May 10, 2012
Dr. Shreedhara Menon wonderful book has been keeping me company during morning walks. The Swati Thirunal chapter is an eye opener on the stupendous achievements of that king who died at a rather young age of 33. He was a master of 18 languages. The University of Kerala was ultimately born out of Raja’s Free School that he created and maintained. It was the first Indian initiative towards English education. Swati Thirunal set up the observatory in Thiruvananthapuram and the archives of ancient records. It is from his private menagerie that the Thiruvananthapuram zoo was created.
Suraj Venjaramoodu is a Malayalam movie comedian who has made a career out of his inveterate and pronounced use of the Thiruvananthapuram dialect. In a totally avoidable movie called “Happy Husbands” he jokes that Thyagaraja Swami, one of the holy trinity of Carnatic Classical music, has specifically composed a hymn for people of Thiruvananthapuram. He goes on to sing the famous “Enthero Mahanubhavalu..” The joke being that diehard Trivandrumites say “Enthero?” instead of the refined and proper Malayalam word “Entho?” meaning ‘What’
The shabby joke apart, it turns out that there is a real connection between Thiruvananthapuram and that composition. Swati Thirunal, the great classical music maestro and king of Travancore, had a great desire to meet Thyagaraja Swami. He sent Shadkala Govindamarar and Vadivelu, two gems from his court, as envoys to the grand master of music. They set off to the then Madras Presidency from Thiruvanathapuram.
Shadkala Govindamarar was a living legend. He obtained the title of ‘Shadkala’ for his ability to sing the same hymn in different ‘kala’ or meter. He is also credited with the invention of the seven-string ‘Thamburu’ which till then had only four. Vadivelu was one of the dance masters in Swati Thirunal’s court.
When they met Thyagaraja Swami, Shadkala Govindamarar sang in his own style Jayadeva’s “Chandanacharchitha Neela” in praise of Krishna. The folks present were apparently mesmerized. Thyagaraja Swami was so deeply moved by the genius of Shadkala Govindamarar that he immediately sang “Endhero Mahanubhavalu” in appreciation.
Wikipedia suggests that this song had been an earlier composition of Swami, but I would rely more on history Dr. Shreedhara Menon who writes that Thyagaraja composed the song in praise of Shadkala Govindamarar. If so, the song indeed has a deep Thiruvananthapuram connection.
Dr. Shreedhara Menon wonderful book has been keeping me company during morning walks. The Swati Thirunal chapter is an eye opener on the stupendous achievements of that king who died at a rather young age of 33. He was a master of 18 languages. The University of Kerala was ultimately born out of Raja’s Free School that he created and maintained. It was the first Indian initiative towards English education. Swati Thirunal set up the observatory in Thiruvananthapuram and the archives of ancient records. It is from his private menagerie that the Thiruvananthapuram zoo was created.
Swati Thirunal’s achievements in Carnatic music cannot be praised enough. But I guess it is to be expected from a baby who was greeted into this world by the magnificent lullaby “Omanathinkal kidavo” composed specifically for him by Irayimman Thampi. And then there is the refinement of Mohiniyattam that the king is credited with. I had mentioned his design of the ‘tight blouse’ and rest of the costume for the dance in an earlier note.
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