 We continue with our life profile of this titan of the first half of the 20th century.
By the early 1890s or so, Bhagavatar was married to Kalyani Ammal and their union was blessed with four children. Atmanathan (late 1890s-1958), Meenakshisundaram (1899-1966), Muthumeenakshi and Radhakrishnan (1907-1985) were their names.
Among them, the last named, later styling himself as Radhakrishna Swamigal, was to follow in his father’s footsteps as a Haraikatha artiste.
Being a man of high principles, Bhagavatar was not one to compromise or stoop low to earn more. He did, however, manage to keep his family in reasonable comfort with his earnings from his performances... He was honoured by the maharaja of Pudukottai and also the zamindar of
Karur.
In the late 1890s, Bhagavatar was on a concert tour of Madras city when a painter wanted him to come and visit his studio and bless the place. Bhagavatar agreed and while in the studio, he found his attention riveted to a painting of Krishna and Radha done in the traditional style.
When the artiste enquired if the Bhagavatar was interested in any of his work, he unhesitatingly asked for the Radha-Krishna painting. The artiste was in a quandary for the picture had been commissioned by a wealthy Chettiar of Karaikkudi. However, seeing Bhagavatar’s earnestness, he agreed and parted with it.
The painting became a favoured possession of Bhagavatar who not only gave it pride of place in his daily puja but also began celebrating the Radha Kalyana mahotsavam every year in its honour. Today, the painting is kept with great care by his descendants and the tradition of Radha Kalyanam continues.
The festival was an occasion for all prominent artistes to gather at Bhagavatar’s residence and stay on for the three days. This widened his circle of contacts among the artistes fraternity.
Yet another favoured portrait was one in Tanjore style: Shiva as Nataraja in the foreground, with the central incident in the life of each of the 63 Nayanmars behind him.
 This was presented by Bhagavatar’s fans in Chettinad at the conclusion of a series on the lives of the 63 devotees of Shiva. It was said after the great
Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan’s discourses, the sessions of Bhagavatar were the most moving and hence the Chettiars decided to present Bhagavatar with an identical copy of the painting they gifted
Sivan.
This painting too survives with Bhagavatar’s descendants.
Among the prominent personalities of the times who admired his art were Bhaskara Sethupathi of Ramnad and Ambalavana Desikar of the Tiruvavaduthurai Mutt. They presented him with a number of books on music and Shaivism to enable him to expand his repertoire.
It is said when Bhagavatar rendered the Kannappa Nayanar Charitram, Ambalavana Desikar said everyone in the audience had become "kannappan" (meaning there was not a dry eye in the gathering). Certainly, by 1917, he became an artiste who counted and there is a reference about him in Abraham Pandithar’s Karunamrta Sagaram which was published that year: "Vydyanatha Bhagavatar of Soolamangalam. He could perform Harikathas bringing out especially the devotional element."
 Bhagavatar also appears to have been acquainted personally with Pandithar for he lists his name among the members and well-wishers of the Sangita Vidya Mahajana Sangam that he floated. In his reminiscences, titled 'Enadu ninaivikkaDal', (serialised in 'Kalaimagal' in 1968 and published as a book),
Papanasam Sivan lists Bhagavatar as one of the great
Harikatha performers of the 1920s.
The efforts that Bhagavatar had taken in building up a repertoire of songs for his performances had left him with a lifelong fascination for Tyagaraja. By 1901, he considered the saint composer to be his iShTa dEvata and worshipped him. It is thus no surprise that when in 1907, Tillaisthanam Panchu Bhagavatar came and requested his help in the renovation of Tyagaraja’s samadhi at Tiruvaiyyaru, Bhagavatar enthusiastically volunteered.
Arrangements were made for the cleaning up of the shrine and its surroundings and a gardener, by name Kathan, was appointed on a monthly salary of Rs 3, for its upkeep. Bhagavatar, like Panchu Bhagavatar, was orthodox by nature and felt that the best way to pay homage to Tyagaraja was to conduct the abhishekam to his samadhi on the day he attained salvation.
He became one of the leading lights of the Chinna Katchi, one of two groups that performed the annual worship at the samadhi. He was to remain associated with the worship and aradhana till 1941, when he distanced himself from the commemoration.
Beginning with the Radha Kalyanam every year in the month of January, Bhagavatar led a fairly busy schedule. This was followed by the
Tyagaraja Aradhana, for which funds had to be collected and the event organised. During the course of the year came the four-day Bhagavata Mela festival around the time of Narasimha Jayanti, the Manpondia Pillai Utsavam at the great percussionist’s samadhi in Pudukottai and also the Tiruvisanallur Utsavam in the honour of
Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval of the Bhajana
Sampradaya.
Bhagavatar would attend without fail the Tiruvisanallur Utsavam and in particular make it a point to be present on the anniversary of the day when the well in
Ayyaval’s house was filled with Ganga water. In-between there would be numerous Harikatha performances at various locations.
Powered by
Sangeetham.com
|
Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar - Part 2
