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Ramaswamy Sivan
I shall
never forget
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Composition:
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ekkAlattilum
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Composer:
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rAmaswAmy sivan
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mudrA:
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(signature):
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guhadAsan
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rAgam:
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nATTaikkurinji (janyam of mELam 28, harikAmbhoji)
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ArOhaNam:
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SR2G3M1N2D2N2PD2N2S
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AvarOhaNam:
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SN2D2M1G3M1PG3R2S
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tALam:
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rUpakam
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Pallavi:
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ekkAlattilum maRavEnE ini nAn
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(ekkAlattilum)
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Anupallavi:
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maikkAlanai akkAlattil maDiya udaitta aDi malarinai
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(ekkAlattilum)
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CaraNam1:
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viDaiyaiyum konRait toDaiyaiyum madisaDaiyaiyum
mazhup
paDaiyaiyum tOludaiyu
maNiyiDaiyaiyum vizhik
kaDaiyaiyum nalamaDaiyavE
nAn
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(ekkAlattilum)
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CaraNam2:
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purattaiyum adanurattaiyum suTTa tarattaiyum aindu
nirattaiyum dasa karattaiyum seyyum
varattaiyum panjAksharattaiyum
cidambarattaiyum nAn
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(ekkAlattilum)
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CaraNam3:
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Isanaip prakAsanai guhadAsanaik kAkkum
nEsanai anbar pUsanai sey viswAsanait tillai
vAsanai naTarAsani nAn
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(ekkAlattilum)
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Source for lyrics: Ref. #1 (see below). There
may be some transposition errors of syllables in some words. The general
meaning is discerned with that in mind.
Meaning:
Pallavi: I shall not forget you at
any time.
Anupallavi: You annihilated Yaman (kAlan), the Lord of
Death, way back with your foot. I shall not forget your foot (which is like
a flower).
CaraNam1: I shall not forget the bull (nandi) that you ride, the bunch of (yellow) konRai flowers that adorn your locks of hair wherein
you sport the moon, the axe that you wield in your hand, the tiger hide
that you wear, your waist adorned with jewels, and the corner of your eye
in order to gain your kindness.
CaraNam2: I shall never forget the
three worlds (tiripuram), their strengths, and
the manner in which you destroyed them, the five faces (or five functions),
and ten hands of yours, your boons, the five-letter name of yours (na-ma-si-vA-ya), and the city of Cidambaram.
CaraNam3: I shall not forget you, the
effulgent Lord, a friend who protects guhadAsan
(me), one whom the devotees worship, and one who dwells in tillai (cidambaram), the one
and only natarAjan.
General comments:
This song, a favourite of the DKP-DKJ (D
K Pattammal-D K Jayaraman) school, is fully
alliterative with a galloping play of words (akin to a rushing rapids)
centered on Lord SivA. It also contains a couple
of references to mythology regarding the valiant acts of Lord SivA. One of them relates to the burning of Tiripuram and the other, protecting the 16-year-old
devotee, Markandeyan, from the jaws of death (Yaman).
This song describes
the various features and attributes of Lord Siva. In one sense it draws
inspiration from and is reminiscent of Sundaramurthy
Nayanar’s famous tEvAram
song sung about the Lord in a town called TirumazhapADi,
near TiruvaiyAru.
ponnAr mEniyanE! pulittOlai araikkasaittu
minnAr sencaDaimEl miLir konRaiyaNindavanE
mannE mAmaNiyE mazhapADiyuL mANikkamE!
annE unnaiyallAl
ini yArai ninaikkEnE?
We need to reconcile
some mythology here to understand some terms in this song. The words, ‘tOluDai’, and ‘mazhuppaDai’
refer to the encounter of Siva with the sages of dArukA
vanam (forest) when the sages got annoyed at the
manner in which He, in the guise of a mendicant, cast a spell on the young
wives of the sages. They used their powers to send a tiger, a globe of fire,
an axe and a demon named Muyalakan to attack
Siva. He killed the tiger and used its hide as his dress (tOludai) and captured the axe and the ball of fire in
his hands and trampled the demon under his right foot.
The words ‘puram’ and ‘suTTa taram’ refer to Siva’s destruction of the three cities
built by the three demon brothers (tArakAkshan, kamalAkshan, and vidiyunmAli)
when they started inflicting untold miseries on the residents of the cities
and the dEvAs.
There is also a
reference to ‘aindu nirattaiyum’
(it could as well be ‘sirattaiyum’) and ‘dasakarattaiyum’ which refer to five faces or heads
(and their functions) of Siva and the ten hands with separate functions.
These two features are less well understood.
The song is marked by
different alliterative sounds in each of the three caranams.
It addresses Nataraja of Cidambaram
in particular. Unlike some other songs, there is no demand, by the
composer, for salvation or alleviation of suffering. It just expresses
undiluted devotion and admiration.
Composer’s bio:
Ramaswamy Sivan
(1839-1897) was the older brother of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan
(1844-1893) and they constituted a pair who wrote the lyrics and tuned them
to music. Of the two, Ramaswamy Sivan was the prolific composer while Maha was the performer as well as composer. Together
they were known as Vaiyacheri Brothers. It is
difficult to separate one from the other on matters relating to music. They
used the signature ‘guhadasan’ which literally
means ‘Servant of Lord Murugan’.
They learnt music
from Anai-Ayya Brothers and from Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbaiyer
(a direct disciple of Saint Tyagaraja). They were
patronised by royalty and Adheenam
(religious foundation) heads. Ramaswamy Sivan composed ‘Periya
Purana Keertanaigal’
which was published by the Tiruvavaduturai Adheenam.
Some of Ramaswamy Sivan’s other songs which were/are rendered by
musicians in concerts are: nIyE manamagizhvODu (kalyANi),
inimEl Ayinum
(darbAr), Ananda
naTEsA (tODi), muttukkumArayyanE (sankarAbharaNam),
pAhimAm srI rAjarAjEswari (janaranjani),
naTanam seyyum
pAdanar (kEdAra gauLai), and kadaikkaN
vaittennai (bEgaDai).
References:
1.http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/c1200.html
2. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/co1058.html
Sethuraman
Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com
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