https://youtu.be/iRaesppv9Mw?si=BvvKtiqVHd_CedTy
Carnatic Compositions – The Essence and Embodiment
– Aparna Munukutla Gunupudi
Our intent for this essay is to highlight the great features of the language, emotion and melody (rAgam) of a krithi (song/composition) and also to provide the song for your listening pleasure. Most of you may know these krithis, but when you discover the distinct features of a krithi, you may enjoy a new beauty or an attribute in the krithi.
Note: Krithi is defined as a song containing pallavi, anupallavi and charanam that have high musical value and can be sung elaborately with improvisations. Whereas, Keerthana also has a pallavi, anupallavi and charanam but is sung in a single form or simpler pattern.
haridhAsulu veDalE
raagam: yamunA kalyaaNi
taaLam: Adi
Composer: TyAgarAja
Language: Telugu
pallavi
haridAsulu veDalE mucchaTa gani AnandamAye dayALO
anupallavi
hari gOvinda narahari krishNa yani varusaga dhyAnamu viDuvaka jEyuchu
caraNam
rAjarAjunipai jAjulu jalluchu rAjilluchu tyAgarAjunitO gUDi
Meaning:
haridAsulu – devotees of hari
veDalE – processioning
mucchaTa – beauty
gani – watch
AnandamAye – heartening
dayALO – kind one
hari – hari
gOvinda – gOvinda
Narahari – narahari
krishNa – krishNa
Yani – in praise
varusaga – in a string
dhyAnamu – meditate
viDuvaka – without fail
jEyuchu – conduct
rAja rAjuni – king of kings
pai – upon him
jAjulu – jasmine flowers
jalluchu – shower
rAjillucu – beautifully shining
tyAgarAjunitO – with tyAgaraja
gUDi – joining him
Summary:
Oh devotees of lord Hari, it is a pleasure to see you go in the procession while showering jasmine flowers, singing in praise of Hari, the king of kings, with various names such as Hari, GOvinda, Narahari, KrishNa and meditating upon him without fail, along with tyAgarAja.
Lord srI hari is worshiped and praised during the month of dhanurmAsam (December 15th to January 15th). At this time the devotees of srI hari go around the streets in a procession while singing songs, bhajans and chanting the names of srI hari. They are called haridAsas. As they come around the neighborhoods, the kind hearted people donate grains and other necessary produce, so they are provided with the food for the day. Also many devotees join the group as well. This tradition is still practiced across India and especially around VishNu temples. Another similar tradition in dhanurmAsam is nagara sankeerthanam, which is an early morning parade of a bunch of devotees from the neighbourhood to the temple while singing songs in praise of lord VIshNu.
The power of music is profound
The joy of music is sweet and sound
The awe of music is abound
Music makes the world go round
Sreelakshmi Kolavennu is an accomplished musician, composer and music director. She has given a number of concerts in India as well as in the San Francisco bay area. She has provided score and set music to many Kuchipudi dance ballets. She also set music to many AnnamAchArya compositions. She lives in the San Francisco bay area.
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Aparna Munukutla Gunupudi is a poet, lyricist and short story writer. She has written dance ballets such as Queen of Jhansi, Prasanna Ashtalakshmi, Usha Kalyanam, Sneham, Jamsetji Tata and they were performed in Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam styles. She wrote songs for “Prema Tarangini” an audio cassette released by noted music director Sri Manohar Murthy. She considers her parents, who provided and encouraged her in book reading, are her “gurus” and Sri Jandhyala Payayya Sastri as her writing mentor.