It is now more or less accepted that the songs sung at the Tyagaraja Aradhana are only those of the composer. And yet this was not so at least until the mid-1940s when songs in praise of Tyagaraja too were heard in Tiruvaiyaru. Thus we know that till his passing in 1919, Ramanathapuram Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar invariably sang ‘Sadguru swamiki sari’, his composition in raga Ritigowla in praise of Tyagaraja, at the Aradhana. Later, his disciple Bangalore Nagarathnamma made it a point to sing the same song, once the ritual waving of camphor was done. She also recited an ashtottara (a set of 108 names) on Tyagaraja that she had composed.
Poochi Iyengar was not, however, the first to compose in Tyagaraja’s praise. That honour should probably go to the bard’s first cousin and also in all likelihood his first disciple — Manambucchavadi Venkatasubbier. His composition ‘Swamiki sari’ in raga Devagandhari is a very moving tribute, which incorporates some phrases from a few Tyagaraja kritis. Yet another prominent disciple was Walajahpet Venkataramana Bhagavatar, whose Mangalashtakam, a set of eight verses on Tyagaraja is fairly well known. But some of his other compositions on his preceptor have not been heard — ‘Guru charanam’ (Sankarabharanam) and ‘Guruvaru mahimala’ (Ananda Bhairavi) are but two. When Tyagaraja visited Venkataramana Bhagavatar at Walajahpet, the latter’s disciple, Mysore Sadasiva Rao, composed a song — ‘Sri Tyagarajaswami vedalina’ in Thodi, which is now lost. It is quite clear that even in his lifetime, Tyagaraja was much venerated and the subject of many songs.
170428 - Friday page-Thyagaraja - portrait -Vijay Siva
It is interesting to note that the urge to compose in praise of Tyagaraja continued well into the 20th century. Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar created ‘Tyagarajaswami Sadguruvani’ in Hindolam. It encapsulates many details of Tyagaraja’s life as seen in contemporary accounts. Mysore Vasudevachar, also of the Tyagaraja lineage via Patnam Subramania Iyer and Manambucchavadi Venkatasubbier, given his felicity in Sanskrit, chose that language for his piece on Tyagaraja. ‘Srimadadi Tyagaraja guruvaram’ is in Kalyani. In more recent times, M.D. Ramanathan’s ‘Tyagaraja gurum’ in raga Kedaram is a great piece. In its gait and in the structuring of the entirely Sanskrit lyrics, it brings to mind Dikshitar more than Tyagaraja, but is one of the finest tributes to the composer.
There is also no dearth of compositions in Tyagaraja’s praise in Tamil. Koteeswara Iyer’s song in Bilahari — ‘Ini namakkoru kavalaiyum illai’ records a vision that he had in his dream of Tyagaraja. He ends the composition with a line that pays tribute to his tutelary deity Murugan and Tyagaraja together! Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Ittharaniyil Tyagaraja sadguru’ is in Begada. It is remarkable for the same sentiment as Koteeswara Iyer’s creation — that the singing of Tyagaraja’s songs is a cure for all worries. There is also a song by him on the Carnatic Trinity — ‘Sangita trimurthigalai panindhu’ in raga Kedaragowla — it is probably the only composition where the trio — Syama Sastri, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar — are mentioned together.
Women composers
Women other than Bangalore Nagarathnamma were moved to compose on Tyagaraja too. A song in Tamil is D. Pattammal’s ‘Tyagabrahma kathamritham.’ Set in nine ragas, it gives the composer’s entire biography as narrated in the Harikatha tradition. It is noteworthy that in the song, Tyagaraja’s much-maligned elder brother has a new sin visited on him. He is blamed for burning Tyagaraja’s works — a tale not available in any other source. But the song itself a worthy tribute. Years ago, when I called on the great scholar T.S. Parthasarathy, he showed me a composition on Tyagaraja by ‘Andavan Picchai,’ which was the pseudonym of a woman composer, better known for her devotion to Murugan. Sadly I made no note of it then. Ambujam Krishna, the lyricist, was inspired to begin her journey in music during a visit to Tiruvaiyaru. It is therefore no surprise that she has a song, ‘Tyagarajaswami padambujam’ in Atana.
The greatest corpus of songs on Tyagaraja is also by a woman — K.M. Saundaryavalli. Titled Sri Tyaga Guru Stuti Kirtanaigal , there are 30 songs, commended by Bangalore Nagarathnamma herself, in a letter dated November 18, 1951. The songs, with handwritten notations by the composer, were privately published. Many of the pieces make liberal use of Tyagaraja’s lyrics. N. Rajagopalan in his compilation, The Melodic Garland , gives details of her life. Born in 1914, she had her tutelage in music under nagaswaram artiste Murugula Sitaramayya. The death of the first six of her children made her take to composing as a prayer. She was later blessed with healthy progeny. Saundaryavalli became a prolific composer and the songs on Tyagaraja form but one part of her corpus.
Perhaps no composer before and after Tyagaraja inspired such a flood of compositions, spanning a century and more. But then, Tyagaraja is unique.
The Chennai-based historian writes on music and culture.
