K.A.Viswanathan
Mumbai :
When nearly 75 musicians from all over Mumbai with their instruments like, Mrudangam, Veena, Violin, Gatam besides vocal artists rendered in unison the Pancharatna Kritis (five gems) of Saint Thyagaraja, joined by nearly 2000 music lovers from the audience, the entire Shanmukhananda Chandrasekharendra Saraswati auditorium was reverberated with the tunes composed by the music Saint in the ragas Nattai, Gowlai, Arabhi, Varali and Sri to mark the 173rd Aaradhana (Samadhi) of the saint.
Sri Thyagaraja was a prolific composer and highly influential in the development of the classical music tradition. He composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in praise of Lord Rama, many of which remain popular today. The five gems are Jagadananda Karaka , Duduku gala , Sadhinchane, Kanakana Ruchira and Endaro Mahanubhavulu. All these songs are set in Adi Talam, where each ragam represents the mood of the song and the meaning of its lyrics.
He was the greatest among the music composers of Carnatic music and one of the musical prodigies of all time. In fact, he is considered an avathara of Saint Valmiki. Thyagaraja's compositions are rich in devotional and philosophical content. They are noted for their superior structure, superb handling of ragalakshanas and apt choice of raga and words.
Sri Thyagaraja, along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri are considered even today as the ‘Trinity’ of Carnatic Music. Out of 22,400 songs said to have been composed , which is supposed to be equal to the number of slokas in Valmiki’s Ramayana , only about 725 Kritis have been recorded now. The masterpiece "Jagadanandakaraka" composed of 108 names describing Lord Rama's attributes. Even as a boy, Thyagaraja composed his first song on Rama, Namo Namo Raghavaya when he was only 13 years old.
As a mark of respect and thanksgiving to the saint, Carnatic musicians from all over the globe get together and pay their reverence to the Saint by singing the Pancharatna kritis on the Pushya Bahula Panchami (the day the saint attained Samadhi) day. Vocalists and instrumentalists of various banis go to Thiruvaiyaru , in Tamil Nadu , on the banks of the river Cauvery and take part in the Aaradhana festival.
