|
Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai
When will you think about Him, oh, mind?
| Composition: |
ninaippadeppOdu nenjE….. |
| Composer: |
mAyUram vEdanAyakam piLLai |
| mudrA: |
vEdanAyakan |
| (signature): |
|
| rAgam: |
nAdanAmakkriyA (janyam of mELam 15, mAyAmALava
gauLai) |
| ArOhaNam: |
SR1G3M1PD1N3 |
| AvarOhaNam: |
N3D1PM1G3R1SN3 |
|
tALam:
|
Adi |
| Pallavi: |
ninaippadeppOdu nenjE ayyan padattai ninaippadeppOdu nenjE
|
(ninaip)
|
| Anupallavi: |
danattaiyum mAdar yauvvanattaiyum udyOga
ganattaiyum eNNippala dinattaiyum kazhittAl
|
(ninaip)
|
| CaraNam1: |
pATTilum palaviLaiyATTilum durvishayak
kATTilum budditanai nATTi nAL kazhittAl
|
(ninaip)
|
| CaraNam2: |
tArattaip piLLaigaL samsArattai eNNI durvyApArattilE
namadu nErattaik kazhittAl
|
(ninaip)
|
| CaraNam3: |
taraikkuL oru sAN kuzhi iraikkAga veLLaikkAra
duraikku kaikaTTi sAgum varaikkum nAm uzhaittAl
|
(ninaip)
|
| CaraNam4: |
pArukkuL varum katcikkArarkkum pinnum inda
Urukkum uzhaittu nam vIrattaik kulaittAl
|
(ninaip)
|
| CaraNam5: |
toNDai kizhittukkoNDu saNDai seyyum vakkIlgaL
aNDaiyil iru^ndu nam maNDaiyai uDaittAl
|
(ninaip)
|
| CaraNam6: |
gnAlattil peNkaL seyyum jAlattaiyum nambi avar
mUlattilE namadu kAlattaik kazhittAl
|
(ninaip)
|
| CaraNam7: |
vEdanAyakan tiruppAdangaLai maRa^ndu
bUda uDal vaLarkkak kADangaL alai^ndAl
|
(ninaip)
|
Source for lyrics:
Ref. #1 (see below).
Meaning:
Pallavi: When will you think about, oh, mind, when will you think about the Lord’s feet?
Anupallavi: If you spend many days thinking about wealth, the youth of women, the power of position in the employment hierarchy, when can you….
Caranam1: If you entertain evil thoughts, and spend time in music and other playful activities, when can you…….
Caranam2: If we spend our time by thinking about wife, children and family and indulge in evil ways of doing business, when can we ……
Caranam3: In this world, just for the sake of feeding the
stomach, if we enslave ourselves to the white man until our death, when can we …..
Caranam4: When we toil for our clients and then for the folks in the town thereby decimating our valour, when can we …..
Caranam5: The lawyers strain their
throats, fight with each other and take a toll on us, when can we …
Caranam6: When we believe the vanity and frivolousness of our women and then spend our time in catering to their wishes, when can we ….
Caranam7: If I, vEdanAyakan, forget the divine lessons and worry about sustaining this mortal frame, when is the time to think about the Lord’s feet?
General comments:
First, a word about the ragam nAdanAmakriyA is in order. While discussing
the song 'enRaikku sivakrupai' in the ragam mukhAri we mentioned that it is a
bittersweet ragam in that it expresses sorrow while subsuming relief within.
nAdanAmakriyA, while in the same general cadre as mukhAri in terms of gravity of
thought, expresses agony and anxiety and yet leaves us somewhat longing for a
positive outcome. All the same, it is another melt-your-heart ragam.
This particular song by Mayuram
Vedanayakam Pillai (MVP) dwells on the futility of spending one’s life in
worrying about everyday life, and getting involved deeply in frivolous details
of family life, wealth and women. While serving the British government in India,
he always spoke his mind fearlessly and that manifests in this song too. He
lived the very same life whose principles are expressed in his songs.
This song deals with mundane
aspects of everyday life. However, it makes up in philosophical thought for what
it lacks in splendour of diction. MVP was not a freedom fighter in the
traditional mode but his writings expressed his revulsion for the British rule.
Composer’s bio:
Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai (1826-1889) was born to Savarimuthu Pillai and Arogya
Mariammal as a Thamizh Christian in a village called Kolaththur (Tiruchirapalli
district). He was a precocious child while growing up and joined the court
system after completing his education. He learnt several languages including
Thamizh, English, French, Latin and Sanskrit. He became a district munsiff of
Mayuram in 1860 and served there for 13 years. The name Mayuram got affiliated
with him forever.
Besides his professional
duties, MVP wrote 16 books, among which a highly acclaimed book of verses called
'Neethi Nool', espousing ethical conduct, and the first Thamizh novel, 'Pratapa
Mudaliar Charitram', figure prominently. He was proficient in music and he
played the veena. He was a poet, par excellence, referred to as the Oliver
Goldsmith of the East. The eminent Thamizh music composer Gopalakrishna Bharathi
was quite enamoured of MVP’s songs. MVP counted the all-time great Thamizh
vidwan Meenakshisundaram Pillai and Ramalinga Vallalar among his friends.
MVP was a secular universalist
but his poems expressed divinity in a religious mode which was not restrictive.
He used the words 'ayyan', 'samayam' and other religious words without confining
to a particular god of a particular religion. One can call him a secular
religionist or an eclectic Unitarian. In every poem MVP conveyed a special
philosophical message. He rejected atheism and believed in the existence of a
creator of the universe. He used Sanskrit words liberally in his Thamizh poems
which added some lustre and also a touch of realism. His adherence to the
grammar structure of 'etugai' and 'mOnai' in his poems is phenomenal.
|
Recommend this page
|
|
Mail us your
feedback |
|
Post your Comment
|
|
View
Comments
|
|
For some reason clicking on th..... - Dr. S. Subramanian, Raleigh, NC, 1/6/2007
|
|
The first two references at th..... - S.Pasupathy, Not Given, 6/9/2004
|
|
The first two references at th..... - S.Pasupathy, Not Given, 6/9/2004
|
|
MVP's mudra (also known as sig..... - Dr. S. Subramanian, St. Louis, USA, 2/15/2004
|
Other songs of MVP that are
thought-provoking and melodious are: cittam eppadiyO (nAdanAmakkriyA),
karuNAlayanidiyE (hindOLam), manamE nI (kuntalavarALi), ennai azhiya (dharbAr),
paramE aDiyAr, and tiruttaNi vAzhum (kAmbhoji), UrukkellAm (kalyANi), and
uyyum
varai (sankarAbharaNam).
References:
1.http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/c1268.html
2.http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/11/01/stories/2002110101570600.htm
3.http://www.geocities,com/promiserani2/co1078.html
Sethuraman Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com
|
