So yesterday we saw a divided house in carnatic music space. Those who have bhakti & were celebrating Rama and those who were virtue signalling. The most important point was quoting Shri Thyagaraja out of context posting his krithi "nadachi nadachi" & dragging him down for their low level narratives. Either they know that they are misquoting him or they are ignorant enough to not understand the nuance or the philosophy behind it. @priya_27_ and I had a conversation about this on the telugu sahityam. So our predictable guy tmk stops mid way in a concert that happened earlier and says that the meaning is
" there is no Ayodhya " . Tmk takes a literal meaning out of context cleverly to show his protest against Ayodhya ram mandir and his whatever secularism, while Thyagaraja 's poetic expression conveys that one cannot find Ayodhya or Rama if he is not found within first.
He did not say there is " no Ayodhya " or let Badri masjid remain !!!!!

Other chelas picked it up and posted it yesterday specifically.
Interestingly, the ones so dedicated about Thyagaraja, don't talk about his other krithis where he actually describes Ayodhya well. kaaru baaru in mukhari is an example.

It's dangerous to let the liberal left drag down vaggeyakaras for their narratives.

If Shri Thyagaraja was indeed alive in human form today, he would have sung something extempore to celebrate Rama 's return at saketa nagara...like how he sang kanugontini when he found his Rama vigraham in kaveri after looking for days.

#Ayodhya #RamMandirPranPratishta

A beautiful writeup by Shri Ravi & Sridhar on Shri Muthuswamy Dikshitar being invited to Shri Thyagaraja 's house in Thiruvarur. This is where Dikshitar composes maamava pattabhirama in manirangu. Read !

THE ETERNAL PILGRIM and THE ETERNAL MINSTREL

An account is traditionally handed down of the meeting between Tyagaraja and Muthuswamy Dikshitar. It is said that when Dikshitar was singing his MadhyamAvati composition ‘Dharmasamvardhani’ at the Mother Goddess’s shrine in the Tiruvayyaru temple, a few of Tyagaraja's disciples were present there. Savouring the exquisite music, they enquired of one of Dikshitar's disciples and gathered details about the composer. They then hurried to their guru and told him of Dikshitar and his music. It was not that Tyagaraja was hearing about Dikshitar for the first time. Great mahApuruShAs are certainly aware of each other, only that they do not reveal their inner cognition. Dikshitar too must have heard of Tyagaraja from many people and most certainly from Shyama Sastri. He must also have listened to the bard's compositions. Tyagaraja asked his disciples to invite Dikshitar home. The bard's disciples returned to the temple and informed Dikshitar of Tyagaraja's invitation, which the former happily accepted.

Tyagaraja regularly recited the Valmiki Ramayana. On that day he had come to the episode of the coronation of Sri Rama. Could there be a greater occasion for the two puruShOthamAs of music to meet than the paTTAbhiShEka day of the Purushothama Himself? Tirumanjana vIdhi where Thyagaraja resided is just a stone's throw from the Goddess Dharmasamvardhini shrine in the Panchanadeeswara temple.

The bard rose to meet his younger, nevertheless equal contemporary. After mutual respects were over, Tyagaraja requested Dikshitar to stay on and witness the pUja which he performed after the Ramayana recitation. The Rama dAsA's worship on that paTTAbhiShEka day thus acquired a special sacredness. A big crowd of disciples and residents of Tiruvaiyyaru gathered to witness that momentous event. It was a surcharged atmosphere. After the pUja, dIpArAdhanA and ShODasha upachArAs, Tyagaraja bade his disciples sing. It was to be his Bhairavi masterpiece ‘koluvaiyunnADe’. The whole of Tirumanjana street resonated with the song of its renowned resident.

Tyagaraja slowly turned to Dikshitar and requested him to sing on 'my Rama'. The small but majestic, centuries old paTTAbhiShEka icon of Rama with Sri Sita, Bharata, Lakshmana, Shatrugna and Anjaneya, complete with the maNTapa and worshipped by Tyagaraja's ancestors and bequeathed to him as heirloom is truly awe-inspiring. Its spiritual power is quite discernible to those who approach it with utmost reverence. What wonder then that the Mahapurusha Dikshitar himself sat enraptured?

Was it the mystical power of the icon or the deeply religious atmosphere that pervaded the entire place or the bard's own powerful spiritual presence? Or was it the inspiration of the mystical Cauvery that flowed at a stone's throw? It was perhaps a combination of all the four that inspired Dikshitar to dive deep within, to tap his innermost artistic resources. The strain that came out of his very depths, out of his very being had to be special. And it was. The rare maNirangu discovered itself. Dikshitar built a grand edifice for the rAga and bestowed immortality on it. It was an extraordinary edifice, a grandly decorated manTapa (மணிரங்கவல்லி அலங்க்ரித மண்டபே maNirangavalli alankrita maNTapE) studded with the gems of exquisite gamakAs and phrases that Dikshitar gifted to the rAga and made it fit for Tyagaraja's Rama to revel in. The misra chApu tALa that Dikshitar chose for its rhythm was the most appropriate foil. மாமவ பட்டாபிராமா mAmava paTTAbhirAma, a classic par excellence was Dikshitar’s tribute to Tyagaraja's beloved Rama. The song describes the coronation of Sri Rama in exactly the same manner as Valmiki's Ramayana does. The kriti was also appropriate to the occasion and the spirited, sublime music coupled with the majestic sAhitya enshrined the presence of the Lord in the hearts of those who had the great fortune of listening to it. The residents of Tiruvayyaru who witnessed the momentous meeting between the two high priests of art music felt elevated and the event took eternal place in their hearts. Such rare, sublime occurrings are seldom spoken of too.

The Eternal Cauvery, whose privilege it was to host this great event must have felt proud at the meeting and outstanding accomplishments of Her two bosom children, one, the Eternal Pilgrim, the other, the Eternal Minstrel.

A separate thread of pictures to show how @hrce maintains this ancient Thiruvalanchuzhi temple
1) garbage inside . Near main gopuram 2) vegetation around. Not cleared or garden maintained

Weekend morning in the Kumbakonam belt with @KishoreIyer5 @PantryCar
@tweets_tinku
First stop at Thiruvalanchuzhi a padal Petra sthalam,where vinayakar is made of foam and is called shweta vinayaka. This beautiful ancient temple deserves better maintenance. Some inscriptions from the temple.@tskrishnan would love to know which era this is.

While the Tamil community is sailing in the sea of #PonniyinSelvan movie success, Udayarkudi temple with actual inscriptions on the killing of #Adityakarikalan is in a terrible condition. Half of it is gone due to cementing.
We are the only ppl who destroy their own heritage The video is from @jaybaradwajs who is there today.

Inscriptions under Dakshinamurthy and Durga completely gone due to addition of brick & cement. It has to be pulled out.
An extremely important temple in history of Chola because it talks of the assassination of chola prince

Long thread alert on #Ayureda based on my experience.
I am not someone who discusses health issues with even extended family, let alone public. But I've decided to share it here to vindicate our traditional medicine 's powerful healing process. In the 1st week of May this yr, i had developed upper back pain near my neck, upto hands down till finger tips. I had assumed it as being sore muscles due to workouts & summer heat. but it was persistent, i started feeling dizzy & a sense of losing balance came in.

Craving for Hyderabad brothers kutcheri right now ! And this one of their finest that i last heard in dec 2019, December season at Chennai.
shri krishnam bhaja maanasa satatam

Sir, can KPs arm themselves and shoot whenever they are under threat ? If the govt of India allows it, your statement will make some sense.
Let average Hindus living in vulnerable area be allowed to use arms.

https://twitter.com/colhunnybakshi/status/1525299367271616512

All twitter keyboard warriors agreeing with col saab , sitting in cosy and safe residential Hindu majority areas in the cities or in the US/EU ask KPs to stay put against armed terrorist and fight them with a stick.

Hindu temples serving food to thousands devotees in a systematic way. No PR, no ego. Just seva in a humble way. Hindu devotees not just come and eat, but also contribute. The beautiful ecosystem.

December Season hopping started with Dr.Chithra Madhavan's lecture on Thiruvannamalai, with vocal support by Archana & Aarthi.
Asusual the 1.5 hrs were loaded with so much information & great music.

Putting up her concluding statement 1st ! The description of the temple prakaras.

After recent news of TN Rajaratnam Pillai's house being demolished, here are some more heritage lost due to our apathy:

1) Thiruvotriyur Thyagaiyer's house where thyagaraja visited when he came to madras. Gone. 2) Chidambara Bhagawatar , Harikatha Exponent's house

Totally overwhelmed to read though Shri Ravi & Sridhar's write up. (Copied from their FB post)
I wish i could time travel & watch this glorious incident.

Long thread

" It is only 4 days to Deepavali. For music lovers, Deepavali signifies not just new clothes,sweets and crackers It signifies the passing into Eternity of a Sangeetha Mahapurusha, Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar. The great composer attained mukti on 21st October 1835,a Deepavali day. It is 185 years since Dikshitar left his body. An early tribute, both written as well as in song.
The below extract

Circa 2012 this is.
While i absolutely love my corporate work, i totally miss class & dancing.
The best thing i ever did was moving to Shri Shijith Nambiar (Anna) and Smt Parvathy Menon (Akka), alumni of Kalakshetra for advance learning . They gave me an opportunity to savour that Baani , something that ive always admired and watched since childhood, due to family association.
Today when i look back, the period of training under them was a major factor in shaping my attitude towards a lot of things in life.

What are the very traditional names you've heard in your family that are pretty rare now.
Among woman in my family : brahmarambika, lopamudra, kanakavalli, kuntalamba (pronounced as kuntaḷāmbā ).
Men : mahadevan or ramakrishnan has stuck on till my generation too. @entropied this might interest you.

One fat asshole driving a suv hit the dog that hangs around in my street. The worst is, that guy looked at the dog, bought eggs from the next kirana store, got in & drove off. Thankfully some neighbours saved him n i was at home. Could bring him to the hospital immediately. Neighbours were stunned at that guys reaction. Due to compulsions of maintaining some civility, i kept quite, else would have taken those eggs and smashed it on him.
Poor soul, so much in pain. 😑

some of my best handloom sarees from across different states. Few are even 15 yrs old. Our handloom weavers are the finest, bringing out elegance & art though their techniques. I urge everyone to buy handlooms & give support to our wonderful artisans.
#NationalHandloomDay From top : Kanchi, Sungudi, Pochampally, Kalakshetra, Odisha, Chettinad, Ponduru, kosa from Maheshwar , another Kanchi.

#NationalHandloomDay

Haven't added others 😁 I'll have to empty half my wardrobe then.

Shri Apitakuchamba Stavah.
beautiful verses of Shri Appayya Dikshitar sung by Amritha Murali, in ragamalika.
(I've Split the verses into a thread) ❤️ #ClassicalMusic #hinduism #culture #Sanskrit

#Darasuram Airavateshwara Temple. About 15 min from Kumbakonam, this was built by Raja Raja Chola II in the 12th century . Known for its exquisite sculptures & marvellous workmanship. It is under ASI, a UNESCO heritage site & daily rituals done by Thanjavur Maratha Palace. The prakaram is much smaller than Brihadeeshwara and Gangaikonda Cholapuram but has probably the best miniature sculptures.

A fantastic Mylapore Temple Walk by Dr. Chithra Madhavan, historian. Only if ppl like her explain, you will realise the ancient value & significance of these 7 temples that have lost its heritage aspect over time.ppl assembled in large nos. @ChithraMadhavan Starting at Madhavan Perumal , she explained the history of Thirumailai (mylapore), it's recorded history and how it has thrived throughout history under various dynasties. And titbits on Thirvallikeni.

MAGNIFICENT and STUNNING Nellaiappar Temple is. 😱 it took me 3.5 hours to go around once. Again 2 hrs in the evening. Built by pandya king Nidraseer Nedumaran. A padalpetra sthalam. While the gopuram isn't tall, the area it covers is 14 acres. #WalkToTemple so overwhelmed. 😍 Apart from Shri Nellaiappar and Kanthimathi sannidhi, we have nellai govindar, Kuberalinga, Agni Sabapathi, Thirumoola mahalingam, Gananatha Dakshinamurthy, Agasthiyar, Kapila, Suradeva, Nayanmars and several others.

Absolutely true.The great Mylapore Gauri Amma, a devadasi, abhinaya exponent at Kapalishwarar Temple lost everything when Anti Nautch Bill was passed.She then taught a lot of dancers.Used to come home in the 60s teach my aunt n the family gave her food, clothing and Guru Dakshina

https://twitter.com/VikramBalaji18/status/1080717462151331840

Insights into her life. Almost all last living devadasis had a depressing situation with art connoisseurs doing their best to support them.