Saturday, November 17, 2012

SRI SATYA SAI BABA


CHAPTER -7
                                       
                                                  SRI SATYA SAI BABA 

Bhagwan Sri Satya Sai Baba as he is reverentially called is a miracle man to many, just a magician to some, God incarnate to the very devoted followers, great social and economic developer to those who lived near to him, source of inspiration and guide to some, in short, a great and many splendored soul which helped a large number of human beings in many ways.

However viewed, reviewed, analyzed and criticized the fact remains that he has left his imprint in terms of real economic and social development not only through development of infrastructure but also through real empowerment of villagers especially women; he has left an everlasting impact in the lives of many across the globe who have either actively sought his help or who came into contact with him providentially; he has injected and imbued with  confidence and motivation in many who happened to have approached him when they have left all hopes and interest in life; he has cured many of their incurable diseases; he has released many from the prisons of emotional turmoil; he has transformed many from the clutches of psychological problems; he has inspired many to take to selfless service to society and sharing of  knowledge; he was  instrumental in making many to contribute to care for the poor in around the areas where he lived and moved about. So in terms of the sheer improvements, imprints, impact and inspiration he has effected he richly and rightly deserves all the praise and platitudes irrespective of all the tall claims of fanatic
followers who imagine miracles or the harsh criticisms of small group of  ordinary mortals who refuse to accept facts enlisted above.

He was preaching peace, harmony, happiness, honesty and humble humanitarianism based on care and compassion for other human beings beyond restraints of religions and the constraints communal divisions, of course with recognition and respect for the higher or superior or invisible divine power with the necessity to take care of the economic, material and environmental welfare of the society at large. These he did through various means and many of the institutions created by him stand testimony to these facts. Baba inspired His followers to reach out to the poorest of the poor and wipe every tear from every eye as idealised by Mahatma Gandhi. This concept has been described as "spiritual socialism" by critic-turned-believer RK Karanjia in his book "God Lives in India". Baba re-defined the psychology of human personality; chemistry of human rhythm; physics of gravitational force of love; sociology of inter-human contours and philosophy of life.

His greatest  contribution  to socio –economic development apart from many other works is bring clean water to the many in  the dry areas of Anatapur. In 1994, Baba made a moving reference to the difficulties experienced by the people of Rayalaseema region in getting safe drinking water and suggested that the century-old problem needed urgent attention. In 1995, he added a new dimension to his societal mission by the trust, undertaking work to provide good and safe drinking water to as many people of Anantapur district as possible in the shortest possible time, irrespective of the difficulties experienced and the cost.

Tapping ground water was considered as an option, but was ruled out because of the fluoride problem. It was decided to use rainwater by drawing water during the monsoon and storing in special reservoirs.

Most of the water sources were in the northern part of Anantapur district and the terrain to the south sloped upwards. Hence, bringing water to the southern region needed creation of large number of pumping stations to pump water against gravity. This called for extensive civil and engineering work. In spite of all the difficulties, the water was made available to Anantapur district in 18 months. After a year of regular operation, the entire water works was handed over to the people of the state as a gift. The scheme covers 750 villages and provides water to over one million people

His hospital was inaugurated on November 22, 1991. After its inauguration, the super specialty hospital has conducted many major heart surgeries and catheterisation procedures. Specialist surgeons from reputed hospitals, both from India and abroad, voluntarily take leave from their regular work and come to Puttaparthi and perform operations free of cost. Same is the case with nursing services.


Here are some of the gems of his wisdom and ways

“My objective is to establish unity in mankind, to reveal the aspect of the Divinity latent in man, and that God must be the only goal in life.”

 “It is also my duty to make you realize the kind of relationship that should exist between fellow human beings.”

“I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith, but to confirm each in his own faith, so that the Christian becomes a better Christian; the Muslim, a better Muslim; and the Hindu, a better Hindu.”

“Service to man is service to God” and to “Love All Serve All—Help Ever Hurt Never.”

"Hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray".

Baba was an inexhaustible reservoir of pure love who tried to kindle the "lamp of love" in every heart. Prof. Baranowski, a regression therapist and bio-magnetic specialist from Arizona University, who captured radiations of various hues, flowing from Baba's persona, with "Kirlin" camera, declared Him as "Love" walking on two feet.


SAINT TYAGARAJA A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY OF A SOUL THROUGH MUSIC INTO MUSIC


CHAPTER -6

SAINT TYAGARAJA

  A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY OF A SOUL THROUGH MUSIC INTO MUSIC

 We are going to talk about the greatest musical legend on earth. He was not a composer, singer in any ordinary sense or even in extra ordinary sense. He was divine incarnation and a Saint who happen to choose music as a medium. I am not trying to deify or idolize any ordinary mortal but trying to make ordinary mortals understand his uniqueness and how he made it known to human race that music is not merely a medium to express various emotions, to exhibit musical skills, to explain subjects through lyrical splendour , to entertain the mind with marvellous music etc all of which many great composers and musicians have done all over the world but what he  has done uniquely is to enmesh human soul with the vibrations of universal divine soul especially in different moods of human soul from the silly, sentimental, short tempered, selfish seeking to the sublime.
He has at once grasped and given various vibrations of the divine soul in a very systematized but simple and spiritual manner so that anyone can follow the musical vibrations irrespective of the his knowledge of the language or lyrics [the knowledge of the lyrics will of course make one savour the nectar in its entirety], knowledge of the musical system with its musically most evolved system of Ragas [modes] and intricate Tala [rhythmic patterns]. This is possible because his compositions are imbued with divine spiritual vibrations of which we are all part.

What is the justification of including him in a chapter on Andra rather than in Tamilnadu where he was born and where he lived and also attained Siddhi [left his mortal body] because the bulwark of a great culture, the Vijayanagara Empire fell at the end of the 16th Century. The invasion from the North brought in its wake a great exodus of population towards further down south. Quite a few Hindu families had to flee to southern areas which were still peaceful. Many found shelter under the benign rule of the Nayakas and the Maratha Kings of Tamilnadu. Particularly, a number of Telugu families went to South and formed nuclei of art and culture and Thyagaraja’s ancestors belonged to one such stock, as he describes himself as descending from a family of immigrant Vaidiga Brahmins of the Muriginadu sect belonging to Kakarla family (Kakarla is a village in the Kurnool District of Andhra). They moved to Tamil Nadu Country during the Vijayanagar period in early 1600’s.

He manifests the experiences of a divinely inspired individual soul and its musings with the universal divine soul. So as an individual soul nesting in a physical frame he experiences different emotions; goes through many  difficulties; forced to react to inferior aesthetic sensitivities even among students he has scrupulously groomed; forced to cause unpleasantness to his blood relatives because they are more keen on making material advancement using his talent which is against his saintly principles; he incurs the displeasure of the society because of his unwillingness to toe certain rituals devoid of intrinsic values etc. There are not only anecdotes to each and every one of the few aspects of life that I have mentioned above but there are even kritis [songs] composed by him imploring answers through divine intervention.

His bhakthi was with such total intensity and intense totality that he was more communicative with Lord Rama whom he just not worshiped as a God incarnate and manifestation of the universal divine soul but considered as his friend, philosopher and guide that he expresses all his sentiments that of joy, sorrow, desolation, anger, helplessness, disgust, he even complains about the society and its people for their misplaced values etc to Lord Rama. Thank God he chose music as his medium that we are blessed with such exalted music because it has emanated from a soul manifested with divinity and communicating only with Universal Divine vibrations through music.

So, the anecdotes about all the instances good, bad, ugly must be studied only in the background of these basic frameworks of who Saint Tyagaraja is and what he valued rather than critically analysing them based on any common, mundane , normal academic evaluation and conclude that he was very susceptible person prone to anger, parading false modesty etc .On the contrary even what some biographers have indicated as his anger towards his own students I would like them to see it as his reasonable feeling of disgust towards his own students whom he so scrupulously groomed pandering to or falling prey to inferior aesthetic sensitivity.

Besides I would like everyone to remember that even the greatest of saints and the divine incarnations when they take on human frame or form are obviously subject to the gullibility and the fallibilities that happen as a result of human physical and emotional limitations. But normally, on a matrix of evaluation since the quantum of their positive contributions  are  so high and their impact is so intense and complete that everyone becomes oblivious to their small weaknesses and insignificant and slight negative aspects.

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder all virtues and vices are in the mind of the evaluator and the tools and standards of evaluation. Evaluations themselves are very subjective on one hand [based on the evaluator’s perceptive abilities] and on the other hand they are also influenced by the context or environment or situation when the evaluation takes based on certain existing traditions, trends and taboos of that place and time. Besides it is too haughty to presume that human reason or logic or conforming to socio morals alone as the ultimate adjudicator or judge of everything because there are many things which are [of which many nice and wonderful things] far beyond the ken of human logic, perception etc and all behaviours need not be approved by social sanction and all works need not necessarily have to have the stamp of scientific methodology.

Creativity and creative geniuses, spiritually enlightenment and the spiritually enlightened souls, scientific discoveries and scientific discoverers, all these people, normally as a rule because their activities are  inspired, their souls getting tuned in with the  universal souls, are  hyper sensitive and highly sensible , and hence  never bother about fitting into or following any existing or established criteria and that’s why they are able to create something new, discover something new and in this process anything that creates a friction or hampers the function of their creativity or discovery will be an irritant testing the human physical and emotional limitations of the creator or discoverer. The reaction from the great creators and discoverers are not signs of intolerance or of revenge but they are activities to smoothen the path of their sensible sensitivity.

Ordinary mortals can never understand certain extraordinary behaviours with their limited tools of perceptions and narrow socio religio morals. At best they can go on debating and discussing about certain activities.
Both types of biographers, on one extreme of the spectrum those who venerate, idealize, idolize, deify and on the other extreme of the spectrum the criticism hungry ruthless reviewers  who are looking for faults, searching for scandals, erecting edifices of highest moral standards reserved exclusively for those whom they have decided to evaluate in terms of these standards , in brief, the unloving critics and uncritical lovers fail to see the intrinsic value, wisdom and worthiness of the souls that they are trying to get enlightened by  or want to evaluate or  emulate or exterminate through derogation or damage.

That’s why while writing or reading about biographies of great souls even the details of their date of birth, place of birth and time of disappearance of their mortal frame and the interim period of their personal life are of relatively lesser significance than their intrinsic contribution of wisdom and worthiness. For, they are not creatures confined by chronology or curtailed by circumstances, but free and flamboyant spirits who live forever through their works and words of wisdom which is what is of importance to us rather than the chronological aspects and small fallibilities in their personal life.

So Saint Tyagaraja too in that sense must be studied for his extraordinary contribution to music and bhakthi which he manifested through his music all of which he did against all odds and we need not bother about how he looked like? How many wives he married? What he ate? How he treated his students? Why he reacted in a particular way at a specific situation towards some of his students? Etc
I am making this preamble because there have been some write ups to that effect in some books, blogs and web sites.

Any art form reaches its pinnacle when from tradition there is a transition leading to transformation. When this happens there are lot of criticisms some valid and some wild. In any case the transition itself is not that easy. However, most original and creative artists have somehow managed to evolve out of the tradition and managed to carry on with the transitions gradually leading to transformation but in the case of  Saint Tygaraja as he was operating with a divine soul , he enriched and enhanced the existing traditions carrying out the ultimate refinement thereby not creating any uneasiness or friction with the lovers of tradition  and instead of the usual route of transition and transformation he at once transported the whole of humanity into higher realms of ecstatic revelations of  divinity inherent in  musical vibrations or conversely he made every one realize that musical vibration was the best method to grasp divinity  and transformed music from that of mere source of entertainment to a tool for devotion leading to permeating with the divine in a method involving very pleasant and natural vibrations and frequencies.

In other words he brought out the hitherto hidden aspect, nature and purpose of music that of a medium to acquire the wisdom of perceiving Brahman [The Divine Universal Soul] the intelligence to analyze and experience Divinity; the diligence to seek Divinity; and the patience to wait for enlightenment.  He described his Rama [Divine Incarnation] as an embodiment of Nada.  No other composer has in such simple and appealing ways taught music as art, science, philosophy and ultimately, as a means to spiritual enlightenment.
All his compositions are eternal melodies imbued with the imprints of a divine soul in structure, sound and substance in the form of lyrics. He wrote on a wide range of subjects, of course, all relevant to spiritual enhancement with the majority of the songs are in praise of Rama and a few on other deities, there are numerous songs on ethics and morals, worldly wisdom, mental control etc But other than these there is one subject wherein he imprints his uniqueness, let see what it is.

Uniqueness in the case of Saint Tyagaraja is what you may call as a contradiction in spiritual enlightenment. Usually if we scan through the annals of human history great artists get too attached to the medium of their art to the negligence of everything else and seekers of enlightenment brush aside the medium of enlightenment once enlightenment is reached, for, they feel the relative irrelevance of the medium once the goal for which the medium was adopted is attained. But, in the case of Saint Tyagaraja he elevated the status of medium [here music] as the very goal and thus blunted the difference between the medium and goal. For Saint Tygaraja music or Nadha was God personified, for him music was very sacred and has to be approached with utmost sanctity and reverence. Here, it is imperative to mention the many kritis that he devoted to extolling Nadha and explained the proper way to handle it with reverence etc these are phenomenal and no other composer has ever talked about the grammar of rendering music. This shows his involvement and intimacy with music. He was primarily in love with music and then through that with Rama [Divine Incarnation].

Saint Thyagaraja had a unique combination of the bhakti of Prahlada, the music of Narada and the vakpatutva of Valmiki. Passionate in his music, profound in his knowledge of it, pure in his devotion he petrified everyone with his music. In fact the best way to approach his biography, rather the only way available at our disposal is through the study of his compositions wherein most of the events, instances of importance to his life are depicted in the lyrics and therefore that would be more authentic rather than the narrations passed on by people who may have lived around him in terms of geographical proximity but may have been far removed from understanding such a divine soul. So such accounts may not be very reliable.

In 1827, at the age 60, he celebrated Sastiaptha Purthi. In 1839 during the month of April, he visited Tirupati, but when he went to the temple, it was closed. In sadness, he sang "Teratiyagaraadaa" and the temple officials gathered round in admiration when they saw the door opening by itself and the screen falling aside. He sang "VenkaTEsha ninu sEvimpa" in his happiness at seeing the Lord.

While returning to Thiruvaiyaru, he visited Chennai-Kovur, where he composed Kovur Pancharatna during his stay with Kovur Sundara Mudaliar. Later he composed Thiruvetriyur Pancharatna while he was staying with Veena Kuppier. At the invitation of his disciple LaalguDi Raamayya, he composed the Laalgudi Pancharatna. He also composed the Shreeranga Pancharatna in praise of Ranganaata of Shreerangam and 5 kritis in praise of Sage Naarada.

On completion of this spiritual tour he reached Thiruvaiyaru at the end of October, 1839. In 1841, Gopalakrishna Bharathi visited Thyagaraja at his residence in Thiruvaiyaru. The Ghana Pancharatina Kriti, 'Endaro mahanubhavulu..' was composed when Chatkalam Govindamaarar visited him in 1843.

It was said that Lord Rama appeared before him on 27-12-1846 in his dream and offered him Motsa after 10 days. Next day he revealed this to his disciples and relatives during 'Egadesi Bhajanai'. Accordingly everyone believed that 6-1-1847 would be the day when he was expected  to attain Mukthi. The Saint took to Sanyasa on 5-1-1847 when he felt the premonition of his approaching end to his mortal life and called himself Nadha Premmananther. He attained Siddhi on the Pushya Bahula Panchami day in the year Parabhava 1847 A.D. (6-1-1847). His mortal remains were interred at a spot on the left bank of the river Cauvery at Thiruvaiyaru with the honor and religious rites due to a Sanyasi.

For example through his songs  he makes  known the metamorphosis of a spiritual soul in its journey in which it meanders from an intensely focused love bordering on almost a fanatical bond with Rama claiming that Rama alone is superior to everything even the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva through these  kritis he wants to establish Rama’s distinct  superiority  “eka maata oka bhanamu oka pathni vrathude” (Harikamboji); “Vaadera daivamu manasa” (Pantuvarali) and “Sarmegani anya marga vicharameti ke Oh manasa” (Pantuvarali) etc., he asserts that Rama is the embodiment of virtures and that the Trimurthis worshipped him. However, at a very later stage of his life that he composed songs like “Paramathmudu velige” (Vagadeeshwari) in which he stresses the immanence and universality of God in everything, the animate and the inanimate, by whatever name we may choose to call Him. To stress this, he explains these further in the charana of the kriti. This kriti is well worth reading several times and understanding fully. [Biography Of Sri Thyagaraja Swami (1767 - 1847 AD)part IV http://www.brahmintoday.org/magazine/2012_issues/bt97-0308_thyagaraja.php]

Though many literary scholars, philosophers, scientists, musicians, mystics, poets etc all over the world have expressed the importance of music as a medium of religious worship and one of the pleasantest medium of spiritual seeking none rendered this fact itself in music and also lay out the grammar as to how this can be carried out as Saint Ttyagaraja has done.

In his Kritis Ni Bhakti Bhagyasudha ( raga ; Jayamanohari : tala ; Rupaka ) he sings :"The rituals elaborated in the Vedic scriptures result in rebirth and the attendant misery. O Master of Tyagaraja, you are the embodiment of the musical sound. You are immeasurable" (S Krishna Murthy, T N Padmanabhan : Tyagaraja Vachanamrita ).

As Vasan mentions in www. brahmintoday.com in  the chapter titled Biography Of Sri Thyagaraja Swami (1767-1847 AD)II

“One important group of songs is those based on his study of the Sangita Sastras and his practice of Nadopasana. Some composers have made passing reference to the occult and mystic aspect of nada, sangita, and swara, but it is only the Sadguru Thyagaraja Swami, who has left nearly 25 songs on the origin (divine) structure and purpose of music and how the knowledge of Sangita could by itself offer liberation from bondage of the cycle of birth and death. As Mr. T. S. Parthasarathi says, arranging these kritis in the order of their subject matter, one can create a text book on the subject of Nada upasana, Sangita upasana, and attaining moksha in this life itself. A discussion of these kritis is matter enough for a separate paper, and so I shall content myself with briefly mentioning some of the songs and their appropriateness. Such a list would include songs such as: Nadopasana, Mokshamau Galada, Seethavara, Sangita Sastra Gnanamu, Sobhillu Sapthaswara, Nada Thanumanism and Swara Raga Sudharasa. The importance of these and other songs and how Sri Thyagaraja Swami used his compositions to energize our inner spiritual forces and attain moksha in this life are discussed in the article “Nadopasana for Salvation.”

As his soul was submerged in music both as the medium and goal, however one approaches the kritis of Saint  Tyagaraja either technically or devotionally or for mere musical entertainment one is either consciously or sub consciously or unconsciously led  to feel the spiritual vibrations because all his compositions are the result and manifestations of spiritual experience of a divinely inspired soul  engaged  in spiritual journey . There is a superb and sublime simplicity about many of his kritis. Wherein the raga [mode], tala[ rhythm] and lyrics gel seamlessly.

Again I would like to quote a full page  from Vasan’s Biography Of Sri Thyagaraja Swami (1767-1847 AD)II in www.brahminstoday.com

“The centre of Thyagaraja’s existence and the summit of his aspirations was to experience in every breath the bliss of Rama bhakti and thereby gain a vision of his Ishta Devata. In many of his songs, this longing finds eloquent expression. The dimensions of his music include not only sangita sastra, but also contain a core of spirituality. It is because of this great quality that his compositions, like the Atman, endure. The consummation of spirituality in his songs is really the Voice of the Eternal.
Through the apertures of his songs, the depth of his bhakti is revealed. The inspirational potentialities of his kirtanas to lead a sincere votary in the bhakti marga are infinite, because every song breathes the fragrance of one aspect or other of the nava vidha bhakti. It is only a devotional approach to Sri Thyagaraja that can unlock the treasures of his spirituality.

Sri Thyagaraja’s life was a confluence and symphony of three streams – spirituality, saintliness and sangita and the harmony of these find spontaneous self-expression in every syllable of his sahityas. The divine words come vibrating from his soul. To describe them as kirtanas would be superficial for his utterances are authentic revelations of what he directly experienced. They comprehend the one and only purpose of music, that is, moksha sadhana. The value of his music is instrumental, a means, but the goal is intrinsic, to lay one’s soul at the feet of Sri Rama.
The greatness of Sri Thyagaraja is the way he linked the human to the divine. What is the saint’s message to humanity? Aspiration is human. Grace is divine. Only through God’s grace can one realise his aspiration, bhakti in the case of a saint. The ascent of human aspiration has to be facilitated by the descent of divine grace. The echoes of this Truth reverberate in many of his songs. The saint has emphasised that man in samsara is like one who has lost one’s identity, lost track of his goal of existence and is in a trance. Through his kirtanas, Sri Thyagaraja has taken on himself to guide, admonish and appeal to erring humanity. His songs give a thrust to open man’s inward eye.
Sri Thyagaraja with his rich gift of felicitous expression in his sahityas, takes us to the very empyrean of poetry. His is the greatest single achievement in music – the most perfect pieces of musical compositions existing in the world. The astonishing vigour and reach of his music touch our hearts and address strongly our admiration Sahityas fall from his lips full of wisdom and devotional fervor. The most moving songs owe their composition to particular incidents and the state of his mind. The process of his creations are far beyond our comprehension. But the product is before us, each a jeweled beauty. While all his kirtanas are soulful, Sri Thyagaraja has outclassed himself in his Pancharatnas where he is at his greatest and perhaps touched the pinnacle of Carnatic music.

The fusion of lyrics and melody, the fusion of bhakti and sangita form the very essence of his songs. The melody and sahityas are outwardly distinct, the depth of spirituality is embedded in them. One can well discern from the effusion of his songs that his was not tame bhakti but heroic bhakti. A consideration of the diction in the Pancharatnas and other songs shows that Sri Thyagaraja was not after tricks of rhetoric or a fondness for word play.

In all his compositions, Sri Thyagaraja’s style shows a greatness of manner which marks him as a vaggeyakara par excellence. The outward form and inner meaning is so well meshed that the kirtanas remain unexcelled. At Sri Thyagaraja’s hand each song, each raga gains individuality and in every one of them is reflected the working of a bhakta’s yearning in his soul.

While hearing a Thyagaraja song we are introduced to a world of divinity and each syllable, the pulse of bhakti beats strongly. The sublime relations between the human and the divine, which lie beyond our comprehension find an eternal place in his kirtanas. We recognise in Sri Thyagaraja a master spirit combining in himself the bhakti of Prahlada, the music of Narada and the vakpatutva of Valmiki. Sentiments are passionate, his reflections on music and life profound. His works therefore stand apart in the history of vaggeyakaras.

His Contributions to Raga Lakshana and Musicology Thyagaraja Swami had made significant contributions to raga lakshana, raga lakshya, and raga swaroopa, or in general, to the development of musicology. A support for this claim is provided to us by Sri A. Vasudeva Sastry of the Saraswathi Mahal Library, in a book titled “Ragas”. The Ragas study examines the manuscripts of Sahaji, who died in 1710, about sixty years before Swami was born. After analyzing the work of Sahaji and all the materials available on raga lakshanas, Sri Vasudeva Sastri concludes that thirty of the 72 melakarta ragas were given a raga swarupa and acquired their ranking solely from Saint Thyagaraja Swami giving them these qualities. Quoting from Madikeswara Samhita, a work on srutis of which only extracts are now available, Sastry points out that 12 swara moorchanas were in existence and Swami used it to give Karaharapriya great charm in his composition, Rama Nee Samana mevaru. Quoting the sangatis of this composition in great detail, Sri Vasudeva Sastry points out that the “closed curve” melodic effect which can be got by the vadi-samvadi usage.

As it is believed, Swami created many new ragas. Many scholars however believe that he activated or unearthed many ragas which has been labeled and were lying dormant because their lakshanas or characteristics were not defined in clear terms. However, the fact that only one composition exists in a certain ragas and these compositions have been composed in these ragas only Sri Thyagaraja Swami lends credence to the claim that ragas like Pratapa Varali, Nabhomani, Jaya Narayani and many others, were Swami’s creations. Similarly, sangatis or usages that enrich the musical context of a kriti, are mostly found in Swami’s compositions. Although some scholars point out that sangatis are as old as music itself and were known under the name prayaogas. However, since they became widely used only through the kritis of Swami, it will not be wrong to assume that sangatis were Swami’s innovations. He used sangatis to bring out the raga bhava or their fundamental characteristics”

Though there are only 729 kritis of Saint Tyagaraja available now there are many sources where it is said that he composed some  24, 000 kritis aligning with the number of slokas in Valmiki’s Ramayana. There is possibility that this could be true why because as Vasan says,
“Saint Thyagaraja also created two musical plays, commonly called operas. However, I call them music plays as neither Geya Nataka nor opera seems correct and appropriate. Prahlada Bhakthi Vijaya, a play without Hiranya Kasipu or Narasimha, has some 48 songs and over 120 padyams. It has in addition, invocative, descriptive and introductory gadyas, choornikas, and other forms of prose passages of great merit. Nowka Charitha, the other play is equally fascinating and once again a creation without any basis derived from Bhagavatham. This play has 21 songs and many padyas and gadya passages. Swami’s poetic genius is brought out vividly in these plays and the language he has used in some of the lengthy passages highlight this opinion.
Magnum Opus, Some scholars believe we have inherited only the less important natakas of the Swami and that the magnum opus is missing or are available only in fragments, awaiting some scholar to put the pieces together. In support of this view, they mention that in 1876, a printing license was issued to a Loka Narayana Sastrulu of Wallajahpet, to print “Seetha Rama Vijayam” by one Thyagaraja Brahmam of Tiruvayaru. They cite the kriti Eppaniko in Asaveri, where the saint refers to his desire to write the Ramayana in song and ask whether after such a statement, he would have failed to carry out what he considered his mission. One scholar in urging researchers to look for and put together the songs to make the sampoorna Ramayana drama suggests, that Ma Janaki was sung in the drama by Janaka; Rara Seetha Ramani Manohara by Soorpanaka; Sri Rama Padama by Gauthama and so on. Of course, there is nothing more than belief to justify this view. Prof. Sambamurthi, who made great efforts to locate the press in Choolai, Madras, mentioned in the printing license gave it up in despair. He however, suggested that Ma Janaki in Khamboji and Vanaja Nayana in Kedara Gowla were songs from Seetharama Vijayam, the songs representing “Sambandhi Kelikka” or benign taunting of the sambandhis by groups belonging to both sides.”

True to his name THYAGA-RAJA meaning the ‘King of Renunciation’, he renounced all worldly honours, gifts etc. He   declined the offer of the king with all the riches to be part of the royal court and rendered the wonderful kriti ‘Nidhi sala sukama’  but  this is said to have irked his brother so much that  threw the idol that Saint Tyagaraja was worshiping into River Kaveri but ultimately Lord Rama himself helped him get it back.
The same Saint Tyagaraja however accepted a gift once out of sheer reverence for his Guru from his Guru. The teacher was so stunned by Tyagaraja’s remarkable talent that he openly praised his disciple as being far better than him, a praise few teachers would be prepared to give. Not only that, Sonti Venkataramaniah presented Tyagaraja with a gold medal that he had once received as an award at a royal court. Tyagaraja was averse to receiving such tokens but made a one-time exception for the sake of his Guru. Later, Tyagaraja presented the medal and the chain at the wedding of his teacher’s daughter; thus he managed to dispense with what was perhaps the only worldly reward he had ever received.

His superior musical skills and techniques that are taken for granted because he has in-built those subtleties, defining and distinct features of ragas so well in the kritis  for example there are many in number but I would like to quote again from Biography Of Sri Thyagaraja Swami (1767 - 1847 AD) III http://www.brahmintoday.org/magazine/2012_issues/bt96-0209_thiyagaraja.php

“Mrs. Vidya, in an excellent paper presented to the centenary session of the Madras Music Academy (Swami’s death centenary), has used a number of examples to illustrate how Swami used sangatis to highlight the use of right srutis. He used these also in kritis intended for children so that they can learn the sruti values early and by understanding the proper imitation of the instrument or voice teaching them. Let me point out one example provided by Mrs. Vidya. In the kriti, Mariadagadura (Sankarabharanam), she points to the numerous sangatis used in the pallavi and shows how the tri-sruti gandhara of Sankarabharanam is deftly handled by Swami. Both Sankarabharana and Kalyani have the same gandharas in their structure but Kalyani use the Chatursruthi and the note clings to the Madhyama. She also points out how the sahitya splits perfectly into the right tisra syllables and how the visesha prayoga, Sa Da, Pa in the sangatis just preceding the complete avaroha brings out the bhava.
Mrs. Vidya also says that by using a deerga daivata, Swami has skillfully managed to bring out the raga bhava of Kambhjoji in Evari Mata, although he uses only the swaras common to Sankarabharanam and Khamboji. The commencement of the charana of this song also brings out the value of Khamboji’s deerga daivata prayogam.
Often, when using a new raga, Swami employs the arohana and avarohana in the opening phrase itself. For example in Binna Shadjam, raga derived from the ninth mela, Dhenuka, the opening words Sari Varilona, fit in with Sa Ri Ga Ri Pa Ma Pa Da Sa Da Pa Ma Ri Ga Ri Sa. The opening phrase in Evaraina lera peddalu (Raga: Siddha Sena), the notes are Sa Ga Ri Ga Ma. Take Bahudari, is there a more appropriate characteristic phrase than Pa Da Ni Pa Ma Ga? When employing vivadi swaras, Swamiji makes sure that the vivadis occur in the opening phrase itself, e.g. Paramatmudu in Vagadheeswari; Evare Ramayya in Gangeya Bhushani. Even for an ancient and well known raga like Bhairavi, he uses common swaras to great effect. For example, in the short rupaka tala kriti, Upacharama Jese Varu, he opens with Ri Ma Ga without the slightest trace of Karaharapriya. The chatsruthi rishabha of Karaharapriya is aligned to the Madhyama, a fact so well demonstrated. Karaharapriya and Hari Kambhoji are Swami’s gifts to Carnatic music. The Tana Sampradaya Kirtanas and indeed even the simple rhythmic ones teach the ease with which all or most of Swami’s songs fall into the sarva laghu ,in addition to demonstrating the scope of the raga alapana, swara singing paddathi and neraval. Koluvayyunnade in Bhairavi and Kori Sevimparare in Karaharapriya are examples.

Other examples of where Swami had used sangatis to bring out the raga bhava ‘include: Najeevadhara, Chetulara Srungaramu, Thappi Brathiki Brova Tharama; in these compositions, the sangatis are in the passage containing the message of the kriti. In the Pratapa Varali song, Vinanasa Koniyannanu, the phrase Da Pa Sa is used for Aa Aa in words to emphasize that Swami wants to not only have sweet words, but to also as he says “Madhuramaina Palukulu,” the sweet words that Vathathmaju (Anjayaney) and Bharatha heard.”

I would love to portray his life and spiritual journey of the soul of Saint Tyagaraja through the available 729 kritis of his but I would rather end it here and listen to his songs rendered by great stalwarts so that I please my soul.

 




J.KRISHNAMURTHY-THE GREAT PHILOSOPHER

                                       CHAPTER -5 



A wise soul of such immense spiritual enlightenment [ I would not like to use any of those labels like saint, seer, guru, messiah etc  towards all of which he had a healthy  and reasonable contempt] whose uniqueness was that through his lucid and logical communication he laid bare the simple process involved in having a communion with truth as a birthright of every soul irrespective of all external affiliations, identities and he explained  the complete irrelevance of all these affinities, identities, conditioning etc to self enquiry . He in fact exposed how all external identities and affinities were more of a hindrance to perceive truth.

Thus, he helped everyone to understand in their own terms through their own self enquiry the highest spiritual philosophy of grasping and being part of the ultimate truth.

There are four broad areas of important evolution for life,   namely physical, psychological, social and spiritual, not necessarily in that order.

In biological evolutionary systems human beings like other species have survived purely base on their adaptability to changing environments, situations, contexts etc and have ensured physical survival [Basic aspect of evolution survival].

In psychological evolution too human beings have toyed with many ideas and ideologies that have been passed on through some leading luminaries which of course guided humanity through the myriad wonderful paths that have helped in enhancing life psychologically along with their own individual and collective experience [Second aspect of evolution, psychological evolution, the special faculty over the rest of the species of psychologically making a living beyond mere survival to embellish life].

In sociological evolution human being have tried out and are still trying out various methods to co habit and live comfortably in a civilized manner .[ Third aspect of evolution, the social evolution, furthering the natural instinct of sharing and caring by attempting to live in groups]

In all these three evolutions there have been many foolish and failed attempts, fallibilities etc which in due course where changed to ensure appropriate adjustments to evolve positively, though there are still some who refuse to evolve in all these three spheres. But the majority of human beings have fortunately seen reason and adapted to the best among the systems known them.
Regarding the fourth area of evolution, namely Spiritual truth, because of its inherent nature of not being clearly and concretely measured   and demonstrated either empirically or as perceivable through many of the tools of normal human perception, has remained mostly vague and further complicated by an amazing maze of religions, religious rituals and restraints, scriptural diversions, traditional taboos, cultural constraints etc. So, even to know and then understand what spirituality is all about, is in itself very difficult, leave alone trying to evolve and study its evolutionary trend as in other three areas of life. It does not mean that it does not exist, in fact, all the three other major areas of life mentioned earlier are infused with life only because of some inexplicable power, factor or whatever you want to label it as, it could be even labelled as god or some divine spirit etc for the sake of convenience.

There were many enlightened souls who have had a communion with this universal spirit which injects life into everything and which manifests the oneness of everything, and the interrelatedness, interdependence and interaction of everything in the process of evolution and life. Unfortunately in enjoying the nectar of the ecstasy of the communion or being uneasy about the level of understanding or differing frequencies of the others or for fear of condemnation or criticism of the society they never somehow communicated these communions with the spiritual truth; the minority who communicated had to sandwich the truth within thick layers of religiously, culturally and  socially  accepted or acceptable ideas, theories, rituals etc that very few really could penetrate beyond these thick layers and grasp the essence.

Many of the great souls have even spelled the spiritual truths, but very few have philosophically, logically and lucidly explained the process of self enquiry leading to self realization of the spiritual truth which is beneath, beyond and being part of everything as J.Krishnamurthy has done. This is where his uniqueness is and he also ensured that there was no cult, hero worship, deification or even followers to whatever he contributed which was basically to rely on one’s own self enquiry.

He did this by making everyone realize the importance of observing and listening without conditioning; elucidated the necessity to go beyond the realms of thoughts, words, knowledge, memory etc to grasp the wisdom of actuality of spiritual enlightenment or truth that is uninfluenced by any religion; unhindered by any dogma, ideology or ism; unprompted by any Guru; unprogramed by any specific ritual and culture and which therefore enables the observer to permeate with the observed thereby enabling one not merely to become but in actuality to be part of truth. In short, philosophically he made everyone realize the importance of making their own journeys in self enquiry and exploration based on total attentive awareness with total intensity and intense totality.

Anyone who reads his works, the lucky ones who listened to his lectures in person, would be immensely impacted. If they are open minded they would shed their prejudices and conditioning and start on the path of self enquiry. As for the rest, they would at least start to have a relook if not a total rejection of all their existing belief systems. So, in terms of enabling many souls to tread a path of purely philosophically and logically based self enquiry he undoubtedly made a great impact.

Philosophies of the orient, to my knowledge mostly Indian and Chinese are always not about throwing out multiple theories or logic. They were more about exploring and seeking meaning of life of the inner self as it lives and life in its totality beyond and besides the individual and the visible external world. It is in the enquiry of these two realms that the Vedic scriptures and many of the Chinese philosophies have come up with varying and various levels of understanding and interpretations of the micro as well the macro aspects of life and its many manifestations starting from the micro level explanation of matter to macro views and explanations about the universe. So in the process of these enquiries about life there emerged many processes of these enquiries about life, there also emerged many methods of socio morals which were tried and tested as per the contextual requirements of the period but the inherent philosophy of life was held as an unchanged and unchallenged value system .

In the occidental, initially  the great souls like Socrates, Plato , Aristotle etc too manifested similar wisdom, but then, later on social consciousness and  socio morals, as prescribed by or as preferred by the Monarchies, Empires , Religious institutions etc , alone were  allowed to be practised by these power groups [ what we call in modern terms as vested interest groups] with their domination over human race as whole interfering and influencing every activity , so much so, that even many scientific discoveries struggled to show their head for a long time for fear of antagonizing the whims and fancies of those manning these institutions. They were reborn only when these scientific discoveries were found to be useful for commerce and trade which turned out to be the new found tool of dominance as established by the history of colonialism and slave trade. This new found tool of dominance pushed the dominance of religious institutions to the background.

In contrast, in the Orient, the spirit of enquiry was always about all aspects of life in its many faceted splendour without the necessity to create institutions of dominance to make human race flock together. It was the value systems, which spontaneously made human beings here [in the Orient] to flock together voluntarily without any external force. So there was neither any institutionalized religion nor complicated philosophical theories which were to be discussed only by the scholarly and established as axiomatic certainty against which everything else has to be evaluated.

On the contrary a very philosophical attitude, scientific enquiry and freedom of expression to experiment and enquire into the nature of soul, spirit, body, psyche, space etc thrived side by side without any institutional authority either rewarding or punishing. So every individual had the liberty to practice these virtues. The capable ones came up with their discoveries and the rest valued them [discoveries] and made of use of them without publicity or promotion of any single institution and this is one of the reasons for lack of documentation or records of many discoveries by the Oriental giants as there was no dominating institution to decide what is to be accepted and what not and what is to be publicised and what is to be suppressed on behalf of whole of humanity. So there were less conflicts more spontaneous co operations and co habitations sticking on to certain value systems, not code of conduct prescribed and enforced by any institutional authority and this value system had in- built important components of freedom, tolerance, compassion, care, love, learning, exploring and questioning everything and the liberty to accept, adopt and assimilate more preferable and suitable aspects of life that came from outside sources.

 Many of our great seers and saints, shared and not preached their experiments, experiences, expertise and explanations about and into the meaning of life and spirituality and therefore they did not , or to be more precise were not bothered to establish any religious institution to promote any single god/goddess . Even in worship the individual had the freedom to choose any form or name of worship if its appeals to and tunes in with his spiritual vibration or frequency at that moment. That’s why, in the Indian value system, otherwise called, Sanathana Dharma, we have not only millions of Gods and Goddesses but we also worship trees, reptiles, animals, birds etc and we have scriptures which extol the greatness of atheism. This orientation of free spirit to enquire has led to unravelling of many spiritual truths, unfettered by any institutional authority or edict. J.Krishnamurthy is the pinnacle of this healthy tradition of free enquiring spiritual souls in which he has explained the art of the process of self enquiry and the science of self realization both for their own sake and helped everyone emancipate and get enlightened beyond the circumscription by the limited boundaries of our mind and intellect.

KUCHIPUDI DANCE


                                                             CHAPTER -4
             
                                             KUCHIPUDI DANCE 

Kuchipudi [pronounced as ‘koochipoodi] origin of the name
It derives its name from the village of Kuchelapuram, in Andhra Pradesh, India. As a classical form of dance, drama and music, Kuchipudi enjoys a unique place among the Indian classical idioms. Kuchipudi grew largely as a product of the Bhakti movement beginning in the seventh century A.D. It was in the 14th century, however, that the ascetic Siddhendra Yogi appeared on the scene and gave Kuchipudi a new definition and direction.


KUCHIPUDI SPECIAL CHRACTERISTICS
Compared to the other Indian classical dance styles, kuchipudi is closest to Bharthanatyam in terms of technique, but it has its own unique characteristic, both styles feature a half-sitting posture as the basic position and strong rhythmical foot work. But kuchipudi has a certain light- footedness and many graceful hops and leaps that distinguish it from Bhrathanatyam. It is less angular, with ‘rounded’ arm movements and characteristic bobbing,bending and swaying movements which are unique to kuchipudi
Kuchipudi is characterized by fast rhythms and fluid movements, creating a unique blend of control and abandon, strength and delicacy. This is the reason why it is classical,creative and communicative with a distinctive feel and flavour. It is imbued with sensuous Satvikaabhinayam and succulent vachikabhinayam. Being a narrative art form the emphasis is on abhinaya and natya. Due to its affinity with the yakshagana style, the kuchipudi technique has in it some basic elements of folk art, especially its primeval vigour, its unsophisticated directness and its exquisitely earthly sensuousness all manifesting the impact of folk form with its concomitant high energy levels along with classical touch
Kuchipudi dance dramas represent a happy synthesis of this classical and folk repertoire with less rigid postures, more emotions with free and fluid gestures and movements.

Story of the village
Almost every corner of the Kuchipudi village, reverberates with swaras and the jingle of ankle bells, one discovers.
This village is perhaps the only place in India, which has given its name to a classical dance-form.The history of this village and its inhabitants is interwoven with the evolution of the exquisite dance form of Kuchipudi.
This Andhra Pradesh village was originally known variously as ‘Kuchelapuram,' ‘Kuchelapuri' (one legend holds that Krishna's devotee Kuchela was from this place ), ‘Kuchennapoodi' (after Kuchenna, a famous disciple of Siddhendra Yogi) and ‘Kuchipundi.' It was populated by Bhagavathulu and their families.
The propagation of bhakti through artists called Bhagavathulu, who sang the stories of God (Bhagavatam) and danced too, was common in south India through the centuries. In this region, the dance was known as Kuchipudi Bharatham. The village has produced some of the greatest classical dancers and teachers of the country.
FOR THE LEGIONS OF KUCHIPUDI PRACTITIONERS, THE VILLAGE REMAINS A HALLOWED SPOT many call it as   “PILGRIMAGE CENTRE.” many others refer a visit to THIS VILLAGE as TO A “WONDERFUL TEMPLE” AND “CULTURAL TREASURE.”
History  of the village

The village of Kuchipudi is six miles away from Srikakulam, the ancient capital of Satavahana Empire and benefited from their patronage towards classical and performance arts. After the fall of Mauryan Empire, the Satavahanas extended their domain in the North West and South, until Andhra embraced a great portion of the Indian Peninsula. Satavahanas ruled from the middle of the 3rd century B.C. to the first quarter of 3rd century A.D.

Geo-political staus of India from 200 BC to 200 AD:satavahanas’ expansions toward North East and North West.

Perhaps is the name Andra  from the raga Andri

Natya Shastra refers to Andhra region in connection with a particular style of dance in the context of representation of different modes of Vrittis, especially Kaishika Vritti, delicate and graceful dance movements. A particular raga by the name, Andhri, was a contribution of this region to the music of India. Mention of these specific techniques, various ancient folk dances and Yakshagana tradition of this region played an important origin for evolution of the most comprehensive classical dance form in India. Yakshagana is the musical play sharing the characteristics of opera and ballet combined in one presentation. It originated in Andhra and received patronage in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. More than 800 works were produced by 465 authors. Of which 542 works are available, some in print and others mostly in manuscript.
Natya Shastra is the oldest surviving text on stagecraft in the world and it precedes one of the oldest and greatest epics of history, Valmiki’s “Ramayana”. It is believed to be a creation of Lord Brahma, who issued it to all classes of people to study and practice as the “5th Veda”. Though it was written about 2000-2500 years ago, it is believed that Natya Shastra is based upon much older Natya Sutras widely in practice throughout the country at the time. Unfortunately, there are no surviving copies of the Natya Sutras. Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope and included many practices from various geographical regions and discussed their appropriate placement in the proposed classification. It covers as many and diverse aspects such as, music (raga, tala, sruti, and instrumental knowledge), stage-design (mandapa), dance (rules & classification of dances, acting, expression of bhava, eight kinds of rasas, choreography, and direction), makeup, and virtually every aspect of the stagecraft. Therefore Natya Shastra is studied and researched by scholars in dance as well as musicians because it is the only text that gives such detail about music and instruments of the period.


Founder of Kuchipudi as a systemized and unique style with distinct features
The earliest-known maestro from this village was saint Siddhendra Yogi (who lived some time between 11th and 13th century). Based on Bharata's Natya Shastra, Nandikeshwar's Bharatarnava and Abhinaya Darpanam, Siddhendra systematised and streamlined Kuchipudi.
His sterling contribution was ‘Bhama Kalapam,' a Telugu dance-drama, where the lyrics, tunes and script (trouryartrikam) were by him. To have this enacted, Siddhendra Yogi, also a great choreographer, selected a group of boys from Kuchipudi and trained them. This was a milestone in the history of the dance-form and village.“Later, Kuchipudi village was granted as a gift to the Bhagavathulu by an impressed Abul Hasan Tanisha of the Golconda Nawab dynasty in the 17th century.



Sri Siddhendra Yogi
We now come to the his greatest offering:- Bhama Kalapam. Even in the case of Bhama Kalapam’s authorship, the portions written by Sri Siddhendra Yogi have not been clearly identified. Centuries of additions and improvisations have rendered the original text unrecognizable. While all extant versions of Bhama Kalapam acquiesce to his primary authorship, scholars are never sure which are the exact parts which he has written. Infact, the most famous Sathyabhama daruvu itself has changed so much from Sri Siddhendra Yogi’s rendition:

Sri Siddhendra Yogi's version:
Bhaamane!! Sathyabhamane!!
Bhamaro, srungaara jagadabhiraamane, mukhavijitha
Hema!! Bhamane, Dwarakapuraadhuni raamane, vayyari Sathyabhamane!!
The current version of Bhama Kalapam is attributed to a Mangu Jagannatha Kavi of Aakiveedu in West Godavari district.
Sri Jagannadha Kavi's version:
Bhaamane!! Sathyabhaamane!!
Vayyaari muddula, Sathyabhaamane!!
Bhaamane, padiyaruvela komaloolandarilona, Sathyabhamane!!
Of Siddhendra Yogi’s version, we know for sure that Vighneswara Stuti, Saraswathi Sthavam, Vennela Padam (Bhama’s Pravesa daruvu), the questioning by “mandayaana” about who Bhama is, and then Bhama’s song “Bhaamane Sathyabhaamane” existed.
It is a great loss, that no concrete records of Sri Siddhendra Yogi’s life or activities exists. This, in itself has been the reason for several severe disagreements in the academia on everything from his birth to death to Bhama Kalapam. We hope ardently that present day and future researchers will take up this matter and solve the existing riddles.
However unclear Sri Siddhendra Yogi’s life may remain, the dance form he has systematized is present today onthe world stage in sparkling glory. Its vivaciousness has touched the shores of every country from America to Australia to Kenya to South Africa to France to Hong Kong to Argentina to South Africa. Its practitioners are swelling, and every week around the world at least one Bhama enters the stage proudly proclaiming her royal lineage.
 Sri Sidhendra Kala Peetham in Kuchipudi village

However for centuries, the dance-form was confined to Brahmin families and males. They were forbidden to teach the art to their daughters. All female roles were performed by men, in a tradition called stree-vesham or bhrukumsa (female impersonation). Groups of men traveled from village to village enacting stories from the Hindu mythology. As in Elizabethan theatre men portrayed the roles of women.
“The dancers were part of itinerant troupes and often performed throughout the night. That is why women were kept out, for practical reasons and not because of male chauvinism,” says stree-vesham icon Vedantam Sathyaranarayana Sarma, a Kuchipudi-resident.
 The real fact is no one can clearly put a specific date on how this art has emerged as a field; however there are records that date back to 4000-5000 years from present day. As these traditions emerged and more material documentation methods were developed, additional evidence began to accumulate and helped us understand more about Indian cultural roots and various socio-political circumstances that influenced our culture.




How to understand any dance tradition  in India

In order to understand any classical dance tradition, one must study different facts of that art form such as its origin, history, and theoretical background in addition to considering socio-political and cultural contexts including language, music, customs and traditions. Most art forms in India are directly or indirectly dependent on the Hindu mythology, philosophy, sculpture, painting, human psychology and yoga. India, with its vastness and magnitude of her culture, several classical dance forms emerged with common theoretical background. Each of these classical dance forms can be traced to different parts of the country owing to their place of origin.

Kuchipudi in 20 th century
In the 20th century, teacher-performer Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastry of this village became another trailblazer like Siddhendra. He broke the convention by taking the dance form to non-Brahmins, women and devadasis. This was taken forward by Bhagavathula Vissaiah. Many established dancers, such as Bharatanatyam legend Mylapore Gowriamma, went to Vissaiah to enhance their knowledge of abhinaya nuances.
In-1941-Vedantam-Lakshminarayana-Sastry-with-Uday-Shankar-left-and-Thandava-Krishna-right
Popularization of kuchipudi
Another famous son of this village is the legendary Vempati Chinna Sathyam who relocated to Chennai. With his outstanding creativity and brilliant choreography, he spread the art form across India and abroad. His brother Vempati Pedda Sathyam, Pasumarthi Krishnamurthy and Vedantam Jagannatha Sarma, followed another pioneer, Vedantam Raghavaiah, to Chennai and took this sensuous art to the film industry. They choreographed Kuchipudi-based dance sequences for many Telugu movies. He brought to life and liveliness this dance forms complete poetic expression of life’s variegated moods, and expressed them through systematized manifold rhythmic patterns, melodic gestures and subtle facila expressions, creating a new world of ecstasy and ethereal existence.

Kuchipudi dancers set a Guinness World Record

Over 2800 kuchipudi dancers , including 200 plus natyagurus created a  Guinness World Records on December 26th 2010 performing Hindolum Tillana at GMC BALAYOGI Stadium in HYDERABAD


Kuchipudi performers from around the world.
The spectacular show performed by dancers from 15 countries and every state was staged in praise of Kuchipudi choreographer Siddhendhra Yogi. The 11-minutes programme was part of the concluding ceremony of the three-day second International Kuchipudi Dance Convention



                                                     Tadepalli Satyanarayana Sarma

                                        Tadepalli Satyanarayana Sarma in Stree vesham


Kuchipudi and Musical Instruments Used
Listed below are the musical instruments which are used in the dance performance of Kuchipudi:

                                                                     Mridangam
                                      
                                                                     Manjira

                                 Saraswati Veena (South Indian Vina)

                                                    Violin


Kanjira


                                                     Venu
                                                            Tampura




                                                  

Natya Sarawathi dancing to the beats of the drummers seen near her feet