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K Ramaraj (1936 -)
 K
Ramaraj is a Carnatic music composer, musicologist and musician
who earned his right to be included among the elite by dint of
his passion and commitment to Carnatic music not only from his
childhood by virtue of having been born in a family of musicians
but also by developing his passion in his adult life while
working in a sugar factory. He associated himself with several
doyens of Carnatic music such as Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, Voleti
Venkateswarulu, P. Ramachandraiah, Professor T R Subramaniam,
Rajkumar Bharathy and quite a few others of fame.
Ramaraj was born in Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma (now Myanmar).
But the blood that runs in his body is that of the musical
family from Coimbatore district in Thamizh Nadu. His father,
Kovai Krishna Bhagavatar was a composer in his own right and a
Harikatha exponent, too. His mother Lakshmi was a disciple of
PAlakkADu Radhakrishna Iyer (grandfather of mridangam doyen
PAlakkADu Raghu).
Such musical heritage served him well in later life despite
his having to earn a living by working at a sugar factory at
Pithapuram in Andhra Pradesh. During the period when he
acquainted himself with the Carnatic music doyens from Andhra
Pradesh he decided to try his mind and hand at composing. Though
his mother tongue was Thamizh, he picked up more than working
knowledge in Telugu and Sanskrit which enabled him to compose in
all the three languages.
His compositions number around 200 in Thamizh, Telugu, and
Sanskrit. His specialty in composing is centered on several rare
rAgams such as kAtyAyani, sivaranjcani, vAsanti, lavAngi,
kAntAmaNi, rAgavardini, vishNupriyA, nIlamaNi and whole bunch of
other uncommon rAgams. He has also composed in many of the
common rAgams too. He has published one volume of his
compositions, titled ‘innisaip pAmAlai’ - இன்னிசைப் பாமாலை (Vol
1) in 2002. Professor T R Subramaniam has complimented Ramaraj
by writing a foreword to his book. Complimentary reviews of
Ramaraj’s compositions have appeared in Samudra and Indian
Express.
This writer got acquainted with Ramaraj through an Internet
music discussion group. While not meeting him personally, a
taste of the composer’s depth of musical knowledge, literary
prowess, and extent of diction was obtained through exchange of
correspondence and browsing through many of his compositions.
His compositions cover a number of Hindu deities, Mother India
and the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, the venerable
Thamizh poet Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi, a temple deity in
Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and also the Chennai Music Academy.
Instead of describing his composing talents in mere words, it
would be worthwhile to examine a few songs representative of his
Thamizh compositions. We will give the lyrics in Thamizh and
give the meaning in English.
The first song is on Lord Siva in the rAgam rishabapriyA;
tALam Adi
(Lord Shiva is described here as one
who likes music and gives boons to the devotees who meditate on
Him and worship Him. When people wander aimlessly in their
lives, He rectifies the waywardness in their minds and provides
them comfort and joy. His face puts the lily flower to shame.
His words are sweeter than ambrosia. He protects His devotees
like the eyelids protect the eye. He relieves the load of sin
accumulated by the devotees).
Ramaraj does not address the Lord here for his own relief
from misery but uses the style of Muththuswamy Dikshitar in
describing the Lord’s attributes. The name of the rAgam is built
into the lyrics.
Let us look at another composition on goddess (dEvi)
VaDivAmbikai of
TiruvotriyUr in the rAgam dwijavanti and tALam Adi.
(Oh, VaDivAmbikE! BAlAmbikE! Please
guide us such that our birth gets its fulfillment! You, who
occupy the left half of the Lord who rides the sacred bull,
provide your grace to rid the miseries of your devotees. You are
the deity who personifies the inner effulgence of the virtuous
devotees who have learned the scriptures. You give us the
knowledge of music. Is there anything equal to that? The Lord
AdipurIswarar takes delight in you and dances. You dance daily
to the rhythm of your anklet sound. You are the ocean of musical
delight of the splendorous rAgam dwijAvanti. You dwell in the
minds of those who earnestly sing your praise!)
Here again the composer prays to the goddess to guide
humanity in general and the song describes the attributes and
grace of the goddess. The rAgam’s name is woven intricately into
the lyrics.
Let us look at one more composition. This time it is on the
immortal poet (அமரகவி) Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi. It is in
the rAgam BhArati and tALam Adi.
(You are the darling BhArathi, who has
the exalted status of a sArvabauman (“world citizen”), that
Mother India has gifted her children. You are the wise and
learned person who sowed the seeds of valor in people’s minds to
enable them to act bravely. The whole world eulogizes you. In
upholding the merit of Mother India in the eyes of the world
through poetry in chaste Thamizh that delights everybody there
is no person who can do it as well as you do. You presented it
in sweet musical style).
The famous Carnatic music composer of yore,
PApanAsam Sivan, had also composed a song (“pAmAlaikkiNai uNDO…”) on the
poet Bharathi. Here not only the rAgam appears in the text but
it also matches the name of the person about whom the song is
written. As it is true of his other compositions, Ramaraj mixes
maNipravALam style with chaste Thamizh as the context demands to
have a smooth flow of the words that resonate with music.
Ramaraj’s current domicile is in Chennai. He is active in
spreading and serving Carnatic music by sharing his knowledge
with inquiring minds. For the review articles on Ramaraj’s
compositions please visit the two following URLs.
(http://www.karnatik.com/co1141a.jpg)
(http://www/karnatik.com/co1141b.jpg)
The lyrics of 81 of Ramaraj’s compositions and several audio
clips by the composer as well as by Rajee Gopalakrishnan are
available at the following URL:
http://www.karnatik.com/co1141.shtml
For those who would like to get in touch with Ramaraj, here
is his email address:
vageyakara@gmail.com
Sethuraman
Subramanian
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