Carnatic music has seen the patronage of kings and royals of many large and small kingdoms, through the ages, before India gained Independence. ‘Samasthanam’ was the name given to the royal court and ‘Aasthana Vidwan,’ the title to denote that a particular Vidwan or composer was engaged by a king. In the early 20th century, Sri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, the ruler of Mysore state, himself composed a number of songs. He was a recognised and respected force in the world of classical music. It was a culmination of many generations of Mysore royalty’s patronage of the arts.
Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram and Thanjavur courts were well-known for the rich assembly of musicians, dancers, poets, composers, linguists, painters, scholars and other highly talented individuals. It is said that Ramabrahmam (father of Tyagaraja Brahmam) and his father had been recognised and helped by Thanjavur kings. The Tiruvaiyaru houses were a princely gift. Raja Raja Chola, a thousand years ago, had patronised sculptors, musicians and dancers, skilled muralists, silk and cotton weavers, boat-builders, jewel, bronze and wood crafters and many others for his numerous lofty temples and for his nobles. Music and dance were a part of temple worship. Women dancers were given pride of place in all the six (shatkala) daily divisions of worship. In Thanjavur, we have Sarabhoji Maharaja, a great Maratha King and patron.
Jaya Chamarajendra Wodeyar composed beautiful Devi kritis, including ‘Sri Chamundeswari’ (Bilahari), ‘Chinthayami Jagadamba’ (Hindolam) and Durga devi (Dharmavati) suitable for puja and Navaratri worship. Mysore Dasara is famous for its grandeur and rich cultural content. Wodeyar’s ancestor Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar had learned to play the violin from teachers brought from Europe. After all, in the late 19th and early twentieth century, which was his reigning period, the British influence was predominant. Luckily neither the previous overlords (the Vijayanagar King Haider Ali), or the British, tampered with the Navaratri Durbar procession of Jambusavari (elephant procession); or the spectacular lighting and celebratory pujas and offerings, Chandi homams and other Vedic rituals of the Wodeyar’s dynasty. This continues to this day.
Nalwadi Raja had also appointed the multi-faceted Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar as his court musician. Gauhar Jaan, the Hindustani vocalist, who holds the record for maximum gramophone discs, was also a royal appointee at that time in the Mysore court. It was the King himself who requested Bhagavatar to compose 108 (Ashtotra) kritis following the 108 hallowed names of Goddess Chamundeswari. The composer was given an imported car, to visit the hill-shrine, and a Kannada pandit to assist him. Already Bhagavatar had composed darus and kritis in the name of Chamundeswari. In the Khamas daru (‘Mathey’), he dedicates it to Nalwadi Shri Krishna Rajendrara Taaye Sada Porey, in the song itself.
Raja Ravi Varma was also engaged to create a number of paintings on the royalty and of religious subjects. After he had completed the kritis, the Raja showered Bhagavatar with unique jewels from the royal treasury. He honoured him with the title, ‘Gayaka Sikhamani.’ Soon, the king asked him to also compose 108 kritis on Siva, based on Ashtotram. Bhagavatar completed the task, and in the process, introduced many rare ragas. He himself discovered new ragas and composed kritis in them — Pasupathipriya, Niroshta, Karna Ranjani, Mohanakalyani, Gauda Malhar and so on.
In the recent past, Ganapathi Sachidananda, head of Dattatreya Pitam, has composed Navaratri kritis. ‘Sri Raja Rajeswari’ in Brindavanasaranga (‘Sarvanandamaya chakra Bindu’) is in chaste Sanskrit. All the other Navavarana kritis reflect the manifestations of Devi, inspired by the traditional Navavarana compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar. Navaratri at the Datta Pitam is a festival of music, Vedic chanting, discourses and pujas.