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LEC-DEM MELA 2014 Part 3

Sivanama sankeertanam

On 13 December 2014, the first session on the second day of the Lec-Dem Mela conducted by Sruti and the Karnatic Music forum at the Raga Sudha Hall, was by Udayalur Kalyanarama Bhagavatar. He presentedSivanama Sankeertanam under the broader theme ofSambho Mahadeva.

Bhagavatar said that in the bhajana sampradaya, Harinama sankeertanam was better known than Sivanama. He offered obeisance to the gurus who established the bhajana sampradaya. Among them, Sridhara Ayyaval was an embodiment of Siva who propagated the Sivanama siddhanta, and was himself an exalted guru.

Udayalur presented a number of songs that extolled the glory of Siva. He quoted Adi Sankara’s stotra wherein he asks for the privilege of being able to chant the Sivanama. As Tamil literature is replete with works on Siva by scholars and saints, Udayalur sang viruttams from Tiruvarutpa and Tevarams, endowing them with great emotion in his musical rendering. 

He chose songs by many composers like Suddhananda Bharati, Marimutha Pillai, Muthu Tandavar, Tirumoolar, Gopalakrishna Bharati, and Ramalinga Swamigal. He said philosophical songs by Mayuram Vedanayagam Pillai, a Christian, were included in traditional bhajanas.

In the given time, Udayalur Kalyanarama Bhagavatar successfully conveyed the essence of the rich tradition of sampradaya bhajana, the invaluable efficacy of Sivanama and the innumerable compositions that form its repertoire.

The Guest of Honour Dr. Easwar Srikumar, Member, Central Advisory Board, honoured the artists. A medical doctor by profession, he said music is a form of yoga that can take man nearer to the goal – Nada Brahmam. Nama sankeertanam helps cleanse the inner being of a person who participates in satsang.
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