12-KaNNan ThiruvaDi
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https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=202766#p202766
by arasi »
TWELVE
KaNNan ThiruvaDi
(The Beautiful Feet of KrishnA)
The lives of our family and that of Bharathi's family were interwoven for ten or twelve years. My family was like the strand which binds together flowers and in turn gains their fragrance (pUvODu SErnda nArum maNakkum). When I write about Bharathi, I invariably write about the happenings in my family.
I got married in the Kalavai BungaLA on the twenty seventh of April, 1913.
The night before the celebrations began, my father suffered from severe chest pain. It was an all night vigil for us. In the morning, Bharathi brought Kalavai Sankara Chettiar and a french physician (I can't decipher his name since it's written in tamizh--Arasi). Bharathi went to the pharmacy and fetched the prescribed medicine. My father felt better by the time of the muhUrtham (the hour when he had to give his daughter away).
We were married. All the elders were there. Soon after mAngalya dhAraNam (the tying of the tAli), my husband and I fell at their feet, seeking their blessings--first, it was periya kAraikkAl Swamy, who was the oldest among them, then Bharathiyar and then Iyer. Then the relatives--my uncles and all the rest of the family.
Vara dakshNai (the demand of a dowry) had not reared its ugly head at that time in our community. My husband's family graciously accepted all that my family offered by way of courtesy and gifts. It was a five day wedding and everything went off without a hitch. Bharathi and Chellamma worked hard all along, helping out. On the first day, there was muhUrtham, Unjal (swing ceemony), uruTTANi (nalungu--fun and games time) and the aupAsanam (ritual with the lit fire). On the second day, the precious concert of Bharathi, singing dESIya gItam (patriotic songs). It was like nectar from heaven. On the third day, Sri TiruvengaDattAn sang and it sounded as if he was playing a flute! On the fourth day, my father's sister, the elder in the family and a renowned vocalist, gave a performance. Once again, there was Unjal and uruTTANi--and NAgavalli as the finale on the fifth day.
After my wedding, many happy celebrations followed. In Chennai, my brother got married, then my sister, my cousin and Chellamma's sister Swarnam. Chellamma went home for the wedding, stayed on for two months, bringing Thangam back with her.
Thus, both our families were busy with happy events for a few months.
Then, my grandfather, pATTi and my uncle came with our sister to Puduvai for a stay. My ThAthA was a mahA vidvAn. A smart man who could enthrall his audience with his kathA kAlakshEpams based on some of the great works in vaishNavism. Even children were attracted to his kAlakshEpams.
He and Bharathi had many discussions. My grandfather lauded Bharathi's poetry and his brilliance. ThAthA was a gem merchant too. He knew how to choose blemishless stones. All this fascinated Bharathi.
One day, my grandfather explained the nuances of some of nammAzhvAr's verses. He spoke of the message in them and Bharathi was drawn to them. He loved the rhyme and rhythm of those verses. Among them, nammAzhvAr's ivaiyum avaiyum uvaiyum which conveys so beautifully the all-pervading nature of God (There is a translation of this verse by A. K. Ramanujan, if I'm not mistaken--Arasi).
My grandfather wasn't a great music lover, but listening to Bharathi sing the verses made him exclaim: AzhvAr would have sung them the same way as Bharathi does! In all our years of learning them by rote, we have lost the bhAvA. It's not an easy feat, to sing like Bharathi!
Bharathi would discuss ten verses with my grandfather every day and the next day, he would have tuned them and would sing them to us. I would catch the tune and then slip away. I did not understand or appreciate the philosophical talk which followed.
Iyer, Bharathi, Aiyya and Chinnaiah (uncle Thirumalachari) listened to my grandfather's discourses every single day.
Soon after, my rutu snAnam (holy bath after the first periods) was celebrated. Women in the neighborhood were invited and were given turmeric and betel leaves. They danced the Sobhanam (an auspicious dance) and the kummi. My grandmother said, 'Had your aunt come, she would have sung many songs from the tiruvAimozhi! Do any of you know them?' An old lady did and from the pattAm pattu, she sang 'kaNNan kazhaliNai'. Bharathi was watching all this from upstairs while still in conversation with my grandfather.
When he came the next evening and was singing to my thAthA, I started to go upstairs. My grandmother stopped me. "You cannot mix with men as you used to, now that you've come of age."
Not seeing me upstairs even after he had finished singing two verses, Bharathi came down to call me. I was in the middle part of the house, surrounded by women.
He asked me: Aren't you well, Yadugiri? Why haven't you come to listen to the verses?
I smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm fine."
Bharathi asked again: Don't you want to listen to the songs?
"pATTi does not want me to."
Bharathi asked my grandmother: PATTiamma, am I a stranger in this house? Yadugiri is our child too. Should daughters shy away from their fathers?"
He then gave me a piece of paper. With the heading 'manamE', there was his new song, kaNNan thiruvaDi eNNuga manamE (Meditate upon the beautiful feet of KrishnA)!
* * * * *
KaNNan ThiruvaDi
(The Beautiful Feet of KrishnA)
The lives of our family and that of Bharathi's family were interwoven for ten or twelve years. My family was like the strand which binds together flowers and in turn gains their fragrance (pUvODu SErnda nArum maNakkum). When I write about Bharathi, I invariably write about the happenings in my family.
I got married in the Kalavai BungaLA on the twenty seventh of April, 1913.
The night before the celebrations began, my father suffered from severe chest pain. It was an all night vigil for us. In the morning, Bharathi brought Kalavai Sankara Chettiar and a french physician (I can't decipher his name since it's written in tamizh--Arasi). Bharathi went to the pharmacy and fetched the prescribed medicine. My father felt better by the time of the muhUrtham (the hour when he had to give his daughter away).
We were married. All the elders were there. Soon after mAngalya dhAraNam (the tying of the tAli), my husband and I fell at their feet, seeking their blessings--first, it was periya kAraikkAl Swamy, who was the oldest among them, then Bharathiyar and then Iyer. Then the relatives--my uncles and all the rest of the family.
Vara dakshNai (the demand of a dowry) had not reared its ugly head at that time in our community. My husband's family graciously accepted all that my family offered by way of courtesy and gifts. It was a five day wedding and everything went off without a hitch. Bharathi and Chellamma worked hard all along, helping out. On the first day, there was muhUrtham, Unjal (swing ceemony), uruTTANi (nalungu--fun and games time) and the aupAsanam (ritual with the lit fire). On the second day, the precious concert of Bharathi, singing dESIya gItam (patriotic songs). It was like nectar from heaven. On the third day, Sri TiruvengaDattAn sang and it sounded as if he was playing a flute! On the fourth day, my father's sister, the elder in the family and a renowned vocalist, gave a performance. Once again, there was Unjal and uruTTANi--and NAgavalli as the finale on the fifth day.
After my wedding, many happy celebrations followed. In Chennai, my brother got married, then my sister, my cousin and Chellamma's sister Swarnam. Chellamma went home for the wedding, stayed on for two months, bringing Thangam back with her.
Thus, both our families were busy with happy events for a few months.
Then, my grandfather, pATTi and my uncle came with our sister to Puduvai for a stay. My ThAthA was a mahA vidvAn. A smart man who could enthrall his audience with his kathA kAlakshEpams based on some of the great works in vaishNavism. Even children were attracted to his kAlakshEpams.
He and Bharathi had many discussions. My grandfather lauded Bharathi's poetry and his brilliance. ThAthA was a gem merchant too. He knew how to choose blemishless stones. All this fascinated Bharathi.
One day, my grandfather explained the nuances of some of nammAzhvAr's verses. He spoke of the message in them and Bharathi was drawn to them. He loved the rhyme and rhythm of those verses. Among them, nammAzhvAr's ivaiyum avaiyum uvaiyum which conveys so beautifully the all-pervading nature of God (There is a translation of this verse by A. K. Ramanujan, if I'm not mistaken--Arasi).
My grandfather wasn't a great music lover, but listening to Bharathi sing the verses made him exclaim: AzhvAr would have sung them the same way as Bharathi does! In all our years of learning them by rote, we have lost the bhAvA. It's not an easy feat, to sing like Bharathi!
Bharathi would discuss ten verses with my grandfather every day and the next day, he would have tuned them and would sing them to us. I would catch the tune and then slip away. I did not understand or appreciate the philosophical talk which followed.
Iyer, Bharathi, Aiyya and Chinnaiah (uncle Thirumalachari) listened to my grandfather's discourses every single day.
Soon after, my rutu snAnam (holy bath after the first periods) was celebrated. Women in the neighborhood were invited and were given turmeric and betel leaves. They danced the Sobhanam (an auspicious dance) and the kummi. My grandmother said, 'Had your aunt come, she would have sung many songs from the tiruvAimozhi! Do any of you know them?' An old lady did and from the pattAm pattu, she sang 'kaNNan kazhaliNai'. Bharathi was watching all this from upstairs while still in conversation with my grandfather.
When he came the next evening and was singing to my thAthA, I started to go upstairs. My grandmother stopped me. "You cannot mix with men as you used to, now that you've come of age."
Not seeing me upstairs even after he had finished singing two verses, Bharathi came down to call me. I was in the middle part of the house, surrounded by women.
He asked me: Aren't you well, Yadugiri? Why haven't you come to listen to the verses?
I smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm fine."
Bharathi asked again: Don't you want to listen to the songs?
"pATTi does not want me to."
Bharathi asked my grandmother: PATTiamma, am I a stranger in this house? Yadugiri is our child too. Should daughters shy away from their fathers?"
He then gave me a piece of paper. With the heading 'manamE', there was his new song, kaNNan thiruvaDi eNNuga manamE (Meditate upon the beautiful feet of KrishnA)!
* * * * *
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