya Academy and Chetana Institute of Vocology in Thrissur, is also a trained vocologist, working on vocal rehabilitation, voice therapy and voice pedagogy.
For the past five years he has been organising an international dance and music festival for communal harmony in association with the State Government at Azhikode near Kodungallur, where St. Thomas is believed to have first set foot in India.
‘We should realise that no one is a threat to the other. Everybody is a gift of god. No religion is a threat to the other. Ultimately, we have to create a harmonious co-existence for all religions, all faiths,” underlines Fr Poovathingal who also presents Holy Mass with Indian Music.