“To discern the source of the seven notes in the midst of the chaotic uproar is liberation.” — Saint Tyagaraja in ‘Swara Raga Sudha Rasa, (Sankarabharanam)
He was a Naishtika Brahmachari. He was soft spoken, had powerful and piercing eyes, which seemed to look into the mind of the person spoken to. Never a harsh or impolite word. That was Lakshminarayanan, better known as Chellam Iyer. He knew all the intricacies of Carnatic music. In Hindu aesthetic treatises, observes William Jackson, art’s function is said to be the stimulation of the experience of Rasa, which would roughly translate as emotional state or a taste of a mood — an aesthetic mood inspired in the enjoyer of mood, the connoisseur who knows art’s subtleties. Chellam Iyer’s focus was on the quintessential rasa in Tyagaraja kritis. He delved deep into the life and times of Tyagaraja in order to find the authentic mode of rendering the kritis as the saint composer himself would have loved to.
There were three important schools of the Sishya Parampara of Tyagaraja — Walajahpet Krishnaswamy Bhagavatar, the Umayalpuram Brothers and Thillaisthanam Rama Iyengar. After a lot of research, Chellam Iyer identified the Thillaisthanam school of Sri Rama Iyengar as the closest follower of the authentic Patanthara of the saint composer. T.S. Parthasarathy, however, did not agree. He swore by the Walajahpet school. Most of the eminent musicians of the present day, including Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, belonged to the Umayalpuram school. But Chellam Iyer showed that the Umayalpuram disciples of Tyagaraja had themselves learnt under the disciples of Rama Iyengar. “Rama Iyengar,” said Chellam Iyer, “was the closest of all the disciples of the saint and Tyagaraja used to often comment, ‘This Rama must sing and that Rama should listen.’”
Preserving the kritis
Chellam Iyer found that it was the disciples of Rama Iyengar who conducted the daily puja at the shrine of Tyagaraja from 1847 onwards. They organised the Tyagaraja Festival during Pushya Bagula Panchami. Rama Iyengar’s disciples — Panchu Bhagavathar and Narasimha Bhagavathar (Thillaisthanam Brothers) — published an authentic edition of the kritis for the first time in 1903. Chellam Iyer pointed out that the Brindavanam bore testimony to the enduring work of Thillaisthanam Rama Iyengar and of course the Umayalpuram brothers.
Narasimha Bhagavathar had taken to Harikatha leaving Panchu Bhagavathar to preserve the kritis. He gave notation to the kritis for the first time. They emphasised the Karna Parampara tradition, sticking to the philosophy that music is Gandharva Veda. Chellam Iyer had preserved a copy of The Hindu of December 1908 showing that Panchu Bhagavathar and Narasimha Bhagavathar continued the celebration of the anniversary of Tyagaraja from 1908. According to Chellam Iyer, the Thillaisthanam Brothers conceived the idea of celebrating the aradhana at Tiruvaiyaru with Harikatha and a three-day music festival from 1908 onwards. Chellam Iyer pointed out the differences in the style, structure and even the raga of the kritis as rendered by the Thillaisthanam school when compared with the other schools. He gave examples of ragas such as Naganandini, Samantham, Bindumalini, Manavathi, Neetimati and Vagadeeswari. Chellam Iyer referred not only to the style and variation of the ragas but also pada bedham. The Thillaisthanam school does not recognise Begada as belonging to the 72 Melakarta Ragas. But Chellam Iyer agreed with T.S. Parthasarathy that the saint composer was instrumental in bringing out 100 new ragas. But for the saint we would not have heard Ranjani, Charukesi, Kalavathy, Devamrithavarshini, etc.
Chellam Iyer was so devoted to Tyagaraja that every month, in Alwarpet, Madras, he used to attend the Panchami festival organised by the Thillaisthanam disciples. He kept a low profile and was a silent observer of the music scene in the city sabhas for over 40 years. Often, the sabhas invited him to be a judge. He always encouraged young talent.
The composition is different from improvisation. He taught his friends that the raga is more complex than a theme in Western music. Each raga consisted of a particular scale pattern, various melodic formulae, relationships and fragments exclusive to it. It is not defined by the mere Aarohana-Avarohana scale. Chellam Iyer stressed often that lakshaya is as important as the lakshana of the raga and this is contained in the correct rendering of the saint’s composition.
Organising Aradhana
Chellam Iyer was the secretary of the Sathguru Sri Thyaga Brahma Aradhana Mahotsava Kainkarya Samithi and saw to it that there was uncompromising adherence to tradition . An enduring picture of Chellam Iyer is his keen participation in and organisation of the Aradhana at Tiruvaiyaru. The Aradhana and Adhishtana Puja are conducted by the Sishya Parampara of Thillaisthanam. Chellam Iyer could be seen in the midst of Vedic Brahmins chanting the Vedas from 4 a.m. onwards for four days. He participated in the procession from Thirumanjana Veedhi and also organised Suhasini Puja, homams, etc., concluding with Anjaneya Utsavam. To him the Vedic tradition was as important as the rendition of Pancharanta Kritis. K.N. Srinivasan, director, Music Circle, Srirangam, notes: “Chellam Iyer chose to remain a Brahmachari to avoid distraction from his concentration on Tyagaraja.”
A fact not known to many concerns the deep interest he took in spreading the gospel of Rama. He helped in collecting one crore Rama Nama likita japa to be placed in the Bodhendra Swamigal Adishtanam, Govindapuram.
Tyagaraja sings, “Dasarathee Nee runamu Theerpa Na Tarama?” — Can I ever redeem the debt I owe to you? The Carnatic music world will feel the same way about Chellam Iyer and the legacy, which he has left for us to follow in Tiruvaiyaru.
