Tuesday, September 18, 2007

జగదోద్ధారణ - కాపి



jagadOddhaaraNaa
raagam: dhanakaapi

22 kharaharapriyaa janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N2 S (varies)
Av: S N2 D2 N2 P M1 G2 R2 S (varies)

OR

kaapi

22 kharaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N3 S
Av: S N2 D2 N2 P M1 G2 R2 S

taaLam: aadi
Composer: Purandara Daasar
Language: KannaDa

pallavi

jagadOddhAraNa ADisidaLe yashOde
(jagadO)

anupallavi

jagadOddhAraNa maganendu tiLiyuta suguNAnta ranganA AdisidaLe yashOde
(jagadO)

caraNam 1

nigamakE silukada agaNita mahimana magugaLa mANikyana ADisidaLa yashOde
(jagadO)

caraNam 2

aNOraNIyana mahatO mahImana apramEyana na ADisidaLa yashOde
(jagadO)

caraNam 3

parama puruSana paravAsudEvana purandara viThalana ADisidaLu yashOde
(jagadO)


Here goes the word to word meaning of the song:

P: jagadOddhArana ADisidaLeshOde

jagadOddhArana : the person who takes care of the whole world
ADisidaLeshOde : Yashoda played with him

A: jagadOddhArana maganendu tiLiyuta suguNAnta ranganA AdisidaLeshOde

jagadOddhArana : the person who takes care of the whole world
maganendu tiLiyuta: thinking that he was nothing more than her son
suguNAnta rangana : the person who is complete with all the virtues
AdisidaLeshOde : Yashoda played with him

yashoda played with Krishna, who is full of virtue and care taker of the whole world himself, thinking that he was a mere boy and her son!

C1: nigamakE silukada agaNita mahimana magugaLa mANikyana ADisidaLeshOde

nigamakE : to the vedas
silukada : not caught
agaNita : who is beyond count (gaNita is to count, agaNita is countless)
mahimana : bigger than
magugaLa : among children
mANikyana : gem
ADisidaLeshOde : Yashoda played with him

Yashoda played with Krishna, who can not be caught even with the vedas (who is beyond the Vedas), who is bigger than infinite, gem among all the children.

2: aNOraNIyana mahatO mahImana apramEyana ADisidaLeshOde

aNOraNIyana : aNu - atom, aNIyana - smaller
mahatO : Big
mahImana : bigger
apramEyana : immeasurable, unlimited
ADisidaLeshOde : played yashoda with him

Yashoda played with Krishna who is smaller than an atom, bigger that the biggest and beyond limit and immeasurable.

3: parama puruSana paravAsudEvana purandara viTTalana ADisidaLeshOde

parama puruSana : Best among men
paravAsudEvana : who is beyond the realm of norms
purandara viTTalana : vittala at pandarapura
ADisidaLeshOde : Yashoda played with him

Yashoda played with Krishna from Pandarapura vittala who is best among men and beyond the realms of norms.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

वन्दे मातरम् - Series I - Timeless India



वन्दे मातरम् ! वन्दे मातरम् !
सुजलां !सुफलां !
मलयज शीतलाम् !
शस्यश्यामलां मातरम् |
वन्दे मातरम् ! वन्दे मातरम् !

शुभ्र ज्योत्स्ना पुलकित यामिनीम्
फुल्ल कुसुमित द्रुमदलशोभिनीम्,
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम्
सुखदां वरदां मातरम् ||
वन्दे मातरम् ! वन्दे मातरम् !


Devanagari transliteration

vande mātaram
sujalāṃ suphalāṃ malayajaśītalām
sasya śyāmalāṃ mātaram
śubhra jyotsnā pulakita yāminīm
phulla kusumita drumadalaśobhinīm
suhāsinīṃ sumadhura bhāṣiṇīm
sukhadāṃ varadāṃ mātaram

Full Version

सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्यश्यामलां मातरम् .
शुभ्र-ज्योत्स्नाम् पुलकितयामिनीम्
फुल्लकुसुमित द्रुमदलशोभिनीम्,
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम् .
सुखदां वरदां मातरम् ॥

सप्तकोटि कण्ठ कलकल निनाद कराले
द्विसप्त कोटि भुजैर्ध्रत खरकरवाले
के बोले मा तुमी अबले
बहुबल धारिणीम् नमामि तारिणीम्
रिपुदलवारिणीम् मातरम् ॥

तुमि विद्या तुमि धर्म, तुमि ह्रदि तुमि मर्म
त्वं हि प्राणाः शरीरे
बाहुते तुमि मा शक्ति,
हृदये तुमि मा भक्ति,
तोमारै प्रतिमा गडि मन्दिरे-मन्दिरे ॥

त्वं हि दुर्गा दशप्रहरणधारिणी
कमला कमलदल विहारिणी
वाणी विद्यादायिनी, नमामि त्वाम्
नमामि कमलां अमलां अतुलाम्
सुजलां सुफलां मातरम् ॥

श्यामलां सरलां सुस्मितां भूषिताम्
धरणीं भरणीं मातरम् ॥

Mother, I salute thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Green fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.

Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When swords flash out in seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Thou who saves, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foe drove
Back from plain and sea
And shook herself free.

Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleems,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!

Monday, September 03, 2007

वन्दे मातरम् - series II - bharatha natyam



Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu, a state in Southern India. This popular South Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam is a 20th century reconstruction of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn, is derived from ancient dance forms. The word Bharata, some believe, signifies the author of the famous Sanskrit treatise on stagecraft, called NatyaShastra, and the word Bharatanatyam is sometimes given a folk etymology as follows:Bha for Bhava or abhinaya and expression, Ra for raga or melody, and Ta for tala or rhythm.

Bharata refers to the author of the Natya Shastra, and natya is Sanskrit for the art of sacred dance-drama brought to the stage at the beginning of the 20th century.

वन्दे मातरम् - series III - ghatam



A ghatam is a.percussion instrument, used in South Indian Carnatic music. It is an earthenware pot; the artist uses the fingers, thumbs, palms, and heels of the hands to hit the outer surface of the ghatam. An airy low-pitch bass sound, called "gumki", is created by hitting the mouth of the pot with an open hand. The artist sometimes presses the mouth of the pot against their bare belly, which deepens the tone of the bass stroke, and is another way to produce the "gumki" sound. Different tones can be produced by hitting different areas of the pot with different parts of the hands. Ghatam usually accompanies a mridangam.

Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram (also known affectionately as Vikku Vinayakram) is a South Indian musician and exponent of the ghatam, an Indian percussion instrument. Essentially a hardened earthen pot, the ghatam is capable of making high as well as bass tones depending on the pressure of the strike and the percentage of the mouth of the pot that is covered.

Shot in Panchatann Studio in the year 1997, I simply love the way it has been edited. Vikku-ji son Mahesh Vinayakram is the vocalist for this composition.

वन्दे मातरम् - series IV - flute



Shashank, the magical flautist has sung Vande mataram through his flute. This video was filmed in Gandhi Mandapam, Adyar, Chennai in 1997.

The Indian Bamboo Flute, one of the instruments of Indian classical music, developed independently of the Western flute. The Hindu god Krishna is traditionally considered a master of the instrument. The Indian flutes are very simple instruments when compared with their Western counterparts; they are made of bamboo and are keyless. The Indian concert flutes are available in standard pitches. In Carnatic Music, the pitches are referred by numbers such as 1(C), 1-1/2(C#), 2(D), 2-1/2(D#), 3(E), 4(F), 4-1/2(F#), 5(G), 5-1/2(G#), 6(A), 6-1/2(A#) & 7(B) (The above is assuming the tonic note is C). However, the pitch of a composition is itself not fixed and hence any of the flutes may be used for the concert (as long as the accompanying instruments, if any, are tuned appropriately) and is largely left to the personal preference of the artist.

Two main varieties of Indian flutes are currently used. The first is the Bansuri, which has six finger holes and one blowing hole, is used predominantly in Hindustani music, the music of Northern India. The second is Venu or Pullanguzhal, which has eight finger holes, and is played predominantly in Carnatic music, the music of Southern India. Presently, the 8-holed flute with cross-fingering technique, is common among many Carnatic flautists. This was introduced by the eminent flautist T. R. Mahalingam in the mid-20th Century. Prior to this, the South Indian flute had only seven finger holes, with the fingering standard developed by Sharaba Shastri of the Palladam school, at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Shashank is a 20 year-old bamboo flute virtuoso from South India, who has been captivating audiences and critics around the world since the age of twelve. He is an extraordinary performer, able to convey the essence of Indian music to "unskilled" listeners. Shashank performs with a team of five accompanists, each a soloist in his/her own right. He uses several flutes, bass to piccolo, and is accompanied by violin, mridangam, ghatam, moorsing, and tambura (a drone instrument.)

वन्दे मातरम् - series V - carnatic vocal


Bombay Jayashree, Unnikrishnan, Sanjay Subramaniam and Sowmya render their version of Vande mataram. A 'Kamaas' ragam composition, this piece was the brainchild of the singers themselves. Composed and shot in less than 24 hours, this song brings back wonderful memories of the composing session at Panchathan studio and the filming at Dakshinachitra on the outskirts of Madras, in June 1997. The singers met at the studio one late evening and the jamming session went on till the wee hours. Once composed and recorded, the shoot commenced the next day at 6am and completed before noon.

Composed and sung by: Bombay Jayashree, Sanjay Subramaniam, Sowmya and Unnikrishnan
Directed by : The team of directors for Vande mataram short films
Cinematography : P S Vinod
Shoot Location : Dakshinachitra