lyrics, lores and lullabies

                    This is for those of you who loves, lores and lyrics, and who can lose yourself in those lovely lines, lyrics of songs, sonnets,ballads and bards. Lyrics have always moved me, as a romantic at first, with the Beegees singing.."Words..everlasting words"..or the husky voice of Baccara with "Don't play me a symphony..I'd rather hear a song..hum an old time melody..so I can hum along"
now it evolved into devotion,... "Akhilandeshwari.....rakshamaaa.... Vaaak devathaaaa"... calling out beseechingly to the beautiful Goddesss of Words clad  in white.Lyrics were not available at the swipe of a mouse,  so we used to rewind and rewind cassetes and copy it down. We've come a long long way. Some how I stumbled into the world of Carnatic music and it was Like Alice in wonderland...  how do these lines form? how do these evolve as beautiful compositions from just seven notes?. How do these live in the hearts of millions, even as the years go by? How can God be partial and bestow some with the ability to compose and  sing and why  some like me are left desperately wishing  that I could sing to my heart's content. 
This is Malayi Lakshmi, a welcome presence in my mother in law's house. My mother in law would make her sing songs which were actually ballads, she used to be very emotional when the scene needs it and joyful, appropriately. Even now when her voice disobeys all commands, she delights in narrating the stories behind the songs, she used to sing melodiously.  A big hand for her.

 Malayi Lakshmi...

Roll back a forty odd yrs....Kuruvamma.. an old shrivelled, bent, dark Harijan lady  who used to come and stay in my house, when we were small. She had lips which were red due to incessant chewing of  betel leaf and tobacco, and her attire was always a checked lungi and a towel around her bosom. She wd not get into the inner recesses of the house. Both me and my brother would jump in joy when her bent frame wd appear at the gate, and in spite of my grandmother's warnings, not to go near her, we wd be waiting to eat the kaathu she throws into the fire, and peels with her not so clean hands,  and also the cashew nuts which she roasts for us, all the time.... singing an old ballad. She would cry when the need arises and we would be engrossed in the epic melodrama. Only now I realize how lucky I am to have experienced Kuruvamma.

Kandein.. Kandein...Kandein Seethaye, Kandein Raghavaa.. Andharum kaaanatha lankaapuriyill aravinda  vedavay...
These r the words of Joy with which Hanuman Exclaimed when he first spotted Seetha languishing in Lanka....and this is how he informed Rama that his beloved wife was in far offf Lanka.

Shankaran master( My music master) would be surprised at my interest in the sahithya(lyrics) of the krithis and he would painstakingly research, and then  narrate what those meant, as most were in Telugu. The concerts would leave me yearning to know what the sages had meant two hundred odd years back.

A normal carnatic concert, just moves on without the singer assuming any responsibility to the composer in whose mind the song wd have blossomed, so he just sings and off he goes, leaving the likes of me dejected. 

It was a surprise and joy when I attended Prince Varma's concert, when he unhurriedly  and humorously explained the (sahithya).

He was heard saying that some people ask him to "Shut up and sing" when he seemed to "Waste precious time explaining." But I came off exhilarated and enlightened.  
These are two songs which every Keralite should be proud of.. composed by Swathi Thirunal Maharaj... the power of lyrics, beautifully narrated by his worthy descendant Prince Rama Varma, though he shuns the title, that's how he is referred to.The venue is Kuthira Malika palace where Maharaj lived and died, and now Prince Varma conducts the Swathi Fest every year, where all his compositions are sung, by accomplished artists. The song is a dialogue by the nayika and her sakhi whom she sends to Krishna, the eternal lover, just to tell him that she is desperate  to see him. See what happens..

 Swathi Thirunal reigned from 1829 to 1846..He died at the age of 32. I had seen the movie, Swathi Thirunal when it was released and apart from his clandestine love affair with a dancer, nothing else made an impact, so it was like not an impact at all. But now, I realize his versatility and that he was the only ruler musician to have composed in so many languages... Dwell on the  thought..it grows on you, and you ll find yourself googling Swathi thirunal...

Another story ballad sung by his predecessor again. Last week Prince Varma had a concert in U.K where in one of the interviews he was asked.. "Being the descendant of such an illustrious composer, why have you not composed anything on your own?" Pat came the reply" Being a descendant, the only thing I manage to do is Descend".

Here is why The British shifted the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. The letter H did it.
. I have just touched the tip of an iceberg, that is, the ocean of Carnatic music and how ethereal it is. You have twelve hours in a day, and a few minutes could easily be spared  to explore and lose yourself in ... a slice of our heritage which our great masters have left us..in  the bliss of solitude..  I've done my bit, even though a teeny weeny bit.