Spotlight
ON TAMIL ISAI: A SRUTI REPORT MUSICIANS ON TAMIL ISAI

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
" I will tell you about an incident. I gave a concert in Kanadukathan, at a wedding in the house of a relative of the Raja of Chettinad. He was seated close to the dais. Before I started singing, he requested me to sing as many songs in Tamil as possible, which I did. After the concert, the Raja expressed his appreciation and observed: If songs are rendered in Tamil. both the content of the song and its musical excellence can be appreciated, is that not so? At another concert in Kandanur, some elders requested that I should sing only Tamil songs. I pointed out to them that while I was willing to comply with their request, I didn't know that many Tamil songs. I also promised that when I gave a concert again in that place, I would sing only Tamil songs. They were very happy. That evening my programme had mainly Tamil kritis. After I returned to Trivandrum, the Raja of Chettinad wrote a letter expressing his delight about the Kandanur concert, appreciating my effort to give prominence to Tamil songs. I did not know many kritis in Tamil, but I have always been singing Bharatiyar songs. The stalwarts of our musical field used to sing Tamil kritis even about fifty years ago. Konerirajapuram Vaidyanatha Iyer used to sing Muthukumarayane in Sankarabharanam. It was usually the main kriti, sung with niraval and kalpanasvara elaborations. People enjoyed it very much. Ariyakudi used to sing the kritis of Koteeswara Iyer and Arunachala Kavi. He set to music many Tamil songs. Muthiah Bhagavatar also sang Tamil songs. Musiri Subramania Iyer sang Tamil kritis with great feeling. The songs of Kavi Kunjara Bharati, Mahavaidyanatha Iyer's elder brother Ramaswami Sivan. Neelakanta Sivan and Gopalakrishna Bharati were in vogue even before the Tamil Isai Movement made its appearance. Based on Neelakanta Sivan's kritis, Papanasam Sivan composed Tamil kritis. Ghanam Krishna Iyer's and Subbarama Iyer's padams were also sung. But I don't sing padams."
M. Balamuralikrishna
In a kriti, the lyrics and the music must go together. Through the song, bhava must be conveyed. When thesahitya and the melody are composed by the same person, the bhava or the emotion of the song rings out clearly. When one person gives the lyric and another sets it to music, it does not always work out. In the Tamil kritis that are sung now, the bhava aspect is lacking. I compose Tamil songs and sing them in my concerts. My wife helps me with the proper Tamil words. My desire is to see that Tamil kritis get the same prominence as the kritis of Tyagaraja. I am trying, step by step, to help achieve this.
D.K. Pattammal
I have been singing Tamil songs since childhood. My father taught me the songs of Subramania Bharati. I had a good memory and I used to sing with gusto the songs that described the argument between an Indian and a British Officer. At that time I did not know the political implications. So, it didn't occur to me to be afraid. Later on, for the film Tyaga Bhoomi, I sang many Tamil songs like Bharata Punya Bhoomi. I do not believe that the standard of a concert is lowered by including Tamil kritis, even if the entire concert coasists of them. I have been singing Tamil kritis in my concerts and always had a very good response. When I went to Sri Lanka I could sense the joy of the audience when I sang Tamil kritis. There, all my programmes more or less consisted of only Tamil kritis. I have given performances in which I sang only Tamil songs, not only in Sri Lanka and at the Tamil Isai Sangam. I have sung only Arunagirinathar's Tiruppugazh songs in a concert. Thiruppamburam Swaminatha Pillai told me that this was possible. In Tiruchi, there was a festival connected with Sri Arunagirinathar-.My recital consisting of the saint's songs only turned out well. After all it is the musician who puts life into any song. I have sung Tiruppavai as the main song in some concerts. I don't have a special preference for any particular Tamil composer's songs. There are* very beautiful kritis by Papanasam Sivan, Arunachala Kavi, Muthuthandavar, Suddhananda Bharati and a score of other composers. I also usually sing a viruttam and minor Tamil songs at the end of the concert. I find that the viruttam, with beautiful Tamil •words, invariably moves me. Sometimes I can't sing the next line. Arutppa, Divya Prabandham Tiruvachakam and Pattinathar's verses all elevate the musician and the listener.
T. Balasaraswati
For a musician who had mastered the singing of pall a v i., anything else was sillarai uruppadi or 'miscellaneous items'. The musician's heart was always*in singing the pallavi and he wanted to prove his worth. In fact, for a long time, nagaswara vidwans didn't have many uruppadis in their repertoire. T.K.C. was the person responsible for creating greater awareness about sahitya. I have done abhinaya for Tamil padam and even Bharatiyar's songs. It was the viruttam that I enjoyed most. When my mother Jayamma sang a viruttam, it stirred my soul; its philosophical content always inspired me. A viruttam like Varadirundal with vatsalya rasa was always well received by the audience because they understood the meaning.
Madurai Somasundaram
The feeling is very important in music. Outside Madras, in all the cities and towns (of Tamil Nadu), there is a genuine appreciation of Tamil kritis. When I sing at festivals, people ask me to sing Tamil songs about Lord Muruga and Devi. Tamil Isai has been responsible for bringing about a healthy trend in Carnatic music. Through the efforts of Tamil Isai Sangam, many new and old kritis are sung in concerts. It is natural for a Tamilian to want to listen to Tamil kritis. When I sing in Bangalore, the audience listens happily for a while and then they ask: Please sing a Dasar nama. Sometimes in Tamilnadu, someone asks for a Tyagaraja kriti. It is a wonderful situation. We must adjust and accommodate the needs of the rasikas also. I have composed about five hundred Tamil kritis.
MD Ramanathan
Do you know I have composed a few kritis in Tamil in ragas like Atana, IIusseini and Sahana? My guru was the Principal of the Music College at Annamalai University, and he supported the Tamil Isai Movement. He felt that there should be more compositions in Tamil for muskal practice (Abhyasagana). So he composed many excellent geetams and varnams for the benefit of music students. It has been said that the Tamil Isai movement was started due to communal bias, but I don't think it is true. The Raja of Chettinad was very broad-minded. AD great vidwans were honoured by Raja Sir Annamalai Chcttiar. Amiamaiai University had the good fortune of being helped by eminent scholars in their own fields in those days. Sri K.A. Neelakanta Sastri, Dr.U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Rt. Hon. Srinivasa Sastri, Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer and Sri Sabesa Iyer were associated with the University in one way or the other.
T.V. Sankaranarayanan
Sri Madurai Mani Iyer included Tamil kritis
in his concerts. He had very great regard for
Tamil composers. He liked to please his
audience. When he sang Tiruvadi charanam
and Kana kann kodi in Khamboji the listeners
were thrilled. Karpagame in Madhyamavathi
was rendered so beautifully by him that even
the Mylapore audience listened to it with avid
interest. Every year he went to Chettinad. He
was greatly admired by all music lovers, all
over the south. He was a patriot at heart and
always wore khadi. Mahatma mani mozhi vazhi
nadappom was a pallavi he sang in those days
and the audience used to listen enthralled.
B. Rajam Iyer
I have not sung at the Tamil Isai Sangam; they haven't asked me. I include Tamil kritis in my concerts. The kritis of the Trinity must be sung in concerts, but Tamil kritis add variety to them. Arunachala Kavi's Ramanataka kritis . have their own beauty. I sing the compositions of Sivan often, like Kana kann kodi vendum. At the Music Academy, I sang Unnai bhajikka varam la in Begada. My guru Sri Ariyakudi was singing Tamil songs in concerts long before the Tamil Isai movement started. Natamadi tirinda in Khamboji by Papavinasa Mudaliar, Kali teera in Todi by Koteeswara Iyer, and the Bhairavi padam Inimel avarukkum were popularised by my guru. He also sang the Mohanam kriti En palli kondeerayya, Andarama soundaryam in Kedaragowlai and Yaw ivaryaro in Bhairavi. Actually he enjoyed singing the Ramanataka songs very much since he was a Vaishnavite. He set to music the Ramayana kriti Ennakkunirupadam in ragamalika. In fact his earliest record was Kartikeya gangeya in Todi by Sivan. If anyone has done service to Tamil I Isai, my master has. Initially he did not agree to sing at the Tamil Isai Sangam only because of his conviction that no one should dictate to a musician as to what he should sing. He always sang the varnam in Telugu and it was his way of setting the pace for an evening's concert and he did not like to be told that he should start with a Tamil composition. When the Sangam relaxed the rules, he sang in Tamil Isai with great enthusiasm. Once he gave a very fine concert at a Bharati festival. As the main kriti, he took up Sri Subramanyaya namaste. Sri C. Subramaniam was present at this concert. My guru looked at him, pointed to a cutout of Bharatiyar that was there and then raised his hands towards the sky while singing the opening words of the kriti. All those who were present had broad, smiles on their faces.
Mani Krishnaswami
I was a young girl when the Tamil Isai movement was started and I must say that it created an awareness in me. Till then I didn't even think of the language issue. Tamil songs are as much a part of a concert as any other song. As long as a kriti lends itself to the pattern of concert singing and contains meaningful words, it is a good kriti. There is no question of neglecting any particular aspect of music. We are the losers if we do. In Vaishnava sampradaya, great importance is given to Divya Prabandham. When the deity is taken around in a procession, those who sing pasurams lead the procession. The figure of Lord Vishnu is always in the middle and the vedaparayanam group comes behind the Lord. Sri vaishnava acharyas explain it thus: the I third is so pleased with the sweetness of the Prabandham, he goes after it, while the vedas come behind in search of His feet. Tamil is as sweet as any other language and it thrills me when I sing Tamil kritis.
Maharajapuram Santhanam
When I was teaching in Yazhpanam in Sri Lanka, I gave many concerts in which I sang only Tamil kritis. AH, those concerts invariably gave me great satisfaction. For a musician the kritis of Tyagaraja, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri are like a treasure-trove. Surely one enjoys singing them. That does not mean a musician cannot render songs in other languages as well. Recently I sang at the Purasavakkam Arts Academy. The programme consisted only of Tamil songs, composed by Gopalakrishna Bharati, Papanasam Sivan, Arunachala Kavi and others. For me, it was astonishing how the three hours of the concert passed so quickly. The President of the sabha congratulated me on this performance. There is indeed scope in Tamil songs. Kritis composed by Sivan have emotional as well as musical content. The effect that is created when Tyagaraja's Dasarathe is sung is evoked when Kartikeya is rendered as well. When Srimathi M.S. Subbulakshmi sings Saravana bfiava guhane by Sivan, I am sure the enjoyment of the rasika is definitely not less than when he or she listens to Ramakatha sudha. When a (Tamil-speaking) musician renders a Tamil composition, he experiences svanubhavu as he understands the meaning. It is my experience that singing Tamil kritis gives me emotional satisfaction. When I sing Ennai katharulvadu in Hemavathi. I become too emotional to continue. My father who rendered Tyagaraja kritis in a unique manner also used to sing Tamil kritis. In his repertoire were the kritis of Sivan and Arunachala Kavi. His favourite was Ramanai kannarakkandale in Mohanam.
T. Brinda
In our family everyone sang Tamil kritis and padams. My grandmother Dhanammal used to sing Subbarama Iyer's beautiful padams. Ini enna pechirikkudi in Sahana, the famous Begada padam Yarukkagilum bhayama, I'anakkutane tona venum in Sankarabharanam and lltanai tulambaramai... were heard again and again in our family . Dhanammal also sang Tamil viruttams in her own special style. Tayumanaswami's viruttams with their philosophical ideas were rendered by her with clarity and feeling and they moved the listeners. From my guru, Sri Naina Piilai of Ranch i pur -am. I learnt the kritis of Ramaswami Sivan, numerous Tiruppugazh songs, and Tevaram songs in ancient panns. I particularly like singing Syama Sastri's Tarunam idamma in Gowhpantu and Sri Kamakshi in Vasanta, both in Tamil. The l heori tk al part of music and research has come into vogue only recently. When I was a young girl, nobody talked about singing; they simply sang. There was lakshya gnanam and the music was mellifluous and fulfilling. There is no doubt that our Bhairavi, Kurinji, Nilambari and Mohanam were ancient panns. These ragas were sung in Tamil Nadu with lakshya gnanam alone.
Namakkal Rangarajan
It is not correct to say that there aren't enough kritis in Tamil; there is indeed a variety of songs. But it is very important fon-a musicians to learn as many kritis as possible by the Musical Trinity. The structure of the kriti and rendition is very important and a musician can sing any kriti and add lustre to it if he has mastered the kritis of these three greatest of composers. I have given concerts at the Tamil Isai Sangam long ago with Chowdiah and Rajamanickam Piilai as violinists. The audience always responded beautifully. It has been said that Tamil words are not suitable for singing. I ft me tell you something. In Kerala, the late K.B. Sundarambal was very popular. I know that sometimes she sang for six hours. She sang only Tamil songs. The listeners were ninety-five per cent Malayalis and it was quite obvious that they enjoyed her music. Nobody thought that the Tamil words were harsh on the ears. Even those who do not know Tamil will enjoy Tamil songs. The Tamil Isai Sangam has perhaps helped to spread the singing of Tamil kritis. Its best service was to encourage vidwans to sing Tamil songs and it also paid them liberally. The Sangam also treated the musicians with high regard. which speaks for the culture of its leaders.
Bhaaga undi kaadha
At a concert in Vijayawada, Balamuralikrishna was, as is his wont, singing mainly his own compositions in Telugu, with a couple of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar kritis thrown in. Then he started a Tamil song, Oru nal poduma. A loud murmur rippled across the crowd. Balamurali stopped singing abruptly and, replacing song with speech, said: "Why do you grumble when I start a Tamil composition which is as good as a Telugu kriti Is it not so?... For that matter, how many of you understand a Tyagaraja kriti. At least, when I sing a Tamil song, those who know Tamil enjoy the music as well as the sahitya—" The audience fell silent and the vidwan resumed his singing.
V.S.S.