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[Editor's Note: This
article uses transliteration to reflect correct pronunciation of names and
lyrics.
Click here for the
standard transliteration scheme]
There is hardly any
home in Kerala, where the newborn baby is not put to sleep by the soothing
melody of the ever-popular lullaby,
“Omanatti”nkaL
kiTAvO nalla
kOmala-ttAmarappUvO”.
This is the famous tArATTu pATTu” (cradle song) hummed by
mothers in Kerala for generations. This song was composed by the court poet
and musician, irayimman tampi, for the sake of the ruling Queen RANi
gaurI lAkSmI bAi, to put to sleep none other that the newborn svAti tirunAL
mahArAja. Well, that was indeed a fitting introduction to music for
the new born king! Originally set in kura~nci rAgam, Adi tAlam, this song has
been sung by people in navarOj, or nIlAmbari, or even as a rAgamAlika, and
using rUpaka tALam, or even in tishra gati. Whatever be the choice of rAgam/tALam,
it certainly has a mesmerizing effect on every listener. The lyric of this
song is so beautiful that it is a lullaby not only for the king, but for the
entire human generation. In this song, using appropriate phrases in sweet and
chaste malayALam, the baby (king) is compared to the most beautiful things in
the world that one can describe. It is to be noted that there is no mention
of the word “sleep” anywhere in this lullaby.
The
western musicologist, A. H. Fox Strangways, in his work “The Music of
Hindoostan” (Oxford, The Clarendon Press 1914, pages 62-63) gives the
first two lines of this lullaby in western staff notation, and renders a free
style meaning of the complete song. He mentions that he got the song from “an
enlightened women” in Trivandrum, with which His Highness the (present)
mahArAja of Travancore is said to have been put to sleep, as a child. He
further adds a footnote, stating that the singer wanted to accompany herself
on the inevitable harmonium, but he pointed out that this additional sound
might prevent the baby from going to sleep.
The
intense anxiety associated with the birth of svAti tirunAl against the
political conditions of the time, and the immediate relief it was to provide
are truly reflected in this song. The British had already decided to take
administrative control of those kingdoms, where there was no male ruler. The
arrival of this new baby --- “Ishvaran tanna nidhiyO” (the treasure
gifted by God) or “bhAgya drumattin phalamO” (the fruits of the
tree of fortune) -- as irayimman tampi puts it in this lullaby --- was a
welcome relief to the queen, as well as for everyone! The feeling of joy
that prevailed in the kingdom is beautifully portrayed in this song.
CLICK BELOW FOR THE LYRICS
OF THE LULLABY “OMANATTI”NKAL KITAVO”
Irayimman tampi’s life history
Photo Courtesy:
www.swathithirunal.org
There was a famous household (taRavADu)
by name “kAramana ANDiyiRakkattu amma vIDu” in Trivandrum. Irayimman was born
in this family in the 1782 AD, that corresponds to the malayalam year (kolla
varSam) 958, and his birth star was pUruTTAti (pUra bhAdrapada). His
father was kEraLa varma (kELaru) tampAn of shErttalai palace, and his
mother was pArvati piLLa ta”ngacci of putumana amma vIDu.. As it was the
prevailing custom to name the eldest son by the grandfather’s name, tampi’s
real name was ravi varman, which later became iravi varman, and
finally irayimman, as he was affectionately called. Tampi was brought
up by his parents at their residence, kizhakkE maDam near the viRakupurakOTTa,
the house given to kELaru tampAn by the illustrious king dharmarAja, shrI.
kArttika tirunAL. The father himself gave tampi the basic education. Later
mUttATTu sha”nkaran iLayatu gave him higher learning in various branches of
knowledge like grammar, linguistics and sanskrit literature. Even as a young
boy, tampi’s aptitude towards music and poetry was very deep and, under the
royal patronage, he could develop his various talents. He did not have any
formal “guru” for music, and his abilities were mostly self-cultivated. At
the age of fourteen, he wrote a poem and dedicated it to the mahArAja kArttika
tirunAl. The king was immensely pleased, and rewarded him appropriately.
Tampi has already become an important personality in the court, long before
mahArAja svAti tirunAl was born. He continued to enjoy this enviable position
even after svAti tirunAL’s demise.
Tampi was married to kALipiLLa ta”nkacci, and a female child was born to that
couple in the year 1820. This child, kuTTiku~nju ta”ngacci by name, later
became the successor to the artistic tradition of her father. She was a
versatile composer and poetess, whose contributions to classical music and
malayALam literature are substantial.
MaharAja svAti tirunAL was born when tampi was already 31 years old. As we
mentioned earlier, tampi wrote the lullaby “Omanatti”nkaL kiTAVo” for
this royal baby. Tampi lived at Trivandrum throughout his life and he had the
privilege of enjoying the liberal patronage under four kings and two queens
-- dharmarAja kArttika tirunAL, bAalarAma varma, svAti tirunAL, utRam tirunAL,
RANi gauri pArvati bAi, and RANi gauri lakSmi bAi. During this long period,
tampi was able to witness many events in the royal life, which later became
themes for some of his compositions. The rulers, who always held him in high
esteem, decorated his hands with “vIra sh.r”nkhala” (golden chain for
bravery), acknowledging his poetical talents and musical scholarship. He was
often known among the rulers as ‘kavi’ (poet). svAti tirunAL used to
refer to him as tampi mAman (uncle tampi). Tampi died in the year 1862
at the age of 80.
The Compositions of Irayimman tampi
According to T. Lakshmanan Pillai, irayimman tampi has
to his credit more that 500 compositions. But, only few of those compositions
have survived, which include 39 kIrttanams, 5 varNams, 23 padams and a few
ATTAkkatha songs. Of the 39 kIrttanams, 29 are in sanskrit, and the remaining
in malayALam. In the work, “kEraLa sa”ngItam”, the author V. Madhavan
Nair has listed 60 compositions attributed to tampi (which include 33 k.rtis
among which 28 are in sanskrit).
Tampi has composed songs on several gods/goddesses of
nearby temples, namely Lord padmAnabha of Tiruvanantapuram, shrI k.rSNa (of
guruvAyUr temple, ambalapuzha temple, and neyyAttinkara), shiva, dEvi (ARRi”ngal
tiruvARaTTu bhagavati, paLLiyaRa bhAgavati, and kollattu cuRRumala shri
pArvati). He has also sung in praise of the queens, va~ncIshvari RANi gaurI
pArvati bAi, and RANi rukmiNi bAi (sister of svAti tirunAL). Some of these
compositions have been made available to us from a rare manuscript of the
famous malayALam poet, uLLUr paramEshvara iyer. Among the compositions of
tampi, the k.rti “karuNa ceyvAn entu sAhasam k.rSNA” on Lord
guruvAyUrappan is very popular and frequently heard in concerts. Though
composed originally in “shrI rAgam”, the musician Cembai vaidyanAtha
bhAgavathr used to sing it in yadukula kAmbhOji, and it is equally pleasing.
Among the many pada varNams tampi composed, one in punnAgavarALi (“hAsAlOkE
dhanya jAtA”) is a rare treasure, but unfortunately, it is not available
in complete form due to the absence of ciTTa svarams and svara sAhityams.
Some popular compositions of tampi are :
kIrttanams:
Omanatti”nkaLkkiTAvO - kuRa~nci, Adi (tArATTu
– the lullaby)
shrImadantapurattil vAzhum - kummi (follk
dance tune)
karuNa ceyvAnentu tAmasam k.rSNa - shrI,
cempaTa (on guruvAyUr k.rSNan)
aTimalariNa tanne k.rSNa - mukhAri (on
guruvAyUr k.rSNan)
pArthasArathE - mA~nji, Ekam (on
ambalapuzha k.rSNan)
nIlavaRNNa pAhi mAm – suraTTi, cempaTa (on
neyyAttinkara k.rSNan)
japata japata harinAma - tODi, cempaTa (on
viSNu)
candrakalAdhara sAMba – punnAgavarALi, cApu
(on shiva)
paradEvatE nin pAdabhajanam – tODi,
cempaTa (on ATTingal
tiruvAARATTukAvil bhagavati)
kAtyAyani dEvi sadA - sha”nkarAbharaNam,
cempaTa (on ATTingal paLLiyaRa bhagavati)
pAhi mAM giritanayE – sAvEri, cempaTa (on
kollattu cuRRumala shrIpArvati)
pAriTa”n”naLile”n”numi”n”nane - kAmOdari,
cempaTa (on va~ncIshvari RANi gauri pArvati bAI)
manasA karutunnatampoTu – saurASTram, cempaTa (on va~ncIshvari RAni gauri pArvati bAI)
kulashEkhara n.rpasOdari - sha”nkarAbharaNam,
cempaTa (on RANi rukmiNi bAi)
pada varNam
manasi mE paritapam - sha”nkarAbharaNam, Adi
(malayalam)
amba gaurI girikanyE – Arabhi, tripuTa (stava
varNam) (malayALam)
sAyaM kiM mE nikEtamAga – nIlAmbari, Adi (sanskrit)
tava sAbhimatA kAminI – bhairavi, Adi (sanskrit)
hAsAlOkyE dhanya jAtA - punnAgavarAli, Adi (sanskrit) - incomplete
In addition, there are many padams, shlOkams, and a
few ATTakkatha compositions to his credit.
Click below for the lyrics of 20 popular compositions of Irayimman
Tampi:
Tampi’s k.ris contain numerous and lengthy caraNam
lines. Perhaps, he meant these songs not only to be sung in concert
platforms, but as scholarly poems too, to be enjoyed by the readers. He has
employed rakti rAgams like kAmbhOji, kalyANi, husEni, dhanyAshi, sAvEri,
rItigauLa, mOhanam, bhairavi, madhyamAvati etc, as well as some rare rAgams
like mA~nji, ji”ngaLa, kakubha, indIsha. The last two are very rare. The
song “surabAsha hara” by tampi is in kakubha, perhaps a janyam of
mAyamAlavagauLa (??). The padam “ArODu colvan azhaluLLatellAm” is in
indIsha rAgam, which was once a populart rAgam for the tuLLal songs of
ku~ncan nambiaAr.
Tampi’s compositions convey various rasams
(emotions). His padams abound in “vipralamba sh.r”ngAram” (separation), and
“sambhOga sh.r”ngAram” (consummation). Though he excelled in bhakti and
sh.r”ngAra rasams, he has portrayed other emotions through many of his musical
works. The lullaby portrays motherly affection, the guruvAyur k.rtis generate
intense devotion (bhakti), and the various padams, for instance, “prANanAthanenikku
nalkiya” are filled with erotic feelings of a love-lorn lady. The
structure of the k.rti, “japata japata harinAma nanuja” on mahA viSNu
reminds us of the advaita para k.rtis of sadAshiva brahmEndra.
We find the usage of dvitIyAkSara prAsam
(rhyming in the second letter of each line) in most of tampi’s musical and
poetical works. This practice is a “must” for poems in malayALam, as the
following shlOkam reminds us:
vAsantI
madhuvARnna vAkkinu dvitiyAKSara -
prAsam
cERppatu kairaLImahiLa tan mA”ngalyamANORkkaNam
(usage of dvitIyAkSara prAsam is an auspicious
ornament to the sweet, nectar-like malayAlam, the Lady of kEraLa)
In addition, sprinkled throughout his works, we find
tantalizing alliterations (sound effects), which add further beauty. Here is a
typical illustration from the first caraNam of his tODi kIrttanam on
ARRi”n”ngal tiruvARATTukAvil bhagavati.
collARrnna
nANmukhanum mallAri dEvan tANum
mallIsha
vairiyumellAnEravum dEvi !
cillIlatAgramonnu mellE nIyiLakkITTu
collum
vElakaL ceytu kalyANi vANITunnu
allal
vividhamuLLati”n”nu viravoTu
talli
nIkki nallataruLuvAN tava
tellupOlumilla paNi bhavad pada-
pallava”n”ngalullasikka h.rdi mama
The following shlOkam,
invoking the blessings of gaNapati, gives a flavor of tampi’s poetical
competence in using rhymes and alliterations.
madasurabhilagaNDam maulishObhIndukhaNDam
vihitavimatadaNDam vighnavicchEdashauNDam |
varadamurupicaNDam vyAyatApINashuNDam
natasuramuniSaNDAm naumi vEtaNdatuNDam ||
Tampi used the mudra “padmanabha” in
his compositions. This caused some confusion regarding the authorship of some
of his k.rtis! This song “bhOgIndra shAyinam” is often attributed to
svATi tirunAL due to the presence of the mudra “padmanAbha”, but it was found
in a hand-written manuscript of tampi. The rAgam was dhanyAsi. In his work, “kErala
sa”ngItam”, the author V. Madhavan Nair attributes it to tampi. The
kalyANi k.rti, “sEvE syanandUrEsha” by tampi is often credited to svAti
tirunAL.
The website
http://www.swathithirunal.org contains MP3 audio clipping of some of
irayimman tampi’s compositions.
Go to Part II >>
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