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Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (Rajaji)
| Composition: |
kuRai onRum illai |
| Composer: |
cakravarti rAjagOpAlAcAri |
| mudrA: |
none |
| (signature): |
|
| rAgam: |
rAgamAlikai (see below for each segment) |
| 1. sivaranjani (janyam of mELam 22
karaharapriyA) |
| Pallavi: |
kuRai onRum
illai maRaimUrttik kaNNA
kuRai onRum illai kaNNA
kuRai onRum illai gOvi^ndA |
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Anupallavi:
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kaNNukkut
teriyAmal niRkinRAy kaNNA
kaNNukkut teriyAmal ninRAlum enakkuk
kuRai onRum illai maRaimUrttik kaNNA |
| Caranam 1: |
vENDiyatait ta^ndiDA vEnkaTEsan
enRirukka
vENDiyatu vERillai maRaimUrttik kaNNA
maNIvaNNA malaiyappA gOvi^ndA gOvi^ndA
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| 2. kApi (janyam of mELam 22 karaharapriyA)) |
| Caranam 2: |
tiraiyinpin niRkinRAy kaNNA –
unnai
maRai Odum gnAniyar maTTumE kANpAr
enRAlum kuRai onRum enakkillai kaNNA
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| Caranam 3: |
kunRin mEl kallAki niRkinRa varadA
kuRai onRum illai maRaimUrttik kaNNA
maNivaNNa malaiyappA gOvi^ndA gOvi^ndA
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| 3. sindubhairavi (janyam of mELam 10 nATakapriyA) |
| Caranam 4: |
kalinALukkirangi kallilE iRangi
nilaiyAkak kOvilil niRkinRAy kEsavA
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| Caranam 5: |
yAdum maRukkAda malaiyappA – un
mArbil
Edum tara niRkum karuNaik kaDal annai
enRum irundiDa Edu kuRai enakku
onRum kuRai illai maRaimUrttik kaNNA
maNivaNNA malaiyappA gOvi^ndA gOvi^ndA
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Lyrics: Ref. # 1
Meaning:
Pallavi: I do not have any problem Oh, KaNNa the vEdAs personified! I do not have any problem, kaNNA! I do not have any complaint, Oh,
gOvindA!
Anupallavi: You are invisible, Oh, kaNNA! But even when you remain invisible, I do not have any problem, Oh, kaNNA!
Caranam1: When there is Venkatesan to give us what we want, we shall not want anything, Oh,
kaNNA! maNivaNNa! malaiyappA! gOvindA!
Caranam2: You are standing behind a screen, kaNNa! Only the wise men who are well-versed in the vEdAs can “see” you. Still I do not have a problem (if I cannot see you).
Caranam3: You are standing like a stone on the hilltop. I do not have any problem still.
Caranam4: You have taken this stone-form recognising this kaliyugA. You are permanently here in this temple.
Caranam5: You do not refuse the request from your devotees. The ever-merciful Goddess Lakshmi is residing in your chest. In that situation what deficiency can I have? I do not have any complaint, kannA, maNivaNNa, malaiyappA, gOvindA!
General comments:
 This song is unusual in several ways. First of all it is a rare composition by a person who is not a regular composer or a musician. Although Rajaji was a popular writer, he was not recognised as a composer. Secondly, unlike other devotional songs which lament the status of the composer and request the Lord to save them (authors) in this and the next life, this song does not lament nor request special favours. Instead, the song describes the contented state of mind of the composer. The composer does not want anything. He is just content with seeing and worshipping the Lord. He just admires the everlasting grace of Lord Venkatesa of
Tirupati.
Rajaji does not make any distinction here between Lord Venkatesa of Tirupati and the incarnation Krishna (known as kaNNAn in Thamizh). He uses the names interchangeably. He expresses only a common concept that the Lord, though present in the stone form, is taking care of the needs of the devotees. However, the concept comes out so crystal-clear when one hears the song. Perhaps it is the melody because there is no splendour of diction in this song. The words used are so commonplace.
Another distinctive feature of this song is that this was sung by
M S Subbulakshmi (MS) at her United Nations concert in 1969 arranged by the then UN Undersecretary-general
C V Narasimhan. The song was set to music by Kadayanallur Venkataraman who has worked with MS for decades. It is now a highly popular song in the concert circuit. Almost every musician keeps it in his/her repertoire to be rendered either as a regular item towards the end or to be rendered at the request of the audience.
Rajaji also composed a benediction verse in English to be rendered at the same UN concert by MS.
Composer’s bio:
Rajaji (1878-1972) was born in Thorapalli, in Salem district. He finished his B.A. in
Bangalore and obtained his law degree in Madras. He did not go to England to obtain a fancy degree. Perhaps he did not need that. He began his law practice in Salem and pretty soon became famous through brilliance of knowledge of law and speech.
He participated in the freedom movement and became one of the top leaders along with
Gandhi and Nehru. Between himself and Nehru, the brain trust was formed. He became the Governor-General of free India. He was Chief Minister of Madras state twice, once in 1937 and then in 1952. He had an impeccable record in administration, free of corruption and other misdemeanors.
He was a popular writer in Thamizh and English. He wrote 30 books covering history, philosophy and religion. The two greatest works of his are:
Ramayanam and Mahabharatam. The English version of
Mahabharatam is now used as textbook in a course on Oriental Studies in several American universities.
He was a good speaker and expressed his thoughts clearly to the ordinary man/woman. He was a true reformist in thought, word and deed. He got his daughter Lakshmi married to Devadas, the son of Gandhi. He introduced prohibition in Madras although the measure resulted in loss of revenue to the government. He also introduced compulsory education of Hindi in Madras.
In later life, he differed with Nehru on policies for the nation and started a new party called 'Swatantra Party' which emphasised private enterprise as opposed to government-run mega projects favoured by Nehru. However, the party disappeared for lack of support after a decade of existence. It is an irony that his political philosophy of private enterprise is making a huge comeback now.
References:
1. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/c1296.html
2. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/co1081.html
Sethuraman Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com
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